Parade: Queer Acts of Love & Resistance

Details

When: Saturday, September 20, 2025. 1400h and 1900h.
Where: Huron County Museum theatre, Goderich.
What: Two free screenings of the National Film Board’s Parade: Queer Acts of Love & Resistance. Special Q&A followed each screening with legendary activist Rico Rodriguez who is featured in the film. A very special drag performance followed the evening screening starring Rico’s alter ego, Chabuca La Grande.

Objectives

To celebrate the long and proud history of Canadian Queer activism.
To welcome legendary activist, teacher, and drag performer Rico Rodriguez to Huron County.
To remember the proud traditions of resistance in which we walk today and the extraordinarily brave individuals to whom we owe our present freedoms.

Significance

This event represented a significant expansion of our network of alliances beyond Huron County. It strengthened our bond with the Huron County Museum and cemented a new connection to the National Film Board.

Challenges

While promoting our screening, we ran into one very disappointing and uncomfortable situation. When offered a poster promoting the event, one local antique dealer made remarks expressing that the trans community did not belong within No Hate in Huron’s circle of solidarity. Following a peaceful but tense disagreement, the representative from No Hate in Huron told the business owner that “We are proud to stand in solidarity with the trans community and will continue to do so without apology.”

Although the event ran very smoothly thanks to the extraordinary partnership of the Huron County Museum and the National Film Board, we did have one hiccup. One trio attended the afternoon screening seemingly in protest. A member of this group wore a T-shirt that appeared to invalidate the lived experience of trans people, while another member offered trans-exclusionary sentiments and a confusing (although certainly novel) indictment of drag during the Q&A session. We were disappointed by their rhetoric but Rico handled it smoothly like the diplomatic champion and teacher he is.

Result

The screenings were a wonderful success and everyone (with previously noted exceptions) appeared to have a great time.

Lessons Learned

The Huron County Museum is an amazing partner to collaborate with. They are true professionals committed to detail, while maintaining an easy-going flexible approach. We are so grateful for their support and camaraderie.
The National Film Board is also a dream to work with. They made everything so easy. They did not charge us anything for the screening; they just asked us to ensure the screening was free to the public and that we report back with the numbers of attendees.
Rico Rodriguez is a true champion, kind soul, and legendary teacher. He drove all the way from Toronto to be with us and went to extraordinary lengths to make the event a success.

Future Implications

We so look forward to working with the Huron County Museum, the National Film Board, and Rico Rodriguez anytime again. We have reached out to Huron County Pride to invite their partnership in bringing this film back to Goderich for the Pride Festival 2026.
In light of the protesting trio, our organization must contend with complex issues around inclusion. Although we are champions of freedom of expression, we also owe a duty of care to participants in our events. We find ourselves reflecting upon the “Paradox of Tolerance.” We celebrate and cherish inclusion, but we must also ensure that we are not inadvertently providing a platform for harassing or discriminatory rhetoric at our events. Given that the primary individual involved sits on the same local partnership as NHiH, we are actively re-examining our participation and involvement in that local partnership (as of January 2026). Three days earlier, that same individual had also offered a vigorous defense of Gord Leamen’s xenophobic signage on Highway 21. We have been assured that this individual’s views are not those of the partnership. No Hate in Huron has a duty, however, to safeguard our legitimacy and our mandate. Exercising careful discernment in our choice of affiliations is an important part of fulfilling that duty.