pride Winnipeg | Supplement to the winnipeg free press
14
May 21, 2014
Toronto Proud to Host WorldPride
By Kathryne Cardwell F rom June 20 – 29, 2014, Pride Toronto will present World- Pride 2014, an internationally- recognized event celebrating and promoting the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, two-spirit, queer, questioning, intersex, pansexual, asexual, and ally (LGBTTQ*) com- munity, while showing off cultural highlights of Canada’s largest city. WorldPride is a growing celebra- tion that blends activism, educa- tion, and the history and culture of global LGBTTQ* communities in a fun, safe and welcoming environment. Hosting WorldPride gives local pride organizations the
chance to celebrate in their home city while inviting the wider com- munity to participate in fun events like parades, parties, festivals and live theatre, as well as confer- ences and seminars that discuss the promotion of human rights. Many cities across Canada and the world have their own pride organizations, which belong to InterPride - an organization that promotes sharing, teaching and learning amongst its members. InterPride selects the communities to host WorldPride. The three previous celebrations were held in Rome (2000), Jerusalem (2004) and London (2012), which makes Toronto the first North American
city to host WorldPride. Madrid, Spain will host WorldPride in 2017. “We’re part of an international movement celebrating LGBTTQ* rights,” says Kevin Beaulieu, Exec- utive Director of Pride Toronto. Pride Toronto puts on the city’s an- nual Pride Week, which attracted 1.2 million visitors in 2013. “WorldPride is a celebration - an opportunity to meet and celebrate openly and freely. It’s a chance to showcase Toronto, Ontario and Canada to the world, and open up a dialog for human rights. There’s so much going on around the world that it’s important for us to stand up for who we are,” he adds. World Pride 2014 kicks off with an opening ceremony on June 20. The 10 days of the festival include the WorldPride Gala and Awards, an arts and cultural festival, a family zone with children’s per- formers and activities, drag artists, burlesque and dance shows, the WorldPride parade, youth pro- grams and the WorldPride Human Rights Conference. Several well-known artists will be performing over the 10 days, such as k.d. lang, Tegan and Sara, and Lois Etheride. Events take place at different venues across the city and on different dates and times. The event has also partnered with major organizations such as Ryerson University, University of Toronto, the Toronto International Film Festival and the Art Gallery of Ontario to support large-scale operations such as a human rights conference being held at the University of Toronto. The event is a great opportunity to show off Toronto on an internation- al scale, and it is already attracting visitors from across the country to take part, says Beaulieu. While WorldPride has fairly recent beginnings, it comes about after
years of struggle for recogni- tion and respect on behalf of the LGBTTQ* community, and as the result of many local pride cele- brations. Another Canadian city well-known for its pride festivities is Montreal, which will be hosting their own celebration from August 11-17. Jean Sebastien Boudreault, Vice- President of Montreal Pride, says their seven-day celebration fea- tures over 80 events including a parade, human rights conference, movies, poetry exhibitions and a special Kids’ Day. The event is be- ing held in Montreal’s Gay Village located on St. Catherine’s Street, one of the largest LGBTTQ* com- munities in the world. The Montreal event is unique as all activities and documents are produced in both French and English. Boudreault stresses that celebrations are open to everyone except hostile individ- uals. The event already draws a varied crowed includes families, older people and children, and Boudreault estimates that around 50% of individuals who attend the annual pride parade are straight. Boudreault says that pride celebrations give the LGBTTQ* community a chance to celebrate everything they have achieved - not just legal rights, but social acceptance too. It is also an op- portunity to work for maintaining and furthering the gains that the community has made so far. “It’s so important for the rest of the world. Not every city can do something like this and a lot of them look up to us,” says Boud- realt. “It’s important to show that it’s normal to be gay, it’s okay to be gay.” For more information, visit worldpridetoronto.com.
Pride parades can draw millions of visitors from all backgrounds. – Photo by Andre Bilodeau
Montreal Pride visitors congregate under a lavish pink canopy on Community Day. – Photo by Carl Éthier
Not every same-sex couple feels comfortable showing affection in public. Pride celebrations promote equality and respect for all relationships. – Photo by André Bilodeau
Gilbert Baker, creator of the rainbow flag, marches in Montreal’s Pride Parade. – Photo by Andre Bilodeau
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