The public is invited to a ribbon cutting ceremony followed by a barbecue on Wednesday, July 20 to celebrate the recent installation of a rainbow crosswalk in front of city hall celebrating Terrace’s LGBTQ+ community.
The ceremony will occur in front of city hall at 4:30 p.m. with members of the City of Terrace and the Skeena Pride Alliance in attendance.
After the ceremony, a celebratory barbecue will take place in the Skeena Mall parking lot.
(LGBTQ+ is an acronym meaning Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer/Questioning, and others.)
Devin Wall of the Skeena Pride Alliance was happy the ribbon cutting ceremony and barbecue were taking place in the wake of the rainbow crosswalk’s installation.
“It just kind of shows inclusiveness and it shows the support that the LGBTQ community has with the surrounding community,” Wall said. “It kind of shows the unity of it.”
“It won’t be anything too formal,” Wall said about the barbecue celebration. “It will just be people hanging out, having a burger, and stuff like that… This is our first event so we didn’t want to do anything too extravagant yet.”
Wall added that members of the public are welcome to attend Wednesday’s ribbon cutting and barbecue event.
The pride alliance was originally scheduled to ask the city for a donation for the barbecue during the July 11 council meeting, but rescinded its request after local restaurant and bar, Wings Terrace, stepped in.
“We wanted to support the group and put ourselves forward as a sponsor for it,” said Wings Terrace owner Evan van Dyk. “And they graciously accepted.”
According to a press release from the Skeena Pride Alliance, the rainbow crosswalk, located at the intersection of Eby Street and Lakelse Avenue, was first proposed last year by a Terrace resident.
City council unanimously supported the idea and the crosswalk was painted the morning of June 30.
The Skeena Pride Alliance is not currently a registered group, according to Wall. But the group is looking into the possibility of establishing non-profit status in the future.
According to the press release from the group, the pride alliance meets every third Wednesday once a month at Xanders Coffee Shop and everyone is welcome.
