The largest city in Manitoba and the seventh largest in Canada, Winnipeg sits at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine rivers. The provincial capital, with a population of nearly 670,000, celebrates the very popular Winnipeg Gay Pride Festival each year in early June; This year’s date is June 4-5, 2016, but the local LGBT community organizes a series of parties, gatherings, cultural events and other activities related to ‘Pride of the Prairies’ during the 10 days leading up to the festival, which has been growing in attendance each year since 1987 (over 35,000 people show up each year).
For information on pre-Pride events, see the Winnipeg Pride Festival Official Pride Guide, and note that the official Pride kick-off event is a City Hall Pride Flag Election , held on Friday. 3 of June.
The Winnipeg Gay Pride Parade takes place Sunday, June 5, exiting the Manitoba Legislature compound, heading onto Memorial Boulevard, then turning right and following York Avenue east, then Garry Street south. , and finally Broadway to the west at the Legislative Building.
The two-day Winnipeg Pride Festival in Los Forks will take place on Saturdays and Sundays, June 4-5. There will be bands performing live on stage, local vendors, food concessions, a beer tent, a family-oriented KidZone, and more.
Winnipeg Gay Resources
Additionally, local gay bars as well as gay-friendly restaurants, hotels and shops will be packed with revelers during Pride weekend. Check out local gay documents and resources, such as Outwords Magazine and the GayWinnipeg.ca website, for more information. Also take a look at the visitor site produced by the city’s official tourism organization, Tourism Winnipeg, for general travel advice. Tourism Winnipeg has also produced a very good video podcast about Gay Pride in Winnipeg.
