Every year, in cities around the world, LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning) folks and their allies march through the streets to show off both their identities and a sense of community.
Hong Kong is no exception. The Pride Parade there has been happening every year since 2005. Since its modest beginnings, it has grown in both size and scope; last year, organizers claim there were over 9,500 participants. This year’s parade will be held on November 26, and turnout is again expected to number in the thousands.
While the parade has always been open to people from different places, this fall marks the first time a group from the PRD will be formally representing the area. During the parade, about 100 people will be waving their mainland flags – or rather, giant banner – and wearing specially designed T-shirts to show off their local pride.
Most of the group comes from Guangzhou, with 40 people representing the nonprofit group Zhitong. During the parade they’ll be joined by friends from Shenzhen, plus members of the organization PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) China.
Group organizer Lisa May Loveless, a Canadian who’s based in Guangzhou, has been pleasantly surprised by how things came together. Originally she and her business partner Steve Imrie (also known as Stephanie Slackhouse) just wanted to get a group of friends together for the event. Word spread quickly, though, and soon their WeChat group had more than 100 members.
In an effort to minimize costs for attendees, the organizers started looking for outside funding. Within a few weeks they’d gotten promises of support from a broad spectrum of sponsors, ranging from popular bars like The Brew and McCawley’s to fitness guru K2Fit, food delivery app Mazing, and United Family Hospital. With the help of its 16 (and counting) sponsors, the group can pay for its own face paints, flags, banner, and T-shirts to wear at the Hong Kong parade.
What started out as a simple gathering of friends has turned out to be larger than the organizers could have imagined. Still, despite all the hassle of planning for such a large group, when asked if she’d like to do it all again next year, Loveless responds without hesitation: “definitely.”
To join the Guangzhou group or learn more about local LGBTQ community events, add Lisa on WeChat (ID: lisamayloveless).
About Zhitong: founded in 2005, the group started out providing free education about AIDS prevention for the gay community in Beijing. Since then it’s expanded to offer more inclusive events and services for LGBTQ audiences in Xi’an and Guangzhou, including meetups, film screenings and speeches.
Phone: 020-87362210
WeChat: ZHITONG_CHINA (in Chinese)
Weibo: http://weibo.com/chihenggz?is_hot=1
About PFLAG China: PFLAG may bear the same name as an American group, but it’s an “independent grassroots organization” that’s headquartered in Guangzhou. Its general purpose is to educate and mobilize the relatives and friends of individuals who identify as LGBTQ, in order to create more accepting environments across the country.
WeChat: qinyouhui002
Website: http://www.pflag.org.cn/
[Image via Phillipe Lopez]
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