Latest news with #RainbowResourceCentre
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Premier, NDP caucus celebrate Pride Week at noon-hour drag show inside ‘the people's building'
The Manitoba government hosted what it hailed as the first drag show inside a legislative building in Canada Thursday. The Legislative Building rotunda was draped with Pride flags and packed with allies, drag artists, politicians and staff for the noon-hour celebration of Pride Week. 'This is the people's building,' Premier Wab Kinew told the crowd flanked by the NDP caucus. 'I hope you always feel welcome here — today, especially — and especially during Pride Week.' Winnipeg drag artists, including Ruby Chopsticks, Khymera and Anita Stallion performed just outside the chamber for cheering audience members, some of whom slipped the glamorous lip-synching performers $5 bills. The premier said he had a simple message he wanted to share with all Manitobans — that acts of anti-trans hate won't be tolerated. 'There's a lot of anti-trans sentiment right now and I think it's really mean spirited,' Kinew told the attendees, including members of the Downtown Community Safety Partnership, which provides support and safety services. 'I want to say to every young trans person out there, whether you're in the room or you're out there across Manitoba, if anyone's giving you a hard time, just know that the premier, the deputy premier, the ministers, the MLAs and the entire government of Manitoba has your back.' He also announced $2.5 million in funding to the Rainbow Resource Centre for supportive services and the continued development of Place of Pride, a first-of-its-kind affordable housing and community centre in downtown Winnipeg to create a safe and inclusive space for LGBTTQ+ Manitobans. The multi-year funding supports a 2,000-square-foot community space, adding resources for programming, supports and gatherings to the space which currently houses approximately 30 55-plus residents. The $2.5 million brings the province's total contribution to Place of Pride to $5.5 million. Meanwhile, Pride Week festivities, including the annual parade, will result in traffic disruptions in the downtown from Friday morning until Sunday afternoon, a Thursday release from the city advised. Northbound Hargrave between Bannatyne Avenue and William Avenue will be closed from 6 a.m. Friday to 5 p.m. Saturday. The remainder of the closures will be in place from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Closures include: • Memorial Boulevard in both directions from Broadway to York Avenue. • Northbound Memorial Boulevard from York Avenue to Portage Avenue. • Eastbound Portage Avenue from Memorial Boulevard to Main Street. • Southbound Main Street from Portage Avenue to William Stephenson Way. • Eastbound William Stephenson Way from Main Street to Israel Asper Way. Carol SandersLegislature reporter Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol. Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CBC
4 days ago
- General
- CBC
Winnipeg housing for 2SLGBTQ+ community gets $2.5M in provincial funding for resources, programming
Manitoba is spending $2.5 million to continue developing a housing complex and resource centre for the 2SLGBTQ+ community in downtown Winnipeg. The funding is part of a multi-year commitment to the Place of Pride that the province said will help create a safe and welcoming space for more than 270,000 Manitobans and their families. It will help create a more inclusive society at a time where there's "a lot of" anti-transgender sentiment in Manitoba, Premier Wab Kinew said during a news conference on Thursday afternoon. "This is one province, one Manitoba, and it includes everybody," he said. "It is still important to celebrate pride, even during a state of emergency." The $2.5 million will be used to add resources for programming, support and gatherings at the 12,000-square-foot community space operated by Rainbow Resource Centre, the province said. Construction of the four-storey building at 545 Broadway that provides affordable housing for 2SLGBTQ+ wrapped up in August last year. About 30 people who are 55 and older have so far been housed, the province said. "That's what pride is really all about ... it is about reminding people what we can achieve when we care for one another," Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said. "Everywhere else in the country, if you can believe, they are a little bit jealous of Manitoba, they are jealous of what we have here." Rainbow Resource said last year that the next phase of the project would include counselling rooms, a library, a café and permaculture gardens. The new funding announcement is bringing Manitoba's total commitment to the Place of Pride to $5.5 million. The announcement was part of a Pride Month celebration at the Manitoba legislature on Wednesday afternoon that included a drag show. "This is about acknowledging the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in Manitoba, taking up rightful space in places that we were never meant to be, that the community was never meant to be," Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine said.
Global News
4 days ago
- Business
- Global News
Manitoba pledges $2.5 million to Place of Pride in downtown Winnipeg
The Manitoba government is kicking off Pride month by investing in affordable housing for LGBTQ2 Winnipeggers. Premier Wab Kinew and families minister Nahanni Fontaine announced $2.5 million in funding to Place of Pride in downtown Winnipeg, which houses 30 seniors and offers space for programming and events. This latest round of funding — which is intended to go toward a kitchen, an arts hub, a rooftop patio, and other common spaces — brings the province's total investment in the space to $5.5 million. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'All Manitobans deserve a place where they feel safe and welcome, which is why this investment greatly benefits the seniors and community members who access the space,' Kinew said. Rainbow Resource Centre's executive director said Place of Pride is the culmination of decades of work toward a permanent site for members of the community. Story continues below advertisement 'Place of Pride is a centre for every kind of activity, from support groups and community feasts to educational programs, celebrations, memorial services and art exhibitions.'
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
What's up: Pride celebrations
This year's Pride Winnipeg theme is 'Rise in Pride, Stand in Strength.' The organization's annual festival kicks off at The Forks from noon to 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The festivities include three stages of live entertainment, family-friendly activities, an artisan market and an LGBTTQ+ community zone. Food trucks, beer gardens and a substance-free area will be on site. Main stage performers include Ami Cheon, Bannock Babes, Sebastian Gaskin, Bicycle Face, Hera and Bobby Dove. JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES Pride Winnipeg's annual festival, rally and parade take place this weekend. JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES Pride Winnipeg's annual festival, rally and parade take place this weekend. Gather in front of the Manitoba Legislative Building at 10 a.m. on Sunday for a rally, followed by the Pride Parade, which begins at 11 a.m. on Memorial Boulevard with marchers and floats travelling eastbound on Portage Avenue to The Forks. The parade will be livestreamed on CTV Winnipeg with accessible indoor and outdoor viewing areas inside and in front of Canada Life Centre at 300 Portage Ave. ASL interpreters will be on hand during the rally. — Eva Wasney Iiiiit's Saturday Night Pride! With Jaylene Tyme! INSTAGRAM Drag queen Jaylene Tyme hosts Rainbow Resource Centre's Pride Weekend party. INSTAGRAM Drag queen Jaylene Tyme hosts Rainbow Resource Centre's Pride Weekend party. The veteran Vancouver drag artist — who was crowned Miss Congeniality in Season 5 of Canada's Drag Race — is headlining Rainbow Resource Centre's Pride Weekend party at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Tyme, a Two-Spirit Indigenous trans woman and advocate, uses her platform to empower her community and raise awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous women, the '60s Scoop (of which she is a survivor) and truth and reconciliation. Canada's Drag Race fans will no doubt remember her show-stopping finale dress inspired by the Every Child Matters movement. Joining Tyme on Saturday is Cake, Rainbow Resource Centre's drag-artist-in-residence, and local performers Kymera and Jamie Allwood. DJ Princess Die will keep the dance floor packed all night. The event is 18+. — Jen Zoratti DAN DANIELSON PHOTO Club Happenings is hosting a Rainbow Rave. DAN DANIELSON PHOTO Club Happenings is hosting a Rainbow Rave. Dig out your dancing shoes for the ultimate Friday night Pride party; there's no better place to be. Dance your heart out to sets by an all-queer DJ lineup and feast your senses on electric drag performances. The night of queer joy, fierce beats and dazzling self-expression features headliner DJ Sydney from Toronto with local powerhouses NotMyAuthority, KvLTBABY, Dov and Inflo. Promising genre-defying sets that move from house and techno to bass, bounce and beyond, make sure you're prepped for the long-haul during this seven-hour rave extravaganza. — AV Kitching MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Meet at Upper Fort Garry tonight for a queer history walking tour. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Meet at Upper Fort Garry tonight for a queer history walking tour. For the next month, nearly every corporation, police service and level of government in Canada will be flying the rainbow flag, but less than 40 years ago, when Winnipeg had its first pride parade in 1987, participants still felt compelled to mask their faces with paper bags to protect their identities. It's a reminder that Winnipeg's queer history is one of persecution as well as celebration, a legacy represented in the city's queer walking tours. Join local cultural historian Britt Bauer tonight for the Winnipeg Queer History Walk, a free tour from Upper Fort Garry through downtown and the Exchange District. No registration needed — just show up with comfortable walking shoes. The Winnipeg Architecture Foundation also has a self-guided Winnipeg Queer History Tour, which covers resource and health centres, clandestine cruising spots, early gay bars and social clubs (did you know that Gio's was originally called the Winnipeg Gay Community Centre?). Visit for more information. —Conrad Sweatman LAUREN SIDDALL PHOTO Good Neighbour Brewing Co.'s patio turns into Queer Gardens this weekend. LAUREN SIDDALL PHOTO Good Neighbour Brewing Co.'s patio turns into Queer Gardens this weekend. Vintage threads, comedy, a queer-themed beer garden and drag queen karaoke: Sherbrook Street businesses have come together to throw a host of events as part of this year's Pride festivities. The West Broadway Pride block party kicks off tonight with a drag party at Good Neighbour Brewing Co. starting at 6 p.m. and a free Fruit Roll-Up Comedy Showcase at 8 p.m. at The Handsome Daughter. The crew at Chips Vintage are promising a special guest performer at 8 p.m., as well as 20 per cent off all in-store goods plus some limited-edition merchandise, with all proceeds going to Sunshine House. End the night back at The Handsome Daughter with live band karaoke and local drag queens. Tickets are $10 plus fees at Brightly coloured beers will be flowing today through Saturday at the Good Neighbour/Next Door patio, dubbed the Queer Gardens in honour of Pride. Beat the heat with the new quartet of Good Neighbour's Gaytorade sour brews featuring Slay Queen Orange, Electric Bear-y, Fruity Punch and Fierce Grape flavours. The Queer Gardens also hosts an acoustic set by Snackie on Friday and a sold-out Saturday brunch in collaboration with the Winnipeg Humane Society. — Ben Sigurdson
