Although there have been Pride events in Lunenburg County previously this year is the first time an entire Pride week is being offered.

“Everyone sees Halifax Pride and how amazing it is but we wanted to offer something for people in this community as well, and since our community is so varied and spread out geographically we wanted to offer things that would accommodate that,” said Lunenburg Pride Chair Steve Ellis.

Pride Lunenburg got underway on Sunday with a Pride Dog Show in Gold River, then on Monday, they hosted a Seniors Lesbian Social in Mahone Bay. “The first two events went really well and I was pleased to see everyone that showed up and especially those who dressed their dogs up,” said Ellis.

On Tuesday, flag raisings took place in locations around the South Shore including; Chester, Mahone Bay, Cookville, Lunenburg and Hubbards. A flag raising will also take place in Bridgewater on Thursday after which there will be Pride Trivia hosted at King Street Beer also in Bridgewater.

The Pride flag being raised in Mahone Bay by Mayor David Devenne and Pride Chair Steve Ellis. Photo: Town of Mahone Bay.

The main event of Lunenburg Pride Week is the Drag Show and Pride Dance which takes place Saturday at the Lunenburg Fire Department.

Ellis says as this is there first year they are still learning lots about how to put on a week long event but he hopes this is just the beginning of what becomes an annual tradition. “We want people to know that this is an inclusive community that is open to everyone, so putting on events like this to let everyone know we are here and support each other is very important to us.”

As Ellis and the other members of the Pride Lunenburg executive look to next year they are hoping to make plans for a parade in 2023. They are also hopeful that Lunenburg Pride Week will help them generate funds to put on more events and programming throughout the year.