Brockville Pride 2027

Brockville sits on the St. Lawrence River in eastern Ontario, roughly halfway between Kingston and Cornwall and about 115 kilometres south of Ottawa. The city of just over 22,000 people calls itself the "City of the 1000 Islands" because it lies at the edge of the Thousand Islands region. Loyalist settlers founded it in the late eighteenth century, and it takes its name from the British general Isaac Brock. It was the first town in Ontario to be incorporated with its own local government.

Pride in Brockville is organised by Brockville Pride, a volunteer group that runs a Pride Week every year in early June. The week opens on Monday with a flag raising at Tunnel Bay behind city hall, close to the south portal of the Brockville Railway Tunnel, the first railway tunnel built in Canada.

Friday evening has two events. The Brockville Public Library hosts a Pride Prom called "Under the Stars", aimed mainly at young people. Later that night the Barley Mow, a pub on Parkedale Avenue, holds a dance party with a fashion show.

Saturday is the main day. The Pride Parade leaves Reynolds Park at noon and runs along King Street through downtown, which is closed to traffic between Bethune Street and Perth Street for the occasion. Local organisations take part, among them church groups, unions and charities. The parade ends at Hardy Park on the waterfront, where the Rainbow Village vendor fair follows straight away with stalls from local vendors, community groups and outreach services, along with drag performances. In the evening an afterparty drag show at the Barley Mow closes the week.

This is a small, volunteer-run event. Brockville has no gay bars or clubs of its own, so Pride Week is the time of year when the local queer community is most visible downtown. Brockville Pride posts current dates and details on its Facebook page.