Toronto Pride 2005

[vaneramos]

Pride parade, Sunday afternoon


Toronto Pride 2005: gallery includes 26 photos from the dyke march, the pride parade, and miscellaneous.


I attended my first Pride parade in Toronto in 1996. This was my 10th, the third I watched with my daughters, the second with djjo. It seemed somewhat less commercial than the last few. The beer companies and supermarket chains were absent. The sponsors of some of the large, fabulous floats were not readily apparent. One expects, of course, to see IKEA and a few travel agencies (the latter lacking creativity and receiving little notice from the crowd).

Certain aspects of the parade put a lump in my sentimental throat, but not the ones you might think. The Toronto Police Service has had a growing presence recently, and I don't mean security. It's the individual officers walking the parade in uniform (mostly women, it seems), and a couple riding a cruiser with the rainbow flag across the hood. These came close on the heels of the mayor, also on foot, facing the inevitable gantlet of water guns with good-natured endurance.

It also hit me to see this placard: "Two gay moms, two straight dads, six wonderful children, love keeps us together." And I wasn't marching, but I was there in the crowd with my boyfriend and two daughters, being visible.