Ottawa, ON – After the conclusion of another successful Winter Pride, Capital Pride held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on February 25, during which the Board of Directors strategized for the year ahead and elected the following slate of officers for its 2023-2024 Executive Committee:

• Victoria Wang (she/they) Co-Chair
• Francesco MacAllister-Caruso (he/they) Co-Chair
• Jonathan Généreux (he/him) Treasurer
• Sean Addis (he/him) Secretary
• Taib Boyce (he/him) Equity and Inclusion Office

“Capital Pride is eager to welcome community members back to our events for yet another year,” said Co-Chair Francesco MacAllister-Caruso. “Building on our organization’s four pillars, our team is hard at work to bring you programming that will celebrate, advocate, educate and connect all members of the 2SLGBTQ+ and allied communities in the National Capital Region.”

“As we head into the warmer months, Capital Pride will present different opportunities for community members to get involved and come together,” explained Co-Chair Victoria Wang. “Between a new round of Board recruitment, fundraisers and networking events, drag shows, speaker panels, and our regular festival programming, there will be something for everyone to enjoy.”

Preparations for the rest of the year’s events are already underway, including for the 2023 Summer Festival which will take place from August 19 to 27. Capital Pride is eager to welcome 2S/LGBTQ+ people and allies alike to the National Capital Region to celebrate everything that our diverse and colourful communities have to offer. Information regarding festival sponsorship is available now by contacting [email protected]. Registration for the street fair and parade will open in May.  

Capital Pride creates opportunities to celebrate, advocate, educate and connect people, respecting the full diversity of the 2SLGBTQ+ community in Canada’s National Capital Region.

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Capital Pride joins with other organizations across the country to recognize and celebrate human rights activist Fae Johnstone. Fae is the Executive Director of Wisdom2Action and a powerful advocate for trans liberation and 2SLGBTQ+ communities. Fae has a long history of involvement in the National Capital Region, where she helped to promote the rights and well-being of trans and non-binary people through workshops, keynote speeches, op-eds, and community events. Our region simply wouldn’t be the same without Fae’s courageous leadership and tireless advocacy.

In recognition of her achievements, Fae has been featured in a new International Women’s Day campaign by Hershey Canada – Her for She. The campaign highlights Fae’s work and that of other women who are helping to build a better  future. You can learn more about the four other women featured in the campaign here.

This honour has been met with a repulsive campaign of hate against Fae and calls to boycott Hershey. Such acts are the latest in a long-running crusade of transphobia that seeks to silence trans and gender-diverse activists and punish organizations that uplift their work. Capital Pride condemns these transphobic bullies and the organizations who amplify their gross conduct.

Let us all be inspired by Fae Johnstone’s accomplishments and recommit ourselves to creating a world where everyone can live as their honest and authentic selves.

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We are proud to partner once again with the National Arts Centre and Ottawa Public Library to present Drag Storytime. We remain focused on working to create a respectful and safe space for families, performers and community partners, in order to prevent and limit any disruptions on site.

Over the past year, 2SLGBTQ+ community events throughout Ontario and in other parts of the country have been targeted in an attempt to intimidate and silence event organizers, drag artists and 2SLGBTQ+ families and community members. These actions are part of a longstanding campaign to vilify queer and trans people and our communities.

We will not be intimidated. Our event will move forward as planned.

We also welcome the efforts of Community Solidarity Ottawa and other community members who are planning to show up in support of our Drag Storytime on Wednesday. You can read more about the solidarity action here. 

Together, we will make sure that love is louder than hate.

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2SLGBTQ+ community and allies invited to celebrate Pride on world’s longest skating rink

Ottawa, ON – Today Capital Pride announced its inaugural Ice Parade, taking place during Winterlude as part of Winter Pride events. The Ice Parade, Canada’s first-ever Pride parade on ice, will kick-off at 4 p.m. on the Rideau Canal Skateway near the Laurier Street Bridge on Sunday, February 12, 2023. ending at the Fifth Avenue Rest Area in The Glebe.

The ice-parade will feature live music and DJ set by BLK PRL, local drag performers on skates, and Capital Pride’s 30-foot Progress Pride Flag carried by players from Ottawa Pride Hockey. Festival-goes, Community members and allies are invited to meet at the start of the parade, in skates or on foot, or join in along the route.

“Capital Pride creates opportunities for the community to celebrate and advocate for progress locally and around the world. I can’t think of a more iconic way to bring the community together than on the world’s largest skating rink,” says Toby Whitfield, Capital Pride Executive Director.

“Winterlude is back! From February 3 to 20, get outside and take part in this great Canadian tradition with family and friends. Across Canada’s Capital Region, people can take part in a variety of festivities that give them a chance to celebrate the cultural and artistic diversity, as well as the Indigenous cultures and artists, that make our country so rich. This year, I also invite you to participate in the Winter Pride events organized by Capital Pride, including the first-ever Pride Ice Parade,” says The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage.

In-person programming returns to Winter Pride from February 3 to 20, including outdoor drag shows on Sparks Street, family interactive rainbow ice mosaics, a Queer Black Excellence Showcase, drag storytime and other family programming, a silent disco and a Winter Pride Drag Show. This year’s Winter Pride is presented in partnership with Winterlude.

Capital Pride celebrates the rich and diverse 2SLGBTQ+ community in the National Capital Region. Our mission is to create opportunities to advocate, educate and connect people through programming and events in partnership with our partner community groups, businesses, and sponsors.

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Capital Rainbow Refuge on hand to celebrate this year’s theme: All Together Now

Ottawa, On – Flanked by members and allies of the 2SLBGTQ+ community, Capital Pride Executive Director Toby Whitfield and Co-Chairperson Geneviève Colverson raised the Progress Pride Flag at Ottawa City Hall today. The Progress Pride Flag features black and brown stripes to represent 2SLBGTQ+ people of colour, the colors pink, light blue and white to represent the trans community, along with the 6 colours of the rainbow. 

“Today we mark the start of the Capital Pride Festival by raising both the Progress Pride Flag and the visibility of the 2SLGBTQ+ community across the National Capital Region,” said Toby Whitfield. Geneviève Colverson added, “Pride honours the victories won to support the 2SLGBTQ+ community – and we continue to advocate for progress locally and around the world. Our communities are stronger when we are all together.”

In August, Capital Pride announced Capital Rainbow Refuge as the inaugural Honoured Group for 2022. Speaking on the group’s behalf today, Durjoy Rahman recalled his lived experience as a beneficiary of their work to support and sponsor 2SLBGTQ+ refugees who resettle in Canada. “I feel free to be myself here in Canada,” said Rahman. “I live in a community that values and accepts me for who I am. This is what I am celebrating this year.”

Today’s Flag Raising marks the beginning of Pride Week: eight action-packed days of programming including six public art installations, an expanded Festival Weekend, and annual Pride Parade. This year’s theme All Together Now is an invitation to celebrate the full diversity of the 2SLGBTQ+ community in the National Capital Region.

Capital Pride celebrates the rich and diverse 2SLGBTQ+ community in the National Capital Region. Our mission is to create opportunities to advocate, educate and connect people through programming and events in partnership with our partner community groups, businesses, and sponsors.

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Capital Pride’s Community Project Fund supports local community groups and individuals who organize events and activities that further one (or more) of Capital Pride’s objectives: education, advocacy, connection or celebration. The Fund provides grants of up to $1000 allowing groups to enhance or develop events taking place during the Festival.

Applicants organizing events or programming that serves marginalized and/or traditionally underrepresented communities within the LGBTQ2+ community were encouraged and prioritized. These include events or programming for trans people, non-binary people, racialized people, Indigenous people, people with disabilities, people living with HIV/AIDS, migrants, and people from other marginalized communities.

We are pleased to recognize the following groups who have received support from Capital Pride’s 2022 Community Project Fund.

Trans Community Picnic

Presented by: Rainbow Ottawa Student Experience
August 20^th, 2022
5:00PM – 8:00 PM
Vincent Massey Park – 701 Heron Road

About this project:

The event will be a community picnic for the trans, non-binary, and gender diverse community providing a time to relax, recuperate, and heal from a day of activism. The goal is to provide food, and have 1-3 speakers to provide inspiring and reassuring words at a very difficult time and turning point in the world for the trans community. We’ll be coordinating with other community organizers to have trans-specific postering and chalking happening downtown as a lead up to our event.

Soirée de Drag dans le Vieux-Hull

Presented by: Jeunesse Idem
August 25^th, 2022

About this project:

Last year, Jeunesse Idem planned a free drag show in downtown Hull and it was such a success that we want to do it again. A stage will be installed in the center of rue Laval, a pedestrian and commercial street, and the public will be able to attend the performances of several drag queens, from the street or from the terrace of one of the restaurants/bars in the area. Last year, the majority of the spectators came for the show, but a significant part of the crowd was made up of people who simply planned to go out downtown pleasantly surprised by the show, we expect that this is still the case this year. Ideally, the free show encourages a lot of curious people to come and discover the art of drag. We had several hundred attendees last year and expect to have even more now that the pandemic is less present in our lives. The animation will be done in French, allowing French-speaking Quebecers to feel included in the Pride celebrations in the capital.

En français, svp

Presented by: Open world production
August 24^th, 2022
7:00PM – 10:00PM
2265 Robertson Road, Nepean

About this project:

A 100% francophone drag show at Kichessipi Beer Co. with performers from the region who can perform and interact with the audience in French. Our special guest will be Uma Gahd, Montreal-based drag star who is from our area. The event will be hosted by Adrianna Exposée and will feature Elle Faekwa?, Ruby Foxglove, Caligula. All proceeds will be donated to Northern Lights Refuge, an organization sponsoring LGBTQ+ refugees to Canada.

Prism; Capital Pride Edit

Presented by: Osgoode Youth Association
August 26^th, 2022
6:00PM – 10:00PM
Osgoode Youth Association – 5479 Osgoode Street, Ottawa

About the Project:

O-YA is located in rural south Ottawa, where there are no existing services for 2SLGTBQ+ youth. But, we know there is a need! Currently, O-YA runs a Teen Drop In program, and a significant number of our teen participants are part of the 2SLGTBQ+ community. The remainder of our participants, and all of our staff are 2SLGTBQ+ allies. We have applied for funding from Bell Let’s Talk for an 2SLGTBQ+ program called Prism. While we await news of this funding, it would be great to try out a ‘mini version’ of the Prism program during Capital Pride week in the form of a fun event called Prism; Capital Pride Edit. Prism; Capital Pride Edit will take place on Friday, August 26 from 6 pm – 10 pm. In advance, the event will be well promoted through O-YA’s existing social media / website / email newsletter / in person marketing. We hope to register up to 20 youth in Grades 7 – 12 from rural south Ottawa, at an event cost of $10 / per person. For Prism, O-YA staff will transform the O-YA space in a fun and friendly Pride theme. When guests arrive, they will enjoy interactive entertainment stations where they can decorate cookies, paint, create a fun Pride sign for O-YA, and make our signature event mocktail (with cotton candy, of course!) and create a DIY appetizer. Guests will then be treated to entertainment. We are currently working with the Pride folks in North Greenville to help us with entertainment. But, we are hoping for a youth friendly drag BINGO or drag show. We will have music, a disco ball and a dance stage to cap the evening off. And, all of our guests will go home with a Pride themed swag bag (which will include Rural Ottawa Youth Mental Health resources; www.ruralottawayouth.ca). A key part of our event will be that we are inviting Ottawa Public Health to be present at the event to answer questions and provide information specific to the 2SLGTBQ+ youth community.

ACB Block Party: Take Back the Block!

Presented by: AIDS Committee of Ottawa
August 21^st, 2022
Jack Purcell Park – 19 Main Street, Ottawa

About the Project:

Hosting events during Pride month that centre BIPOC communities is crucial to QTBIPOC community building in Ottawa. BIPOC and specifically ACB (African, Caribbean, and Black) events are hosted annually in nearby major cities like Montreal and Toronto, and it’s time for Ottawa to do the same. This block party would serve as a performing arts space, community space, and an HIV rapid testing opportunity for Black folks during pride week. We’re hoping to reach Black 2SLGBTQ+ folks who are not already connected with our year-round programming at the AIDS Committee of Ottawa. African, Caribbean, and Black communities are disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS – 60% of new HIV diagnoses amongst women in particular are ACB women. Gender diverse folks and 2SLGBTQ+ people (in particular, gay, bi, and other men who have sex with men) are also disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS. During pride week, it’s our responsibility to create celebratory spaces while also meeting the year-round healthcare needs of priority populations. And so – we’d like to take back the block.

Pride Dance 2022

Presented by: Ottawa Date Squares
August 27^th, 2022
1:30PM – 4:30PM
Jack Purcell Community Centre, room 203A – 320 Jack Purcell Lane

About the Project:

The Ottawa Date Squares is an LGBTQ+ square dance club founded in 1995 that teaches a brand of high energy dance moves set to modern music. We are hosting a Pride Square Dance on August 27, 2022. This intro to gay square dancing is free to all who wish dress in their favourite pride attire, enjoy festive music and celebrate who we are and learn something new at the same time.

Francopositif

Presented by: Action Positive VIH/SIDA
August 27^th, 2022
Gay village (Bank & Somerset)

About the Project:

A show hosted by Sophie Stiquée with drag performances to highlight queer and BIPOC artists from Canada and the global francophone communities. A dj set will be followed by performances by queer and and bipoc francophone artists to introduce the community to francophone electronic music by queer and BIPOC artists.

Bliss Pride Party

Presented by: Lez Go
August 26^th, 2022 8:00PM – 1:00AM
Queen St. Fare – 170 Queen Street

About the Project:

Lez Go is Ottawa’s newest lesbian+ events group (lesbian, bi, trans, non-binary, 2 spirit et al. are welcome). We started the group 3 months ago and now have just under 1500 members in our private Facebook group. Our Launch Party was on May 27th and we had 260 people in attendance. We are having another big party on Aug. 26th during Pride week. We are bringing in two DJs (and looking into belly dancers). Ticket prices will depend on sponsorship.                            

ACB HIV Prevention

Presented by: Somerset West Community Health Centre
August 27^th, 2022
55 Eccles Street, Ottawa

About the Project:

The “rooted workshop” is intended for folks to slow down, and support their mental health through plants. Folks will also have the opportunity to connect including a session about mental and sexual health.

Abolishing Tuition & Advocating for Black, Indigenous, and Racialized Students’ Right to Free & Safe Education

Presented by: C.E.D.A.R Care Collective
August 27^th, 2022

About the Project:

A new Collective of Black, brown, Indigenous, queer folks who are struggling for the abolition of tuition in what is currently called Canada; we operate primarily on the unceded and unsurrendered territories of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg. Our goal of this event is to share our Collective’s work with the community and build networks with other BIPOC and 2SLGBTQ+ groups organizing in this geographical region. At our booth we will also be hosting a ‘pay what you can’ clothing drive. The goal of the clothing drive is to continue our work of extending and building bonds of community care.

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OTTAWA – Following two years of virtual celebrations, today Capital Pride is pleased to announce the return of the Capital Pride Festival from Sunday, August 21, to Sunday, August 28, 2022. This year’s festival theme is All Together Now and speaks to the community reuniting to celebrate and advocate.

“Planning is well underway for our 2022 Capital Pride Festival and we look forward to hosting  8 days of great programming for the entire community,” said Toby Whitfield, Executive Director of Capital Pride. “We hope this year’s Festival will be an opportunity to come together to celebrate but also that it will serve as a platform for continued advocacy for the 2SLGBTQ+ community.”

Today the following new programming and plans for an expanded Festival Weekend can also be announced: 

• A new public art project will take place throughout the week and feature art installations reflecting this year’s theme, All Together Now! 
• The annual Capital Pride Pageant is on the move, now taking place at Southam Hall at the National Arts Centre on Thursday, August 25 with contestants competing to be crowned the next Ms. Capital Pride, Mr. Capital Pride and Mx. Capital Pride. 
• Festival Weekend returns to Bank Street from Friday, August 26 to Sunday, August 28 with three nights of live entertainment, an expanded street festival and a new Family Zone at Dundonald Park. 
• Festival Weekend will feature live entertainment across three stages: the TD Main Stage at Bank Street & Slater Street, the Somerset DJ Stage at Bank Street and Somerset Street, and a Community Stage at Bank Street & Laurier Street. 

About the 2022 Theme: All Together Now!

This year’s theme “All Together Now” is an invitation to the community to celebrate and advocate. The Capital Pride Festival brings our communities together. After a challenging two years, we are excited to celebrate All Together Now! This is our opportunity to reconnect and celebrate the full diversity of the 2SLGBTQ+ community!  

At the same time, Pride is rooted in activism. When we come together, we reflect on the challenges our communities face and the progress that has been achieved—and we continue to advocate for action locally and around the world.  

Our communities are stronger when we are all together.

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The mission of Capital Pride / Fierté dans la Capitale is to create opportunities to celebrate, advocate, educate and connect people, respecting the full diversity of the 2SLGBTQ+ community in Canada’s capital region, on the unceded and unsurrendered land of the Algonquin Anishinaabe people. Capital Pride is committed to reflecting the perspectives of the communities we serve.

As we navigate into new territory for the 2022 Capital Pride Festival we have a reinvigorated focus to create community connections and bring forth festival programming that will benefit the National Capital Region’s 2SLGBTQ+ communities. For this reason we have conducted a community consultation process to gather input from 2SLGBTQ+ community members and organizations in order to:

1. assess how beneficial, accessible, and enjoyable Capital Pride’s events and initiatives are to 2SLGBTQ+ people in Ottawa and Gatineau;
2. identify areas of the festival programming that need improvement, especially within the focuses of family programming and BIPOC programming;
3. assess the impact and assess any concerns in regards to potential locations for the 2022 Capital Pride Festival; and
4. explore new ideas and opportunities that will contribute to its mission.

This report will summarize the input gathered from the online survey and outline the steps that Capital Pride will be taking to incorporate, with its finite resources, the feedback and ideas from the community and local 2SLGBTQ+ organizations.

The first three sections describe the methodology we employed (‘What We Did’), the groups who participated (‘Who We Heard From’), and the results of the survey (‘What We Heard’). The final section, ‘What We Will Be Doing’ outlines the future commitments Capital Pride is undertaking to improve its events, relationships with communities, organizations and accessibility. The survey questions are also included at the end of the report [Appendix 1].

Capital Pride remains committed to community outreach and engagement with 2SLGBTQ+ communities. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who took the time to complete our survey and offer their insights to help guide Capital Pride’s planning process for the 2022 festival. Engaging with community partners is a continuous process and we shall continue to reach out, engage in conversations and listen to the diverse voices of the National Capital Region’s 2SLGBTQ+ communities.

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Operations Team Recruitment

Team Leads help to plan and execute various parts of the Capital Pride Festival. Team Leads are part of the Operations Team and report to the Executive Director. A group of Festival Week Volunteers will be assigned to many of the teams.  

Team Leads will volunteer approximately 10-20 hours a month, with additional hours in the immediate lead-up to and during the Festival. Organization wide team meetings take place monthly and include all team leaders. Team Leads must be available throughout Festival Weekend (August 26 – 28, 2022). 

Current Opportunities: 

• Family Pride Team
• Fundraising Team
• Parade Team 
• Pageant Team 
• Street Fair Team
• Accessibility Team
• Artist Relations Team 
• Food & Beverage Team
• Media Relations Team 
• Social Media Team 
• Stage Manager (Community Stage) 

Interested in joining the team? Please complete our application form and submit a resume here. The deadline to apply is July 6, 2022 although applications may be reviewed as they are received.

1-1 virtual appointments, sign-up via Calendly: Link Here

Additional questions? Contact [email protected] 

Kindly note that Festival Week Volunteer positions will be posted June 13. Sign-up here to receive more information about festival week volunteers and to be notified once the positions are posted.

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Ottawa community members are the ongoing targets of hate speech, hate crimes, and harassment from participants in the downtown Ottawa convoy. As disruptions continue throughout downtown Ottawa, there continues to be reports of community members being the target of hate speech, hate crimes and harassment. 

Ottawa’s Centretown has a long and proud history of being a home for LGBTQ activism and community. Today, residents are afraid to leave their homes, and have been subject to intimidation and harassment for displaying the pride flag in their homes and in their neighbourhoods. When residents do walk their streets, they are faced with homophobic and transphobic slurs and signs. Even online, Ottawans have been the target of harassment. These troubling events occurred alongside widely reported incidents of harassment, racism, anti-Semitisim and other troubling and violent conduct.

As a consequence of the ongoing disruptions, front-line community organizations — including health services — have had to limit services or suspend operations. We recognize this has a profound impact on 2SLGBTQ+ people as well as all residents and community members.

Demonstrations that allow such hateful conduct to go unchecked have no place in our city. 

There is nothing peaceful about homophobia and transphobia, racism, xenophobia, or anti-Semitism. There is nothing peaceful about the forced closure of front-line health centres and community services. There is nothing peaceful about schools, vaccination clinics and city services having to close. There is nothing peaceful about the emotional and psychological impact of being harassed in your own community.

Those who live, work and learn downtown deserve to feel safe and supported in their own community. Individuals should have access to health care services and front-line community services. Families should have access to childcare and schools.

It is time to restore peace in our City.

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This February, Capital Pride is proud to present Queer, Trans, Black and Proud a month of programming that celebrates and honours the Queer and Trans Black community. The programming is being organized in recognition of Black History Month. 

A variety of events will take place each week including a panel discussion featuring a Black leader within the 2SLGBTQ+ community;  a youth art workshop in partnership with the Ottawa Art Gallery;  a night of music, drag and performances; a keynote event with Canadian writer and activist Kim Katrin Milan; and a performance by Canadian artist Desiire as part of the NAC’s Friday’s at the Fourth. Further details and a full line-up of events is online at capitalpride.ca.

Recognizing the evolving nature of COVID-19, we anticipate some events will be delivered virtually while it is hoped that events later in the month will be delivered in a hybrid format. All programming will align with public health guidance and details will be shared in the lead-up to each individual event.

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This year, Capital Pride received support from Bilingual Ottawa’s microgrant and today we are pleased to update the community on accomplishments achieved thanks to this funding. The Bilingual Ottawa grant allowed the Capital Pride Festival to increase its linguistic accessibility by expanding programming and delivering events bilingually.

In particular, the grant supported:

• Simultaneous interpretation and captioning of 3 panel discussions and 1 keynote presentation (from English to French).
• The development of a panel discussion focused on gender-diverse francophone perspectives within the 2SLGBTQ community, which was also simultaneously interpreted and captioned.
• The creation of a bilingual children’s colouring book. 
• The translation of marketing materials and web content.  

The project’s programming engaged 2,400 people directly and reached over 24,500 indirect participants.

“The support of Bilingual Ottawa has been crucial in helping Capital Pride to deliver important programming in a more linguistically accessible way, while also highlighting the particular perspectives of French-speaking members of the National Capital’s 2SLGBTQ+ community,” said Francesco MacAllister-Caruso, Capital Pride’s Director of Francophone Affairs. “Bilingual Ottawa’s investment into our community-based projects has helped to strengthen our city’s bilingual character and continues to play an invaluable role in creating a more inclusive community, in line with Capital Pride’s mission.”

“ACFO Ottawa and the Bilingual Ottawa program are honored to have supported the bilingual initiatives of Capital Pride and help community based initiatives create their own space. It is important for us that all communities are represented in the language of their preference,” said Patrick Pharand, Bilingual Ottawa Program Manager.

About the Bilingual Ottawa Grant

Bilingual Ottawa is a microgrant funded through the federal government’s Canadian Heritage Action Plan for Official Languages and is administered in Ottawa by the Association des communautés francophones d’Ottawa.  38 projects received support through the program, including Capital Pride. For more information please visit https://acfoottawa.ca/bilingualottawa

About Capital Pride

Capital Pride creates opportunities to celebrate, advocate, educate and connect people, respecting the full diversity of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. The 2021 Capital Pride Festival took place August 23-29. For more information, please visit www.capitalpride.ca. 

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Capital Pride welcomes the Government’s commitment to finally ban conversion practices. Conversion practices cause serious harm, perpetuate stigma and have been widely discredited. In recognition of the serious impact of conversion practices, any legislation to ban these practices must be comprehensive in scope, provide funding and support for survivors and include a public education campaign.

This summer, Bill C-6 which banned conversion therapy died when Parliament was dissolved. Following the election, Capital Pride, along with 100 other organizations, signed onto No Conversion Canada’s Community Call to Action, calling on Parliament to ban conversion practices and support survivors. 

The Call to Action provides a detailed set of criteria that the legislation must address. It is available here: /bit.ly/3bqMh0r 

Absent from the Throne Speech was a commitment to end the discriminatory blood ban. We welcome recent news that Canada Blood Services has announced it will seek regulatory approval to move from a discriminatory screening process to a behaviour based approach. However, we will continue to work with the All Blood is Equal coalition to push for an end to the blood ban without further delay. More information about the campaign is available here: www.allbloodisequal.ca

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Ottawa, ON – Capital Pride is pleased to announce that it will host drag superstar Priyanka in Ottawa on Thursday, November 18 as part of her Taste Test Tour, promoting her new album Taste Test.

Capital Pride has taken on the event, with proceeds going to the organization. The show was cancelled by the original promoters, but will now go on, on the same date, with tickets available through capitalpride.ca, and at the original location, Bronson Centre Music Theatre.

“Capital Pride is pleased to be able to bring Priyanka to Ottawa and share this amazing show with our local community,” said Toby Whitfield, Executive Director of Capital Pride. “In line with our commitment to the local drag community, we are also excited to provide an opportunity for local drag performers to share the stage with this iconic performer.”

“We are thrilled to host Priyanka and the local drag performers at Bronson” said Lisa Zbitnew, co owner of the venue.  I’ve had the opportunity to see her perform, and Ottawa is in for a very special treat.  We hope to do many more drag performances here and support the community and the local drag talent. It’s been a tough 2 years for all performers, and we look forward to adding to the vibrant local Ottawa scene”.

“My new album has just surpassed 2 million streams and I am so excited to celebrate in Ottawa with my iconic fans,” said Priyanka. “Ottawa is so special to me! I’ll never forget playing Capital Pride before I was even on Drag Race. This event is going to be a full scale concert experience that benefits Capital Pride. I can’t wait!”

This newly announced show will go on sale on Tuesday, November 9, 2021 through www.capitalpride.ca. The tickets for the original show have been refunded through Eventbrite and a new ticket purchase is required for this show.

Priyanka is the winner of the first season of Canada’s Drag Race. In July, Priyanka released Taste Test and is now touring across North America and Europe.

Event Details:

When	Thursday, November 18, 2021
Where:	The Bronson Centre Theatre
Time:	Doors open at 7:00pm Show from 8-10:30pm
Featuring:	Priyanka Hosted By Kiki Coe, with performances by Kimmy Couture, Ben Dover, Saltina Shaker, Shea D. Ladie and Devona Coe With a live viewing of Canada’s Drag Race, Episode 6
Tickets:	Tickets go on sale at noon on Tuesday, November 9 at capitalpride.ca. The show is general admission. Ticketholders with tickets to the original show will need to repurchase tickets at capitalpride.ca.

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There is no place for hate within 2SLGBTQ+ communities. More than ever, we must work together to confront bullying and harassment and all forms of oppression, including transphobia, homophobia, racism, sexism, ableism, xenophobia, or otherwise. 

The conduct of Yaya Torres and Haus of Torres is unacceptable. Capital Pride is not currently working with either party and we confirm we will not be working together in the future. 

It has also been made evident that our 2021 Ms. Capital Pride, Babe Kelly, has engaged in unacceptable behaviour rooted in racism and transphobia. This conduct fails to meet the communities’ expectations of a Capital Pride titleholder and violates our code of conduct for pageant contestants and winning titleholders. 

Today, Capital Pride met with Babe Kelly and accepted her resignation as Ms. Capital Pride 2021. While this is a serious decision, we believe the consequences reflect the severity of the current situation and that the outcome is inline with Capital Pride’s mission to respect the full diversity of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. 

This week’s news also demonstrates that these issues were not isolated. In the coming weeks, we are committed to working with the local drag community, event organizers and establishments, and community groups to develop an awareness campaign that seeks to confront hate within our spaces. We will also support the drag community as they seek to create positive change and address some of the underlying issues that have come to light over the last few days. 

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