Guelph Pride is an LGBT pride festival, held annually in

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

."Guelph seniors centre hosts Pride Week discussion"
''

Guelph Mercury The ''Guelph Mercury'' was an English language daily newspaper published in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It published a mix of community, national and international news and is owned by the Torstar Corporation. The newspaper, in many incarnations, ...

'', May 9, 2013. Organized by the Guelph Pride Committee with the assistance of Out on the Shelf, the city's local LGBT library and resource centre,"Taking pride in diversity"
'' The Ontarion'', February 13, 2013. the event takes place in May each year."Pride flag hoisted at Guelph city hall to officially launch Pride Week"
MSN Canada, May 7, 2013. The event generally takes place as the first Pride celebration in the

Southern Ontario Southern Ontario is a primary region of the province of Ontario, Canada, the other primary region being Northern Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada. The exact northern boundary of Southern Ontario is disp ...

region each summer. Held for the first time in 2003, the event celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2013. Prior to the launch of its own Pride festival, Guelph held events as part of

Waterloo Region The Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Waterloo Region or Region of Waterloo) is a metropolitan area of Southern Ontario, Canada. It contains the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo (KWC or Tri-Cities), and the townships of North Dumfr ...

's tri-Pride. tri-Pride and its former name Waterloo-Wellington Regional Pride Committee with a number of community partners assisted with the transition to create Guelph's own pride festival committee In 2013, the organization also launched Winter Pride, a smaller separate program of events which takes place in February. The organization is well-supported by community leaders. Former mayor Karen Farbridge has officiated the official raising of the

rainbow flag A rainbow flag is a multicolored flag consisting of the colors of the rainbow. The designs differ, but many of the colors are based on the spectral colors of the visible light spectrum. The LGBT flag introduced in 1978 is the most recogniz ...

to kick off the event, and

Liz Sandals Liz Sandals ( née MacNaughton; born ) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2003 to 2018 who represented the ridings of Guelph—Wellington and Guelph. She served in cabinet ...

, the city's provincial

MPP MPP or M.P.P. may refer to: * Marginal physical product * Master of Public Policy, an academic degree * Member of Provincial Parliament (Ontario), Canada * Member of Provincial Parliament (Western Cape), South Africa * ''Merriweather Post Pavilio ...

, has also attended events and supported the organization."Pride picnic revival planned". '' The Record'', May 29, 2006. The organization also works to help build and develop LGBT resources throughout Southwestern Ontario; in 2011, they donated several hundred books to the Thames Art Gallery in Chatham to help build a local LGBT library and archive."Exhibit takes a look at local LGBTQ history, culture". ''

Chatham This Week ''Chatham This Week'' is a community newspaper serving the city of Chatham, Ontario with a controlled circulation to approximately 19,400 homes. History A tabloid, ''Chatham This Week'' was launched in February 1991. Dean Mulharrem has been the ...

'', December 7, 2011. Unlike many larger pride festivals, Guelph Pride does not currently hold a parade, instead focusing on a more modest program of family and community events. Its weeklong program of events currently culminates in an afternoon family fair at the city's West End Community Centre on the final weekend, followed by a pride dance in the evening.

References

External links

Guelph Pride
{{LGBT in Canada LGBT festivals in Canada Festivals in Guelph 2003 establishments in Ontario LGBT in Ontario