June is Pride month and that means celebrating, talking about, and sharing everything and anything that relates to the LGBTQ+ community, its members and supporters. This year RYEPRIDE, the Ryerson Trans Collective and the Ryerson Students Union (RSU) are hosting many events throughout the next week that students and community members can attend. These events attempt to further Ryerson’s focus on community, diversity and inclusivity and provide safe spaces for all students, regardless of how they choose to label themselves. Here’s our round-up of the Pride events happening at Ryerson this week.
Thursday, June 15th, 2017
Ryerson Pride is hosting a Pride Community BBQ and Pub Night at The Ram in the Rye from 7pm to 2am this Thursday. The patio party will take place from 7-10pm and then for those wanting to stick around for some #extra fun, there will be a “pub, club and burlesque show” inside from 10pm-2am. There will be (and this is what peaked our interest) FREE FOOD, burlesque, DJs and prizes! Talk about a party. There will be performances by Belle Jumelles, Dainty Smith and Gay Jesus PLUS music from DJ Zehra and DJ Ace Dillinger. If you’re looking for something fun and chill and campus specific, this party is for you. You do not have to be affiliated with Ryerson to attend this event. Free admission, free food, free non-alcoholic drinks!
Monday, June 19th, 2017
On Monday a welcoming to the land, an indigenous drumming workshop and some performers from Toronto’s two-spirited community titled “2Spirit Powwow Dancing 101” will be going down. This event will feature Eagle Woman Singerz Female Aboriginal 2spirit Drum Group. The event will happen from 12-2pm in front of the Ryerson Student Campus Centre at 55 Gould Street.
Tuesday, June 20th, 2017
Pride Coffee House at Oakham Cafe is happening on Tuesday from 5-8pm that will allow attendees to strut their stuff on stage or hang their work for visitors to view. If you want to exhibit your work / perform send an email to [email protected].
Thursday, June 22nd, 2017
Thursday marks the start of Camp Queer hosted at Pitman Quad from 1-4pm. During this time you can experience the summer camp you never had chock full of ridiculous, hilarious and unbelievably fun games and prizes. For those of you who never went to camp, had a terrible camp experience, or have amazing camp memories you want to recreate, consider checking this event out.
Friday, June 23rd, 2017
Being that Fridays are a kick-off to the weekend it is no surprise that one of Ryerson’s biggest Pride events is happening on a day where you don’t have to wake up for work the next morning (at least we really hope you don’t). This day also kicks off a weekend of marches that focus on a different facet of the LGBTQ+ community. Join RyePRIDE, the RU Trans Collective, the RSU and the Continuing Education Students’ Association of Ryerson as they march along Church and Hayden Streets. The rally begins at 6:30 and then the march officially commences at 7pm so you TOTALLY have time to come home from work / your internship / whatever else you were doing, change into your best pride outfit and hit the streets in support.
According to the event’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/
Saturday, June 24th, 2017
On Saturday join the annual Dyke March in Allan Gardens where attendees will rally near the crosswalk at Gerrard and Pembroke Street (if you don’t know where this is walk to Allan Gardens and look for all the bright flags and banners). The march rally and staging begins at 1pm so you can totally go straight from brunch, and then at 2pm the march leaves.
As seen on the event page (https://www.facebook.com/events/461122640889417/), “The Toronto Dyke March is a political demonstration of critical mass, welcoming all self-identified dykes to create political and visible space. This grassroots event is not a parade. The women and trans people of our community take over the streets of downtown Toronto to celebrate our power, strength, diversity, and passion of dyke experiences and identities. We will reflect on our history, celebrate our accomplishments, learn from our past, honour where we’ve come from, and lift voices that have been silenced and forgotten.”
Sunday, June 25th, 2017
Sunday is the Pride March. It will hands down be one of the biggest Pride events in the entire city, and Ryerson will be representing in style. There will be a float (so if you want to get involved in decorating that, email [email protected]) and a hell of a lot of fun. Exact times and location are still TBD but the march will begin to form around 1:30pm at Bloor & Jarvis (again just look for the banners and celebratory people).
*Descriptions for each event has been modified from the subsequent Facebook pages for each event. Because our peers at Ryerson are so so eloquent we have borrowed some of their summaries and put our spin on it. Parentheses indicate direct quotes.
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RyePride and RU Trans Collective are two of the six Equity Service Centres of the Ryerson Students’ Union, which includes: RyeACCESS, the Good Food Centre, the Racialised Students’ Centre, and the Centre for Women and Trans People.
The organizers strive to create accessible and inclusive spaces for all our members. If any accommodations are needed to ensure your participation, please email: [email protected].
For a Full Listing of events, please visit:
Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/
Rye Pride Tumblr at www.ryepride.tumblr.com
RU Trans Collective Tumblr at www.rutranscollective.tumb
