By Noel Leboeuf Fort Erie Pride Chair, June 9, 2022, VOL. 3 ISSUE 21

“Fort Erie Pride is not only about LGBTQ2+ individuals and groups, but it is also about each individual having Pride in one’s self, one’s town, and each other while rejoicing in our differences.”

– Noel Leboeuf, Fort Erie Pride Chair

The Who:

My husband Marc Poisson-Leboeuf and I moved into Fort Erie back in 2015 with the idea of opening a community center that was going to be a safer space not just for LGBTQ2+ individuals but for everyone to sit, enjoy a drink or a show, and be comforted that it was a safe, no-judgment zone.  We could not have imagined at that point how welcoming and friendly the residents of Fort Erie would be, or that we would find so many wonderful friends here.

After hosting several fundraisers and food drives, we realized the enormous GENEROSITY of the town and its residents as we helped to direct their many donations to COPE and other charities that were brought to us. All this could not have been done without the help of some very special people which are quite frankly too many to name here but a few are – Mike, Wayne, Chris, Chris #2, Shannon, Beth and social media guru David to name but a few.

“We did not raise the 5000 pounds of food at our 50th birthday bash, the community did, we just acted as a conduit to bring it all together and get it where it needed to go!”  Marc Poisson Leboeuf

The What:

After 4 years of smooth running, we decided to test the water and see if the community would support having a Pride Festival of its own.

After various discussions with the newly-formed Fort Erie Pride committee in regards to other Pride events, including Toronto Pride Parade, Hamilton Pride, and Pride in Montebello Park, certain things became apparent.

The Toronto Pride Parade was happening on the same weekend and having a more family-friendly event around the same time seemed like a good start. Having the event on private property to combat any protesters were agreed upon and local vendors and community partners needed to be invited.  Family-friendly drag and musical guests were a must for the event with something for everyone’s lineup of entertainers.

Finally, it was unanimously decided to have a one-day event, modeled on the wildly successful Pride In The Park in Montebello Park produced by Enzo DeDivitiis and Pride Niagara Board.

The final configuration of the program for 2022 includes:

• Events start at 11 am and run through 11 pm.
• Main stage with musical performances every two hours starting at noon. Headline act No Illusions from 9-11pm – a Niagara Region-based band playing Contemporary and Classic Rock.
• Kids’ area with face painter and bouncy play area at 11 am.
• Numerous community partners including Positive Living Niagara, Niagara Health Bus, Niagara Regional Environmental booths, and Fort Erie Fire Department to name but a few.
• Adult Beverage Area – everyone must show a valid ID to enter the area, no exceptions are made regardless of how young you may look.
• Car show brought to you by Ray’s Detailing with dozens of classic and hotrod cars. 11 am to 2 pm. A kid’s model car contest.  Any child under 16 can bring in a model car they have built (12” or less) to be entered into our contest.
• Local vendors will be bringing their wares from 11 am – 6 pm.
• Local food trucks will be serving all of your festival favorites all day long.

The When:

Although Fort Erie Pride was planned and ready to go for June of 2020, covid happened and not only Pride but so many other things were canceled.

Late September of 2021 brought enough stability to review, rehash and get planning the event for 2022.

June is Pride Month and there are so many excellent activities going on we wanted to make sure that we were not talking away from the already established events.

After speaking with Enzo DeDivitiis from Pride Niagara, it was decided to bookend the month as Pride in the Park is the first Saturday at Montebello Park and Fort Erie Pride would take the last weekend.  It also made sense as there were quite a few people we heard from that did not want to travel to Toronto, were looking for a less crowded and more family-oriented event and loved the idea of having one right here in Fort Erie. So June 25th, 2022 will be the first annual Fort Erie Pride Festival.

The Where:

During discussions in regards to where the event should take place several things needed to be considered.

We were unsure of how many guests we might expect and we wanted to be respectful of any of the neighbours adjacent to where it would be held.

We were very fortunate that Pat Monroe at the old visitor information center at 350 Bertie Street reached out and offered the use of the property for the event.

The property is surrounded by the highway, the racetrack and open fields, so there will be little if any disturbance to the local residents in the area and give us tons of room to expand as the event matures over the next few years.

The Why:

I have been asked why we are holding the Fort Erie Pride Festival.  It is quite simple really, each one of us needs a non-judgmental place where we can just ‘be’ and enjoy a day with our families. It doesn’t matter your race, religious beliefs, or sexuality we all still put one sock on at a time.  We all want to feel loved, valued, and be true to what’s in our hearts.  We all need to show our Pride in our Town, in Each Other and most importantly in Ourselves. We hope that we can provide a safer space for these things to happen and maybe through our similarities we can learn to see past our differences and realize we are all just humans.

In a nutshell:

Fort Erie Pride

11 am – 11 pm June 25th, 2022

350 Bertie Street across from the Racetrack