Mississippi Mills has officially proclaimed June as Pride Month, and the Progress Pride Flag will be raised at the municipal office in Almonte on June 1 at 1:00 p.m., marking the seventh consecutive year the municipality has recognized Pride Month with a flag flying throughout June since 2020.
The town council made the proclamation at its May 26 meeting, continuing a tradition that started in 2020. The flag raising at 3131 Old Perth Rd is a public way for the municipality to show it values diversity and is committed to being an inclusive, welcoming, and respectful community for all, according to the council highlights.
Mayor Christa Lowry and all seven councillors have consistently supported Pride Month proclamations with unanimous votes. This year’s declaration also acknowledges that Pride is about raising awareness of the discrimination and barriers still faced by Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual and other gender and sexually diverse communities.
The flag raising is part of a series of Pride initiatives in the town. Since 2021, rainbow crosswalks have been painted in all three wards: Almonte, Ramsay and Pakenham. Pride benches have been installed in Appleton Village Park and other spots, with three in place and two more planned. These projects come from a partnership between the municipality and the community group Pride in Mississippi Mills, which collaborates with other groups under the Lanark County Wide Pride coalition to run events throughout June.
The town’s commitment to Pride has been tested before. In June 2020, a Pride flag was stolen from the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum and destroyed in Gemmill Park. The community responded quickly, raising more than $3,000 in a few hours to replace it. Since then, the flag has continued to fly each year.
Residents are invited to attend the June 1 ceremony at the municipal office. More details about Pride activities are available on the municipality’s website.
