Transmission from Toronto's Pride Weekend

PRIDE WEEKEND -- I am still recovering from this past weekend. It was a blur of rainbows, sweat, bass-laden music, and delicious Canadian queers and allies en masse. Church Street overflowed with couples, singles, and families of all varieties braving the fierce heat to bask in another glorious year of being out and damn proud.

2010 Pride is a memorable one for me, I admit. It marks the first time I have attended as an out woman which alters the entire landscape of the event. Even though I still have work ahead of me when it comes to integrating myself into the community, I know I can do it with the support of immediate family members and close friends at hand. Ah, revelations mingled with searing summer heat -- quite the way to usher in the season, I believe.

And, in usual Moffatt fashion, I turn to lists for the rundown:

Saturday, July 3/10

• Daytime hours: Not enough queer. In Toronto, Saturday Pride = Dyke March and all associated woman-centric events. Alas, I was without a companion to traverse the gorgeous grounds of the women-exclusive parties. Never fear, though -- much eye candy was to be had that night.
• Ship Sharp, The Advocate, and I dashed out to Toronto to see if we could catch the FREE Cyndi Lauper concert at Queen's Park. WHOA. What a line. The vendors were even fenced off to prevent a rush on the stage. The line circled all of Queen's Park. And no, that is not an exaggeration.
• Mad flurry of friend sightings from high school and beyond. Even encountered the one other queer girl from my year in secondary school -- it was fun to share one of those knowing glances with someone from the past.
• Headed over to Church Street with a mission in mind -- Ship Sharp was on-the-clock for work and scouting out some buff gentlemen for a popular CBC show. She and The Advocate scanned the crowd for biceps, I was distracted with the dense ratio of queer girls to all other groups in some areas. *Commence immature giggling at the wonder therein*
• Walked the length of Church Street, occasionally stopping for impromptu dance parties spilling out into the streets. Spotted a Japanese restaurant/bar I will need to hit up in the future.
• Marveled at the openness and excitement in all Pride revelers and the ease with which strangers can become fast friends. Ah, Pride -- it has such potential to bring out the best in us, even while it tends to encourage the unpredictable TNT (Totally Naked Toronto) men.

Sunday, July 4th/10

• MIZ MOFFATT ATTENDS HER FIRST MAIN PRIDE PARADE! ... She also wilted in the 35C weather. I even caved to wearing shorts. I have not worn shorts for about a decade prior to this past Sunday. It was serious.
• Gigantic step forward: Attended Pride with The Sister. And she was the one to suggest it. I even got to openly discuss Pride plans with the entire Moffatt clan. It was so surreal at times. Given the fact I came out to Lil' Brother and the parents last July/August, I found myself buzzing with such confidence and self-assurance.
• Also attended Pride with The Advocate! Again, I reeled with such excitement throughout this weekend. She is a proven Pride veteran and it was stunning to have her at my side for what would prove to be a landmark Pride weekend for me on numerous levels.
• ENTER: THE PARADE. Ah, the roar of the Dykes on Bikes is such a momentous start to a parade of this nature. Ha, and having the police encouraging the crowds to douse all officers on site with water to stave off the heat was a fun addition to the day. Such an about face from the destructive forces of last weekend's G8/G20 Summit -- the officers on duty carried rainbow flags, donned bright beaded necklaces, and were all a-glow with the energy of Pride. Serious, it is mind-blowing to witness.
• Found myself getting misty-eyed when PFLAG marched past. I imagine most queer kids experience that press of pride to see those parents walk past in full support of their children.
• Highlight: An EMS driver blaring the Spice Girls' "Stop" from his truck and tackling the pre-set dance moves as he drove. Brilliant.
• I quite appreciated the drag queen who dressed in royal regalia to honour Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Toronto (it coincided with the main Pride Parade). We joked about her being a "Queen among queens" for the weekend.
• No parade is complete without bagpipers. But queer bagpipers? Even more perfect.
• I also love the fact that two leaders of Canada's federal political parties manage to make appearances at Pride Toronto regularly. Jack Layton of the NDP donned a bright pink shirt and compiled an energetic, bright orange sea of dancers to celebrate. And, Elizabeth May of the Green Party rode her way through the parade on a rickshaw with a drag queen. God, I love Canada.
• The Sister, The Advocate, and I got to be all heroic-like for a girl who almost passed out in front of us. Like I said, the heat was raging that afternoon. The kids in front of us needed more water in them, methinks. Of course, The Sister came prepared with hand towels and tons of water while The Advocate knew where to douse the poor girl in order to cut the heat. We had a whole pocket of civilian medics leap in to help her out.
• After that point, the heat took hold and forced our group out of the parade lines. Serious, we were all flushed and exhausted after about an hour and a half of direct sun exposure. We relocated to a bit of shade on a side street, but the heat was unrelenting. We called it an early day to avoid passing out like that girl did in front of us.

***

EPIC. It's a shame we were forced from the street due to the intense sunlight. The UV index was a perfect 10 and sipping on hot water from plastic bottles was making the three of us a touch sickly. I also discovered The Sister must have been a camel in a past life -- she downed two and a half Gatorades and about three bottles of water in the couple of hours we were at the Parade. I had one bottle of water, The Advocate had two.

Intense.

All in all, I was pleased with the course the weekend took. Had the heat been cut in half, you best believe I would have been at those barricades until the Parade closed. I realize I still have quite a bit of work to go when it comes to developing connections within the community, but, sometimes, you just need to relax and let the clubbing beats take you in.