Join UCalgary at first in-person Calgary Pride parade and festival since 2019

Calgary Pride is back, and the University of Calgary is excited to support and sponsor this annual event.

UCalgary students, faculty, staff, volunteers and alumni will join the 2022 Calgary Pride Parade and Festival on Sept. 4.

“We are proud to once again partner and sponsor Calgary Pride," says Susan Mide Kiss, UCalgary’s senior director of community engagement. "This community partnership is important because we value diversity and champion gender-diverse and equity-deserving communities, both on campus and in our broader community.”

In 2019, the community engagement team worked closely with campus and community partners for that year’s Pride flag-raising ceremony and art installation on campus. Mide Kiss says she’s honoured to again be part of the program, which was curtailed after 2019 due to COVID-19 restrictions.

This year, UCalgary will raise the Pride flag on main campus on Aug. 26 to signify the university’s ongoing support of Calgary’s LGBTQ2S+ community, ahead of the university participating in the parade and festival, both set for Sept. 4.

The Pride art installation on campus, originally commissioned for the stairs of MacEwan Student Centre in 2019 and retouched earlier this month, remains an important year-round reminder of UCalgary’s dedication.

“Pride is the culmination of a long struggle for recognition, dignity and justice,” says Dr. Malinda Smith, vice-provost and associate vice-president research (equity, diversity and inclusion). “It is a moment in which we celebrate the freedom and joy to be, live, learn and work as LGBTQ2S+ members in a campus community, one where people are not forced by intolerable circumstances to be in the closet or face a hostile environment because of who they are. 

Our ability to celebrate Pride, as members of the community and as engaged allies, greatly enhances the community at UCalgary. Our mandate is to build an equitable, diverse, inclusive and safe space for all. This includes supporting Two-Spirit, Indigiqueer, transgender, and gender diversity in curriculum, research and scholarship and all spheres of university life.

As part of UCalgary’s sponsorship, nearly 300 students, faculty and staff members will be walking in the Pride parade. For those who will not be walking in the parade, we encourage you to join us and show your support along the route.

Interested in joining UCalgary for Pride Week? Plan your week with these upcoming events

Pride skate
UCalgary Olympic Oval
Aug. 31
6 – 7:30 p.m.
In celebration of Calgary Pride Week, the Olympic Oval is hosting its first Pride skate. All ages welcome.

Trans panic: A global history
Calgary Institute for the Humanities
Sept. 2
7 p.m.
Hosted by the Calgary Central Library, the Calgary Institute for the Humanities will be presenting the fourth annual LGBTQ2S+ lecture, featuring Dr. Jules Gill-Peterson, PhD, of Johns Hopkins University, a historian specializing in transgender history. Register for Trans panic: A global history. 

Calgary Pride parade
Calgary Pride
Sept. 4
11 a.m.
The Calgary Pride parade will be held along 9th Avenue, beginning on 5th Street S.W. and ending in the East Village.

Calgary Pride festival
Calgary Pride
Sept. 4
12 p.m.
The Calgary Pride festival will be held at Fort Calgary, featuring food trucks, performances, child-friendly activities and a vendor marketplace. Admission is free and all ages are welcome.