Many wait all year for it... we had sworn to be out of town for it this year but that was not to be!
Canada day, July 1st. Phew! Pip finally has a day off and can recoup. His flu has been harsh so its lovely to have a few days to chill out. After great debates about driving up to Tadoussac for Canada Day we decided the 11.5 hour drive just days after he’d done the drive from NYC was just silly.
We relaxed at home, grilled ribs on the BBQ, watched a bit of soccer, caught up on sleep and walked wee Mac down to the village to buy wine and veggies. The village (Churches) that was about to burst into chaotic life this for Pride Weekend. Our last experience with Pride was pretty brutal. I saw bits of people exposed and flaunted out on the street that nice girls shouldn’t see amidst risqué cavorting by scantily clad men, the thumping beat of Drag Queens lip-synching covers, temperatures nearing 40 and general crowd wide outrageousness!!
Friday we took Mac for a waterfront walk to view the tall ships in town for the big Tall ships race through the Great Lakes. Finding out that there were still place on some of the ships had me dreaming of sailing off on Sunday on the first leg. I seriously looked at it but decided that sailing Lake Erie was not my pick of sailing grounds. I’m going to explore options for one of the other legs later in the summer. The tall ships sailed out without me but here's a link to the spectacle.
This year we knew what to expect of Pride and were surprised when nothing really got going until Friday night.
Saturday morning, our street was shut down, so we hopped on our bikes and rode out of the craziness down to Cherry Beach for a swim. We were the only swimmers, two or three people waded to their knees but no actual swimming was taking place. For my kiwi readers the temps were in the high 20’s!!! so imagine just sunbathing and looking at the water and not swimming….hard for us to get our heads around that one!
Stopping and shopping at T&T our fav Asian market on Cherry Street we bought oysters, lobster and a huge Dungeness Crab all for around 30 bucks! We continue to revel in the inexpensive seafood on offer here. Anyone who knows me knows I’m a lobster-crab-aholic, throw in some oysters or clams and its nirvana!
Later we dined al fresco on our precious outdoor space. Even Pip, not a crab lover, was swung over to the spiny side. Steamed simply a la Julia Childs lobster method both crab and lobster were perfectly moist and tender. Dungeness Crabs hail from the West Coast between Alaska and California, named after Dungeness in Washington state.
Crab and Avocado salad in the shells, steamed Crab and Lobster claws, Oysters natural and in lemon-horseradish cocktail sauce.
It was an extraordinary night, the air balmy and soft, so we wandered up to Bloor and Avenue about 10pm (the sky was still pink and glowing in the west) and had a drink at the Roof Lounge at the Hyatt. Seated on the patio overlooking the city we took in a half hour fireworks display at Ontario Place and had a little dessert and prosecco under the stars. This is a magic spot for a romantic evening and we certainly embraced that. On nights like this Toronto starts to seep into my heart!
Sunday and the Parade begins. Images below are stills from my very wonky videography as I rode my bike through the Parade. What I didnt capture was the woman naked from the waist tied up in rope, others just strolling topless, the guys with bums out in leather chaps like cowboys (basically they wore hats and chaps!)lots of G's and nipple flowers, head dresses and OTT makeup. Link to clip of images below and from local gay mag report.
Drag Queens on Bloor eh...and the Naked Guy top left!!
Pride rocked on late into the night as it had for the last three days with free concerts by Cindy Lauper, Chaka Kahn and Macy Gray amongst many Canadian bands and musicians. Bass beats reverberate until around Midnight. Those, like us, who live in Churches just stroll down our streets and enjoy the craziness! What else can you do.
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