PRIDE week is underway in Weyburn

A full week of PRIDE events kicking off last night with the painting the rainbow colours on the crosswalks at the intersection of Souris Avenue and Third Street on Sunday. 

Events in Weyburn and Estevan will go to the 22nd of June.

Today, a PRIDE flag-raising at City Hall on Monday at noon.

"We came together in the spring to start planning events for PRIDE Week, and there was actually a really good turnout, so we decided to create a whole committee of it and we're going to be meeting throughout the year and planning different events all year," shared Shyla Breault, board member with the Weyburn PRIDE Committee. 

Monday evening, a mixer and author reading will be held at the Weyburn Art Gallery from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Weyburn PRIDE committee member Author Victoria Koops, who has written a few books, will be reading snippets from her works at the event, which is open to everyone with no pre-registration required.

A free event that does require pre-registration will be held on Tuesday evening from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., a paint night at CollabArtive Studios, sponsored by the Weyburn Arts Council.

"They're doing a sign making, and it is a rainbow, 'Love is Love' sign," noted Breault. 

The Weyburn Public Library will host a Rainbow Cupcakes event for teens and adults on Wednesday, which does require pre-registration via the WPL. 

"We also have a member on our board from Estevan, so we have a couple of Estevan events happening as well, and Wednesday is their pin-making at the Youth Centre in Estevan," she said. "They don't have anything official right now [for PRIDE], so we're kind of doing a Weyburn and area PRIDE and involving whoever wants to be involved and stretching out as far as we can."

Something new for PRIDE Week in Weyburn is coming on Thursday to the T.C. Douglas Centre for Performing Arts, karaoke and games. 

"That is being put it on by Crocus 80 and the PRIDE Committee will just be there to support them for that event," shared Breault. "There are no [attendance] limits, there's no registration. It's all ages. Everybody is welcome, and that should be a great time."

Then on Thursday in Estevan, a PRIDE print-making event will be held from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Estevan Art Gallery and Museum, 

As Friday, June 21st is National Indigenous Peoples Day, no PRIDE events will be held. "We're doing kind of silence for that day."

Another new event will take place on Saturday, June 22nd. A Family Barbecue will be held at River Park from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

"We have food and drink which is going to be hot dogs and pop and that's sponsored by [Prairie Sky] Co-op and we're going to be having all sorts of different games, activities, and face paint," she said. "That's free and everybody is welcome. It's open to all of the community."

Breault said with their board forming only this spring, they are in the learning stages, as most of them have not sat on a committee before Weyburn PRIDE. 

"We have a good little group," she noted. "We're trying to figure that all out. If nothing else, we've made friends and found a group of people that we all love seeing each other and hanging out. So that's really good. It'll definitely build into something right now."

She said their main concern is education, "getting the word out there and support. We really want to be a safe space for anybody in the community that's looking for that education or support."

"It's been so much fun," she continued. "I think the challenge with this week was that we all had way too many ideas, and then we said, 'okay, no, we have to nail it down' and produced what we have come up with. So we already have lots of really great ideas on the table for next year, but our meetings are so much fun and we even will go off on tangents and just talk about issues that are maybe bothering one person or what we can connect in one area or another. So it's it doesn't feel like work, that's for sure. It just feels like you're kind of coming together with friends."

Anyone who would like to attend their meetings can get in touch with Weyburn PRIDE via Facebook HERE. This is also where you can find the event posters for the whole week's events.

"We are always open to more committee members, and if you're looking to get involved or even just want to sit in on a meeting to have a taste of it, you can message us on the Facebook page and we will get back to you, let you know when our next meeting and come and try it out," she invited.  

The group is happy to have support from various businesses and organizations in Weyburn for hosting their meetings at no charge, such as the Spark Centre, the Weyburn Credit Union, and the Weyburn Public Library.

"As we're starting from the ground up, anything that we've put in right now has just been out of our own pockets. We did start going out looking for sponsorship. If there are any businesses in town that are willing to partner with us, whether that's in physical support or if they have any funding that they're available to contribute, that would be great," noted Breault. "We've started reaching out to different businesses and making those connections."

She added that, overall, the community has been supportive of the committee's efforts.

As for other events taking place this year, the Weyburn PRIDE committee will have a table at the Gifted Summer Art Market, and possibly some pop-up events and team-building get-togethers.

This article was originally published on June 10th, updated with photos taken Sunday evening.