Since our shop’s opening almost three years ago, our values have been to educate, inspire, engage, and entertain. We believe we have done that by championing Black Lives Matter, Climate Action, the importance of the Arts, Open Air, and Heritage Preservation. In February we shone a light on the LGBTQ+ community by hosting a really fun party during the TRUE Festival.
With June being Pride Month, we want to step up again, so we have a number of activities planned for our own Pride Weekend: June 24 and 25.
PRIDE PANEL
“Why We Need Pride.” Saturday at 3 pm, River Bookshop.
This panel discussion is a celebration of Pride Month. We invited local leaders, writers, and educators from the LGBTQ+ community to discuss their current efforts and share their thoughts about pressing topics affecting the community. Panelists will share their perspectives on several issues including why we need Pride, what it means to be seen in the LGBTQ+ community, how each panelist’s work helps others in the community, and what they think a liberated future for LGBTQ+ individuals would look like.
PANEL MODERATOR
Lisa Poultney is a priest serving at the Christ Church (Anglican) in Amherstburg, and a licensed Psychotherapist. She holds degrees in philosophy, religion and culture, theology, and psychotherapy. Prior to becoming an ordained minister, she worked in non-profit administration and fundraising, particularly for HIV/AIDS. You can often see Lisa walking around Amherstburg with her three rescue dogs.
PANEL PARTICIPANTS
Walter Cassidy is a local educator, historian, and activist, and Founder and Chair of the Greater Essex County School Board Gender and Sexuality Alliance. He teaches a course for the University of Windsor called How to Teach LGBTQ Students. He is the Chair of the Windsor/Essex Rainbow Alliance and has published on various local LGBTQ+ historical moments.
Dan MacDonald has been a popular radio personality in Windsor-Detroit for the past 20 years. Involved in community theatre, Dan is also proud to be an out and visible gay member of the media and voice for the LGBTQ+ community. From 9AM to noon, Monday to Friday, you can hear him host “The Dan MacDonald Show” on AM 800.
Casey Plett is an award-winning author and the co-publisher of LittlePuss Press. She has written A Dream of a Woman (Arsenal Pulp, 2021), which was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize; Little Fish (Arsenal Pulp, 2018), winner of a Lambda Literary Award, the Firecracker Award for Fiction, and the Amazon First Novel Award in Canada; and A Safe Girl to Love (Topside Press, 2014; Arsenal Pulp, 2023), also a winner of a Lambda Literary Award. Alongside Cat Fitzpatrick, she is co-publisher of LittlePuss Press, whose first book, Cecilia Gentili's Faltas, won the ALA Stonewall Book Award and was a Lambda Literary Award finalist.
Koko Starr was born and raised south of Detroit. A proud Drag Queen who always puts on a high energy show, she takes her inspiration from the queens of pop and isn’t afraid of a little throwback. For the panel, Koko will be putting on some heels and is looking to contribute a different take to the discussion. After the panel, you can meet Koko at Evelyn’s Candy House, where she is selling personally crafted Koko bars. A portion of the proceeds go to Windsor-Essex Pride Fest.
This is sure to be a very popular event, so please register by emailing info@riverbookshop to reserve a seat or to ask for the accessible Zoom link. There is no charge to attend.
AMHERSTBURG PRIDE EVENT
We also want to shine a light on this special event organized by the city of Amherstburg! Saturday, June 24, from 7-9pm.
SUNDAY STORY TIME CLUB
Our Pride Story Time will be held outside in Open Air, with our rainbow inflatable providing a colourful backdrop. Above are some of the titles you can expect!
11 AM: Our first special guest is Kelly O'Rourke, Tourism Coordinator for the Town of Amherstburg, which has organized events like TRUE Festival in the spirit of inclusivity. She is happy to read to us for Story Time!
1 PM: Our second special guest is Drag Queen Amanda Villa. Mandy (short for Amanda Villa) wears vibrant colours, and just like the Mandevilla flower she’s named for, she can trumpet out to the world through lip-sync, live singing, comedy and hosting. We're can't wait to welcome Mandy!
Photo credit: Lavender Promotions.
The entire River Bookshop family is proud to support this Pride Weekend and show its colours in support of our important LGBTQ+ community. We hope to see many people out in support as well!
The River Bookshop Team
