Pride is Back! LGBTQ2S Festival Project Pride Returns to Squamish
We talk to Project Pride founder Michelle LeBlanc about what to expect heading into the second annual event
The second annual Project Pride returns to Squamish on Sept. 2 for an action-packed few days of climbing and community gatherings. Top American climber Alex Johnson will be speaking, there will be clinics, a day of bouldering, an after party at Ground Up climbing gym and more.
We touched base with Project Pride founder Michelle LeBlanc to hear about this year’s event, which is taking place one week after the Arc’teryx Climbing Academy.
What’s new at Project Pride for 2023? Oh, many things! First, we have partnered with a few new brands, companies and local businesses. The structure of the day will be very similar to last year’s event but I am anticipating that this year will be slightly more spectacular. I’ve got a great After-Party planned with all proceeds going to Pride Squamish; our very own local Drag Queen, Sativa the Diva is doing a performance along with a rad DJ (Steinology). While we’re maintaining the total attendee numbers relatively low, I hope to re-create the same fun, supportive atmosphere that we were able to create last year! I am also hoping that attendees will leave the event feeling even more inspired to crush! The Project Pride logo was re-worked by Michelle Ang to add in the progressive pride flag colours; it looks really dope (I’ll get you a sticker!).
Who’s going to be presenting/talking? We’ve got my close friend Trevor Wulf doing a Land Acknowledgement first and foremost. He and I just became friends under a year ago. He is a Two-Spirited Virgo, born and raised in Squamish, a proud member of Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw. It’s super special to me that he has agreed to do the Land Acknowledgment, his friendship has meant a lot to me this past year. Next, we have some Flashed Athletes who will be instructing morning clinics with Alex Johnson walking around to the different groups to hang with everyone. She will be doing a question panel after the morning events. Yes, THE Alex Johnson, 2 time World Cup champion and badass. We have Nina Tappin, climbing physio extraordinaire doing an injury prevention clinic as well in the afternoon. She works with a lot of world class athletes and last year everyone listened intently as she shared some of her best tips to climb injury-free!
What can climbers expect? My biggest feedback from last year was “fun!”. The morning clinics will provide super useful information related to outdoor bouldering in Squamish. Last year, I was super psyched to hear and see that some attendees had topped out their first ever outdoor boulder problem. I’m hoping that attendees get to be inspired by the climbers around them, make new connections, and have a generally good time while feeling supported. There will be more prizing too since I’ve been able to gain a few more partners and sponsors for this year’s event (see two questions below).
What brands have gotten on board? We have had support from some major (and awesome) climbing brands. Arc’teryx and Flashed remain as our biggest sponsors, and La Sportiva will be back on board for 2023. New to the partner and sponsor list for this year is: Black Diamond, Kaya Climbing App, Midnight Lightning, and Evolv. At the community level, we are partnered once again with many local small businesses, such as: Ground Up Climbing Centre, Climb On Equipment, Valhalla Pure Outfitters, Counterpart Coffee, Tall Tree Bakery, Alice+ Brohm ice cream, Treeline Collective, Capra Running, Zephyr Cafe, Sunflower Donuts, Strait & Narrow, and A Frame.
While the climbing community continues to be more inclusive than years past, there’s always more work to do. What can media, brands and communities do to engage underrepresented groups? The work is going in a progressive and positive direction. Visibly, I see more representation than ever before in the climbing community and industry, even if it remains a minority in comparison. Continuing to increase visibility and exposure will only create safe and supported spaces for everyone to feel more than included, but follow-through needs to happen. A lot of brands talk the talk, especially during Pride month. Some brands are now truly starting to walk the walk, namely Arc’teryx.
This year is the first year that the Academy will host three affinity climbing clinics: with Jordan Cannon, Madaleine Sorkin and myself. They engaged me in the planning conversations for this initiative, even though I am not a professional climber and that truly means a lot to me because I have put a lot of effort into my climbing and in planning Project Pride. Some brands and companies are sincerely eager to offer any assistance, while some have been a bit harder to get in touch with and plan accordingly. I recently moved from Squamish to Calgary for a job with the University of Calgary, and it’s been tedious trying to constantly contact different brand reps or people involved in the industry to confirm – all while working full-time and getting after it in the mountains on my weekends.
Can climbers expect Project Pride to continue for years to come? I recently told my friend Kyle that I would never organize this event ever again. He doesn’t believe me and he probably shouldn’t because I’ll likely continue organizing Project Pride until there is no more interest. It’s great that it has sold out this year; I feel super fortunate for all of the support I have received, for sure! As more and more people get into climbing, Project Pride is a great opportunity to learn lots of new skills and make new connections. As well, I’m hoping that people will want to keep motivated and learn how to push themselves during the rest of the year.
Do you have anything else to add? I’d like to take a quick second to thank you folks at Gripped for always being open to offer this form of media for exposure, but more importantly for the visibility it brings to Project Pride and other things that I have written about in the past. Of course, I would love to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all of the climbing brands and local businesses that have supported me in the past and continue to support me. Lastly, but not least, I need to thank the wonderful crew of volunteers that helped out with the event last year. It took about 1-2 days in total for me to gather enough volunteers for this year’s event, and I hope that they all know how appreciative I am of their time. Sneaking one more in…I want to thank people who have registered for Project Pride (last year and this year), especially those coming from far away. It’s awesome that we will have people coming from Whitehorse and Kelowna this year! Gaining traction and exposure outside of BC is a big goal of mine for 2024. You know, in case Project Pride happens again in 2024…
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