Pride 2024
A letter from our board chair, kat basso
Ahhhhhhhhh what an amazing day yesterday was!!! I can’t even believe how amazing everything came together. Absolutely perfect in every single way. There are so many people and groups to thank - I really hope I’m not going to miss anyone!!
First and foremost to my fellow board members, you’re all rock stars. It’s been an honour working with you to put this together and we did a fantastic job!
To all of our amazing volunteers - we wouldn’t be able to do the event without you! You jumped right in and I know I told some of you already but you helped keep everything together including my sanity when I was scattered around in so many different directions. Special personal shoutout to my partner and kids who have dealt with me talking about nothing but Pride stuff for who even knows how long
To those who shared their stories by speaking at our event - thank you for sharing pieces of yourself with us. Your vulnerability is truly a gift and we are so grateful you chose to share with us.
To the beautiful drag performers - you are incredible! It’s wonderful to see the art of drag so prominently on display. Thank you for sharing your gifts with us.
It was absolutely wonderful to have so many people step up to sponsor our event financially. Pembina Valley Pride has grown so much since we started and that’s thanks in large part to your commitment to making sure we have the funds to do so. Whether you’re one of our generous sponsors, or someone who’s dropped a couple dollars in a donation jar, we appreciate every single contribution.
To the Town of Altona - in particular Mayor Harv Schroeder, CAO Dan Gagne, Altona Police Chief Dan Defer, and the Altona Fire Department - thank you for all the efforts you made to ensure our event can be a fun, safe day for all. We are so exceedingly grateful for your ongoing communication and support, and commitment to making sure Altona is a community that celebrates all.
To Rev. Erika Enns Rodine and Jaime Friesen-Pankratz, Altona United Church, and everyone who was involved in the Rainbow Church Service - thank you for creating a welcoming environment for our queer Christian community members celebrate their faith.
To our mental health support people - thank you for being there for our community members who could use your support. Your work is so necessary and important!
To the Altona Elks - YOU SHOWED UP!!! Thank you for coming together so quickly with great food. This is what community is all about!!
To all our vendors at the Rainbow Market - thank you for sharing your gifts and your craft with us! It was amazing to see so much talent there to support our event, and you were so generous with your contributions to our raffle prize!
To our security team, Dykes on Bikes, our ASL interpreters, sound tech, videographer, photographer, and everyone else who contributed to the day and helping us remember it - thank you for helping us make Pride as safe, accessible, and memorable as possible!
To everyone who shared about our event on social media, whether or not you could make it - thank you for the role you played in making this our BIGGEST EVENT YET!!! The Pembina Valley and the rest of Manitoba showed up in a huge way and we couldn’t be more grateful.
And finally, to our incredible Pembina Valley Pride community - YOU ARE INCREDIBLE. I can’t even say I’m surprised by how you all showed up (in whatever way you could) because you ALWAYS do. You are the reason we do this work and you ALWAYS make it incredibly worthwhile. We love you so much. I love you so much. I love Pride so much. What an amazing day. I will ABSOLUTELY see you all next year!!
kat
