Our last Pride of the season was Kamloops Pride. It was our 1st year. We had volunteered our low sensory space last year, which they enthusiastically took us up on, but the wildfires resulted in travel restrictions. There were 35,000 people who had been evacuated because of fires and another 30,000 who were on evacuation alert. The province needed people to stay off the road unless necessary. They also asked people not to use hotel rooms, which LET’S had planned, so that evacuees had access to options. We were sad to not be able to participate but completely understood the need to prioritize those experiencing traumatic situations.
We were glad to be able to attend Kamloops Pride this year. We typically have a minimum of 2 people at our low sensory spaces. Unfortunately, due to an unforeseen medical issue, we only had 1 person. Thankfully, we were supported by teens at the next booth over. They were part of the high schools’ Gender-Sexuality Alliance. They helped us set up and take down our booth, including a newly purchased tent that was very oddly designed. We also had local members who came by to say hey and check if we needed anything. We appreciated their support.
It was a great event and we had a very positive response to our space. People loved our book selection so much we had half a dozen people ask to buy books we had. We helped them find them online but selling some of our book selection is something we will give thought to. We had 3 groups of attendees who spent over an hour reading the books, either by themselves or 2 each other. It was nice hearing people read books. It’s also great to see adults realize that there is no age limit to childrens’ books. The books are filled with great content that resonates. And the illustrations and art within childrens’ books is amazing and varied.
Excitingly, 1 of the conversations we had at our tent was with a board member of Kelowna Pride. They had been at several Pride events over the summer and heard rave reviews about LET’S at all events. That, alone, was nice to hear but then they asked if LET’S would be interested in doing accessibility audits of their dozen or so venues. They have a new sponsor and new venues for their year-round events. They are prioritizing accessibility. They did a call-out for accessibility committee members and received an amazing amount of replies. We have since talked with them about scheduling a time for the audits.
(Parent reading to their child, as the child colours.)