Calgary Pride celebrates biggest parade ever
Posted Sep 4, 2016 4:01 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
From the premier to Star Wars stormtroopers, there seemed to something for everyone at this year’s Calgary Pride Parade, the biggest one yet.
An estimated 60,000 spectators lined up along 9 Ave. S.W., to watch the 4,000 participants march down to the music of Madonna and Lady Gaga.
This year’s parade marshal was Calgary native and musician Rae Spoon, who admitted she was a little nervous beforehand.
“It means a lot to me,” Spoon said. “It’s pretty meaningful and special for me.”
Shortly behind her was Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, who said the province has seen big strides from when she started out in the Legislature.
“We still didn’t have a stipulated protection for people on the basis of sexual orientation in our human rights code,” she said. “We’ve moved forward with some stops and starts but ultimately a good version around Bill 10 around GSAs.”
“What’s even more important is that it’s no longer acceptable in the Legislature to articulate some of the kinds that were being articulated even when I first got elected in 2008.”
Along with the flamboyant costumes and decorated vehicles was also the solemn remembrance of the horrific shooting of the Pulse nightclub in Orlando earlier this year.
Calgary Pride co-director Craig Sklenar said it’s on many people’s minds.
“I think it re-inserted the idea of why Pride is important and why our community needs to band together,” he said. “It was able to if anything, bring our community closer together and band together even more.”
Some of the loudest cheers were for recently married couples, including Max Aranguiz and Alan Peterson, who tied the knot on Friday.
The couple will soon to be moving to Kamloops and Aranguiz explained how they came up with the idea of wearing their tuxedos on a decaled truck.
“I’m leaving Alberta after 28 years to follow my husband,” Aranguiz said. “I wanted to say goodbye to Alberta.”
The couple is actually going to have two more weddings, in one in Chile where Aranguiz is from and the other in Kamloops.
“To honour those lives that have been lost in in Orlando and in Chile, we want to honour them,” Aranguiz said.
The athletics community was also represented, including Calgary Flames forward Matt Stajan.
“For us to have the presence we have in the community, it’s important for us be here because it doesn’t matter who you are,” Stajan said. “We want to make sure we are sharing that message.”
Recently retired Stampeders great Jon Cornish walked with three different groups.
“As athletes we set the tone, high school students are going to look to us, to see how their locker rooms should be, it’s up to us to create safe places that people can be themselves,” he said.
For our picture gallery, click below.
