The Barrie Pride festival will kick off celebrations on at the start of June and organizers hope to make this a party the city can get behind.
The festival runs from June 3 to 11 and will have a wide variety of events and shows that will keep everyone entertained for the eight days. Vice-Chair of the event is Shelly Skinner,host and community producer of Pleasure Diva on Rogers TV. While her on screen persona helps people through intimate relationship advice, Skinner is offering some advice for the festival as well.
“Come out and have fun,” said Skinner. “This is obviously an event that most see as geared towards the LGBTQ community, but that is not true at all. This is about acceptance and understanding for all. This is all of our community and we need to celebrate great events like this together.”
Being openly pansexual, Skinner clearly has a passion for the event and is hoping it is a success for that reason, but not that reason alone. The mother of two is involved in this for reasons that go beyond community acceptance and having a great time doing it.
“I have two beautiful children and I’m human,” said Skinner. “At the end of the day, no matter my status in the community as a TV show host or otherwise, I have a family and it is a duty to help out with things like this. It’s not enough to stand by; it’s time to get involved.”
Not only will the main stage be hosted by the entertaining Carla Collins, but another getting involved is title sponsor for the event Paul Sadlon Motors, a business well-known for assisting in the community. Also on board with the event are the Penalty Box Sports Pub and Restaurant and TD Bank. Paul Sadlon Sr. has been in business for 52 years and 45 of those are here in Barrie. The patriarch of the company believes in giving back to his community and making it a better place for everyone.
“I feel very strongly about democracy and human rights,” said Sadlon. “With all the bad news that is going on in the world nowadays, it’s a lot better to just be happy and help others be happy. I get a lot of enjoyment in giving back to this community whether its kids sports or something else. We’ve got a great city; let’s work together to keep it that way.”
David Bradbury has been involved with this event from day one. The head of the event has seen some lean years with the Pride festival but also some great times. But through it all Bradbury has stayed focus on why he puts in the many hours needed to keep the important event a float.
“We started Barrie Pride in 2013,” said Bradbury. “Just a small group of friends who looked around and wondered why there wasn’t a Pride parade in Barrie. So we made it happen and mainly because this is a remarkable city with the diversity helping keep us. The first year we weren’t sure how many people would show up, but it ended up being 500 marchers. Last year we had 1,500 marchers and thousands more at the Pride event that followed at Heritage Park. We’re still nowhere near capacity, but I’m certain we’ll see the numbers increase every year.”
The emphasis on most Pride festivals is the aspect of the party atmosphere. Pride organizers everywhere aim to make the event a celebration of life and how you live your life, hopefully judgement-free. But behind every Pride event there is personal and sentimental message that those in charge are hoping will be heard; the Barrie Pride committee is no different.
“The main reason I’m involved is to help kids,” said Bradbury. “I’ve been openly gay since I was 21, but growing up I didn’t know any gay people. I wish I had though because it’s easy to feel alone. LGBT youth have a seven times higher rate of suicide than non-LGBT’s. Just by existing, Barrie Pride sends a message that you’re welcome, you’re accepted and you’re safe here in Barrie.”
The City of Barrie will kick off the festivities with an official flag-raising on Monday, June 5, at 12 p.m. Later that evening starting at 7 p.m. at The Penalty Box there will be a socializing party (19+ event) for all to mingle and enjoy.
Saturday, June 10, at Heritage Park from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. the main festival takes place with fun, food, music and entertainment for all ages. Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. the popular parade takes place.
Barrie Pride is looking for more vendors, performers and a sponsor for their Family Zone. For many other planned events associated with Barrie Pride or how you can help check out the Facebook page @BarriePride or the website at www.barriepride.com and fill out the form provided or contact [email protected]
