On Monday, June 19th the Acadia campus community acquired a new Rainbow Pride Bench!

Polly Leonard, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Officer, and Allison Smith, Sexualized Violence Response and Education Coordinator drove down to New Minas to the Flower Cart Opportunities and spoke with Tammy Provencal, an Acadia alum, who runs the Rainbow Pride bench program.

The Flower Cart Opportunities (Group), “is a conglomeration of social enterprises serving a dual purpose – working to provide employment training opportunities that enrich the lives of participants and adding value for Valley businesses.” The participants of the Flower Cart Opportunities make the Rainbow Pride benches that you may have spotted throughout the Valley, from the tip of Freeport Long Island, through to Digby all the way to Halifax. Revenue from the benches goes right back into the community, with most of the funds going toward the day programs hosted by the Flower Cart Opportunities, as well as $5 from each Rainbow Pride bench or picnic table going to the Valley Youth Project, the local safe community space for 13-25 year olds who, “identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, asexual, transgender, intersex, two-spirit, queer, or questioning, as well as to straight and cisgender allies.”

Tammy explains the origins of the benches, approximately ten years ago an employee asked if someone could make a rainbow bench for her sister and her sister’s partner, “Ever since then the benches have taken off!” The benches can be seen at most Elementary schools of the AVRCE, some of the local churches have them, as well as Ford and Sobey’s. Tammy mentions that last year, 2022, they sold 100 Rainbow Pride benches.

If you want to support the Flower Cart Opportunities in more ways than a rainbow bench, be sure to stop by on June 30th from 11-2:30pm for their Canada Day BBQ, Tammy tells me they are releasing a new game! There will also be limited edition Canada Day benches, tables, and other items.

This is a milestone for Polly, who ever since moving to Annapolis Valley, NS, three years ago at the height of COVID-19 has admired the Rainbow Pride benches and recognized them for their important promotion of allyship and belonging. Especially during an unsettling time of attacks against the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Having one outside the Equity Office acts as a beacon of safety and joy.

While Polly and Allison were at Flower Cart Opportunities, Michael Murphy, Marketing and Communications Officer, Brand and Marketing, was busy taking some beautiful photos and created a video of our time! If you don’t follow Acadia’s Equity Instagram account @Acadiauniversityequity, you might not have seen this awesome video. Watch the video below or on Instagram.