USSU Centres

I wish it were Pride Week every week!

It’s been a busy month for the Centres, to say the least. For those of you who have been living under a rock, the 2012 Saskatoon Pride Festival took place last week. And what a week it was! Jack, Natalya, and I were busy attending events around the city all week, but my favourite, by far, was the Pride Parade on Saturday.

This year's Pride Parade was the largest in Saskatoon history, with approximately 4,000 people in attendance. The number almost doubled from the 2,500 attendees of last year’s Parade. Our group was situated near the front of the Parade and behind us was a sea of positive energy and spirits outfitted in rainbows!  At one point during the Parade, everyone looked up to see a rainbow circling the sun. It was spectacular! I heard someone say in the crowd, “the universe loves us!”. At that moment, I knew I was apart of something so incredibly wonderful and significant. The power of love, respect, and equality can be far greater than any hateful word or violent act. I couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of pride as I continued walking in solidarity with my friends and loved ones. No wonder they call it Pride! 

The rest of the day was magical. We couldn’t have asked for better weather and Victoria Park proved to be an awesome venue. The USSU Centres had a table set up at the community fair along with various other organizations. There was also live music and a beer garden. The afternoon turned out perfectly.

After a quick catnap and fresh clothes, Jack, Nat, myself, and some other friends hit up Diva’s High Energy Disco Drag & Studio 54 Party. It was packed! I’ve never seen so many sweaty bodies squished into such a small space before. By the end of the night, after dancing for hours, I was a clammy mess. It was time to call it night at 2:30 am.

The day was one of the best days I’ve had in along time. I connected with so many wonderful people and had a blast! Pride is a truly important event to encourage community, acceptance, and awareness in Saskatoon. And while its purpose is essential to the growth and betterment of our community, Pride maintains a fun, easygoing ambiance that compares to no other festival in Saskatoon. Like I said probably a thousand times on Saturday, “I wish it were Pride Week every week.”

Heather

Photo Cred: Tristan Becker
http://third-meaning.com/

Posted by jbv373 at 04:00 PM | Permalink

We’ve been busy little bees over at the USSU Centres this week. Pride Week has been filled with so many awesome activities, and we’ve been trying to take in as many as possible! On Monday we zipped down to City Hall for the Pride Flag Raising. It was a great kick-off to the week, and we got to hear some really awesome speeches that really reminded me why events like Pride are still so important for our community. There was a wonderful speech from a young man and I thought it was so eloquent I just had to share it.

Pride to me is loving yourself no matter what and showing the world that you aren’t going to change. It’s standing up to a bully. It’s the first time you come out to someone ready to cry your eyes out and they tell you that it’s going to be ok. It’s knowing that someone will always be there for you you and it’s seeing yourself in that new dress or in that binder you just ordered and thinking for the first time that you really are beautiful. It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever see and without pride I wouldn’t be standing here today.
-Chance Briere

On Wednesday we were down at the Avenue Community Centre for the Welcome to the Gaybourhood Barbecue. It was a blast, and lots of people came out which was really nice to see. The rain even managed to hold out for a few hours, so we had pretty nice weather to enjoy. The Pride Centre has a fantastic collection of buttons that are always a hit so our table was pretty popular. The buttons are also available in all of the USSU Centres, feel free to pop in to grab some and show your support! On Wednesday evening, Jack, Heather and I attended Mosaic- A celebration of queer artistry, which was an art and fashion show. Saskatoon is such a talented city and it was awesome to be immersed in so much brilliant work. The show was at the Albert Community Centre, and it was such a great setting with all of the beautiful artwork set up around the room. The fashion designer put on a great show, with the help of Simone DuVall, and Coco DiNolté, two of Saskatoon’s fiercest divas.

The Pride Parade is on Saturday. It’s my very first one, and to say I’m excited is an understatement. It’s all I can talk about. We’ve been working really hard on our costumes, so make sure you come down to check it out!!

Midterms are quickly approaching for summer session courses. If you’re looking for old exams, don’t forget about the USSU Exam File. We have hundreds of olds tests and quizzes to look through. And if you’ve just finished up a course we’d love to have your old tests. You’ll even be entered into a draw for a gift certificate to Louis’ or Browsers!

Happy Pride Everyone!

Natalya

Posted by jbv373 at 09:07 AM | Permalink

It’s that time of year again, when the Queers from all over, flow to Saskatoon for our Annual Saskatoon Pride Festival! This year, the Saskatoon Diversity Network, will be hosting over 25 different events during Pride Week! Pride Festivities will be running from June 9th to June 16th, the pre-pride events happening on June 8th. The big kicker! The Pride Parade will be on June 16th starting 1 pm.

Be sure to keep your eyes out for the USSU Pride Centre at the various events over the next week. It’ll be like a “Where’s the Pride?” version of “Where’s Waldo?”

The Pride Centre will be out to:

True Colors Prairie Pride Diva/Divo Competition
Saturday June 9th, show at 10 pm at Diva’s

Rainbow Flag Raising & Press Conference
Monday June 11th, 10:30 am at Saskatoon City Hall

Gay Latte
Monday June 11th, 6:30 pm at Prairie Ink Restaurant in McNally Robinson

Welcome to the Gaybourhood BBQ
Wednesday June 13th, 12 pm at the Avenue Community Centre

Mosaic – A Celebration of Queer Artistry
Wednesday June 13th, 7 pm at the Albert Community Centre

Nate Phelps: the Uncomfortable Grayness of Life
Thursday June 4th, 7 pm at the Frances Morrison Library

2012 Pride Parade
Saturday June 16th, 1 pm at . . .well look for the rainbows downtown!

2012 Community Fair
Saturday June 16th, 12 pm at Victoria Park

Dress to Express - Diversity Art Gala and Dance
(Saskatoon’s only Youth Focused event)
Saturday June 16th, 7 pm at Nutana Collegiate Institute

Those are just a FEW events that will be held this upcoming week for Pride!
We look forward to seeing ALL of Saskatoon over this next week and beyond!

Happy Pride Everyone!

Jack

Posted by jbv373 at 02:15 PM | Permalink