One of New Westminster’s biggest and most joyous events has been cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.
The New West Pride Society has posted a notice on its website that the annual festival will not take place.
“In light of the announcements made on April 18th by Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, the New West Pride Society will be foregoing our annual Pride Street Festival,” read the notice. “We have been anticipating that this may be the reality of our summer, and this news only reinforces that we must do our part to practice physical distance for the time being. We aren’t alone: over 350 Pride societies around the world have cancelled their parades and festivals to support this initiative. However, Pride will carry on. Pride is not only a street festival we have all come to love. At its core, it means something different to all of us and we create it every day in our communities. So we must adapt.”
The society said it’s still “committed to bringing you a celebration of our community and of LGBTQ+ individuals in our city. The New West Pride Society is moving forward with planning innovative and creative content that will allow all of us to celebrate the diversity of our community. We are excited to move in this new direction, and though we are only in the initial planning stages, we will post regular updates as we make progress. In addition, our team is actively planning how to safely, responsibly, and uniquely return for Pride 2021 next year.”
