The largest city in Manitoba and seventh-largest in Canada, Winnipeg lies at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine rivers. The provincial capital, with a population of nearly 640,000, holds the very popular Winnipeg Gay Pride Festival each year in early June - the date this year is Sunday, June 2, 2013, but the local LGBT community organizes a number of parties, gatherings, cultural events, and other "Pride of the Prairies"-related activities during the 10 days leading up to the festival, which has been growing in attendance every year since 1987 (more than 8,000 people show up each year).
Book rooms and compare rates on hotels in Winnipeg during Gay Pride.
For information on events leading up to Pride, check the official Winnipeg Pride Festival events page, and note that the official Pride kick-off event is a Pride Flag Raising at City Hall, held on Friday, May 24, from noon until 12:30.
On Sunday, June 2, the big day of Pride, there's a Pride Rally on the steps of the Manitoba Legislature building at 11 am, with music performances and community speakers, followed by the Winnipeg Gay Pride Parade (here's a map of the parade route), which commences at noon on the Legislature steps.
This year's Pride Festival at the Forks, which starts at noon on Sunday, includes a concert by headlining acts Kristina Maria and Ultra Naté. Here's a more detailed look at this year's entertainment.
The fun continues Sunday night, starting at 9 pm (note there's a cocktails pre-party at 7), with the The Beach Official Winnipeg Pride Dance Party, held in the evening at the Metropolitan Entertainment Centre 281 Donald St.). Tickets are $30.
Additionally, local gay bars as well as gay-friendly restaurants, hotels, and shops will be packed with revelers during Pride weekend. Check local gay papers and resources, such as Outwords Magazine and the website GayWinnipeg.ca, for details. Also take a look at the visitor site produced by the city's official tourism organization, Tourism Winnipeg, for general travel advice. Tourism Winnipeg has also produced a very cool video podcast on Gay Pride in Winnipeg.
