Pictou County Pride Week Events Getting Underway
County Warden Robert Parker read a public proclamation on Friday in advance of Pride Week, which got underway yesterday here in Pictou County. In addition, he hosted the Pride Flag raising. Pride Week events include :
Monday, July 1:
10 a.m. Canada Day Parade, Westville. Walk with us in the Canada Day Parade.
Tuesday, July 2:
1- 2 p.m.: Drag Queen Story Hour at Dream Candy. Most children naturally explore gender identity and norms through imaginative play. This program helps children explore and embrace gender diversity in themselves and others.
4- 6 p.m. Ally Workshop at New Glasgow Library. Join us as we explore how we can use our privilege to support marginalized groups.
6 p.m. Family Bowling at the Heather Bowling Lanes. Free of Charge.
Wednesday, July 3:
1- 3 p.m. Parent and Child Drop in at the New Glasgow Library. A safe and welcoming space for LGBTQ families. Enjoy a variety of activities together. Button making art and colouring games.
4-6 p.m. Big Brothers Big Sisters Barbecue at 323 MacGregor Street, New Glasgow. Free of Charge.
Thursday, July 4:
1- 3 p.m. Tabletop Games at New Glasgow Library for Youth 12+. Try out a new game or bring your own. Tabletop role playing, board games and card games.
4-6 p.m. Understanding Gender – New Glasgow Library. Understanding Gender and Identity Expression based on thegenderbook.com. This workshop challenges how we perceive gender and seeks to explore our biases.
Friday, June 5:
1- 3p.m. LGBTQ and Religion at the New Glasgow Library. Viewing of Cure for Love followed by discussion. Cure for Love is a full-length documentary about a controversial evangelical movement that purports to convert gay people into heterosexuals.
8 p.m. – 1 a.m. – Pride and Joy Dance Party (19+) $2 at Shaun’s, which is 135 Provost Street, New Glasgow. Advance tickets by calling 902-921-3832 or 902-921-0400.
Saturday, July 6:
1-3 p.m. Solo, New Glasgow Library. Viewing Solo followed by discussion. Siddiqi struggles against social and the disapproval of his conservative Pakistani family as he explores his sexuality and his gender identity.
3-5 p.m. Sharing our stories – New Glasgow Library. A safe place to share poetry and prose, your own and or a favourite selection that speaks to you.
6-9 p.m. Masquerade Ball – Westville Legion, 2066 Spring Garden Road. $15. Youth 12+. An all ages event with mocktails and live entertainment. DJ Wayne Watters will get your masked groove on. Dress up and get down. Youth will be supervised.
Sunday, July 7:
11 a.m. – Elder Café Brunch at Shaun, 135 Provost Street, New Glasgow. Free event.
3-7 p.m. Queercon at New Glasgow Square. Donations accepted. Workshops, cosplay and vendor displays. Come celebrate Pride together.
Some new information has come in on the body discovered in a vehicle near the New Glasgow Walmart on Westville Road on Thursday. Constable Ken MacDonald says he can be very clear about 2 specific points. He says the deceased person is an adult. He also says the adult body that turned up in that car yesterday is NOT a person from Pictou County. And the case poses absolutely no risk to the public. A medical examiner’s report is pending.
BIG JUMP IN GAS PRICES
Gas Prices are up this morning, by even more than expected, hitting 118.9 for regular self serve. That’s a jump of 6.6 cents in the local pricing zone. Diesel, is also up by 3.9 cents a litre, so you’ll now pay at least 115.6 at the diesel pumps.
SALTSPRINGS STUDENTS TOP READERS IN THE WORLD!!
Some great news to share on the last day of school, Salt Springs Elementary has won the Pictou County WOW reading challenge! BUT that’s not all. They have also won the Provincial, the National & the World Reading challenge ! The students have read over 16,000 books over a 5 month period.
The Pictou County Wellness Centre has appointed Greg Smith as the new Chief Operating Officer. Among his previous jobs, Smith was Executive Vice President at Paramount Fine Foods, Atlantic Director of Business Development with Tim Hortons, a Sport Consultant with the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Recreation and Manager of Marketing – Communications with the Ontario Basketball Association.
A major job-generator in the Pictou County area is putting out some positive financial news this morning.
The parent company of Stellarton-based Sobey’s, Empire Company Limited, is raising its dividend as it reports a profit of $122.1 million in its latest quarter, up from $71.0 million in the same quarter last year. Empire will increase its quarterly payment to shareholders by a penny to 12 cents per share, which is close to a 9 per cent increase.
The other good news for Sobey’s parent company is that same-store sales are up 3.2 per cent for the most recent quarter.
RCMP IN PICTOU LANDING SPORTING NEW ART THANKS TO STUDENT CONTEST
10-year-old Kaden Mills is the winning artist in a contest this month to design Mi’kmaq-themed decals for the new First Nations police vehicles in Pictou Landing. Kaden’s artwork can now be seen on the police vehicles used at Pictou Landing. (And we’ve got photos of them on our website)
Police say the contest was a great way for RCMP to engage with the community and learn more about Indigenous traditions and culture.
Today marks 50 years since the Stonewall Riots in the U.S., which became the cornerstone of the LGBTQ rights and human rights movement around the world. 2019 also marks 50 years since the Decriminalization of Homosexuality in Canada and the Municipality of Pictou County will be marking the anniversary by hosting a Pride flag raising this morning 11 a.m. at its Administration Building at 46 Municipal Drive. Everyone is invited to attend. During the summer, Pride events will be held in communities throughout the province. Locally, Pictou County Pride week begins this Monday, July 1st at the Canada Day parade in Westville. A full schedule of events are available on mix941.ca
RCMP have arrested a 20-year-old man in Brampton, Ontario for fraud. That, after they say he tried to scam a Truro-area woman out of $15-thousand. The woman from Hilden was told he was investigating bank employees for fraud, and the suspect told her to send $5,000 cash to him in each of three boxes, for a total of 15-grand. He had apparently infiltrated her phone system as well, because when she called the number on her bank card to report a fraud, it was the suspect who answered. RCMP say if anyone asks you to send cash by mail or courier on the pretense of being a bank investigator, just hang up the phone. The same holds true when somebody tries to take remote control of bank or credit union pages on your computer screen. Fortunately, in this case, 2 of the boxes of money have been recovered by RCMP.
If you’re in the New Glasgow area, you can join local performers Kaleidescope Krys and Claire de Lune at Carmichael Park on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 for fun, songs and stories most of this summer. That starts on July 10th, and if it should rain,they’ll move it inside to the New Glasgow branch of the Library. Those sessions run until August 14th. that’s at Carmichael Park, just off the George Street Bridge, where it intersects with Terrace Street.
SPORTS
CFL:
Thursday night football saw the Winnipeg Blue Bombers scrape a 28-21 win from the hands of the Eskies. Trevor Harris threw for 345 yards for Edmonton in the loss.
Tonight the Alouettes will take on the Hamilton Tiger Cats in Hamilton. That game begins at 8:30.