Major League Soccer side Vancouver Whitecaps FC will be loud and proud in their support of the LGBTQ2S+ community thanks to a special logo produced for a game this weekend.
The Whitecaps are hosting their ninth annual Pride Match at BC Place on Saturday, July 23, against Chicago Fire FC. To mark the occasion, they’ve worked with local artist Christina Hryc — also known as Boots — to produce a special version of the club crest that will be featured throughout the stadium during the game and on the Whitecaps’ social media channels.
The crest features Hryc’s signature bright colours and bold black lines. It incorporates colours representing people along the LGBTQ2S+ spectrum, and also includes monarch butterflies as a symbol of resilience.
“I wanted to showcase the monarch butterfly because of its ties with mental illness awareness symbolism,” Hryc said in an interview with Daily Hive Vancouver. “Something as delicate as a monarch butterfly overcomes so many obstacles and beats the odds each year during migration. You can’t really have something Pride-inspired and not include a rainbow’s spectrum of colours.”
Hryc has completed murals in the United States, Central America, Mexico and Canada.
Saturday’s game will also feature live music, giveaways, face painting and a halftime dance party. Corner flags, nets and the Whitecaps’ captain’s armband will also be in Pride colours. The Whitecaps are undefeated when they host their annual Pride Match, with seven wins and one draw.
This is the third special event logo that the Whitecaps have released this season. Logos were also created in collaboration with local artists for National Indigenous History Month in June and for Vaisakhi — a harvest festival and start of the solar new year celebrated in northern India — and Sikh Heritage Month in April.
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