Creston’s LGTBQ+ community organization OUTspoken is having a fundraiser to add some colour to the street.
They are hosting a BBQ in Centennial Park on Saturday from noon until 4:00 pm with live music and guest talkers to reach their $5,600 goal. The money will go towards painting and maintaining Creston’s first rainbow crosswalk.
OUTspoken organizer Nik McCready says it will serve as a symbol of acceptance, solidarity and pride.
“We have been sheltered for a very long time. People haven’t spoken about this. We were in the [Blossom Festival] parade for the first time in 78 years. It’s so underrepresented that it does seem very scary and it would shake up people’s way of life. However, we are already here, and we’ve always been here. Life will go on as it always has and it always will. Gay people are not going to change that.”
Rainbow crosswalks exist in Nelson, Grand Forks, Rossland, Fernie and Cranbrook. Castlegar has two.
OUTspoken is hoping to paint the new crosswalk on 10th avenue, just outside the Trinity United Church who sponsors them. They will also need support from the Town of Creston but so far they haven’t ran into any roadblocks according to McCready.
“Right now we have 27 letters of support from local businesses. We have a huge support network of people who are willing to sign a petition. We have support from Pealow’s and wonderful businesses like that who are absolutely willing to speak up, which is fantastic.”
With every rainbow crosswalk discussion comes push-back. Vandalism is a factor many for communities across BC and Canada. But for McCready, the $5,600 budget includes renewal. They say they may even thrown an OUTspoken community dance party to gather volunteers to fix the crosswalk if it is defaced in any way.
“I like to think of it as a monument. I think its a really amazing way to instill normalcy of pride of LGTBQ people. Something as mundane as white crosswalk can be turned into something beautiful if we add inclusion.”
Want to learn more about OUTspoken and Creston Pride? Head to their official Facebook page.
