YUKON PRIDE—A PARTY WITH A PURPOSE

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Pride is busting out in three Yukon communities in late July and in August. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Yukon celebration of the territory’s 2SLGBTQIA+ community will be marked with events in Whitehorse, Dawson City and Watson Lake. From having brunch with drag queens, to riding unicorn bikes in the Pride Parade, there are many opportunities for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and their allies to take part in.

Yukon Pride 2023 is hosted by Queer Yukon. Selene Vakharia, who is producing the festival this year, tells me how Yukon Pride was started 10 years ago by a group of friends, as a grassroots event. Since then, they say, “The [2SLGBTQIA+] community’s grown a lot, as well as the support for the community.

“We have a lot of new people moving here, as well as a lot of people who are from here who are able, now, to come back, or who are now able to be themselves. And so we want to make sure that as the [2SLGBTQIA+] community is growing, or feeling more comfortable coming forward, that the rest of the Yukon community is there to support them.”

Everyone is welcome to attend the festival, which includes dances, drag performances and parades. The events focus on having fun while supporting and advocating for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. “Pride is wonderful in a lot of ways because it’s almost a party with a purpose,” Vakharia explained. “So it’s a great time to get together and have fun as our community, even outside the 2SLGBTQIA+ community—the larger community—for everyone to come together. But it’s also a really great way that the Yukon can show people that are part of our community that they are supported … they do belong.”

This acceptance and support is especially important for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth who may feel unsafe growing up in their hometown.

“What we’re seeing in research, kind of around the world, really, and this has been researched for a while, is that there are much higher rates of suicide and suicide ideation in youth who identify as queer or trans,” Vakharia said. “And that, really, is due to … there’s a couple of elements behind it, but the risk factors are higher in terms of greater stigmatization and feelings of shame, lack of acceptance and lack of belonging, and violence and bullying, which all contribute to higher rates of suicide.”

Vakharia added, “So, things like Pride, where everyone in the Yukon can show love and support for these people, really will help us create protection for our young people, as well as people of all ages in that community, to lower those risk factors.”

Vakharia said that Pride can have an impact on young people by providing a space where they can feel safe to be themselves.

“Pride for me, growing up, was the only time, the one time of the year, that I could really be myself,” they said. “And so, I love that our youth are more able to, every year—365 days a year—be who they are and feel a sense of belonging and feel a sense of acceptance, and I’m also happy— really excited and happy—to be a part of Pride, which was so instrumental to my health, like my mental health as a youth, to be able to offer that to other youth.”

Yukon Pride will include teen-only programming aimed specifically at youth. This includes a movie night with tarot-card reading for Whitehorse youth, as well as art and activism workshops. In Dawson, there will be a “hangout” for young people to decorate their bikes for the parade on July 29. While a few Pride events are dedicated to youth, most are open to everyone. There’s an all-ages Drag Me To Brunch featuring the catering of Cr�perie La Petite Maison.

The brunch will feature performances from Two-Spirit drag queen Ilona Verley, who appeared in the first season of Canada’s Drag Race. They’ll be joined by Cedar T, MayTea and Misty Luxxx, who are Two-Spirit drag queens from Indigi-Hauz of Beaver Hills (Edmonton).

The visiting drag performers will also be at GayLight All Night, a dance party at the Local Bar in Whitehorse. The Dawson 2SLGBTQIA+ community and their allies will dance the night away at Drag Me to the Dance Floor (July 28), which will feature several local drag artists.

Whitehorse Pride will also feature a parade bike float-making workshop at Yukonstruct, where you can transform your bike into a unicorn, a dragon or another animal. There will also be materials for making rainbow tutus, to wear as you ride your creature-themed bike in the parade. In Watson Lake, the parade will be part of the Disco Days Parade on August 19. In organizing Pride 2023, Vakharia has found overwhelming support from community partners.

“It’s been really wonderful, because partners—like different organizations and businesses—are so supportive [that] there’s actually more than we can even do this year. So we have our programming for the next couple of years.”

Most events are free, with the exception of the drag brunch and dance in Whitehorse. But no one will be turned away from the dance due to a lack of funds, Vakharia said.

Pride is a party where everyone is invited.

“Pride is a time for everyone to come together and really build that community. And I think we have a really great opportunity in the Yukon because it’s such a small space where we really get to know one another on a personal level, which you might not be able to [do] in a larger city, which is a really instrumental and important tool in beating oppression or overcoming stereotypes that can be really harmful.

“I’m incredibly optimistic about where we could go in the Yukon.”

For the full Pride schedule, visit the festival website: queeryukon. com/pride-festival-2023.html. ■