Pride Flag raised in Cobourg

Cobourg Mayor Lucas Cleveland and Ashley Bauman rasing the Pride Flag in Cobourg. Photo by Dan Jones, CFWN, LJI

By: Dan Jones, Northumberland 89.7 FM News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Pride month kicked off Monday morning in Cobourg with the annual flag raising at Victoria Hall.

For pride activist Ashley Bauman, this is her tenth year, hosting and organizing events in Cobourg. She was joined by Mayor Lucas Cleveland.

In 2016, the only event to recognize the LGTBQIA2S+ community was a march. Now, there are several events in Northumberland County including a Cobourg Police BBQ today, the YMCA Northumberland Rainbow Run yesterday. Cobourg will close King Street June 20th for further Pride festivals. Port Hope and Trent Hills also hold events this month.

“Pride events popping up throughout Northumberland County have been a great achievement and I’m very happy to see that,” Bauman said in an interview following the flag raising ceremony. “It means showing that queer people in Canada still exist. Unfortunately, this type of existence is highly politicized.”

In her speech, Bauman discussed how some communities are turning off social media comments due to the amount of backlash and negative posts.

Yet, she explained despite that atmosphere, pride events are still needed to combat such language.

Bauman suggests the queer community faces high suicide and substance abuse issues. However celebrations during June, Bauman said, demonstrates that her community has a safe place to express and be themselves.