One of the great things I love about Calgary’s Pride festival is that it has the feeling that it’s still growing quickly. While I think Calgary, and Alberta as a whole was a bit slow to getting to the big celebrations that we see in Toronto and Vancouver, it’s hard to ignore the past couple of years, which has seen the attendance to Pride and all of it’s events exploding.
One of my favourite parts has been watching more and more local companies get involved in whatever way they can, particularly the local clothing companies.  As more companies get involved, I think it’s incredibly important that they don’t use the Pride movement simply for profit, so I’ll only be highlighting the ones that contribute a portion of the sales to an LGTBQ+ non-profit.
Friday Sock Co.
“Love is Love” socks
$16
I have so many of Friday Sock Co.’s socks, I’ve lost count. They are “perfectly” mismatched, which means they are not identical, but are often themed, so one sock will be raindrop and the other umbrellas. Or in this case, these socks celebrate the Pride colours, but in different ordered. I bought them as soon as I saw them!
Camp Brand Goods
“In It Together” collection
$8 to $90
Patches, t-shirts, sweaters, oh my! It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Camp Brand Goods, the quality of their clothing is fantastic and it’s oh so comfy, and their special In It Together collection is no exception.  A portion of every item goes to Camp Fyrefly, Canada’s largest summer camp for LGBTQ+ youth.
Alberta Apparel
Pride hat
$42
Alberta Apparel makes fantastic hats and sweaters, but their newest hat is truly FABULOUS!  Their Pride hat will see $5 from every sale going to the Centre for Sexuality in Calgary, which helps fund Camp fYrefly.
Local LaundryÂ
YYC Pride T-ShirtÂ
$40
This local company asked the community if they wanted these shirts, and in non time at all more than 50 shirts were ordered, which means they’ll be produced and shipped out soon. Local Laundry will be donating to Calgary Outlink. And starting on August 23rd, you’ll be able to pick them up at Stuff4Him on 11th Ave and Espy Fashion in Inglewood.
