Stouffville's 1st pride event set to go in Memorial Park Sept. 7

Event takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 5, 2019
Simon Martin

Whitchurch-Stouffville is set to have its first Pride festival. Pride in the Park is set to go Sept. 7 at Memorial Park. Event organizer Lisa Ronco said the event was a product of the recently formed Stouffville Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) that meets at Christ Church Anglican.

“They said they would love a Pride event, so we have been working on it since last year,” she said.

Ronco started the GSA last year as a way to create a safe place for LGBTQ+ individuals in the area. It’s geared for youth, but adults come to it too, Ronco said. Her friend had started at GSA in Uxbridge and told Ronco that you don’t know how many people in Stouffville would benefit from it. “Right away, I started one up,” she said.

The event runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and has a little bit of everything. There will be live music, foam bubbles, York Regional Police, Stouffville firefighters, local authors, artwork by local artists, craft stations for kids, face painting, giveaways, local vendors and food trucks. The primary sponsors for the event are Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville and Ronin Group.

“It’s going to be all about inclusion,” Ronco said. “You don’t have to LBGTQ+ to come.”

The Stouffville GSA meets on the fourth Saturday of the month from 2 to 4 p.m. at Christ Church Anglican, 254 Sunset Blvd.