Park House Museum hosts Pride Picnic as part of Open Air Weekends

The Park House Museum and its curator Kat Bezaire hosted a Pride Picnic June 27-28 in Amherstburg.

Amherstburg is rich with history and this past weekend a little more of it was discovered.

As part of the Open Air weekend’s Pride celebration, the Park House Museum hosted a Pride Picnic and for those who were curious, there was a lot of interesting information.

For example, decades before Toronto began its well-known parade to celebrate the 2SLGBTQ+ community, Amherstburg had its own event.

As early as 1968, and recorded officially in 1970, Holiday Beach was the site of a picnic attended by Detroit residents who did not want to be persecuted for their sexuality.

According to museum curator Kat Bezaire, the Boblo Island Gay Days began on the night cruises where as many as 400 would engage in dancing but were at one time told they had to stop. Following a protest, Boblo changed its policy but there was a Code of Conduct put into place.

The Park House Museum set up a display the June 27-28 weekend that gave a lot of historical information.

“This is Pride weekend in Amherstburg. This exhibit started last year and we noticed that there was a lack of Queer representation in museums,” said Bezaire.

Bezaire said that a lot of information about the local Queer community was obtained from historian Walter Cassidy who is currently writing a book.

“It is a new event,” Bezaire of the picnic. “People come throughout the day to look at the panels.”

One of those was Svend Robinson, the first openly gay Member of Parliament. Another famous Canadian, and who became the first self-proclaimed gay man was Roswell George Mills who was a poet, journalist and magazine editor.

Perhaps the most famous gay male, and a truly unsung hero is Britian’s Allan Turing who is credited for inventing the first computer. Also celebrated during the weekend was Russell Alldread, who has been a drag queen with the stage name Michelle DuBarry since 1961.

Amherstburg’s TRUE Festival last Saturday night featured three drag queens at a well-attended event on Murray St. hosted by Mel Lucier.

Another one of the displays set up during the picnic was one showing all the different pride flags. Although there were 12 shown, Bezaire said there are more.

“People can get confused by the different flags. It keeps evolving. There are about 20 of them.”

That includes the well-recognized rainbow Pride Flag.

Park House Museum hosts Pride Picnic as part of Open Air Weekends

By Fred Groves