St. John’s Pride celebrates growth, reflects on pioneer Shannie Duff’s contribution

Members of the St. John’s Pride board were able to share a special moment this past weekend with one of the leaders who pioneered pride events in the capital city.

Thousands of people marched in the pride parade on Sunday, which concluded with an afternoon of events in Bannerman Park.

Co-chair Eddy St. Coeur says he saw former St. John’s Mayor Shannie Duff walking around the park.

He calls it a special moment and says he went to a quiet part of the park to take it in. 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 to Duff’s daughter and said, “This is all because of that woman.”

He also had some time to talk to the former mayor himself.

Duff told him she wanted to come and see how the event has evolved over the years. She told him that the first year the event was held, a blanket was laid out and pride flags were stuck in the ground. St. Coeur says it was a “really serendipitous moment” to see her at the event, which now draws thousands of people.