Gimli’s much-loved gastropub the Ship & Plough is showing its support for Pride month and upcoming Pride events in Gimli despite experiencing backlash in recent years.
The Ship & Plough posted a message on Facebook saying it will continue to advocate for Pride and offer a safe space for the marginalized
Ship & Plough owner Scott Carman said he’s resolute in his support for Pride and its underlying message of love and the defence of human rights. He issued a post on Facebook last week that quickly chalked up about 150,000 views and had thousands of likes.
“We did a Facebook post a couple of days ago [last week] wishing everyone Happy Pride month and put up our Pride flag on the pub,” said Carman, who opened his Centre Street pub in 2013. “I also listed all the things we’ve gone through in the past. People have called us the fag bar. The rainbow flag has been torn down. Our planters have been knocked over. The Pride sticker on the front door has been ripped off numerous times. But as long as we’re here, we’re going to keep standing up for what’s right.”
Ship & Plough offers food including locally caught pickerel, Manitoba craft beers, live local and international musical entertainers, karaoke nights, stand-up comedy and British-style pub quizzes. Carman let a production company film use the pub for a segment of its television series Ice Vikings, which tells the stories of Lake Winnipeg commercial fishers.
June is Pride Month, which celebrates diversity and defends human rights. Pride events are held in cities and communities during June. With a changing political climate in America and other countries with populist governments and far-right political elements, LGBTQ+ people are seeing a resurgence of discriminatory practices and being subjected to hateful messages.
In the lead up to Pride events in Gimli last year, people opposed to diversity torn off the rainbow decorations around the trees at Gimli harbour and ran over with their vehicles the rainbow painted on the street by the harbour bandstand.
“It’s great to say Happy Pride and plan celebratory events, but as I told [other media outlets] this week, it’s not all rainbows and unicorns,” said Carman. “There’s a sad reality that things like this still happen, especially in recent years with the political climate. People are feeling more emboldened to spread hatred and lies and commit vandalism and acts of hatred. It’s hard times for the LGBTQ+ community.”
As of last week, Carman said there’s been no vandalism of the Ship & Plough. And as volunteers are just in the process of decorating the town, there have been no incidents as yet. There have been no reports of other businesses that support Pride having experienced any pushback.
By far, the Gimli community – whether LGBTQ+ or not – has embraced diversity and supports the annual Pride celebration.
“The town, overall, is very welcoming and very accepting. I think Gimli is a progressive community, with a fairly progressive council and mayor and a great artistic community with lots of artists and musicians. All of them have been very supportive in having Pride activities and have helped fund them,” said Carman. “I don’t think [vandalism, hateful messages] should negatively reflect on Gimli as a community because every town has its bad apples. Gimli is no different. But this is something we have to acknowledge and deal with.”
Gimli’s Pride event continues to see growth year after year, particularly in the numbers of people who are taking part in the Pride Walk, he added. And people should be aware of a potential for protest in various forms – such as tearing down decorations and flags and “burnouts” on the rainbows painted on the streets.
“At the end of the day, [protest] is a reminder of why we need to have Pride and why we need to bring awareness, education and support to the people who need it,” he said. “And, hopefully, love will conquer hate.”
Canada’s Governor General, Mary Simon, issued a statement June 1, recognizing the country’s Pride celebrations and saying members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community have “helped us all build a more inclusive, more connected and more understanding” Canada. However, discrimination and hatred directed at the community continues, especially online harassment and abuse.
As part of the Pride celebrations, the Ship & Plough is hosting an event called “A Women’s Event” on June 14 that will include a DJ and dancing. Other Pride activities taking place in partnership with the municipality and local businesses include an opening ceremony and flag raising, lighting of the Viking statue in rainbow colours, movies, music, and a rooftop party at Interlake Brewing. The celebration attracts numerous sponsors from the business community.
Gimli’s Pride celebration takes place on June 13 and 14. For a full list of events, visit Pride Gimli: pridegimli.com
