The U.S. Embassy, our seven consulates in Canada, and the U.S. Government are committed to promoting social inclusion for the LGBT community around the world. So, what better way is there to show our support of LGBT+ rights than to partner with Ottawa’s Capital Pride, a festival that celebrates diversity in this great city that supports the rights of all people to live peacefully and without discrimination?
Take a walk along Mackenzie St. to see the giant Pride flag draped over the Embassy’s façade.
This year’s Capital Pride — Ottawa’s most colorful festival — is only a few days away. It runs August 15th to 24th and features several events each day for participants of all ages. You can check out the full schedule on capitalpride.ca.
The Embassy is sponsoring The Village Movie Night on Friday, August 22nd. The general public is invited to attend a FREE outdoor screening of To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar at the corner of Bank & Gilmour. Movie-themed refreshments will be available for purchase. BYO chair!
We have also partnered with Capital Pride to bring up two American LGBT+ activists to participate in a number of scheduled activities. Transgender activist Stephanie Battaglino will be a keynote speaker at the Free to Learn – GLBT+ Conference on August 20th, and will host the Gender Mosaic Networking Social and Human Rights Vigil on August 21st.
Globetrotting-adventurer / wonder kid Cason Crane is this year’s International Parade Marshall. He will also be a keynote speaker at the Free to Learn – GLBT+ Conference and will participate in some of the youth-oriented activities organized by Capital Pride’s youth wing.
Read Stephanie and Cason’s bios here.
It’s going to be an exciting week culminating with the Capital Pride Parade on July 24th. As Cason’s waving arm gets a workout in the parade, we’ll be setting up an info booth at the community fair at Marion Dewar Plaza (in front of City Hall). So if you’d like to pick up some U.S. tourist information, learn about post-secondary education in the U.S., or if you’d just like to ask us general questions about the Embassy and its work in Canada, stop by and say hi!
