Two men hold hands as they walk down Duckworth Street in the parade. (Andrew Sampson/CBC)
Downtown St. John’s was supposed to be buzzing with thousands of people participating in the LGBTQ community celebration on Sunday. Instead, the streets will be quiet … and hot.
The organizers from St. John’s Pride made the decision to postpone their annual parade on Saturday afternoon, 24 hours before it was due to start.
“It becomes a very dangerous point and all things considered … it just doesn’t seem like it would be safe to do that,” said parade organizer Gorwyn Greening, noting that the parade is attended by people of all ages and background and abilities. “We didn’t want to make our vulnerable population even more vulnerable.”
The city is expecting sweltering heat and humidity, with temperatures expected to reach 28 degrees by mid-afternoon and humidity around 38 degrees.
St. John’s Pride expected 3,000 people to walk in the parade and at least that many more to watch. The route will involve the procession moving through the center of St John’s, where temperatures can rise from the tarmac and the proximity of the crowd.
Gorwyn Greening is co-chairman of St. John’s Pride and acting parade coordinator. (Gorwyn Greening/Twitter)
Greening said the Pride committee will meet with city officials Monday to set a new date, possibly in August, but it’s not as easy as just looking at the calendar and picking a new day.
“It’s going to be a pretty big undertaking to be perfectly honest,” he said. “I mean we have our road closure teams, our first responders, our volunteers. We also have about 120 groups that now have to change their schedules as well.”
3rd setback for St John’s Parade
The decision came just hours after the organizers of the Tely 10 road race also decided to postpone their event scheduled for Sunday morning due to the heat.
Greening said the cancellation was a wake-up call as the race was due to start at 8am – during the cooler part of the day – and the parade was due to start during peak temperatures at 2pm
It was supposed to be a spectacular return for St. John’s Pride after the parade was canceled two years in a row due to the pandemic. Despite the third setback in a row, Greening hopes the fourth time will be the charm.
“We are very lucky that the LGBTQ2S+ community is very supportive. They are very ready. I have no doubt we’ll have the same energy when we reschedule.”
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