Feb. 01, 2012 - Issue #850: Godot
Queermonton
In the neighbourhood
Jasper Pride maintains a community feel
It's time to head to the mountains, Queermontonians, for the 3rd annual Jasper Pride Weekend. Running from February 10 – 12, Jasper Pride Weekend will include a welcome mixer, a day of skiing and snowboarding, an après ski, and a closing Mardi Gras party featuring drag performances from Guys in Disguise.
Hosted and organized by OUT Jasper, Jasper Pride Weekend started as a fundraiser for the organization. The first festival was small, with 40 people coming out to the events. The second year of the festival was very successful, however, as people found out about the events through word-of-mouth. OUT Jasper program coordinator Abner Brown said that the festival committee is amazed and excited by the growth of attendance in one year. The only comparable event to the Jasper Pride Weekend is Whistler, BC's Winter Pride Weekend. Brown confirmed that the Jasper event is unique in Alberta and is certainly the most remote festival of its kind in western Canada.
Now in its third year, the Jasper Pride Weekend continues to be a means to get funding for OUT Jasper events but the weekend festival is also an opportunity to involve the town of Jasper in celebrating LGBTQ pride. The town of Jasper and its businesses have been very supportive of the festival, and residents of Jasper and the surrounding areas are welcome and encouraged to attend the festival.
Brown said that Jasper's queer community is still quite underground largely because the population of the town is seasonal and transient, leaving little opportunity for community building. Brown further explained, "In the surrounding region of the Yellowhead there are pockets of [LGBTQ] people that are close but it's still hard to bring them out to events." According to Brown, people have come to Jasper Pride Weekend because they are proud that such an event is happening "in their backyard.""
OUT Jasper has received very positive feedback from past attendees, many of who enjoyed the festival because it felt small, welcoming, and community driven. LGBTQ people can get lost in the anonymity of large festivals, Brown said, but the festival committee is trying to maintain the spirit of community and acceptance by creating events that bring everyone together instead of hosting multiple events at the same time.
Brown and the festival committee are anticipating another successful festival as they are planning "elegant but homey" events. Although OUT Jasper and its Pride Weekend has received unprecedented support from the Jasper community and town, Brown said that he is hoping that this year's festival will exhibit the importance of hosting queer events in Jasper and supporting its LGBTQ community, and will show that Jasper is a welcoming and open town for LGBTQ people. Ultimately, Brown sees Jasper Pride Weekend as an opportunity to continue to build solidarity between queer and non-queer residents of Jasper, the surrounding area and the province.
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