We live at the center of Toronto's Pride festivities & have seen them grow over the years into the huge event that it is today. This year in an effort to somewhat disperse the massive crowds the organizers have annexed a few more neighbourhood parks, including creating a new stage at nearby Queen's Park behind the provincial legislature building.
In keeping with the dyke-oriented theme of Saturday programming, this particular venue features a grrl friendly line-up all day, and culminates in the evening with a concert by Cyndi Lauper. (to be honest, we kinda' thought she was more of a gay guy icon, but maybe it's a good segue into the next day's festivities, reuniting the movement just before Sunday's "main event")
To us, the Friday night before the weekend gets into full swing is always the most fun. The streets are busy with fun-seeking crowds but the hoards that choke off Church Street on Saturday and especially Sunday haven't yet amassed. Just a nice neighbourhood street party!
Back in the early days, the street remained open to traffic throughout Friday evening until the people on the sidewalks spilled into the streets & the police finally blocked the road to cars. Impromptu dance parties & drag shows took place in alleyways. Today it's all much more organized, with the road closing in the late afternoon & the early vendors setting up their food stalls before sundown.
We headed out into the night last evening to have a look at the party.
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