Members of the St. John’s Pride board got to share a special moment over the weekend with one of the leaders who pioneered pride events in the capital city.
Thousands marched in the pride parade on Sunday, culminating with an afternoon of events in Bannerman Park.
Co-chair Eddy St. Coeur says while in the park, he noticed former St. John’s mayor Shannie Duff walking around.
He calls that a special moment, noting that he went to a quiet area of the park to take it in, because Duff was in the mayor’s chair when St. John’s became one of the first places in the country to raise the pride flag.
St. Coeur later went up to Duff’s daughter and said “all of this is because of that woman.”
He also had a moment to speak with the former mayor herself.
Duff told him that she wanted to come down to see just how much the event has evolved over the years. She told him that the first year the event was held, there was a blanket put down and pride flags stuck in the ground. St. Coeur says to see her at the event, now with thousands in attendance, was a “very serendipitous moment.”