British ColumbiaSalmon Arm’s only 2SLGBTQ+ focused organization promotes inclusion and education through performance, visual and literary arts, despite pushback from a vocal minority.The Salmon Arm Pride Project is working to foster visibility and inclusion for all people through the artsBunny Cornet is a drag queen from Salmon Arm, B.C. They will be performing at the Loud and Proud celebration, hosted by the Salmon Arm Pride Project from Oct. 17-19. (Jacqueline Gelineau / CBC)Staff in a small city in the mountains, north of Kelowna, B.C., clean vandalism off of its downtown rainbow crosswalk every few weeks. The graffiti is a routine reminder of the intolerance that exists in Salmon Arm.Despite disapproval from a vocal minority, Salmon Arm’s 2SLGBTQ+ community is shining bright, said River Grabowsky, the program coordinator for the Salmon Arm Pride Project. They said the pushback, like the defaced crosswalk — and the recent closures of the only other queer-focused organizations that served the region — has only strengthened their resolve to make the city a welcoming place for all.”I don’t want any youth, young adults and older adults to ever have to feel that they don’t have a place here, in the light, with everybody else because of [who] they love and how they identify,” Grabowsky said. According to Grabowsky, the Salmon Arm Pride Project is dedicated to promoting visibility and inclusion through arts and community.River Grabowsky is the coordinator of the Salmon Arm Pride Project. (Jacqueline Gelineau / CBC)The project is currently the city’s only queer-focused organization, and it’s doing what it can to fill the gaps left when the Shuswap Pride Society and Essies Place, which provided services, support and resources for the local 2SLGBTQ+ community, paused operations in 2024. The project’s regular art events at Salmon Arm’s Art Centre and the annual Loud and Proud celebration, which runs Oct. 17 – 19, allow people to express themselves and connect with those who understand their experiences. It’s also a space where — through performances and visual art — people can learn about those who are different from them, Grabowsky said. Challenge of visibilityBeyond that work, even while running errands locally, Grabowski is promoting acceptance.”If I have to be a walking billboard for oddballs, then so be it. If that makes one person feel safer to wear the clothing that they like, or cut their hair shorter, to feel that they are themselves — if that’s all that ever happens, I’m happy,” they said.In small cities like Salmon Arm, the actions of a vocal minority work to exclude and isolate people who have been historically marginalized, like the 2SLGBTQ+ community, Grabowski explained. As a result, members of that community may try to avoid attracting attention to themselves, making it hard to build a support network.WATCH | Inclusion and self-expression promoted through art in Salmon Arm:Salmon Arm Pride Project creates opportunities for self-expression through artA pride organization in Salmon Arm, B.C., is using the arts to help people express themselves and connect with others. CBC’s Jacqueline Gelineau spoke with the organizers and performers of the Pride Project’s upcoming Loud and Proud celebration.”In a smaller town, we need to have more visibility for folks to be able to to find each other and feel safe,” Grabowsky said. City upkeep of rainbow crosswalkSalmon Arm Mayor Alan Harrison said the rainbows on the street downtown show that everyone is welcome in Salmon Arm, and that council wants everyone to feel safe and comfortable. “When there’s tagging or when there’s vandalism of any kind, we fix it,” said Harrison. “We want to fix it right away so that so that the crosswalk is a respectful place, and to let people know that the minority, the few people who choose to deface things — and in my estimation, this is a type of hatred, vandalism — this is more than just tagging your name somewhere — we don’t tolerate it.” Performance as an outletBunny Cornet, a 16-year-old drag queen, will be stepping out of their comfort zone when they perform at the Loud and Proud festival.For Cornet, finding a group of people immersed in the arts, who understand their experiences as a visibly queer teen who does drag, has been life-changing. While they have always been supported at home, Cornet said it was difficult to fit in with their elementary school classmates. For many years, they were the only openly queer student in their class and many of their peers had not previously been exposed to gay or gender-non-conforming people.”It’s hard to walk around knowing that people are looking at you differently, or people see you and they just immediately turn away because they’re grossed out,” Cornet said.Salmon Arm’s rainbow crosswalk was vandalized with the words ‘KIRK’ and ‘Levitcus 18:2’ (sic), on Sept. 26, 2025. (Jacqueline Gelineau / CBC)”It just makes me want to shine brighter. It makes me want to do more for our town.”Thanks to their strong support network, Cornet said they’re able to perform for those who may be too scared to show who they are. “I’m very glad I can show people [who are] my age that it’s okay to be expressive and it’s okay to be you.”Instead of fading into the background, Cornet said people’s disapproving looks and the vandalism of Salmon Arm’s rainbow crosswalk, makes them want to perform even more — to support and encourage those that don’t have a voice.ABOUT THE AUTHORJacqueline Gelineau is a CBC journalist based in Salmon Arm. She can be reached at jacqueline.gelineau@cbc.ca.
Salmon Arm Pride Project promotes 2SLGBTQ+ visibility in the face of disapproval
