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Caesars Windsor Cares has been announced as the presenting sponsor for the 2025 Windsor-Essex Pride Fest.
The charitable arm of the casino also announced Wednesday that it’s providing Windsor-Essex Pride Fest with a $10,000 donation to the QConnect Plus Program.
The Qconnect Plus Program is a bi-weekly social drop-in program for 2SLGBTQIA+ seniors in Windsor-Essex to provide an opportunity for meaningful social engagement and participation to increase connections and overcome social isolation in an inclusive, safe, and accessible space.
President of Windsor-Essex Pride Fest Wendi Nicholson says without donations like this, programs like the QConnect Plus Program couldn’t run.
“They don’t really have the means to go out to dinner all the time, or they don’t want to go to the bars,” says Nicholson. “This is giving them, they come to the office, we get pizza or whatever. They can just sit around and talk, be together, and not worry about anything really.”
Nicholson says once you hit 50-plus, you can end up forgotten.
“They’re at home and they’re by themselves; they have nothing to do and no one to speak to them. A lot of them don’t have social media, so they can’t get on and FaceTime each other,” says Nicholson. “You lose connections after a long time.”
Nicholson says the Caesars Windsor Cares sponsorship means so much.
“It shows their support to the community, their support to their employees and staff that are in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, and that they support them,” says Nicholson. “It’s the support that’s really needed for everyone.”
This will be the 33rd year for Pride Fest, which runs Aug. 1 to the 7 at various locations across Windsor-Essex, followed by the main festival in Windsor’s Lanspeary Park off Ottawa Street between Aug. 8 and 10, which includes the annual parade.