A lot can change in seven years and, for Lethbridge Pride Fest, a lot has.  And that’s a good thing.

Armed with a bigger budget than ever, and its largest private board yet, there are many new and exciting things planned for this year’s festival, according to Lethbridge Pride Fest 2015 chair Levi Cox.

"Our numbers seem to grow each year with more events... catering to all ages and all aspects of our community, including the McKillop Church and local high school QSA," Cox says. "Lethbridge Pride Local... features a big heart and I'll tell you this – we are definitely feeling the love."

A bigger board means a bigger event, Cox explains, and he is excited to see what that means for festival goers who will have more activities to enjoy and take part in. The fest developed from humble beginnings: from mere patio tables to now booking larger venues with more people attending the week-long celebration.

"Surprisingly, some of our biggest challenges were our manpower and our board size in the last six years. We’ve had a board of about six or seven people organizing the events. This year there are 14 board members and it’s our most diverse group yet; including lesbian, gay, trans, bi and straight members, truly making our board LGBTQA."

While big changes have come from within, Cox says the community and the city of Lethbridge have also been very supportive – which, like many cities, was not always the case.

"More and more local businesses and community leaders join in each year. Our flag has flown at city hall for the past six years with local politicians and the police attending our parades. We definitely feel welcomed into the community, and there is also an amazing gay bar and theatre company; it’s been amazing," Cox says, adding that the festival has received Heart of the City funding, which helps create community events in the downtown core.

This year’s new and exciting events include the Diva Cabaret at the Lethbridge Casino, featuring nine local drag queens, including Fendi Ashleen la Fierce.

"It’s a huge boost to Lethbridge Pride to be hosted at such a large, public venue. Also this year, we’ve hired our first Ru Girl, Shangela Laquifa, to host our big Pride dance on July 4^th."

It is the second year in a row that the fest will take place in July, which was designed to try to avoid weather issues that arose in the past.