The Sunshine Coast is one of the most queer-friendly rural communities in British Columbia. The GLBTQ2 residents number in the hundreds. People from the community often get together for potlucks, meet-ups, games nights and dances. There are many GLBT-owned and/or gay-friendly businesses on the Coast. The Sunshine Coast Gay & Lesbian Association (SCGALA, mixed) and Sappho’s Circle (women) are points of contact, along with Sunshine Coast Pride, a volunteer-led committee. A not-for-profit society was recently formed for ‘Sunday in the Park with Pride’, an organization with a mission to support queer youth on the Sunshine Coast. The society runs the annual Sunday in the Park with Pride event at Mission Point each June, including the new (2nd year) Pride Parade from the Davis Bay Pier to Mission Point Park, and hosts two meetings per month – one closed for transgender/other-gendered folks to gather, and the other an open meeting for any GLBTQ2 people of any age. This organization also publishes the Annual Sunshine Coast Pride Guide, a print magazine available at coffee shops, doctors offices and retail locations around the coast for free. For more information, please visit prideguide.ca
Click here to talk with a GLBT person on the Coast