Happy Pride, Hamilton! This year’s celebrations are bigger and brighter than ever. Pride Hamilton is a not-for-profit grassroots, volunteer-based group of local LGBTQ+ community members. Supporting community organizations and hosting events throughout the year, they gear up for a Pride Hamilton Park Day event every June.
Pride Hamilton’s mission is what everyone needs to get behind:
- Our purpose is to encourage Hamilton’s diverse LGBTQ+ communities in a common goal of celebrating our identities and the people we love.
- Our mission is to facilitate a week of safe, accessible, collaborative, and diverse LGBTQ+ festivities
- Our vision is to live in a world that is free of prejudice and bias.
There are numerous ways to celebrate Pride – please check the Pride Hamilton event calendar for all listings. Here are just a few highlights!
June 17 – Pride Hamilton Pre-Festival Rally and March (Gage Park, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM)
Continuing tradition with the history of Pride Hamilton, start the main event with a rally and march. Meet at the Gage Park fountain to hear from a variety of speakers with march to follow.
June 17 – Pride Hamilton: Park Day 2018 (Gage Park, 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM)
Gage Park is home to classic Hamilton festivals, and Pride should be no exception. The main event features a full day of programming including MC Chris Farias, drag performances, Six Nations Pride, live music, DJ Rosé, vendors, beer garden, and BBQ. All ages are welcome and there will be a family zone of activities. It promises to be the biggest Pride Hamilton event yet.
June 1 – Pride Hamilton Kickoff Party (Sous Bas, 10:00 AM – 3:00 AM)
Kick off Pride Hamilton celebrations with a night of house, pop, peace, and love courtesy of legendary DJ and producer Cozmic Cat.
June 2 – Pride Rainbow Hike (Dundas Valley, 10:30 AM – 2:30 PM)
Join in for some refreshing time in one of our most beautiful nature spots with a guided 5km hike lead by Bruce Trail Club leaders. Plan accordingly for the weather and bring some lunch!
June 6 – Making Zines with Sonali Menezes (The AIDS Network, 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM)
Cut, paste, write, and glitter your way into DIY zines with Sonali Menezes – a zinester, jewelry maker, and artist in Hamilton. Share ideas and work together to create your own zines and contribute to one collaborative class zine. You will also learn the history of zine-making.
June 8 – Queer Outta Hamilton (This Ain’t Hollywood, 9:00 PM – 2:00 AM)
Queer Outta Hamilton hosts events year-round and are hosting a special show for the Art Crawl Afterparty during Pride month. The show features Kimmortal, Mother Tareka, and DJ Junglecat.
June 9 – Get Up and Glow! (1211 Barton St. E, 5:00 PM – 11:00 PM)
Pride Hamilton in partnership with Hammer City Roller Derby and Steel City Studio take over the old Target space for an epic glow in the dark event. The evening features a glow disco open skate (includes skate rentals), DJ Rosé, vendors, silent auction fundraiser in support of Six Nations Pride, games, and more. First 40 adults through the door receive a free Pride swag bag.
June 12 – Karaoke Cabaret with The Eye Of Faith: Pride Edition (The Casbah, 9:00 PM – 2:00 AM)
Your favourite karaoke hosts Paul and Aaron of The Eye Of Faith host a special Pride edition of their Karaoke Cabaret. Feel free to dress up and really pull out all the stops for this one! What are your go-to queer anthems? Belt them out!
June 13 – Queer Social Board Game Night (Gameopolis, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM)
Unlimited play for just $5 at this board game cafe boasting games for every type of player – whether you want something more lively or more of a brain teaser, you name it. Show up early to get a spot!
June 14 – Unsettling Pride: Indigenous Two Spirits and Queer Rising (The LOST Organization, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM)
Since the very first moments of European contact, Indigenous genders and sexualities have resisted colonial violence and erasure. Canadians (LGBTQ or not) are often not familiar with the history and meaning of “Two Spirit”. This workshop will share this unique history and celebrate the resurgence of Two Spirit, Indigenous Queer people.
June 26 – Fostering and Adoption information session (The AIDS Network, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM)
An information session on how you could become a foster or adoptive family through The Children’s Aid Society of Hamilton. Hundreds of children in our community are in need of stable and caring families. Hamilton CAS welcomes applications from LGBTQ couples and individuals. Get your questions answered and hear personal stories from Hamilton CAS LGBTQ foster and adoptive parents.
June 27 – Gentrification and LGBTQ2SI+ Communities (The AIDS Network, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM)
Facilitated by Mela Pothier, participants will explore the relationship between LGBTQ2SI+ communities and gentrification. Together we will look at everyday narratives about “good/bad” neighbourhoods, define gentrification, and consider how various forms of oppression surface in the neighbourhood. As a group, we will generate ideas and tangible strategies for responding to gentrification, with a focus on supporting those affected by displacement and avoiding cooptation.
June 28 – Queer Intersections (The LOST Network, 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM)
We may all be members of LGBTQ+ communities, but what does queer identity really look like in the context of social media, debates over evolving language, increased immigration, cultural appropriation, Black Lives Matter, inclusion, and allyship? This participatory workshop will help learners to examine their social location and discover ways to engage each other across the intersections of identity, sorting through issues of gender, sexuality, race, class, ability, etc. and deepening understandings of solidarity, allyship and unity.
Please keep in mind The Inlet is not responsible for the events listed and details may be subject to change – please follow the individual events and Pride Hamilton for further info. Images are taken from the individual events.
