Amidst the tornado warnings on Tuesday afternoon, the torrential downpours paused long enough for the annual Fierté Simcoe Pride Flag Raising at the Bradford West Gwillimbury Courthouse.
Mayor Rob Keffer and MP Scot Davidson were joined by Coun. Raj Sandhu and Deputy Mayor James Leduc to commemorate the ninth annual flag raising of the Fierté Simcoe Pride flag. Fierté Simcoe Pride serves to promote a safe and inclusive environment in Simcoe County for gender and sexual diversity.
The Rainbow Pride flag is raised annually to signify the Pride movement and advancement of human rights. The flag was originally designed by Gilbert Baker in San Francisco in 1978 who was a gay rights activist and helped define LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.
Mayor Keffer opened the ceremonies with a proclamation of July 27 to Aug. 9 as Fierté Simcoe Pride and explained the significance of each color in the Rainbow flag:
Orange (healing), yellow (sunlight), green (nature), blue (serenity, peace, and harmony), and purple (spirits).
Member of the Fierté Simcoe Pride community, Colin Nelthorpe thanked the township of Bradford West Gwillimbury for continuing to support pride.
“It means the world to us, especially in today’s times,” thanked Nelthorpe. “I also like to thank the town for having us here despite these challenging times among the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s also nice to see the support of MP Scot Davidson – it’s always good to see politicians getting involved with pride as pride is a political movement by nature.”
Davidson added “One of the pledges I made when I was elected as MP was to represent all members of York-Simcoe and be inclusive of everyone and that’s what I intend to do. I’m glad [Fierté Simcoe Pride] went online and flag raisings are continuing in Bradford West Gwillimbury – it’s something that’s important to do and important for the community!”
Mayor Keffer raised the Rainbow flag while supporters clapped and cheered from a distance.
For more information about Fierté Simcoe Pride visit: www.simcoepride.com
