“Pride is amazing!”
Those three simple words were uttered by a self-proclaimed ‘Loyal Pride Enthusiast.’
The fourth ever WorldPride celebration was also history in the making for Toronto, as we hosted WorldPride for the first time ever in North America.
What’s more, Kathleen Wynne made history this past June when she not only became the first female Premier elected, but also the first openly gay one.
Many Torontonians look forward to Pride Week every year and it’s no wonder as it truly does kick-off the summer in a colourful way.
The week was filled with music, marches, and street festivals with our LGBTQ community and all supporters proudly waving the Pride flag higher than ever before.
Renowned rocker, Melissa Etheridge and Canada’s own R & B songstress, Deborah Cox hit the Nathan Phillips Square stage on June 20th to kick off the celebrations.
The events calendar was filled to the brim as usual with ‘Open Doors, Open Dialogues’ hosted by Toronto HIV/AIDS Network, Habitat for Humanity GTA: Pride Build 2014 and Camp Fires: The Queer Baroque of Léopald L. Foulem, Paul Mathieu and Richard Milette at the Gardiner Museum.
For those who wanted to ‘shake it,’ places like Buddies in Bad Times, The Guvernment and The Drake Hotel all held parties; with a bittersweet ending as the Grand Hotel hosted Goin’ Steady: The Final Party.
The village offered a number of options for those who preferred to sit down with a fresh beverage and watch the celebrations from the comforts of a patio. House/Maison opened up in the former Old Vic Mansion. Among a number of Pride events scheduled there were Le Youth, who performed on June 28th. Other popular patios included: Hair of the Dog, Boutique Bar and Crews and Tangos to name a few.
For family friendly and substance-free spaces, crowds gathered at the 519 on Church Street and Clean, Sober and Proud Place on Wellesley Street.
There were potlucks, queer photography shows, salsa street parties, underground market picnics and more song, dance and exhibits revealing how far Pride in Toronto has come since the 1980’s.
Friday and Saturday came with The Trans March and Dyke March where trans-identified people rallied together in solidarity and self-identified dykes focuseds on all their dyke experiences in a safe space.
But perhaps one of the most memorable events this year was the Grand Pride Wedding that saw 110 couples tie the knot at Casa Loma. Another one for the history books.
So much love, so much diversity, so much PRIDE!
For the grand finale – the likes of John Tory and Olivia Chow were in the mix of the Annual Pride Parade, described by some as “bigger than ever before!” Float upon float and masses of people marched down the streets of Toronto. Many more were on the sidelines to watch the proud procession.
The week ended off with a bang at Yonge and Dundas Square on Sunday night. Tegan and Sarah were among the featured performers of the closing ceremonies and fireworks filled the sky as the torch was passed on to Madrid, Spain for the next WorldPride in 2017.
What else did people have to say?
“Simply, it is a celebration of having the courage to love.”
But there was one more special surprise for everyone. Not to be outdone, the skies of Toronto actually “donned” a double rainbow to mark the occasion. Now that’s what we call a perfect ending.
