TORONTO (365Gay.com) – Record crowds jammed into Toronto’s Gay Village Sunday for the city’s annual Pride parade.
More than 100 floats and marchers representing more 90 social groups, clubs, and trade unions took part. Toronto Pride has become the city’s major summer tourist event with people coming from around the world. One man from Ireland said,” Nothing like it. I’ve never seen anything so exciting,” as he waved a rainbow flag on Yonge Street.
Hotels in the city are overflowing and some were referring latecomers to facilities more than a dozen miles away.
“Part of the reason is Canada’s 60cent dollar,” said gay city councillor Kyle Rae.
The parade was led off by the Church Street Pipe Band, their bagpipes festooned with rainbow ribbons and flags.
The four hour parade was held under sunny skies and warm weather. The mercury during the afternoon shot up to 34C (98F) with bottled water a major seller along the parade route.
One of the stars of the afternoon was Marc Hall, the 17 year old who took his school board to court for the right to bring his boyfriend to the prom.
The teenager was as excited to be in the parade as the crowd was to see him.
“Omigod, it was so much fun,” Hall said enthusiastically after stepping off the float at the end of the parade route. “Not only was it my first pride, but I was actually in it, too.”
As the parade wound its way down Yonge, the city’s main thoroughfare, a block away on Church Street in the heart of the Village, hundreds of thousands of people listened to performers on three stages.
Pride wraps up Monday with a closing party on Canada Day.
With the country’s national birthday and Pride coming on the same weekend this year, more than 1 million people will have participated in the four day event.
