The 36th annual Montreal Pride Parade, was more colourful than ever before, as minority visibility was the highlight. There was representation from our local Niizh manidoowag (two-spirited people), Thailand, China, and Brazil, just to name a few. There were tones of “activism” and political awareness, which was consistent with the organizers’ mission this year. Organizer and founder of the Pride Fest ric Pineault had reported that the festival’s social media platform had received a record number of homophobic and transphobic messages this year. Therefore, there is still a lot of work and education needed to someday eradicate this kind of intolerance and hatred. One of the festival’s primary missions is to continue to raise public awareness, help to educate and strengthen the community.
Hundreds of thousands of spectators from all walks of life
adorned the sides of the streets in perfect weather conditions. The crowds were
joyful, enthusiastic and supportive.
As he has traditionally done for the past four years, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau marched along with other politicians, namely, Premier Francois Legault, Mayor Val rie Plante, New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh, and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May.
There was a moment of silence for all the lives lost to AIDS,
violence and for all injustices LGBQT2+ persons suffer all over the world. The
parade halted and the city streets were so quiet, you could only hear the wind.
Known media personalities Mutsumi Takahashi Paul Karwatsky and Lise McAuley showed their support and cruised by in their CTV convertible.
The parade started at 1 pm and the 2.7-kilometer route on Ren -L vesque Blvd. ran from Metcalfe to Alexandre-DeS ve and lasted roughly three hours.
The crowds slowly made their way up to the festival venue at Parc des Faubourgs, which quickly filled. The evening was reserved for the party aspect of Pride Week, as thousands of people danced to house music, spun by one of Brazil’s top DJs Las Bibas From Vizcaya.
The venue was a fitting location for this year’s festivities, as the turn out was enormous. The grounds were divided into several spaces that were creative and fun. The food court had everything from hot dogs to gourmet style goodies like lobster rolls and paella. Every year the pride festival grows and this year it bloomed!
