HALIFAX - On July 22nd, queer women, trans people, and their allies, gathered for the first annual Halifax Dyke and Trans March. In light of the fact that the pomp and pageantry of the Pride Parade was scheduled for the very next day, I found myself wondering; Why two parades?

Rena Kulczycki, one of a committee of about 20 organizers of the march, was quick to point out that this was a march. Not a parade. Said Kulczycki:

"The Pride parade is very much that, it is a parade. It's fantastic, and it's a celebration of what we've done, and what we've achieved. But there is still so much more to do, and a lot of us feel that we're not being represented by Pride Halifax, and that that parade is not a place to continue the conversation to continue to raise awareness about the things that we're still struggling with."

A series of speakers, including Shay, another of the organizers of the march, wowed the crowd of about 150 that had gathered in front of Spring Garden Library. Shay's spoken word poem outside the library spoke about not fitting into a gender binary, and about that also not mattering. 

"There's no political analysis in Pride," said Shay. "Pride primarily gives space and represents very white, middle class, cis, gay male representations of queer sexuality, and I think a lot of people get left out of that. I think women in general, and also queer women, and also trans people, and gender queer people are not being represented. I think that our issues are not being talked about, and there's no effort to include us."

The march then proceeded along Brunswick Street, where, despite organizers not asking for a police presence, the police were a presence. Hemmed in by a cruiser in front, a police van in back, and flanked by a walking detail to the side, marchers began to calmly, but pointedly, direct their chants against the unwanted representatives of authority.

"We didn't ask for them, we didn't give them notice." said Kulczycki. "That's why they showed up. They came to notify us that because we hadn't asked them, that it was illegal what we were doing. We talked in our planning about whether or not we would notify the police, and thinking about particularly the historical implications of police presence at marches. When we look at Toronto last year (G20 police harassment, in particular of queer and trans folk)...there are a lot of people here in our community who were there, and that would be a huge barrier for their participation in this."

Uninvited guests notwithstanding, the mood remained jovial, and the march rambled its way through Halifax to the delight of numerous well-wishers and cheer squads. The march culminated in a dance party on the Commons, complete with free treats.