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Celebrate Pride Week at events across the North Shore

Celebrate Pride Week at events across the North Shore

North Shore Pride Alliance is hosting Pride-positive book readings and drag duels

Folks of all stripes are being welcomed to come together in celebration of Pride Week across the North Shore.

This week is filled with events that celebrate the LGBTQIA2S+ community, and remind the general public of ongoing inequities facing queer individuals.

Celebrations include flag raisings, drag duels and the annual Pride at the Pier bash.

On Monday, District of West Vancouver held a Pride Flag-raising ceremony at its Municipal Hall. The City of North Vancouver hosted its own ceremony, which included raising the Pride Flag, Transgender Flag and Bisexual Flag in Civic Plaza as well as lighting up City Hall in Pride colours.

Over the past year, we’ve seen the rights of LGBTQAI2S+ people attacked, questioned and clawed back, North Van city Mayor Linda Buchanan said in a statement.

“That’s why the city is proud to support Pride Week,” she said. “Pride is a celebration and protest. We are animating public spaces and supporting events across the community because we are a city for all people.”

On Wednesday at noon, drag story time and crafts can be viewed on the North Shore Pride Alliance’s YouTube channel.

Wildeye Brewery in North Van will host Duelling Pianos and Duelling Drag Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The alliance is also hosting Thursday evening’s screening of Hairspray at The Polygon Gallery at 7 p.m.

On Friday, there’ll be pride-themed story time via North Vancouver City Library’s YouTube channel with readings and crafts from local drag legend Conni Smudge (Chris Bolton). Smudge will also be at the library on Saturday to read pride-positive stories.

Head to The Shipyards near Lonsdale Quay after 5 p.m. Friday for Pride at the Pier, featuring DJ music, drag performances and an eight-foot-tall Pride-inspired sand sculpture created by artist Craig Mutch.

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North Shore public dialogue sessions focus on housing challenge

North Shore public dialogue sessions focus on housing challenge

Three community events later this month will include speeches by housing experts.

Housing is a hot topic on the North Shore, prompting some occasionally heated discussions ­– whether that’s voicing the gulf across the experience of different generations, or debates centred on more affordable housing and those opposed to greater density.

To tackle those subjects, North Shore Community Resources is hosting three community conversations on housing, to be held at the end of this month in each of the North Shore’s three municipalities.

The goal is “to encourage meaningful and productive conversations among North Shore neighbours and community members as we collectively face the challenging housing crisis,” according to Murray Mollard, executive director of the community resources group.

“We don’t expect everyone to agree on housing issues or solutions, but it is important to continue to hold space for people to come together and share perspectives civilly and respectfully.”

Funded by the Real Estate Council of B.C., each event will feature a keynote speaker, followed by small group dialogues.

“We are hoping for a diverse and inter-generational audience representative of our North Shore community,” Mollard said.

The first session takes place June 22 at 5:30 p.m. at Capilano University’s Lonsdale campus in the City of North Vancouver, and will feature speaker Penny Gurstein, a former professor and director of the School of Community and Regional Planning and the Centre for Human Settlements at UBC and researcher of affordable housing.

The second session, in the District of North Vancouver, happens June 28 at 5:30 p.m. at the Lynn Valley Community Recreation Centre and will feature speaker Andy Yan, the director of SFU’s City Program and a frequent commentator on housing issues in Metro Vancouver.

The final session will take place June 30 at 5:30 p.m. at the West Vancouver Community Centre’s music room in West Vancouver, where Jake Fry, founder of SmallWorks, which builds and advocates for laneway housing, will be a guest speaker.

Participation in the events is free. Register online at housingforallnorthshore.eventbrite.ca or by calling 604-982-7138.