The president of the Chatham-Kent Gay Pride Association was blown away by the community's support at this year's event.
For the first time the municipality had a parade and a big party in Tecumseh Park. Marianne Willson said she couldn't be more proud of CK.
"I think it was a fantastic showing of support, love and unity," Willson said. "I was thrilled and pleasantly overwhelmed by the support, wishes and positivity that was expressed by everyone who participated and attended."
According to Willson, roughly 400 people participated in the first ever CK Gay Pride Parade. Willson added it was more than she ever anticipated.
"I am so happy to have that opportunity to connect with all of those people and feel that sense of unity in the community," Willson said.
The parade led everyone right to Tecumseh Park for the family fun event. There were bouncy castles for the kids, games for adults, food for everyone and Willson said over 20 vendors were setup.
She added they did pretty well too.
"We heard from some of those vendors this morning that they had some of the best sales of the summer at our event and they're already signing up for next year," Willson said. "So that is a huge thanks to our team that helped set everything up."
Willson isn't jumping into next years plans just yet. She said everyone involved is just trying to catch up on sleep right now.
Willson added the group will send out feedback forms to those who participated to see what worked and ask what can be done better next year. She is going to try and keep the events on the same weekend because it really worked well.
