Saskatoon Community

5 ways to support your local LGBTQ community and beyond

CBC Saskatoon is pleased to sponsor the Saskatoon Pride Festival with a walking float along this year's parade route.

CBC Saskatoon is pleased to sponsor the Saskatoon Pride Festival with a walking float along this year's parade route.

Here are five ways you can support the 2019 Saskatoon Pride Festival. Whether you're gay, straight, bisexual, transgender, non-binary or two-spirited, you are you — and that's something to celebrate.

1. Stand with your local LGBTQ community members 

June 22, at 12 p.m. gather your family, friends and co-workers along the parade route to watch the biggest, brightest parade in Saskatoon! This is a great opportunity to show your support of Saskatoon's gender and sexually diverse communities. 

Choosing to walk in Saskatoon's Pride Parade is just that, a choice. You could personally identify as a member of the LGBTQ community or be an ally.

Either way, by showing up and walking, you are celebrating something enshrined in Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

2. Support local LGBTQ art and culture

What better way to celebrate Pride in Saskatoon than a great event like Drag Bingo? Check out Louis Pub for fun, food, bingo and of course some inappropriate banter and jokes from local queens.

There are plenty of upcoming Pride events to indulge in. Visit  Saskatoon Pride Festival events page for all the details.

3. Don't be afraid to speak your mind!

Despite what social media would have you believe, harnessing the power of words can be used as a force for good in our community today — especially when we learn how to argue respectfully.

But how do we share our views with those who see the world differently, whether family members or strangers?

In Thank you for Arguing, Jay Heinrichs suggests we can navigate tensions that come with disagreements by understanding the ancient art of rhetoric. Now before you hit snooze, you should know his book is filled with quirky how-tos and comical pop-culture references from folks like Homer Simpson, Abe Lincoln and, yes, even Donald Trump.

Give it a go. You might be surprised how the book will help your next 280-character tweet.

4. Enlighten yourself on the LGBTQ community 

Watch

CBC has launched a new streaming service called Gem that features Canadian programming! Download the app to watch for free. 

After being rejected by the churches of their youth, these three openly LGBTQ pastors have renewed their faith and are bringing new life and new perspectives to Christianity in Canada.

The incredible story of how gay men and women went from being the ultimate outsiders to occupying the halls of power.

Read

It was a time of protests, legal fights and backlash. With a growing sense of solidarity, gays and lesbians became more visible in Canadian society in the 1960s, '70s and early '80s. Homosexuality gradually became more accepted as more Canadians came out of the closet to demand equality under the law.

Listen

"The Village is as much a gesture toward healing as it is a work of investigation; its focus is on the victims, their loved ones, the police, and the community, not on McArthur and the murders. The care that Ling brings to the story elevates it beyond true crime; what's being uncovered isn't a culprit but a history." - The New Yorker

5. Be an ally through thoughts, words, and actions

When it comes to being an ally, our friends at CBC Kids say it best. Read their list for simple ways to support friends and family who identify as LGBTQ. Here are the basics:

  • Remember that love is love, and when two grown-ups love each other, it's never a bad thing
  • Treat others as you want to be treated.
  • Stand up to homophobic jokes.

About this article:

The local marketing and communications team for CBC Saskatoon seeks out new and innovative ways to take the public broadcaster into communities and grow audiences. Seeking to reflect the diverse experiences of those who live in the places we report on, CBC Saskatoon is a sponsor of the 2019 Saskatoon Pride Festival and will host a walking float. The public can meet CBC Saskatoon hosts along the route and receive branded CBC merchandise that celebrates our pride as your local public broadcaster.

Do you have something big up your sleeves that the local public broadcaster should sponsor? Drop us a line at [email protected]

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Keiza Williams

Marketing and communications

Keiza Williams is a marketing and communications officer for CBC Saskatchewan, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.