A temperature of -40 did not stop a group of community-oriented individuals from attending the 3^rd Annual Pride Calgary Community Meeting held at The Old Y this past January 17th. The premise of the meeting was to introduce the public to the Pride Board, discuss plans for this season, and to listen to the public as to what they want to see from Pride.

This year was a packed house. There were many people from community organizations as well as individuals that wanted to be a part of the Pride 2012 planning and execution.

Doug Hass, Communications Director for Pride Calgary was just as impressed with the turnout. "Despite the -40 weather, the turnout for the community meeting was a huge success. It was a great opportunity for us to learn the needs and wants of our growing LGBTQA community, exchange great ideas, and it provided an opportunity for the community to get to know the volunteers behind the board. With this, we're able to take the feedback received and continue to make changes that will encourage more people to come out and show their Pride."

Topics at the meeting were varied, and the input from the public was integral to Pride’s mandate for the year. Pride’s goal this year is to work within the community to put on crucial fundraising events and to do their best to involve the entire community. Last year’s Pride was the largest that Calgary has ever seen, and that was due to the community’s support.

One of the most important topics discussed was that of Sponsorship. Last year was very difficult to secure sponsorship for Pride due to many circumstances. They encountered much resistance due to the state of the economy and the fact that organizations need to compete with other organizations to secure corporate funding. There is only so much a corporation can budget for non-profit donations.

As a result of this disclosure at the community meeting, the audience was very quick to come up with creative ideas to drum up funding. Some individuals with corporate ties also stepped forward, who could help the Committee in pursuing these dollars.

Community relationships were also a topic that Pride wanted to address, making it a priority to do what they can to try to help mend our sometimes fractured community.

There was much representation from the other queer organizations of Calgary, and many opportunities arose for collaborative events throughout the year.  Pride hopes to have an event every month.

Finally the conversation ended with some discussion on this year’s main event: the group is declaring Calgary Pride Week as August 25^th to September 3^rd.  The Pride Parade and Street Festival will be held on the Sunday of Labour Day weekend, September 2^nd, once again at Shaw Millennium Park.

Any businesses or individuals that have ideas for events to put on during Pride Week are asked to contact Pride Calgary, as they wish to work in partnership to promote them.

Pride Calgary thinks things are looking great for this year, and asks readers to stay tuned for a later announcements about the theme for this year’s events, as well as their Grand Marshall.