COCHRANE— Bringing the community together in a historic celebration, Cochrane launched its first-ever Pride Week on Monday (Aug. 17).
More than 60 people gathered at the Cochrane RancheHouse to celebrate the inaugural raising of the Progress Pride Flag marking the start of the Town’s first Pride Week.
Chair of Kindred Cochrane Pride Society Renita Bartlett said it was amazing to see the flag fly for the first time in Town. Bartlett spoke at the flag-raising ceremony highlighting the historic impact Cochrane’s first Pride Week will have in the community.
“It was an emotional moment,” Bartlett said. “This is the first of many, many years to come.”
It was critical to fly the Progress Pride Flag, she said, because it serves as an inclusive symbol that celebrates all members of the community. The flag includes five coloured chevrons associated with the LGBTQ2S+ rainbow flag while recognizing the importance of inclusion and progression, Bartlett said. The white, pink and blue arrow-shaped lines on the left side of the flag celebrate the transgender community, while the black and brown stripes represent the marginalized LGBTQ2S+ communities of colour.
Bartlett said 2020 was the perfect year to launch a Pride Week in Cochrane because it will help keep conversations going about the experience of marginalized people in the community and how they can be supported.
“Let keep talking, let’s keep closing those gaps, let’s bring people together,” Bartlett said. “Let’s celebrate inclusion.”
The joy and feeling of freedom emanating off the crowd during the flag-raising was contagious, said Cochrane Rainbows founder Rob Halfyard.
It was an especially powerful moment to experience because Halfyard and his husband of 38 years left their home towns because they felt they needed the anonymity of a big city to be themselves.
“We had to leave our community … To feel that kind of enjoyment, that kind of freedom,” Halfyard said. “You should never have to leave your roots to go and find happiness because we should be working to create right here in our home town.”
Halfyard and his husband helped found Cochrane Rainbows as a way to positively bring the community together and celebrate the Town’s rich social fabric.
Pride Week serves as the culmination of that effort, Halfyard said.
For now, Halfyard said he is focused on enjoying each day of this years' Pride Week, but noted they can learn from this year’s festivities to build the momentum in preparations of next year.
“We can do so much with this,” Halfyard exclaimed. “It’s bringing everybody together.”
It was an amazing experience to participate in the inaugural Cochrane Pride Week kick-off, said Cochrane Mayor Jeff Genung.
“It was a bit overwhelming. I hadn’t anticipated the emotion from people,” Genung said. “It’s a great statement and something that signifies that Cochrane is a place that is welcome and inclusive to all.”
Genung praised the work of the Kindred Cochrane Pride Society for their initiative and drive to make Cochrane Pride Week into a reality.
Genung said he hopes people use the week as an opportunity to reflect and understand how to empathize with the experiences of others. He added, Pride Week can serve as an inspiration to make Cochrane an even better community to live in.
The celebrations are a welcoming moment of positivity in the community in what has been a challenging year, Genung said.
“COVID has knocked back everything fun about 2020,” Genung said. “It’s very nice to come out and celebrate.”
Serving as one of the primary sponsors for the event Counsellor Marni Fedeyko was also on hand for the flag-raising.
It was powerful listening to the speeches from Bartlett and Halfyard while looking out into the crowd, Fedeyko said, because it drove home how big of an event Pride Week is.
“It’s not just about raising the flag it’s about sending the message we really are an inclusive community,” Fedeyko said. “It doesn’t matter your race, your orientation, your religion, your beliefs everyone is welcoming. I think that was the most important message I took away.”
It was especially significant seeing the joy held by youth in the crowd.
“As a parent myself— I think that’s where you realize some of these events and these monumental weeks are not even for our own community right now, but for the young people coming up,” Fedeyko said.
It is essential to show support for all members of the Cochrane community, she said, because minority groups in Town such as Cochrane Kindred Pride Society, Cochrane Rainbows, the Filipino Community, Cochrane Immigrant Services and others help make the Town a great place to live.
“Even if people aren’t a part of the LGBTQ community come out and go to their events because they're helping to put on all those other big events that we enjoy,” Fedeyko said. “To me, it’s just community supporting community.”
Fedeyko said she hopes to see the momentum behind Pride Week grow— Including hosting a big parade in the future while tying in education as a form of celebration.
Calling the event a brave and bold step by the Town, Jennifer Bartlett attended the flag-raising ceremony in support of her wife Renita.
“This is something in the history books now. It’s long overdue,” Jennifer said. “It’s amazing. The energy in the crowd was great today.”
Jennifer said it was especially meaningful seeing how excited youth in the community were to see Pride Week come to Cochrane.
“There were tears welling in my eyes. It was really a proud moment,” Jennifer said. “The future is here— Cochrane is moving forward.”
