A queer music festival celebrating Pride in a small Cape Breton community is back and bigger than ever in its second year. Ingo Beach Pride is a three-day festival of music, drag and more, featuring performances from musicians like Ria Mae and Ralph, and drag queens like Lemon, a standout on Canada's Drag Race. It kicked off Friday with a performance by renowned fiddler Ashley MacIsaac, a songwriters' circle and an after-party at Keltic Lodge.
According to festival director Sara Bryden, the whole community came together for the event, which ends on Sunday with a drag softball tournament. New 5 things to do in the Halifax area for Canada Day "Everyone has really opened up," Bryden said. "The local businesses have been very supportive, we have Progress [Pride flags] hanging all around Ingonish.
" Moved back home When the pandemic hit in 2020, Bryden was a long way from her hometown, working a corporate job in Toronto and dreaming of the beach. She got in her car and drove straight through to Ingonish, where her father had a home, and the Atlantic Ocean and Cape Breton Highlands National Park were calling. It was a temporary visit, but Bryden soon decided to make it permanent after stumbling into a wonderful queer community and rediscovering her East Coast roots.
"The friends that I met right off the bat were part of the queer community," she said Saturday, the second day of the Ingonish festival. Bryden has a background in marketing and soon began putting on a regular concert se.