Prince George, B.C. – The Prince George Pride Society is celebrating its 20^th anniversary this week with a slew of Pride activities on tap.

It all starts tomorrow morning with the raising of the rainbow flag at City Hall at 11 a.m. and continues with a Pride pub night at the Westwood tomorrow, a drag show at the Generator Friday, the Pride parade Saturday morning (11 a.m.) and the Pride House Party Saturday night.

“I’m really excited this year,” says Pride president Stacey Hewlett. “This is the new board’s second year and we’ve really ironed out some of the kinks and we’ve learned a lot over the year and it’s going to be a great festival.”

She says unfortunate events at Pride events elsewhere – such as in Taber Alberta last month where a Pride flag was stolen and another burned, and where manure was dumped on the Pride crosswalk – are good examples of why Pride events need to be celebrated each year.

“It’s why we continue to do this because it really shows we still need to have awareness out there,” says Hewlett. “A lot of communities across Canada are not inclusive and Prince George has come a long way. I mean go back 20 years and we were right there where Taber is.

“I hear a lot of people say, ‘straight people don’t have a parade’ and I always say, ‘well you should have one, I’ll come and support it’ though I’ve yet to see one organized but you never know.”