Mayor Merlin Seymour poses with the Pride flag alongside organizer Jo Metz at the Pride flag ceremony (Elliott Knopp/meadowlakeNOW staff)

By Elliott Knopp

Pride Flag Celebration

Pride flag raised at city hall in support of LGBTQ+ community, Pride Month

Jun 1, 2021 | 3:56 PM

For the second consecutive year, Meadow Lake City Hall is donning a rainbow pride flag outside of council chambers.

Several people gathered outside of city hall on Tuesday afternoon for the raising of the pride flag to kick off Pride Month in Meadow Lake. Mayor Merlin Seymour explained city council has proclaimed June to be Pride Month, and that raising the flag shows support for the LGBTQ+ people in the community.

“We have a number of citizens that approached the city to see if we would fly the flag for them, and we proclaim June to be Pride Month. This is our second year in a row now. They’re a part of our community, so we do whatever we can for everyone,” Seymour said.

The flag was raised for a few moments before being lowered to half-mast again in honour of the 215 children who were killed at a Kamloops residential school.

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Jo Metz, a Meadow Lake resident, was the driving force behind having the pride flag displayed at city hall over the past two years. She stated this gesture from city council is a huge step toward supporting the LGBTQ+ community in the region.

“It’s huge. It’s something I wasn’t sure would ever happen, honestly. But, I feel very thankful for the mayor for going forward with this. Showing support to the LGBTQ2S+ community at large here in Meadow Lake and surrounding areas is a huge step, and is a huge sign of hope and support,” Metz said.

At the event, small plants and Pride pins were handed out courtesy of the Meadow Lake Library. Tawn Marshall shared this gesture in support of the event and to show that the library is an inclusive environment that offers resources and information regarding LGBTQ+ issues.

Plants and pride pins handed out at the flag raising ceremony. (submitted photo/Tawn Marshall)

“We weren’t one of the organizers of the event, but once I heard the flag was going up, I thought it would be a great opportunity for the library to get out and show support,” Marshall shared. “One of the essential things about libraries at our core is that we’re really committed to equity, diversity and inclusion. When there’s an opportunity in the community to support new or progressive endeavours, we always like to be a part of that when we can.”

Metz added she hopes there will be more Pride events in the future, eventually hoping there will be a Pride parade in Meadow Lake.

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elliott.knopp@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @ElliottKnopp