The Airdrie Pride Society has found a creative way to knit people together.
Their new event ‘Be GAY! Do Crafts!’ hopes to bring together the LGBTQ+ community for an evening of camaraderie and craftsmanship – literally.
“I am glad this event started because it gave me an excuse to finally finish the embroidery project that I bought months ago and never touched,” says Airdrie Pride Society Vice President Taylor McPeak.
“Since then it has actually inspired me to do it a lot more. I don’t just mean with crafts, it’s really an opportunity for anyone to come and hang out and connect with others in the community.”
The free event includes participants simply bringing a craft to work on. In the past, they’ve seen everything ranging from traditional crafts like knitting and crocheting to more unconventional projects like computer app development and even pasties for burlesque dancing.
“The pasties were a new one for me,” says McPeak.
“But hey, there’s so many ways to be creative nowadays.”
The Airdrie Pride Society is a community organization dedicated to celebrating and promoting diversity, equity and full inclusion of all gender expressions, identities and sexual orientations in Airdrie and beyond. McPeak says it’s events like ‘Be GAY! Do Crafts!’ that help empower the community and build a sense of community.
“Airdrie is growing massively and so is the pride community we have here,” says McPeak.
“We want to be able to connect with people right here, so people don’t always have to go all the way into Calgary to feel like they belong. We do our best to offer a number of different types of events for youth and adults like board game nights and coffee chats. We really have something to offer for everyone of all ages.”
The next Be Gay! Do Crafts! Event is December 5th from 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at the Airdrie Public Library. McPeak says The Airdrie Pride Society is currently putting together an updated events schedule for the new year which will include more events like ‘Be GAY! Do Crafts.’
Stay connected to their social media @airdriepridesociety on Instagram and Facebook for updates on any upcoming events.
