NEWS PHOTO ANNA SMITH
The Prairie Pride Guild of Medicine Hat and District gather in Riverside for garbage cleanup on May 17.
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
The newly-minted Prairie Pride Guild of Medicine Hat and District gathered despite the cool weather on Friday with rubber gloves and trash bags, determined to hold some space for a significant 2SLGBTQIA+ milestone.
Members met at the base of Finlay Bridge with the intent of picking up trash that had accumulated there and in the nearby Riverside Area. This is the first major gathering that the guild has been able to organize outside of initial meetings, said Kimberly Large, one of the directors of the guild.
“It’s really just a little gathering to do some good in the community and hold space for the day,” said Large. The day itself, May 17, was the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, also known as IDAHOBIT among activist groups.
“What this day is, is that in 1990, May 17 the date the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses,” said Large. “So that’s why we’ve chosen this day, to just raise awareness and hold space for the occasion.”
Riverside was chosen due to a large number of members already being familiar with the area, and they knew it “needed a little bit of love,” said Large.
The guild itself is new, coming together earlier this year in order to honour the city’s past, as well as serve to create awareness and community for those who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+ in the region.
The name of the guild is an homage to a previous group, which was started by Donny White in the middle of the AIDS crisis in the 1990s. Prairie Pride brought together queer leaders in Medicine Hat and fought for inclusion and understanding at a time when equality was far from a reality, said Jenni Barrientos, president at Prairie Pride Guild of Medicine Hat and District.
While the original Prairie Pride has since disbanded, the new guild bearing a similar name aims to pick up the torch and continue to push to shed light on the struggles that 2SLGBTQIA+ face in their day-to-day lives.
The cleanup is just the first of gatherings they plan to host, said Large, with Pride Month coming on fast and goals of hosting an event of their own.
While the precise details are to be determined, Large encouraged those inclined to celebrate to save the date for June 29, when they plan to host their “Pride for Everyone” celebration.
