Hundreds of supporters take part in P.A.’s Pride in the Park and Parade

One of those tasked with entertaining the crowd was rapper Jonathon Karabekian, who told paNOW taking part is the least he can do for the pride community.

“Coming today… it’s just the right thing to do,” he said. “It’s one of those things you have to keep in your heart all along. It’s something that just doesn’t end at the end of June.”

One of the staples of the day was a closet set up at the park where people could write supportive messages for those struggling to be themselves.

The closet set up at Pride in the Park. (Jaryn Vecchio/paNOW Staff)

“The idea is that we’ll have hateful words on (the inside) of the closest, hateful words that a lot of us have heard,” said Chelsea Bleau, the chairperson for Prince Albert Pride. “When we step out of the closet, there are all these beautiful colourful words that are very supportive.”

While the day was a big success, it started off on the wrong foot. Bleau explained when they arrived at the park early in the morning to help get everything set up, they found that somebody had written a homophobic slur on one of the sidewalks.

“It’s always jarring to see people go out of their way to do that,” they said. “Right away, we knew what we had to do to cover it up with way better art, way more creative and beautiful art.”

That art ended up being a colourful butterfly.