Latest news with #DavieVillage
CTV News
02-08-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
As Vancouver Pride begins, security, finances in focus
The Davie Village Pride Fest is returning this year after a six-year hiatus. (CTV News) Setup is underway in the Davie Village, with Pride events taking place throughout the weekend. And while many are excited, security and financial considerations are top of mind. 'This is supposed to be a safe, festive, fun celebration of diversity in our community and we will do everything that we can to make sure that it continues to be that way,' said Sgt. Steve Addison of the Vancouver Police Department Friday. 'That means uniformed officers, VPD personnel, traffic closures where needed, barricades to block streets.' While many in the community are grateful for the security preparations, which include concrete barriers to protect against vehicles entering the heart of the party – the costs associated with that bring their own challenges. The Vancouver Pride Society has been vocal about wanting the City of Vancouver to contribute more to the event. 'It's a little galling that basically the way the city has been funding the Vancouver Pride Society is they charge us this huge bill for security and clean up costs, and then they discount us a little bit and they call that sponsoring,' Vancouver Pride Society secretary Morgane Oger told CTV News on Friday. The City of Vancouver has said it is contributing $75,000 in in-kind support to the society for this weekend's events, and has contributed nearly $100,000 in grants since 2020. Adding to the challenges for organizers, there's been a major drop-off in corporate sponsorship for the event in recent years. But there are changes this year that many are welcoming. The route is going back to an east-west path, ending closer to the heart of the West End. That change is coinciding with the return of the Davie Village Pride Fest after a six-year hiatus. 'It's huge,' said Teri Smith with the West End Business Improvement Association, of the change in trajectory of the route. 'We heard very loud and clear from our community, both our businesses and our residents, that when the parade relocated and the festival along with it, there was a huge sense of loss.' Celebrations began Friday, running through the weekend, with the main event on Sunday with the parade and the Pride Fest in Davie Village.
CTV News
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Davie Village Pride Festival returning this summer after 6-year hiatus
A street party in Vancouver's Davie Village is returning for Pride season this year for the first time since the pandemic. Revellers will be able to descend on Davie Street immediately following the Pride Parade on Aug. 3. The road will close between Burrard and Jervis streets and fill with DJs, vendors and drag performers. There will also be crafts and live music in Nelson Park, which was the starting point of Vancouver's first official Pride Parade in 1981. Zac Remple, managing director of Vancouver Pride Society, says the city's queer community is excited to have an official event in the neighbourhood again, which has been a 2SLGBTQ+ gathering place for decades. 'This season is really about a sense of homecoming for folks who hold a lot of meaning to Davie Village,' he told CTV News. 'Pride is so, so important and it's really about that feeling of coming together, being together, celebrating together, and there's no place to do that better than Davie.' The festival is a collaboration between the Vancouver Pride Society, the West End BIA and QMUNITY. Teri Smith, the executive director of the business association, said local merchants are eager for Pride traffic to return to the street. 'Businesses have been hit really hard over these past few years, it feels like layer after layer of things, and so being able to celebrate and have a joyful moment with our community and with our queer community is really important,' she told CTV News. The Davie Village Pride Festival will run from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 3.
