'Hugely important': Altona to hold first pride parade; some not supporting event

For the first time in the town's history, Altona will be having a pride parade, but not everyone is open to the idea of the event.

Pembina Valley Pride will be hosting the event on Saturday – the first parade the organization will be holding.

"I think that's hugely important," said Peter Wohlgemut, the president of Pembina Valley Pride. "This will be an opportunity for members of the rainbow community to see that support visibly. It will also be an opportunity for our allies to come out and show that support."

The festivities will get underway at 1 p.m. with a flag raising and a greeting from the mayor. The parade will start around 2 p.m. with a march to Centennial Park.

One woman, who didn't want to be named due to safety concerns for herself and her family, said she is extremely excited to attend the event this year and plans to go with her wife and kids.

"This kind of thing, having representation, is important - not just for me but for our kids and our community," she said.

Despite the excitement from some in the community, it isn't being felt by all. A pastor in the area shared a blog post titled 'Why Altona should not have a Gay Pride Parade.'

"To have a gay pride parade therefore is to celebrate and promote sin," one line of the blog said.

"A gay pride parade is a celebration and promotion of some of the very things that God said caused the land to become unclean, so that the land vomited out its inhabitants. We must not invite the judgment of God by promoting and celebrating sin," another line said.

CTV News reached out to the pastor for further comment but did not get a response.

The woman that spoke with CTV News said people are entitled to their opinion, but noted people who don't support the parade can just ignore it.

"I don't protest at a church because I'm not religious. I would just prefer that they leave us alone. If you don't agree, you don't have to partake. You don't have to agree, you don't have to respect it, but just let us live our lives," she said.

Wohlgemut said they are not concerned about comments like that because the parade has received a lot of support from the community.

"I know for a fact that there are pastors and many Christians in the area who have very openly said, 'we support the rainbow community and they are welcome,'" they said. "Yes, you will always have others there, but they don't represent everyone. When we have our parade, when we have our march, my instructions to our participants is going to be, don't engage. This event is about our community, it's about the rainbow community, and if there are people there, while they have a right to their views, their point of view, they don't have a right to an audience."

Wohlgemut added it's important for people to remember the parade has the support of the town and that means police will be there to protect those attending.

The woman said for those opposed to the parade, they should get to know the community before passing fear or judgment.

"Once you understand and you know us, you could even come to love us and opening your heart to that creates a whole different type of love you can't even understand until you get there," she said. "We're peaceful and we just want love to prevail and for us to be able to live and be safe and our kids to not have to worry about us all the time."

Wohlgemut said education is a great way to help people understand and even support the rainbow community.

"I led a session at the United Church here in Altona. We had a number of people there who had a lot of questions, and we had some very good conversations and very open discussions and opportunities for people to learn. And I think people who are open and willing to learn and listen, those are great opportunities for them," they said.