Pride Toronto Street Festival 2011

The final three days of 2011 Pride Week includes a Street Festival on Church Street from July 1st to the 3rd and today also had the Dyke March, tomorrow is the Pride Parade. LGBTQ Proud. There were a lot of buff bods, pride flags and some great costumes.

 See more pictures of Pride after the jump.

Rainbow Flag raised at Toronto City Hall 2011

The LGBTQ community and their many supporters gathered today in Nathan Phillips Square for the official reading of the City of Toronto’s Pride Week Proclamation and the raising of the rainbow flag at City Hall today. Absent was the current Mayor of Toronto and many in the square were booing whenever Rob Ford’s name came up in the speeches. Master of Ceremonies Kristyn Wong-Tam asked for and received calm to allow the ceremony to continue and for Councillor Frances Nunziata to read the proclamation on the Mayor’s behalf.

On hand was one ex-Mayor of Toronto (and current Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission) – Barbara Hall, who was loudly cheered by those in attendance. Pride week began June 24^th and continues until July 3^rd, 2011 with some pretty amazing parties and parades and hopefully they can continue to build on the acceptance and support of the LGBTQ communities within Toronto.

My picture of the City’s Pride proclamation shows that it was indeed signed by Mayor Rob Ford. The flag can be found flying on the outdoor garden level, close to Bay Street. 

See more pictures after the jump.

Barbara Hall

Photo Vault - fun in Toronto

For a photographer, life in Toronto is full of fun and so many great photo opportunities. The people of the big smoke get behind and support so many worthwhile causes - from gay rights to charity drives. One of the biggest celebrations and show of support is for the many LGBT marches during PRIDE week. The Dyke March  is one of my favourites and I always like when they bring out the big rainbow flag. Brim Stone #21:8 is from the mighty Gore-Gore Rollergirls of the Toronto Roller Derby League.

See more pictures - including some more photos from the Ms Chin Bikini Pageant, after the jump.

The architecture in Toronto includes shiny new condos and old buildings and neighbourhoods that make the city a great place to live, work and play. While mayors come and go some of the buildings get better with age - like the iconic flatiron building in the St. Lawrence Market area.

Mayor David Miller

There is also a lot of competition in Toronto as sports teams and beautiful people compete, head to head and toe to toe. The Chin Picnic's Ms Chin Bikini Contest draws so many beautiful women it would be very hard to pick out a winner.

There is also a lot of promotions going on - there are a lot of people out there who hope to increase business and they give out free stuff to get people to try their products, go see their sports events and buy tickets to the latest concerts. My wife says that as good as Bon Jovi songs are, they pale in comparison to his handsome good looks. Bon Jovi will be at the Air Canada Centre (ACC) on Februrary 14 and 15, 2011 if you want to see him in action.

Hockey on Yonge Street

Ivanovic & Wozniaki

Baking in the sun and watching fireworks is a good way to spend quality time together.

You can always chuck it all, drop your drawers and head to Toronto's naked beach - Hanlan's Point or wait for the next Naked Bike Ride.

Dyke March & Pride Parade - Celebrating Pride in Toronto

This is the weekend for Pride Parades - Friday, July 2 was the Trans March, Saturday, July 3 is the Dyke March and Sunday, July 4 is the Pride Parade. At 2pm the Dyke March starts at Church and Hayden, heads west on Bloor and down Yonge Street. They turn east on Wood Street and finish back at Church Street.

Church Street is shut down between Carlton and Bloor and a big street festival is held, full of vendors and people supporting the parade and the people in the parade.

The Dykes on Bikes start the parade, revving their motorcycles until the parade is ready to go.

See more pictures after the jump.

The Pride Website says "Pride Toronto, as the organizer of the Pride Parade, encourages everyone to have an open, tolerant and supportive attitude. This year our theme is about "Celebrating 30 years of Pride in Toronto"; all participants are encouraged to incorporate this theme into their messaging, to be supportive of the celebration of Pride, and the queer community as a whole.

After all, the parade is not only about Pride in your community, but celebrating diversity and the variety of life in Toronto while respecting subtle differences amongst its citizens and visitors, and creating an inclusive experience for all."


Update: The boys in green bathing suits were out at the 2011 Street Festival. Check out more of my Pride 2011 post here.