It’s a time to celebrate one’s own individuality and come together as a community.
Stratford Winter Pride, the annual entertainment festival supporting the 2SLGBTQI+ community, begins next Friday, Jan. 31, and runs for 10 days.
Bruce Duncan Skeaff, general manager and producer of the fourth annual event, said Pride is typically celebrated in June, but he got the idea in 2021 to start a Pride event in the winter to aid in community connection and decrease isolation.
“You hear in the news these days about an epidemic of loneliness, thats always been something thats been there for LGBT people.”
The festival begins with the mayor’s opening night reception at 7 p.m.
Skeaff says Stratford Mayor Martin Ritsma is a “strong supporter” of the 2SLGBTQI+ community in Stratford.
He also highlighted the drag brunch on Feb. 2 at Grayson Mills.
There will be two drag shows with a 30-minute intermission in-between.
The following week, on Feb. 6, there is a reception with the Stratford Festival learning “What’s Queer On Stage at the Festival This Year”.
The festival’s casting director will speak to the upcoming 2025 season’s in relation to queerness.
To close out Stratford Winter Pride, on Feb. 8, there are two staged readings of The Laramie Project, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Stratford Intermediate School auditorium.
Skeaff said it is a “special piece” directed by Ron Dodson.
For a full line-up of events, go to stratfordwinterpride.com.
