Montreal’s Pride festival is in full gear and the vibrant celebration of the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities can be felt at the Rainbow Market in the city’s Village, which runs until Sunday.
The Rainbow Market features artists, entrepreneurs, and designers coming together to offer their creativity and art to festival-goers.
“Having the space and having the visibility again, it just affirms our identity and it normalizes that this is just who we are,” says Emmy Tran, a queer artist based in Toronto.
Tran explained that often time queer people aren’t represented in visual arts or mass media — which is a space she aims to fill within her work.
“It’s Pride, y’all, you’ve got to come support queer businesses, queer creators. We need this, especially in a time where policies are changing very rapidly, that you know really set queer rights and queer movements backwards. This visibility and the support is paramount to us right now,” Tran said.
Gabrielle Rondy of SDC Du Village, which represents over 250 businesses located in the area, says talks with Fierté Montreal began last October on this brand new event.
“The village used to have like more like a night time activity and the daytime used to be a little slower but now with the market you see it like the street is full it’s 11 and the restaurants are like super happy,” said Rondy.
Montrealers and tourists began flooding the streets soon after opening on Friday, with many coming in for the festivities on Parc Jean-Drapeau for Osheaga 2025. Visitors from across the country said they were unaware that it was Pride in Montreal, but were glad to have stumbled upon the festivities.
“I mean, it just I feel comfortable in this area, this makes me feel like you know I’m seen,” said Sam Ettinger, a tourist from Niagara, Ontario.
“I like the way that things are looking, everything works, I like all the Pride flags they got everywhere, like it just it’s beautiful.”
Rondy encourages Montrealers and tourists to check out all Pride events in and around Montreal.
“All the community groups all around Quebec, they’re going to be there to meet you, explain what they’re doing for the community. So just the happiest people you will ever meet are going to be there on community days next Friday and next Saturday. But of course, come before that and just enjoy the village,” she said.
Organizers and vendors said having the market in the Village is important to bring attention to the area, offering a reminder of its history and cultural roots. A variety of artwork, displays, clothing were on display for members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
“I’m so happy to be able to buy from queer artists. I’m from like a really, really, really small town in Nova Scotia and so there’s not a lot of that exposure and like I work at a youth center with a lot of queer youth so I’ve been taking a lot of pictures too to show them like hey this is like possible for you and this is what other like queer spaces look like and like yeah it’s just really exciting,” said Lyndi Goulden, a tourist from Nova Scotia.
The Pride festival will run until August 10, ending with the iconic parade in downtown Montreal. But until then, more activities like this are planned all around the city.
“It’s the place to be in the Village, come daytime, come before you’re going to see the shows next week at the Olympic Stadium,” said Rondy.
“Come here, you’re gonna meet you know fantastic people, happy people, proud people to show you their colors.”
