Borderland Pride Holding March in Fort Frances – first year without border crossing

Pride Month. Which the LGBTQ+ community uses as a month to celebrate and bring awareness to the civil rights of the community. We got to speak with Abigail Calder who is in her first year as the Committee Chair for Borderland Pride 2025.

Before talking about the events Borderland Pride will be hosting, Abbey was asked what led her to taking up the Committee Chair position.

This year’s Pride 2025 will have two big events happening this Saturday, June 14th one of them being their Pride walk held every year. The march is well-known for its unique nature of being the only Pride March that crossed an international border. Borderland Pride has announced that this year’s march will not start in International Falls this year. The event will instead take place entirely within Fort Frances on the Canadian side of the border.

Another event happening the evening that follows the march is a Pride Music Bingo, starting at 7pm at the Royal Canadian Legion hall on Church Street.

The announcement was made in late February, about five weeks after the return of President Donald Trump to the White House, that Borderland Pride will not be marching in International Falls. Trump’s administration has issued a series of orders, including ones targeting the transgender and non-binary community, and has removed more than $125 million in federal funding for LGBTQ health.

But Abbey wanted to make sure that the members of the LGBTQ+ community living on the American side knew that while they will not have a Pride March in the Falls, Borderland Pride has not forgotten them.

So for this year’s Pride month, is there any change to the goals and message they hope to share?

Borderland Pride also recognizes the support of other local communities who assist them.

So whether you are in the LGBTQ+ Community, or an ally to the community wanting to show support, be sure to stop on by on June 14th for the annual Pride March.

For a quick history lesson: Pride Month commemorates the Stonewall Riots in New York City in 1969, which are seen as a turning point in the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement. The riots were sparked by a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar, where patrons fought back against police harassment. The first Pride parades, held in 1970 to mark the anniversary of the riots, were held in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. These parades and subsequent celebrations evolved into Pride Month, a time for LGBTQ+ community celebration, activism, and remembrance.