Pride P.E.I.: Through My Lens
Standing on the sting of Grafton Road and watching everybody flooding the sidewalks to return collectively in a time to have a good time was a welcoming sight. The neighborhood got here collectively fantastically for this 12 months’s Pleasure P.E.I. pageant and it by no means slowed down for a second.
There was boundless pleasure, and smiles that stated, “You might be right here as you might be and that’s all it’s worthwhile to be.”
I discovered myself watching the group, questioning who else was there for the primary time, discovering solace in a neighborhood that has created a lot area and a spot of belonging.
This was my first Pleasure parade after popping out as bisexual. I used to be raised within the church after which left it at 19. Now, at 26, I used to be trying round me, feeling grateful to have the chance to face right here, and categorical myself absolutely.
Among the attendees walked together with water to chill off the group, which was graciously obtained on one of many hottest days Charlottetown has seen this summer time. Umbrellas had been in abundance to protect towards the excessive midday solar. Bubbles danced by means of the group, and the rippling wave of flags was accentuating the laughter and music that crammed downtown.
With the solar beaming on our pores and skin, glistening sweat on our brows, and embraces hotter than the July warmth, the endless tide of affection by no means wavered.
The previous couple of years of this pandemic have been stark reminders of the ability of neighborhood help and care.
This care must proceed if we’re to make sure we’re all right here to have a good time for years to return. Overcome by the vastness of this neighborhood, we march on to a future stuffed with hope.
Extra of Pleasure P.E.I. by means of Hannah Jay’s lens
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By My Lens is a neighborhood collection that options the point-of-view tales behind pictures from Atlantic Canada. For Pleasure celebrations this summer time, we provide a peek by means of the lens of LGBTQ+ photographers and share their East Coast Pleasure.
