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The sunshine was bright, the weather was warm and the trees at Nanaimo City Hall were budding as a small group of people gathered to raise the trans pride flag for Transgender Day of Visibility on Monday morning. 

Originally I wasn’t sure if I was going to do a full-fledged story about what can be seen as little more than a photo-op for public officials, but as I spoke with people from the community who were there I heard how important it was to them that the mayor, city councillors and the NDP candidate were standing with them and publicly supporting the transgender community. 

We have received a number of questions submitted by readers in our  2025 federal election survey asking about candidates'  support of trans affirming health care, supporting 2SLGBTQ+ people and generally standing up for the human rights of transgender Canadians, so we know it is an issue that our readers care about. 

I wasn’t able to make the other events for the Transgender Day of Visibility, so I can’t say if candidates from other parties attended any of them or not, but NDP candidate Lisa Marie Barron was the only candidate at the flag raising and she told me today that she went to every single one of them, including an event on Gabriola Island hosted by the Gender Tides Collective.

Read about why trans people say it’s important that politicians, such as Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog, attended and celebrated the Transgender Day of Visibility in my story below. 

Thank you for reading,

Mick Sweetman

Trans pride flag raised at Nanaimo City Hall

Trans pride flag raising at Nanaimo City Hall in a time of division ‘means everything to us,’ says local transgender rights advocate.

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🔎 Watch for 🔍

Saturday, April 5, 9 p.m.: Juno-nominated band The Secret Beach will play with Jack Garton and Federal Glass, formerly Waste Management, at The Vault Cafe. Tickets cost $15. Photo courtesy of The Secret Beach.

Got the inside scoop of an event you think should be shared? 

Let us know by sending Mick an email.

🎵 Listen 🎤

Thursday, April 3, 7 p.m.: Mean Bikini will hold an all-ages album release party with Quit It, Poor Sport, and a special acoustic set by Fin Edwards of Danger Box at The Globe Live Studio. Tickets cost $15.

Thursday, April 3, 7:30 p.m.: Susan Aglurkark will bring her 30th anniversary tour of This Child to The Port Theatre with throat singer Angela Amarualik. Tickets cost $55.50.

Thursday, April 3, 9 p.m.: Seminal folk cult figure Kath Bloom and Nanaimo's psychedelic indie rockers Apples will play at The Vault Cafe. Tickets cost $20. 

Friday, April 4, 7 p.m.: Lords Of Apathy, Prophecy Club, Death Drops and The Grundles will play at The Globe Live Studio. Tickets cost $10.

Friday, April 4, 9 p.m.: A night of raw roots, country and accordion noir with Carter Felker and David P. Smith at The Vault Cafe. Tickets cost $15. 

Friday, April 4 to Sunday, April 6: “Nanaimo! The city that sings” is a three-day festival featuring 13 choirs at St. Andrew’s United Church. Individual tickets cost $15 or a festival pass is $45 for six concerts.

Friday, April 4, 10 p.m.: The Tumblin’ Dice will bring their down-home country music to The Queen’s. Tickets cost $20 in advance. 

Saturday, April 5, 3 p.m.: The Vancouver Island Symphony presents M is for Music as part of its family series for school-age children at The Port Theatre. Tickets cost $28.50. 

Saturday, April 5, 6:30 p.m.: Vying for Glory, The Black Cats, Yukaliptis, and the ultimate Limp Bizkit/Linkin Park tribute band—Bizkit Park, will play an all ages rock show at The Globe Live Studio. Tickets cost $15. 

Sunday, April 6, 2:30 p.m.: The Nanaimo Concert Band will play a spring concert at The Port Theatre. Tickets cost $20. 

Tuesday, April 8, 10:30 a.m.: Persian powerhouse Tissa Rahim will play an intimate show in the lobby of The Port Theatre as part of its Coffee Concert Series. Tickets cost $39 or $24 for students. 

🎭 View 🖼️

Tuesday, April 1, 7:30 p.m.: Nanaimo’s TheatreOne presents April Fools Us at The Port Theatre with some of the British Columbia magicians that have performed on the hit TV series Penn and Teller Fools Us. Tickets cost $45. 

Wednesday, April 2, 6:30 p.m.: The VIU Muslim Women’s Club presents a screening of The Occupation of the American Mind at Vancouver Island University in Building 356, room 109. Admission is free and popcorn and drinks are available for $5. 

Friday, April 4, 10 a.m.: Nanaimo playwright Mary Littlejohn’s The Untold Legend of Imogen Flight is a feminist comedy paying homage to incredible women who have been lost to history. It plays at The OV Arts Centre until April 13. Tickets cost $28.

Sunday, April 6, 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.: Filmmaker Matthew Rankin introduces us to a charmingly impossible Canada where Persian and French are the two official languages, and loneliness is the common currency in Universal Language that will screen in the Shaw Auditorium of the Vancouver Island Conference Centre. Tickets cost $15.

Sunday, April 6, 4 p.m.: Based on the real-life arts rehabilitation programme founded at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, Greg Kwedar’s new film Sing Sing follows a troupe of incarcerated actors who work on a play as part of a theatre workshop at the prison. It screens at the Shaw Auditorium at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre and tickets cost $15. 

Monday, April 7 and Tuesday, April 8, 7 p.m.: The Inclusive Theatre Collective presents A Deep, Poetic Journey Into Something by Forrest Musselman at the Malaspina Theatre at Vancouver Island University. Tickets are free. 

⛹️ Meet 🎲

Wednesday, April 2, 5 p.m.: The Canadian Home Builders' Association Vancouver Island and the Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce present a fireside chat event: “From the Field to the Boardroom: Lessons in Leadership, Resilience & Mental Health” with Warren McCarty, Shawn Arabsky, and CFL Legend Andrew Harris at the Nanaimo Golf Club. Tickets cost $50 including dinner. 

Wednesday, April 2, 5 p.m.: The Take Back The Night march against sexual violence will begin at Beban Park and walk to the Haven Soceity Community Services Building.  

Thursday, April 3 to April 6:  Westbound amusement’s Spring Fair will be held at The Nanaimo North Town Centre. Unlimited ride wristbands cost $50. 

Thursday, April 3, 6 p.m.: Join CBC’s Nahlah Ayed, host of Ideas, at the Nanaimo Harbourfront Library for a discussion on housing affordability. Admission is free but registration is required.  

Friday, April 4, 10 a.m.: Indigenous engagement coordinator bailey macabre will lead an introductory workshop about land acknowledgements at the Nanaimo Art Gallery. Tickets cost $30 to $50. 

Saturday, April 5, noon: History students are holding a “history harvest” to gather stories about the 2011 faculty strike at Vancouver Island University at the Harbourfront Library. Bring your photos, documents, scans or other items about the strike for the history department to photograph. You can also mail copies of documents anonymously to viuhistoryharvest@gmail.com or fill out the History Harvest 2025 Questionnaire online. 

Saturday, April 5, 1 p.m.: AVI community health services will host a Games for Gaymers event to introduce 6 players to the world of Dungeons and Dragons. 

Saturday, April 5, 1 p.m.: Lions Free Swim at the Nanaimo Aquatic Centre. 

Sunday, April 6, 5 p.m.: April is poetry month! Celebrate by creating blackout poetry using discarded book pages at the Nanaimo Art Gallery. Tickets are $5 for non-members.   

Monday, April 7, 5:30 p.m.: Have a script that needs feedback? Looking to connect with local filmmakers? The CineCentral Filmmakers Society is hosting a script session at the Harbourfront Library.

Have your say

Survey: What federal election issues are important to you?

📢 The federal election takes place on April 28, and advance polls open on April 18.

At The Discourse, we believe that you, the community, should guide the federal election conversation. We want to know what’s important to you and offer coverage that responds to your questions and concerns.

Tell us what you think and we’ll do our best to dig into the issues that matter to you, and pose your questions to local candidates. Your participation in this survey will help inform our work and contribute to local dialogue about this election. Thanks for being part of it!

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