Philosophy
Mission Statement
Our Mission Statement is the following:
Hamilton Pride Festival, Inc. is a not-for-profit Corporation whose function is to plan, organize and produce the Hamilton Pride Festival in the City of Hamilton celebrating the diversity, history, and achievements of our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Communities during the month of June of each year.
Diversity
Hamilton is a diverse city, and grows more and more diverse each year. Hamilton Pride recognizes the wonderful diversity of our members, and encourages the expression of that diversity in all of our events.
Dis/Ability
Removing barriers to the participation of all our members, is an important goal of HPFI. Where ever it is within our control, HPFI will make necessary accommodations to include all members of our community, including:
- persons with limited mobility, and persons using mobility devices (e.g. scooters),
- the blind, visually impaired, and those using working animals,
- the deaf, hearing impaired, and those who speak ASL
- those with weakened immune systems,
- persons affected by HIV/AIDS,
- and any other person who may be affected by a physical, mental, psychological or other health-related situation that challenges their participation in our events.
Women
Women who love women make up an enormous part of Hamilton's LGBT community - a unique aspect of our community that separates us from many of the rest. Very few other metro centres enjoy such an equitable mix of genders in their LGBT populations. Despite this, HPFI still suffers from a lack of equitable representation - which signals that our events are not yet perfectly inclusive of women. Please join in the challenge to correct this inbalance, and offer your suggestions and input for change.
Every year, HPFI organizes at least one event for women only. The goal of this event, as with all of our events, is to create a safe, informative, positive, joyous space that increases understanding and appreciation of ourselves, each other, and our community. Please join all the other women of our community in a night of fun and excitement.
Trans Community
As Pride evolves (not just in Hamilton, but elsewhere), the lesbian/gay/bisexual community becomes more and more aware of the significance of aligning closely with the Trans community. Our struggles are often similar, and together we can accomplish so much more than apart. We all value the contributions and benefit from the important achievements of the Trans community. If you would like to see more Pride programming exploring Trans issues, please let us know.
Youth
Youth are the future of our community. Pride actively feeds off the excitement and energy that youth of all stripes and backgrounds bring to the celebration. The rainbow is brightest when it's worn on the sleeves of our young members.
HPFI acknowledges that youth often face real barriers to participation in our events, including venues with age restrictions, adult programming, out-of-reach entrance fees, and more. HPFI works to remove these barriers where it is possible, and to produce alternative programming where it is not possible. We try to host our events in central locations, with access to public transit.
We generally offer access to events at sliding scale for those who can not afford full ticket cost. Age appropriate language and entertainment (or warnings if absent) are a continual aspect of our planning.
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