Pride Calgary 2018 is underway in our great city and the festivities are chock-a-block full of options. There’s bingo, there’s clubs, there’s drag, there’s learning opportunities, and yes, there’s a parade. I’m in.

All around the globe, June marks the most mega major month that we celebrate Pride. As an ally of LGBTQ persons and the community at large I feel that positive, inclusive changes have happened, thank Dumbledore, but I am acutely aware that I have so much more work to do.

This past weekend I spent time catching up with old friends. I binged Netflix, cruised the Internet, and YouTube’d. Oh the joys of wifi. Outside of my home–centric activities it was a big weekend. There was mourning, celebrating, and for anyone still sleeping, we were asked to wake up. 

Canada Day is a sunny feeling day for me regardless of the weather. We are so lucky to have a day off that says, “Happy birthday to us, take the day.” Oh, Canada. With a country so prosperous and diverse as ours, I was curious to know how people celebrate. After a bit of thought, here’s what I have it boiled down to.