Tourists Love Pride Toronto

Pride Toronto is one of the biggest LGBT events in the world, and it’s about to get even bigger with World Pride on the horizon for 2014. With over a million estimated attendees this year taking part in one of more of the festivities planned during the three day event, there was something for everyone, including the curious, the kinkiest, and everyone in between regardless of gender or sexuality. It’s always a fantastic spectacle of frivolity, happiness, openness, and acceptance that reflects every color of the rainbow. The full weekend of revelry took over several city blocks in the downtown core with seven full stages of entertainment programmed.

Here’s a Top 10 rundown of what Pride Toronto was all about.

The Visitors

Pride Toronto is a boom for tourism, with people coming in from all over the globe. I met people from Australia, Europe, the far northern reaches of Canada, and all parts of the U.S. The common conversation thread was always how friendly everyone they met was. It truly is a festival where new friendships are formed. I always enjoy hearing people make comparisons between other cities and their Pride events, then say how Toronto’s is one of the best.

The Parade

For those who have never attended Pride Toronto event before, this is the piece-de-resistance for the uninitiated. Beginning shortly after noon at the far northern end of the designated area, the floats begin streaming down Yonge Street, Toronto’s main thoroughfare. There’s a plethora of colors, an abundance of exposed skin, groups and organizations from every walk of life, politicians and punks, and enough wigs to fill a football stadium. Three hours later, it winds around Carlton Street culminating at the southern end of Church Street, the epicenter of all things gay and happy. One highlight was when the float carrying a “just married” male couple passed by to hoots and hollers from the sidelines.

Marriage Equality

Tourism Toronto and Pride Toronto ran a contest in which one lucky New York City LGBT couple were chosen to marry during the parade. The winning couple had their marriage ceremony take place on a float to the screams and approval of thousands.  “We’re incredibly proud as New Yorkers that our state finally recognizes our relationship. It’s a huge honor to marry in Toronto, a city we both love, and a country that led the world in treating all loving relationships as fully and finally equal”, said newlyweds Carter Etherington & Breken Elwood. “Toronto was the first jurisdiction in North America to conduct same sex marriages and continues to be one of the hottest destinations for gay couples,” confirmed David Whitaker, President & CEO of Tourism Toronto.

Entertainment

With seven full stages of programming there’s bound to be something for everyone. Two of the biggest crowd draws of the weekend were by “allies” of the LGBT community. Both the Bif Naked show on Friday and the Corey Hart set on Saturday were highly anticipated and hugely successful in terms of filling up the beer gardens, which in turn help to fund future Pride events. Bif Naked opened with her infamous single, “Spaceman”, while Hart knocked off his 80’s mega-hit “Sunglasses At Night” before jumping into his latest remixed release of “Truth Will Set U Free”, a song written specifically for the gay community back in the 80’s yet never released as a single until this year.

Other Events

For the veteran attendees and others in the know, there’s literally hundreds of other Pride related events spread out across the city, both official and unofficial. Many dance clubs, bars, and even restaurants get into the spirit with special programming, themed menus, and rainbow decorations. While the west end of the city held the majority of these at places like the Drake and Gladstone Hotel, The Garrison, and the Henhouse, Wayla Bar on the eastside delivered a solid alternative to the masses, while The Guvernment went wild catering to the DJ induced circuit crowd.

Parade and Marches

Even though the majority of attendees show up for the huge Pride Parade on Sunday afternoon, a decent crowd shows up for the more political Dyke March on Saturday, and a smaller contingent shows up for the recently introduced Trans March on Friday evening. The major difference between the three is that the Trans March is basically 100% about politics and activism, the Dyke March maintains a majority of this, too, with a few fun themes tossed in, while the three hour Pride Parade is all about floats and corporate sponsorship for the most part. I met one guy who attended his first Dyke March and commented how he liked it much more than the actual Parade, and was ashamed he hadn’t been before.

Costumes and Outfits

It’s not only parade participants who dress up, as everyone plans their attire weeks in advance of the big weekend. The human decoration can range from sky reaching wigs, face paint, and elaborate frocks to the minimalistic tassels and thong look, while others choose to bare it all. It’s a smorgasbord of provocative and alternative glamour or gutter, yet it all seems to work and pretty much everyone gets into the spirit in one way or another.

Community Focus

Pride Toronto organizers try to keep a sense of community focus as part of the overall festival. There are specific areas for families, those in sobriety, transgendered individuals, marginalized groups, community organizations, and the disabled. The 519 Community Centre on Church Street also holds their annual Pride parties in the park, which are always packed. A dedicated team of volunteers are what make this all happen, and they can be seen everywhere day and night making sure everything is running smoothly.

Global Focus

Every year Pride Toronto selects an International Grand Marshal (IGM) to maintain the focus on global human rights. This year it was human rights activist Goran Miletić from Belgrade, Serbia, chosen for his dedicated work in South Eastern Europe and the Western Balkan States. The annual appointment of the IGM is part of Pride Toronto’s “Global Human Rights for Queers: What OUT is About” program. Now in its seventh year, the ‘What OUT is About’ program raises awareness of human rights issues within the LGBT community. Organizers do a great job of combining both community and global solidarity, making sure everyone feels proud to be part of this community.

World Pride

In two years Toronto will be the host city for World Pride 2014, the first time this event will happen off the European continent. Plans are already underway to prepare for an estimated increase of a quarter million attendees, and all the specialized programming that will be a part of this historic event. From what I observed over the three day span this year, I think the city is more than ready to welcome the world.