There will be mini Pride festival in downtown Midland on Aug. 12 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the LabX Media parking lot.
Originally scheduled for June 17 during Pride Month, the event was postponed due to a lack of proper insurance.
"It was essentially a miscommunication between LabX and Quest about the intended use of the parking lot," said Alanna Brousseau of Quest Art School and Gallery, which is organizing the event.
LabX thought the use was for parking but because it was for a gathering of people, Quest had to get additional offsite event insurance from its insurance provider, which wasn't expected to be finalized before the original date event, hence the postponement.
"It was a pretty easy fix," Brousseau said.
At least 16 businesses will set up booths on site providing crafts and activities for the family-friendly event. Some will have merchandise for sale.
"It's going to be less like a market and more like an outpouring of support for the 2SLGBTQI+ community," Brousseau said.
Jai Crouch, owner of Splash Floral and Event Design, will be doing a drag queen story time as his alter ego, Jodie James. Grounded Coffee will be serving iced tea and rainbow cookies. The event will also feature donation boxes with proceeds going to Fierté Simcoe Pride.
This is actually the second Pride event for Midland. The Georgian Bay Métis Council held an event in Little Lake Park in June which was well attended and supported, said Brousseau.
The Council will have a booth at the Aug. 12 event, selling Every Child Matters orange T-shirts, pins and providing education.
Quest decided to spearhead the event because Brousseau and her colleagues were surprised that Midland, a town of 17,000 people, had no Pride events prior to this year.
“I think it’s important to support and uplift that community. I’m thrilled and excited that so many people are onboard with it.”
It's with intent that the event this year is small due to the time crunch and a small number of organizers.
“It will be humble but meaningful," said Brousseau.
Next year will be a different story.
"The Quest event will probably be a one-off but Jai (Crouch) and others in the community are working on establishing a Pride committee to create a bigger, annual event."
It may be a multi-day event and will most likely include a parade, she added.
