UCalgary welcomes Pride

Editor's note: The following article first appeared in UToday on Aug. 25, 2025.

The University of Calgary is celebrating Pride Week, Aug. 25 to 31, with events across campus, reaffirming its commitment to LGBTQ2S+ communities. 

This year marks a decade since UCalgary first sponsored the Calgary Pride Parade and Festival in 2015, a milestone highlighting the university’s sustained public support for rights and visibility. 

Pride Week at UCalgary offers students, faculty and staff the opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations around gender, sexual orientation, identity and belonging, while building a more inclusive and respectful campus culture.  

“The University of Calgary is where I found my queer community, where friends created a safe space and supported me in my coming-out journey,” says Wylie Pietsch, BSc (Eng)’22, chair of the Gender and Sexuality Alliance for the Graduate Students' Association, and a Master of Science in civil engineering student.  

“Many people come to the university from places where being 2SLGBTQIA+ is not safe, and the university has built a community that supports and protects us,” says Pietsch. “It is important now that the university stands in solidarity with us as harmful policies continue to target the 2SLGBTQIA+ community both globally and within Alberta.” 

A decade of support 

The first Calgary Pride Festival took place in 1988, growing over the years into a vibrant, city-wide celebration of resilience and diversity. UCalgary’s continued participation is a part of the history of support within the campus dating back to the 1960s. It reflects ongoing work to advance inclusive practices and support LGBTQ2S+ communities both on and off campus. 

“When UCalgary participates in Pride it is showing that it understands that LGBTQ2S+ people, just by virtue of their identity, face discrimination, disadvantage, and institutional barriers to access and opportunity unrelated to ability, that require proactive ameliorative measures. By participating in Pride, UCalgary is reinforcing its commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion in an important show of unity and solidarity with LGBTQ2S+ communities.” says Dr. Tonya Callaghan, BA’90, BEd’96, PhD, academic director of LGBTQ2S+ Equity, Inclusion and Intersectionality with UCalgary’s Office of Institutional Commitments. 

Here are some of the events happening during Pride Week: 

UCalgary Pride flag-raising ceremony 

Aug. 25, 12 p.m., University Drive and 24th Avenue N.W, south entrance of main campus  

UCalgary started Pride Week with this special event hosted by the Office of Institutional Commitments and included remarks from Vice-Provost (Student Experience) Dr. Verity Turpin, UCalgary Students’ Union Vice-President Lorraine Ndovi and Dr. Tonya Callaghan. There was also a performance by Daniel Sanguinetti, plus Pride cupcakes provided by alum-owned business Crave Cupcakes. 

We Say Gay: Queer Kid Lit and Censorship in the Sunshine State 

Aug. 27, 7 - 9 p.m., Calgary Central Library, 800 3 St. S.E. 

The Calgary Institute for the Humanities presented the 7th Annual LGBTQ2S+ Lecture in partnership with UCalgary Alumni and Calgary Central Library. The talk used Florida as a case study with its current controversies in LGBTQ2S+ literature for kids and featured guest lecturer Dr. Kenneth Kidd, PhD, a professor of English at the University of Florida. 

Travel together to Pride Parade with the Residence Rainbow Council  

Aug. 31, 9:30 a.m., Aurora Hall Quad, 3272 24 Ave. N.W. 

The student-led Residence Rainbow Council invites all UCalgary residents, students and community members to join them to watch the Pride Parade in person and commute together using Calgary Transit. They will begin heading down to watch at 9:45 a.m., with participants asked to meet 15 minutes earlier. The parade begins at 11 a.m. with its route westbound on 9th Avenue S.E., from Studio Bell to 5th Street S.W. 

Pride and Glide 

Sep. 3, 7 – 10 p.m., Olympic Oval, 288 Collegiate Blvd N.W. 

Just outside Pride Week, the Olympic Oval will host its fourth annual Pride and Glide event. This year’s celebration will feature public skating, stick and puck, and a DJ. Join us for an evening on the fastest ice in the world.  

Admission: Free with your UCID card

Learn more about these Pride Week events.