Kulturkampf

[Ethan]

Civil war in the Montreal pride scene

New community-led Pride festival in Montreal hopes to reclaim celebration 

A group of Montrealers is launching a new Pride festival this summer, aiming to reclaim the spirit of celebration and resistance they say has been lost in corporate-led events by Fierté Montréal.

Wild Pride is set to run for three weeks starting July 31, with programming that includes workshops, performances, family-friendly gatherings and dance parties.

But organizers say the event is about more than fun — it’s a response to deep frustration from community members who say they’ve been excluded, ignored or tokenized by existing institutions.

“It’s a grassroots and community-based alternative to Fierté,” said Yara Coussa, one of Wild Pride’s co-organizers. “It’s here to give space to people who don’t feel like Fierté Montréal has been there for them — or represented them in any shape or form.”

The festival is being organized by a collective led by queer, Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC), Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA), disabled and neurodivergent volunteers. Coussa said that diversity is reflected not just in who is planning the event, but in how it’s being structured.

“We’re intentionally spreading things out over three weeks to make it accessible,” they explained. “Most festivals are jam-packed with events every single day and that format doesn’t work for people with lower energy, mobility issues, or who need recovery time.”

Some activities will be mask-mandatory and COVID-safe. While the majority of events will offer free entry, those that don’t will include sliding-scale pricing, with discounts for BIPOC and disabled attendees. Organizers also plan to distribute free transit passes at events and provide some designated drivers to get people home safely after late-night parties.

Coussa said the hope is to make sure cost isn’t a barrier. “We want to make this as accessible as possible,” they said. “We’re not trying to make a profit. This is about building community.”

The programming also includes concerts, drag story hour, poetry readings and sensory-friendly events. Some well-known musical guests are expected, though organizers are keeping names under wraps for now.

The creation of Wild Pride follows weeks of controversy surrounding Fierté Montréal. Nearly 20 community groups have publicly cut ties with the organization, accusing it of fostering a toxic culture and failing to respond to concerns around inclusion and politics.

“We’re fed up with our identities being used and tokenized by big corporations [partnering with Fierté],” Coussa said. “It all feels like virtue signalling, where these companies walk with us and think they’re absolved. Meanwhile, we’re not actually protected or heard.”

Zev Saltiel, a member of Independent Jewish Voices Montreal and part of Wild Pride, pointed to last year’s parade including the presence of pro-Israel groups. He’s among some activists who asked the organization to reconsider in light of the war in Gaza.

“We started conversations with Fierté about divesting from corporations complicit in the ongoing genocide,” Saltiel said. “We asked them to limit the display of Israeli flags.” They said this was in part to protect queer Palestinians grieving and feeling deeply hurt by the ongoing war.

Saltiel said the conversations with Fierté Montréal went nowhere—and that when the organization declined to cut ties with certain sponsors or acknowledge the war, it became clear to many that an alternative space was needed.

“Being anti-Zionist isn’t antisemitic and we were trying to help Fierté understand that, but it became clear that wasn’t going to happen, we knew we needed to do something different that actually reflects our community values.”

Organizers, who describe Wild Pride as firmly political, are planning on bringing these conversations to the forefront. A Shabbat is in the works for the festival.

Another event in the works is a private pool day for queer families, including those with trans parents or trans kids. Saltiel said the aim is to create an environment that feels unpoliced and safe.

“There’s so little space for us and it can be isolating. So having something intentional like this—it matters," Saltiel said.

At the heart of many complaints also made by 2SLGBTQ+ groups is what organizers describe as “pinkwashing” — corporate or institutional Pride messaging that masks or ignores harm.

“Wild Pride really aligns with this letting go of the pinkwashing and, instead, supporting all of our community members,” they added.

That sense of intention extended to an open community meeting held in mid-May, where anyone interested in shaping Wild Pride could share ideas. More than 120 people attended, Coussa said, and the first hour alone was devoted to people sharing painful experiences with Fierté Montréal.

“There was anger, absolutely,” they said. “But also hope.”

With about 40 volunteers already signed up and a small facilitation committee in place, organizers say they feel confident about the planning. Still, more volunteers are always welcome, and organizers are also seeking donations. Coussaid said funds will go toward accessibility measures, transit passes, and care resources.

“We were born out of frustration and desperation, yes,” they said. “But also out of the desire to build something joyful, political and inclusive. Pride was a riot and it should be political. It cannot be associated with banks and sponsors who don’t represent us.”

Coussa acknowledged that not everyone will relate to Wild Pride, and that’s fine. “If Fierté works for you, go. But for those of us who felt excluded, we deserve something, too.,” Coussa said.

They paused before adding: “It’s important to have another option. One where you don’t have to make a moral compromise just to feel seen.”

https://www.ctvnews.ca/montreal/article/new-community-led-pride-festival-in-montreal-hopes-to-reclaim-celebration/

Article is a few weeks old, but I heard about this group for the first time this morning when their spokesperson was on TV saying they were organizing a decolonialist and anticapitalist competitor to the mainstream pride festival. Good luck!