As uncertainty looms in Halifax, Nova Scotia town to host first-ever Pride parade

With uncertainty looming over Halifax's Pride parade this year, smaller communities in Nova Scotia are stepping up and opening their doors during what some say is a pivotal time for LGBTQ rights.

With uncertainty looming over Halifax's Pride parade this year, smaller communities in Nova Scotia are stepping up and opening their doors during what some say is a pivotal time for LGBTQ rights.

Lunenburg County Pride is hosting the first-ever Pride parade in Bridgewater on the province's South Shore on Sunday.

The parade will be followed by two after parties and a week of events for all ages, including a senior social, flag raising, drag queen story time, comedy night, movie night, dog show, and drag show and dance.

Lunenburg County Pride chair Steve Ellis said the parade has about 40 entries and will likely last about an hour.

With the Halifax Pride parade up in the air, he said organizers of the Bridgewater parade are encouraging people to make the roughly one-hour trek to the South Shore event.

"When things started to change with Halifax Pride, we thought it was an opportunity to give people from the city a place to go to celebrate Pride in case there's no parade there or in addition to it," Ellis said.

The Halifax Pride parade is slated to take place on July 23, yet a lack of communication from parade organizers and the abrupt cancellation of a community information meeting last week has cast doubt on whether it will go ahead.