Two men strolled down Patricia Street holding hands last month.
For many—especially those who’ve lived in cities—it wasn’t an unusual sight. But for a few Jasperites, it was enough to elicit squeals of delight. It was validation that their work has paid off, and proof that with rainbow stickers, flag raisings, pride events and festivals, the town is building a reputation as an inclusive community.
There’s no surefire way of knowing where that couple’s comfort came from—whether it was the stickers in the storefront windows, the rainbow windsock fluttering above Whistlers Inn or a previous knowledge that Jasper’s a welcoming town—but whatever it was, those men felt safe.
If you ask Jörg Michel of the Jasper Pride Festival Society he’ll tell you that’s what sets Jasper apart—when you’re here, you can be yourself. That’s why people come here, he said.
“People from the LGBT community come here year-round, because they feel it’s a safe place to go.
“Jasper is really building a reputation as an inclusive and accepting community.”
Proof of that is everywhere, whether it’s same-sex couples walking hand-in-hand or couples coming to Jasper to host their weddings.
And soon, those couples might have another location to consider for their big day.
On June 8, the congregation of the Jasper United Church will vote on a new mission statement, which would allow Rev. Dawn Hermann to officiate same-sex weddings.
Although the United Church of Canada already supports same-sex marriage, it is up to the congregation and the church board whether such unions are allowed in their own church.
Last month the board gave its approval, leaving only the congregation to decide.
Ahead of the vote, Hermann spent two months educating her congregation on the United Church’s stance on same-sex marriage.
“We started by looking at how you interpret the Bible, that was quite a few weeks,” she said, holding a green folder outlining her teachings. “I looked at how the Bible talks about family in the Old Testament and then what it says in the New Testament and then what the Bible says about sexuality in the old and new. So we had a long educational piece,” she said.
For Hermann, who has a degree in animal biology, as well as a masters in theology, there is no difference between a heterosexual union and a homosexual union.
“Both the biologist and the theologist in me say this is perfectly normal,” she said.
That’s why, when a same-sex couple reached out to her two years ago, asking that she officiate their wedding, it was difficult to turn them away.
It was because of that request that Hermann decided to work with her congregation to change the church’s marriage policy.
“From a church point of view, I really want to promote the intrinsic worth of all people,” she said.
If the mission statement is approved by the congregation this Sunday, same-sex couples will be treated the same as heterosexual couples who request a church wedding. That means, if they hope to be married in the church, they will first have to take couple’s counselling, to ensure they are prepared for a life together.
“I always tell couples the same thing,” said Herman, “when you get married in a church, you are making a covenant: not a contract, a covenant. A covenant is giving yourself heart, mind, body and soul. You go into it with a full commitment.
“I don’t see what difference that makes—in same-sex marriages, I know, commitment is a covenant.
“So, I guess what we’re trying to do is our small part to be inclusive.”
However small, that gesture will go a long way, said Michel.
“It would be a huge signal to the LGBT community in Alberta and Canada. It would show that [the United Church] is as welcoming as the town and the community.”
Michel likened the gesture to Mayor Richard Ireland raising the pride flag. He said, each time the flag goes up, the LGBT community is reminded that they’re welcome in Jasper.
Jasper hasn’t always been this welcoming, though.
When the first rainbow sticker went up in the window of Coco’s Cafe back in 2008, some people were skeptical and others were confused.
“Initially there was a little bit of negative feelings about it,” remembers Lynn Wannop, who purchased the cafe with her husband in 2007. “Nobody really knew, they were constantly asking, ‘what’s the rainbow thing on the door for?’”
There was also some push back in response to the first Jasper Pride Weekend, held the same year.
But despite some naysayers, more stickers went up around town, and the event went on, attracting about 40 out-of-town guests to the Downstream Lounge.
In those early days, the festival was organized by OUT Jasper and its umbrella organization, HIV West Yellowhead.
Fast-forward five years and there were 450 people in attendance at the pride gala at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge last March, and the event was organized by the newly-established Jasper Pride Festival Society.
And, beyond the festival, there are now pride events taking place throughout the year.
The Whistle Stop had its “coming out party” in 2012.
Prior to that, the business had always supported OUT Jasper and HIV West Yellowhead, but it had never hosted its own event. Then, after being approached by a salesman from FunMaps—a source for LGBT-friendly hotels, restaurants, shops and attractions—Vanessa Hugie, the general manager of Whistlers Inn, decided it was time to come out with a splash.
“We didn’t want to do it quietly,” she said with a laugh. “We wanted to come out on a Saturday during Jasper in January, when we knew the town was going to be packed—when we knew that there was going to be all eyes on us. We wanted to go big to say ‘here we are and we want you here.’”
The event was titled Loud and Proud and featured drag queens from Edmonton. It was a resounding success, filling the bar with locals and visitors alike.
The second and third annual events were equally as popular, with people piling into the bar to watch the show and dance the night away.
As well as the events, Whistlers Inn has also started marketing itself to the LGBT community as a safe place to stay. On its website is even a dedicated LGBT page, where events and deals are posted.
The hotel is also getting new wedding photos taken, showing both heterosexual and homosexual couples.
“We chose to change our image,” said Hugie. “We just really wanted to make the whole image inclusive, the whole brand.”
With such marketing and Jasper’s growing reputation as an inclusive and welcoming destination, the community is tapping into a loyal new market.
“You’re attracting a group of people that for the most part are double income, no kids, and they are loyal,” said Wannop. “If they feel safe travelling to your town or community, they will continue to come back.”
And businesses are beginning to recognize that.
Tourism Jasper joined forces with the Jasper Pride Festival Society this year, helping to market the event to a wider audience. The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge jumped on board in 2013, hosting a few events that year and in 2014 it hosted the Saturday night gala—the weekend’s signature event.
Evil Dave’s Bar and Grill organized a Pride Warm-Up party, with a four-course dinner and wine pairings.
The Jasper Legion hosted the festival society’s first-ever fundraiser, and countless businesses donated to the silent auction.
“The whole community has invested in this now and it is getting something out of it,” said Michel. “There are spinoff effects of the festival and these events. Through the festival and branding Jasper as a LGBT tourism destination, we get tourism from the LGBT community year-round.”
Nicole Veerman
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