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| Final LGBT media brunch at the 180! |
Thankfully Toronto’s Pride parade does not cover the entire
city! As I noted in part 1, it’s a manageable event and accordingly its parade
only covers about 1.5 miles over what should be about 3-4 hours. That proved
useful so I could reach and march with Prime Minister Trudeau – and still
return for a fun filled afternoon taking in all of the parade!
Arriving late to the route, because I was enjoying company at our last
meal courtesy of Toronto & Ontario Tourism, on top of The 180 – go for the
view (and if you like this Coron-ita). Since the parade just kicked off when I found it a few blocks away, I was trapped
on one side. So, I ran around the whole staging area which included lots of
government-looking vehicles (with no one in them). I realized this meant I must have just
missed Trudeau.
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| Prime Minister Justin Trudeau |
I raced down the already closed gay street in the village Church
Street to find a way to get ahead of the parade (they keep this parallel street closed for whats basically a Pride Fest). Vendors, non-profit’s, kids
selling Rainbow bandanas and corporations promoting to LGBTs all stood in my
way. But, as I approached a "Media area" on the south side of the route, police
waved me into the route with my pass.
At that point the Black Lives Matter truck had already slowed
the progress of the parade, as they chanted “Shut it down” (which was confusing
to everyone until just short of the end, they did just that) – but I ventured
further north to find the Prime Minister, looking for that best
shot of the parade lined with Rainbow & Canadian flags.
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| My new friend on the route... |
After chilling with Trudeau (during the parade's stoppage) – and marching along behind him
for some time, I wanted to take the opportunity to see the rest - and really enjoy
the parade. After all, parades are basically huge street parties! So, I
unleashed my rainbow suspenders and ventured to the start of
the parade again, with media pass and camera in hand – somewhat hoping to see
friends I could join, but mainly excited to experience it all.
Walking through the parade gives you the opportunity to
quickly see everything, take selfies with new friends (: – and dance around the floats
with the best music. I found every group you could imagine - from the corporate to the totally naked protestors & naturists. And of course, everyone welcomed me – I know not everyone has the
guts, stamina and relative insanity that I do for wandering around inside a pride
parade – but I highly recommend it!
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| Spectators on every surface! |
I've enjoyed parades this way from Tel Aviv to Berlin, DC to NYC - but this time I was official thanks to my status as a ManAboutWorld Global Correspondent - which made it easier, especially given the Prime Minister's presence. However (shhhhh!) don't tell everyone, but with a little confidence you can usually look like you belong in the parade anyway and join in.
In the end, I finished the parade with dozens of LGBT employees of the Royal Bank of
Canada – where one member stopped to give me a rainbow bracelet, that I’m
still wearing weeks later. It says “Show Your Pride Every Day” and after the recent violence – from Orlando to Baghdad and Istanbul to Dallas – I intend to,
to keep celebrating diversity and to remember such an incredible weekend
in Canada’s downtown.
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| Royal Bank of Canada Pride band |
Find out about my final shenanigans - and the hot (and of course friendly) guy I met during #PrideTo's closing hours in Part 3 of Toronto Pride next week, all made possible by ManAboutWorld magazine - and don't forget to click to get your 3 month subscription to this great resource for LGBT travel exclusively for GAYography readers.
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