This article was published on June 23rd, 2022

Vancouver Pride has announced that in-person events for the 2022 season will be back. After three years without having major in-person Pride events in Vancouver, the popular Pride festival is returning to its roots with a lineup of signature and partnered events spanning a mostly in-person lineup with digital experiences for those who choose to experience Pride differently amid COVID-19 safety measures.

The theme of this year’s festival is Together Again, and it’s meant to highlight the excitement and importance of 2SLGBTQAI+ communities taking up space and gathering for in-person, community-focused events once more.

Programming begins on June 6 and will run for two months till July 31. A host of signature events have been scheduled for Vancouver Pride Week including the Vancouver Pride Parade and Sunset Beach Festival.

“It’s been three years since we’ve had our major in-person Pride events in Vancouver for a variety of reasons,” said Lee Keple, Interim Executive Director of Vancouver Pride Society (VPS). “COVID-19 has presented a number of challenges for event organizers like us as well as the 2SLGBTQAI+ communities that we serve. To have our signature programming safely return to Vancouver, to see these communities coming together again to celebrate Pride—it’s something we’ve been waiting for and working towards for a long time.”

The festival’s first signature event will be the East Side Pride on June 25 at Grandview Park. The free, all-ages event will feature an array of diverse performances, 2SLGBTQAI+ community vendors, as well as food and drink trucks. Celebrations will continue in the evening, when local shining stars will grace the stage to perform musical numbers, drag and more. 

Vancouver’s Pride Parade will take place in downtown Vancouver on July 31. This year’s Grand Marshals are Annie Ohana, an educator and community activist with a background in organizing and anti-oppression work; Emperor Victor the Victorious and Empress Fancy Pants representing the Dogwood Monarchist Society, a not-for-profit organization tasked with providing social interaction in Vancouver’s 2SLGBTQAI+ community, and Kristen Rivers (tiyaltelut) a member of Squamish Nation Council and a strong advocate for women and 2SLGBTQAI+ rights. 

A stacked line up of programming has been scheduled for Pride Week in July. This includes an online discussion of queer history rooted in what’s colonially known as Vancouver, a series of partnered lounges that will pop up throughout the city with a new location set for Granville Island, and the return of Drag Deliveries—a drag road crew taking the streets of Vancouver to perform trivia and giveaways for innocent bystanders. 

“Each year, the Vancouver Pride Society is an opportunity to celebrate the progress we have all achieved for the 2SLGBTQAI+ community and a reminder that there is still more work to do,” said Grant Minish, National Manager – 2SLGBTQAI+ Business Development, TD Bank Group. 

“We are thrilled to continue our long-standing support of the Vancouver Pride Society and remain committed to helping create a more inclusive tomorrow. Together, we are helping create the conditions needed for all members of the 2SLGBTQAI+ community in Metro Vancouver to fully participate and succeed in a changing world.”

The Vancouver Pride Festival dates to 1973, when the first event was held in Vancouver’s Stanley Park. It’s been around for 48 years and has grown into one of the larger Pride events in North America.

The return of the event to an in-person affair couldn’t be more exciting. Since its inception, the Vancouver Pride Festival has been a major celebration of 2SLGBTQAI+ community and its expression. For many, it’s been an opportunity to come together and make connections with others who feel like you do — to celebrate your differences and find common ground where there may be none.

For more information on the full program line-up, visit the Vancouver Pride website.