Stratford Winter Pride: Love is Love is heating up a small town winter

19 Jan 2023 - photos courtesy of the SPCC

A far-too-brief fall jaunt to Stratford, to see Sunny Drake's incredible play Every Little Nookie, gave me a taste of the town's unique, and very queer, mixture of old school charm and tourist trap. Now there's a reason to visit in the midst of winter. Eschewing the usual June and July festivities, Stratford is holding Stratford Winter Pride: Love is Love from Thursday, February 9 to Sunday, February 12. Bruce Duncan Skeaff, president of the Stratford Pride Community Centre & Pride Guide explains that, "For the last 50 years, it's been all about the Stratford Festival. Anywhere over the years you could see the likes of Christopher Plummer and Maggie Smith, and this year, plays by Brad Fraser and Nick Green, plus a new production of Rent that has to be on the list of every good theatre fag like me. What most people don't know is we also have a symphony orchestra, a summer music festival, an art gallery, and some of the best food in the country. With all this artistic talent, much of its living here all year, while Stratford is not perfect, it's very LGBTQ friendly."

And Stratford Winter Pride is filled with events for the discerning LGBTQer, starting with a comedy night organized by QAF's Robert Watson fresh off the twin triumphs of the Just For Laughs festival and releasing his first comedy album, Homo Say What?"We wanted diversity in the lineup and my friend Robert Watson put it together for us," says Skeaff. Elvira Kurt headlines with sets by Ted Morris and Cliff Knight. Side-splitting comedy is followed by a spectacular Drag Night and a special edition of Drag Storytime. "There are no working drag artists in Stratford," says Skeaff, but they found talent nearby. "Troyboy Entertainment is based in Guelph and plays all the little towns in which you'd never think you'd see drag. Harrison, Orangeville, Palmerston, along with Kitchener-Waterloo at more than 400,000 population. Our readers for Drag Storytime come from London where the Rainbow Optimist Club provides readers and storytimes all over the London-Middlesex-Elgin area, and north to us. We have storytime four times a year, skipping summer."

Stratford Winter Pride comes to a close with an ecumenical church service—"Avondale United is a welcoming Christian community respecting inclusivity, diversity, and the earth," says Skeaff—for those who have recovered from the climactic Snow Ball Dance Party featuring DJ Chiclet. "We hope to shake the rafters of the old church turned arts and culture centre we're mounting the dance in," says Skeaff. "But the event I'm most proud of the fundraising Rainbow Gala, because it brings in the money to run the centre and help organizations like the Huron-Perth Children's Aid Society which has come to us looking for help finding foster homes for young LGBTQ+ people whose parents don't want them anymore once they've come out." The gala is hosted by Sharron Matthews but there will be much more talent onstage. "Along with Sharron, we are introducing to Canadian audiences bright young singer Mira Fantasy. Sherry Sylvain discovered Mira at a Church Street tribute to Michelle Ross. They'll sing a duet and Mira will sing a solo. Our grand finale, though, is under wraps until showtime. Brought to the cabaret through the generous participation of the Stratford Festival, you might call it a sneak peek. But we couldn't possibly comment. There are just 100 tickets and if you don't have one, we guarantee you'll regret it."

Skeaff is eager to explain the fundraising aspect of Stratford Winter Pride. "A University of Western Ontario PhD student, Dayna Prest, did her dissertation on what it's like to live LGBTQ+ in Stratford. In 300 pages of interviews with residents, it laid out the good and the bad in people's own words. In it, some friends and I found a goldmine of research on building better accessibility to information for those living here, visiting, or considering moving here. And to address a common desire: a safe space of our own. There has never been a gay bar in Stratford, go figure. On Aug 4, 2021, we went live online with an information resource including our own directory of queer-friendly businesses the Stratford Pride Guide (stratfordpride.com). On June 4, 2022 we opened the community centre, 1,000 square feet of prime rental real estate right downtown."

Skeaff is full of pride for his hometown. "In 2016 the national census showed Stratford was seventh when male same-sex couples were ranked as a percentage of all couples," he says. "More than Toronto, at eighth. In Stratford there are more Pride flags outside downtown businesses than in any other Canadian downtown of its size. There are many queer singles and couples choosing to retire here, myself included. Toronto is nearby, but you don't have to live in it. Both the official tourism authority and our organization have begun promoting Stratford as a year-round destination. From our point of view, we really want to get the gay word out. Every month I seem to meet another LGBTQ+ person or couple who have abandoned Toronto for life in Stratford. a common reason amongst all of us is that we moved here for the arts scene. But Stratford needs more services for the LGBTQ+ population and that's part of what we're addressing at the Stratford Pride Community Centre. As the queer community centre, we're here to help."

The events of Stratford Winter Pride make for a busy weekend but the town of Stratford has much more to offer and the Stratford Pride Community Centre and its Pride Guide are eager to help with that as well. "We've opened a swag shop emphasizing that Stratford is a safe and welcoming place. I dare you to find anywhere in Ontario outside of the Village with as many year-round rainbow flags flying as there are here. And we've now added window stickers and a Pride Guide to help people find places before they arrive." It is also the best resource if you're looking for a place to stay during Stratford Winter Pride or on any visit to Stratford. "Absolutely," says Skeaff, "as is the Stratford Festival guide. Many expedia et al Stratford listings are 20 years out of date." The town council has officially proclaimed that February 9 to 12 are Winter Pride Days, local businesses are on board, and Skeaff says that the locals are friendly though he is cagey about Grindr action for those looking for a up close and personal encounter. "Everywhere there's a population centre, between stretches of farm land will definitely show up as a spike in listings," he says..