KELOWNA, B.C. — The mayor of a city in B.C.'s picturesque Okanagan Valley has turned an insult into his own proud, tongue-in-cheek persona.
Colin Basran, now known as Kelowna's "Sugarplum Mayor," is working with the city's Young Professionals Collective to host a Sugarplum Ball on July 9 to show support for the region's LGBTQ community.
The event comes one year after the city installed a rainbow crosswalk at a downtown intersection in an effort to promote inclusion.
But while the crosswalk had unanimous support from city council, it gained unexpected backlash from a few residents.
In an online forum, one community member referred to "Mayor Sugarplum" in an effort to insult Basran for supporting the installation of the crosswalk. The comment had the opposite effect.
"I actually found it kind of funny and I kind of liked it," Basran said.
Recognizing the opportunity to increase support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community, Basran said the Okanagan Pride Society approached him with the idea of hosting a Sugarplum Ball.
![](https://media.darpanmagazine.com/library/uploads/news/content/lgbt2@#</div>
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the ball, however, is not solely for the lbgtq community and attendees are welcome to wear what they want — from jeans and t-shirts to costumes.</div>
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like the crosswalk, basran said the ball is intended to make people feel welcome and build connections, which is why he partnered with the young professionals collective to host it.</div>
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organizer drew vincent said there is an effort to attract and retain young professionals in the region, and giving them fun, inclusive events to attend is part of that effort.</div>
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supporting the okanagan pride society, including donating proceeds from the ball, is one way to build and foster connections, he said.</div>
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"in order to achieve equality we need to be fighting for those who are marginalized or oppressed... and when there are a lot of people who get together and, form meaningful connections, we are a lot stronger as a whole."</div>.jpg)
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