Organizers are calling Pride Week a “resounding success.”
Nearly 25,000 people descended on Columbia Street last Saturday for the street party, according to New West Pride Society president Jeremy Perry.
“That was exactly what we were aiming for and anticipating, about double the size from last year,” he enthusiastically said.
So what made 2015 Pride such a huge hit? Perry said there were many contributing factors that culminated into a “perfect storm.”
Moving the festival from Tipperary Park to Columbia Street in 2014 worked in the board’s favour, providing advertising through word-of-mouth.
“Many people went home and told their friends, ‘Wow that was fun,’” Perry told the Record.
Then there’s the city’s continuous support, including the newly-installed rainbow crosswalk and the Pride flag raising ceremony at city hall on Aug. 10. Perry said board members from other communities that have struggled to get a flag raised were in attendance, thanking the City of New Westminster for their efforts.
The New West Pride Society also took part in this year’s Vancouver Pride Parade, which gave the board an opportunity to remind Vancouverites about the many Pride events going on in the Royal City. The marketing budget was also expanded, Perry said, allowing more financial freedom to plan.
“I’d be remiss not to credit being able to attract internationally-renowned talent to our stage,” Perry said of headlining act Bif Naked. “I think there’s a real opportunity for us to realize that maybe that needs to be a bigger part of the identity of our festival, and to really create a platform to showcase internationally-renowned queer musicians, and to bring in some of the local emerging queer talent.”
The week-long events leading up to the street party also created plenty of buzz, with a good showing at each. Some 70 people dropped in for the seniors’ hoedown at Century House, while the drag show at Heritage Grill had standing room only. The family picnic at Pier Park and the Double Down Dance Party at Starlight Casino were also well attended.
“Never before have I paid cover to go into an event that had such a cross section of the community,” Perry noted. “Usually it’s going to be geared towards one demographic or another. The Starlight Casino party had young people, older people, lesbians, gay people, trans people, straight people.”
Fifty-five volunteers, meanwhile, dedicated their time to put on the five-hour party on Columbia Street, he added.
“I looked around the volunteer debrief as we were waiting for the street to shut down so we can go out and start setting up, and I realized that I didn’t know over half the people in the room,” Perry recalled. “People are coming out of the woodwork, people are getting involved and we’re just reaching new people in the community. It was just really touching to see.”
Asked what it feels to be at the helm for the last two years, helping move Pride forward, Perry called it amazing.
“To just know that I’m part of this amazing group of people who are working so hard, it feels good to kind of look back and think, wow, we really accomplished something special.”
The society will be holding a post-mortem meeting this weekend to talk about what worked and what didn’t. One thing board members will consider next year, Perry said, is creating more organizing committees that local residents can participate in year-round, from a marketing group to a street decorating group. Those interested in becoming a board member can attend the society’s AGM on Sept. 23 at Heritage Grill.
For anyone who missed the announcement of who won the Pride window display contest, Bosley’s at Columbia Square took home the title.
To view the Record's Pride photo gallery, click here.
