Even the smoke couldn’t cloud Kelowna’s Pride weekend, rainbow clad people still showed their support for the LGBTQ+ community.
___
Pride Parade
The march was led by Anas Qartoumeh, a gay Syrian refugee who gave an impactful speech and was met with applause during the event.
“I want to ask my community in the Middle East —do you think I’m gay? Yes, I am,” he said. “I am me now and I will never go back to not being me.”
Read the full article here
___
For his first 34 years, Anas Qartoumeh lived a life that wasn’t his.
“When I was young I had a soft voice and the way I walked was different,” he said.
“I used to be interested in my sisters’ toys. My father, he would say he had three daughters (two sisters) and I was the third.”
Qartoumeh’s father not only took note of these “feminine traits,” he tried to quash them, so Qartoumeh changed to avoid being a disappointment.
Read Anas Qartoumeh’s full story here
___
Drag Queens have danced their way to the forefront of pop culture, but Drag Kings are still fighting for their time in the spotlight.
Kelowna’s drag scene is growing and diversifying, but the drag kings have always been around according to Laura McKenzie, also known as ‘Craven Moorehead’ who she describes as,”both a rock and roll legend and a total perv.”
Read about one of Kelowna’s Drag Kings here
A Kelowna actor is pursuing his dreams, stepping out of his comfort zone and finding success.
Tristan Huff, 32, is part of a new TV series called The Whole Package, a reality show that has 20 men competing in different challenges, such as perfecting drag makeup in 20 minutes, wearing high heels and performing the best pole dance.
Read about the Kelowna actor featured in LGBTQ2+ series here
___
Here’s how you spent your pride weekend in Kelowna in our community photo album.
Do you want to be featured next weekend? Tag your location as Kelowna and be sure to use #yourkelowna to have your post included!
To report a typo, email:
newstips@kelownacapnews.com.
@KelownaCapNews
newstips@kelownacapnews.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.