Seasons Greetings from Pride Hamilton
Seasons Greetings,
On behalf of the board of Pride Hamilton I would like to extend an offering of well wishes during this holiday season. As we close out this year, we are continuing to work towards expanding the community footprint of Pride Hamilton. In recent weeks, we have updated our Mission, Vision and Values statement. We want you to know that we have a renewed focus on the local 2SLGBTQIA Community. We have taken the great, the good and the bad from our previous celebrations and looked at how to better the future. Diversity, representation and inclusion is part of our foundation. Our individual experiences and identities are unique, but together they strengthen our community. We have recently made a call our for folks who truly believe in the movement and the community to get involved. Intersectionality is real and many of us have multiple identities; all of which are valid and deserve representation. Pride in Hamilton needs to be more than an annual event; Pride is every day that we exist. We are committing to doing more for the community but that means we need more hands, more voices, more representation. I believe we can have a community where each of us feels there is representation and a voice for folks like ourselves at the table.
Too often, our community is challenged, harmed and even forgotten in this city. There needs to be a shift. We need to take up space just like every other group. With that said, our 2025 theme is: Reclamation, Unity, Healing. Our experiences are valid, our safety is crucial and visibility is important. No longer should we have to venture to other cities to find ourselves or feel welcome. Hamilton is our home and it must feel as such. If certain venues do not want to provide safe spaces, we will find ones that will; perhaps that means creating our own spaces. Pride Hamilton will be doing more to work with other local organizations and organizers. We will be looking at more resource providers, prioritizing Queer and Trans owned businesses and sharing that knowledge with folks via our revamped website, www.pridehamilton.com.
I ask that you all,
Encourage & Promote: Authenticity
Treat folks with: Respect
Move with: Integrity
Fight for: Freedom
Believe in: Community
Celebrate: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Whether you are celebrating with your bio-family or chosen family, Happy Holidays from us to you during this holiday season. We wish you all the best!
Stay tuned for more updates!
--Kiel
