This year’s Peace Pride Weekend in Peace River will have special meaning for the town’s communications coordinator.
Autumn Hulme, the Communications Coordinator for the Town of Peace River. (Photo/Peace River Broadcasting)
Autumn Hulme, who was born Adam Dietrich in Guelph, Ontario on November 30, 1988, officially came out as a transgendered woman on March 31, 2017.
Hulme says that deep-down, she’s always felt like she was different from all of her peers.
“For me, it all started when I decided to start taking my mental health more seriously,” Hulme told the Trending 55 Newsroom. “I started looking into why I was feeling anxious all the time and why did I have these periods of intense sadness. As I started to look at what was triggering these things, and get help, what became more and more apparent was the birth assignment, the gender assignment I was given at birth, was not correct.”
She says the expectations of her when she identified as a male was causing a lot of distress for most of her life.
“This was really about getting rid of that burden, and being true to myself,” Hulme added. “When you’re true to yourself, it makes it much easier to really enjoy your life.”
Hulme first moved to Peace River in February 2014 from Toronto to take a job as a reporter for the Peace River Record-Gazette. She moved on to the Whitecourt Star in September of that year, but moved back to Peace River in June 2015 when the opportunity to work in her current position opened up.
She says she just felt the need to return to Peace River, as she really likes living within the community.
“It seems to break all of the molds, the negative stereotypes, which people have about small-town Alberta,” she said. “They just don’t hold up in Peace River.
“And one of the things that made that evident is the pride parade,” Hulme continued. “It happens every year, and it’s always well-attended. It’s definitely one of the smaller communities to actually hold this type of event.”
Volunteers painted the crosswalk at 99 St and 100 Ave on Sunday, June 4, in time for this weekend’s Peace Pride celebrations. (Photo/Peace River Broadcasting)
The 7th Annual Peace Pride Weekend commences on Friday, June 9, 2017, with a meet-and-greet at the town’s Rock-&-Bowl at 7 PM. The Peace Pride Parade happens on June 10 in the Downtown area at 12 Noon, with face-painting and poster-making to go an hour earlier at the parking-lot area behind Mann & Mann Insurance and Domino’s Pizza. Later that evening, River City Cinema will show the movie “Moonlight” for free at 4 PM, followed by a fashion show at Java Domain at 6 PM.
And then, on Sunday, a brunch will take place at the Tapas Room in the Belle Petroleum Centre at 10:30 AM; this event costs $13.99 per person.
For this year’s parade, Peace River Mayor Tom Tarpey will serve as Grand Marshall for the second time, having previously done so for the event in 2014.
“When I first moved here, I was surprised that not only there was a LGBTQ2+ parade in this town,” said Hulme. “But, that the mayor would not only march in it, but also be the Grand Marshall. I’m really happy that he’s doing it again. The town’s been a really supportive work environment to be in.”
But, even with the recent strides in terms of the advancement of LGBTQ2+ rights, with the election of Alberta’s first openly-gay leader of a political party on June 4 being one example, Hulme believes that lots of education is still need on this issue.
For example, she says that being gay and being transgendered are two separate terms entirely.
“A lot of gay people aren’t Trans, and a lot of Trans people aren’t gay,” said Hulme. “As a result, the two sides don’t necessarily always understand, and always get along. As a result, there’s still sometimes some confusion within those communities. So, everybody just needs to ask questions, and simply listen to some good answers.”
All in all, Hulme says the reaction she received to her coming out, both from family and from friend, has been very positive.
“Most of the people that I’ve spoken with have been very understanding, and have been welcoming,” she said. “I think most people do have questions, and don’t always understand everything, but certainly, people have been very patient, and very great overall.”
Hulme does plan to be in attendance at this year’s Peace Pride events.
– Posted by BET
