Osoyoos’ first Pride Arts Festival kicks off Saturday – Times Chronicle
By Times Chronicle Staff
Osoyoos’s Inaugural Pride Arts Festival will debut this Saturday, Sept. 24 with a full day of live entertainment celebrating local 2SLGBTQIA+ and/or BIPOC performing artists. 2SLGTBQIA+ is an acronym for Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and/or Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, and the plus reflects the various affirmative ways in which people choose to self-identify.
Presented by the South Okanagan Similkameen Pride Society (SOS Pride), Wide Arts National Association (WANA) and the Town of Osoyoos, the festival begins with an opening ceremony at the Gyro bandshell stage at 10:30 a.m.
This will include a recognition of the Syilx Okanagan traditional territory and Osoyoos Indian Band. Next is a walking pride march along Osoyoos Lake that will loop up and around onto Main Street to end back at Gyro Park.
“Flags will be flown with Pride as people walk in solidarity to support creating safe and inclusive communities for all,” the organisers said.
Following the march, events kick off at Gyro Park with a group yoga experience leading into an entire day of live entertainment from performing artists of varying genres including dance, poetry and music.
The festival also includes a licensed bar of local craft beer & wine courtesy of Firehall Brewery, North Basin Brewing Co. and Stag’s Hollow Winery. Multiple food trucks will also be on site as well as a selection of artisan vendors and community organizations.
The vision for the festival was very clear, says Pride Arts Festival committee member and SOS Pride board member Heather Adamson.
“In brainstorming and creating this festival, we wanted to highlight the themes of diversity, inclusion and equity in our communities. It’s a celebration of Pride and its history, as well as bringing attention to the ongoing inequities that exist in society. It was very important to us to create a festival where 2SLGBTQIA+ and BIPOC artists are celebrated.”
The festival’s MC’s Keisha McLean and Humaira Hamid, both racialized artists, will speak to the importance of visibility and creating space for marginalized voices and talents to be centred.
“During the roaring 20’s, we saw a huge uprising of BIPOC and 2SLGBTQAI+ representation in the performing arts sector,” explains McLean. “In a time where systematic and interpersonal discrimination continued to marginalize these communities, both were embraced on the stage.”
“This was one of the few times you would see 2SLGBTQAI+ and BIPOC people proudly visible and around communities who held great class, gender, race and sexuality privilege. One hundred years later, here we are hosting an event focused on queer arts, celebrating the many ways these communities express themselves.”
An important element in the planning process was focusing on the connection between Pride and the arts, McLean adds. “Pride looks different to different people, this festival is showcasing how art has been a huge part of queer culture historically and presently.”
WANA President and festival committee member Wina Poliquin was instrumental in bringing the festival to life. When the Town of Osoyoos announced a grant (RMI Visitor Activity Enhancement fund) that included hosting such a festival within its scope, Poliquin contacted SOS Pride. Her various community connections and relationships as a long time Osoyoos resident, business owner and artist were crucial to the creation of the project.
“Arts and cultures help us break our ideas of separation,” says Poliquin. “They bridge our differences to create connection and unity through our individuality.”
A large number of community volunteers have signed up to help with the day, coordinated by festival committee member Angie Stuart.
“I have always been involved with the arts and support and promote local artists to the best of my ability. I have always been a firm believer of ‘love everyone’ but finally came into my own to accept and love myself for who I am later in life,” Stuart said.
The Pride Arts Festival is supported by community sponsors including Gold Sponsors: Telus, Valley First, Richter Pass Beach Resort, The Lake Village Bakery, Penticton & District Community Arts Council, Polka Dot Door Flower Design Boutique and Munday Media & Design.