Fredericton Pride cancels festival

Fredericton Pride has cancelled its festival this year, saying increasing harassment of board members has put their safety in jeopardy.

The news was posted on Fierté Fredericton Pride’s social media late Thursday, the eve of the start of the 10-day festival.

“Due to the harassment board members have received, including individuals posing as board members on social media and implicating our workplaces, our wellbeing and livelihoods have been negatively impacted. In order to ensure our own safety, that of our performers, and our volunteers, Fierté Fredericton Pride has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2024 festival,” the group posted in a long message on social media. “This decision has not been made lightly and all other alternatives were considered.”

OUR WELLBEING AND LIVELIHOODS HAVE BEEN NEGATIVELY IMPACTED.

The announcement came after organizers abruptly cancelled an early drag show fundraiser that was to be held at the Monarch Club in Fredericton on Wednesday due to “unexpected safety concerns,” but did not offer further details.

Fredericton Pride announced recently that it would allow pro-palestinian supporters to participate in its parade. It named Fredericton Palestine Solidarity as the parade marshal and welcomed Palestinian flags and keffiyehs, refused donations from businesses who won’t cut ties with Israel, and announced a list of exclusions from the parade, including the University of New Brunswick for not revealing its partnerships with Israel, and the Canadian Armed Forces.

The move had drawn both widespread criticism and support. Most recently New Brunswick Lt.-gov. Brenda Murphy, Canada’s first openly gay vice-regal, opted to bow out of marching in the parade this year “to uphold her commitment to neutrality and non-partisanship,” according to her office.

Jenna Lyn Albert, the chairperson of Fredericton Pride, said the group was prepared for some backlash but said it’s seen more support than detractors.

Fredericton Pride did not mention the parade controversy in its festival cancellation message. “We also ask that no further harassment be directed towards resigning board members. Fierté Fredericton Pride has always been made up of volunteers. We did our absolute best we could with the resources we had available to us and under the guidance provided to our team,” the post reads.