Pride Month Kicks Off in Barrie with Advocacy, Artisans, and Affirmation

June is Pride Month, and Barrie Pride launched it with a weekend of events, highlighted by Saturday’s main celebration near the Spirit Catcher.

Organizers Jessie Lawson and Brodi Mears said they were pleased with the turnout, especially given the last-minute change in location. Beyond celebration, they emphasized advocacy. Lawson spoke about the need for a queer-specific homeless shelter that is youth-friendly and accessible, and also highlighted the work of local organizations such as Trans Q, County Pride, Uplift Black, the Gilbert Centre, and the Barrie Native Friendship Centre.

"You hear that we're a small queer community, but actually we're everywhere," said Lawson.

The artisanal market featured handmade goods from queer and allied creators, including jewelry, books, crafts, and recycled art. Many vendors returned from previous years, while others joined for the first time.

Robert Clark of La Belle Muskoka said his business now focuses exclusively on Pride events due to the supportive environment. However, he expressed disappointment over the venue change from Meridian Place to the waterfront. "The vendors that I spoke with who were here last year said it's not as good of an area to be in. It was better to be up in Meridian Place in Downtown Barrie, where they had it the last couple of years," he said.

Many attendees echoed that sentiment, voicing frustration with Barrie City Council’s decision to prioritize an air show over Pride events at Meridian Place. Even though Barrie Pride moved its festival a week earlier to avoid the conflict, it still overlapped with marathon events. Despite the adjustments, Meridian Place remained largely unused during key hours of the Pride celebration.

Carl LeMesurier, a trans artisan, said he started crocheting as a hobby and turned it into a small business thanks to support from friends. He noted that the public response this year was similar to past events. However, he added, "There’s still a lot of discrimination out there, and Pride is very important. It's not like we like to think sometimes that everybody is accepting, and that's not always the truth either. Especially with the way the political climate is becoming in the U.S. and other places, it can be a little bit scary."

Christine Nayler, who took part in both the parade and the event, said her organization, Ryan’s Hope, was there to demonstrate its commitment to inclusivity and support for all, regardless of background or identity. "I think that once people get to know each other, they see that there are more commonalities than differences," Nayler said.

Cyndy Ryder from Scouts Canada emphasized the organization’s inclusive, youth-led approach. "We’re fully inclusive," she said. "Scouts Canada's programs are based on what the youth want to learn and do."

A standout moment of the day was a powerful spoken word performance by Tyneisha Thomas, Barrie’s first Black and mother Poet Laureate. Her poem celebrated unconditional parental love and her daughter’s identity:

"It is important for me to be here today, not because I identify as being gay, but because my six-year-old daughter, Aurora. She is the greatest thing that ever happened to me.

See I am her mother, yet she birthed me. My legs were up when she came out and grounded me.

She turned me to a woman from a lady. From my womb she came, yet I gained everything.

Nothing in my life was ever the same once my daughter, she became.

And if, in six years from now, my daughter tells me that she is gay, this poem is a public oath, declaring that my love for her will stay the same.

And if in 10 years from now, my daughter tells me that she wants to change her gender or her name, my body would not hold one ounce of shame, my love for her would still never change."