MANITOULIN – Pride Manitoulin is looking bigger and better this year, following eleventh-hour news that the organization will be receiving an $18,000 grant from Heritage Canada this year.
“We were starting to get a little nervous,” admitted Pride Manitoulin organizer Sarah Seabrook. “Although we have quite a few companies that have promised support, before we got this news we had something like $200 in our hands so we were only spending our own stuff.”
The Pride Manitoulin plans were going ahead in any event, if stripped down to bare bones without the funding, but now the full slate of plans can barrel ahead.
Pride Manitoulin will take place this August 16, 17 and 18. “It’s always the third weekend in August.”
The flag raising on the Northeast Town waterfront will be back, along with the Manitoulin Pride parade taking part through the main street and the unveiling of the Pride designed beer label will take place at the Manitoulin Brewing Company in Little Current. “There also will be Pride Trivia taking place again at the Anchor Inn in Little Current on Friday, starting at 9 pm,” said Ms. Seabrook.
On Saturday, there will be a drum circle at the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation and there will be music and refreshments taking place at Split Rail Brewery in Gore Bay.
The ever popular Pride Cruise with North Channel Cruise Lines will be leaving the Little Current docks at 7:30 pm on Saturday—tickets can be purchased online at the Pride Manitoulin Facebook page.
Sunday there will be a run taking place from the Northeast Town Public Library in Little Current that will end at the Manitoulin Hotel and Conference Centre.
“As always we will be ending with a barbecue at the Little Current United Church,” said Ms. Seabrook. “We will have much more of a carnival atmosphere this year, thanks in good part to the Heritage Canada funding and our supporters. We hope to have a bouncy castle and other things going on to help boost the event.”
Those wishing to help support the event can e-transfer to sarah.seabrook1@icloud.com and receipts can be provided.
“We are always looking for volunteers and support people,” said Ms. Seabrook.
