Dogs dressed in all the colours of the rainbow mingled at the BX Ranch Dog Park Tuesday as a fun and furry start to Vernon Pride Week.
The Pride Pups Dog Park Meet-Up was a free event for all ages and a chance for people to socialize with fellow dog-lovers.
People were encouraged to dress their dogs in costumes, and the two best-dressed pooches took home prizes.
"So far we've got a couple good contenders," Vernon Pride president Dawn Tucker said of the costumes they'd seen as the event was just getting started.
The costume contest was just an added bonus to an event that was all about free-form fun.
"It's more about just meeting and greeting and getting to socialize, and it's about community and getting your dogs together and having a good time," Tucker said.
One dog named Mr. Pumpernickel came a long way to take part in the event. His owner, Kiki Barua, has organized pride festivals in the Yukon and was travelling through the area and decided stop in at the Pride Pups meet-up.
Vernon Pride Week runs until Sunday, June 8, and there are plenty of events livening up the community throughout the week.
The That's Gay! comedy show is taking place Wednesday night, trans storytelling goes Thursday night, Pride at the Park will coincide with the Polson Artisan Night Market Friday, a Gay Cabaret takes place Saturday night, and Sunday will see the Common Unity Event and the Pride March.
Those were just a few events Tucker highlighted. For the full schedule of events, go to vernonpride.ca.
Tucker said there are different events for all ages and the Vernon Pride team has been listening to the public to make this year's events enjoyable for everyone.
This is Tucker's first Pride Week as president of the Vernon Pride Society, and they said it's been a team effort getting all of the week's events organized.
"I might be president but I'm certainly not the one that did the majority of the work. The board as a whole did the work and we have a great director of events, Gemma (Patterson), who did a lot of the heavy lifting for this and so really I have to give credit to them," Tucker said.
