Church-Wellesley Village

[DTowner]

We bailed after a while too, there's just only so much of it i can take. We noticed that a lot of the stops in the parade were due to having to let east/west streetcars through periodically.

Overall there was a great vibe in the area all weekend. Church Street looked great... though i was disappointed that you couldn't see into Cawthra Park for all the hoarding put up.

Was it always like this? I found it totally ridiculous that they let streetcars through. Hello? Road closures? I left after 1.5hrs.

 

[khris]

I don't know if they've always done that. I don't think they should have though.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

They did back in the 80's & 90's, I don't recall them doing this in the past 10 or so years. It was an extraordinarily long parade this year though, pretty much double in length than usual.

Off topic, the RBC "Pride" signs have come down in the former 7&24 Video windows, replaced with "For Lease" signs once again.

 

[DSC]

I don't know if they've always done that. I don't think they should have though.

The streetcars have 'always' been allowed through on College/Carleton since I have been going to Pride here - 15 years. There were delays and gaps on the parade far north of College so I don't think that these can be blamed on the streetcars and one does really need at least one east-west street available for public transit. If the parade takes too long - and it did for me - the answer is probably to restrict the numbers who can participate, and I doubt that would be any more popular.

 

[to_l]

Off topic, the RBC "Pride" signs have come down in the former 7&24 Video windows, replaced with "For Lease" signs once again.

The interior was also being gutted yesterday.

 

[Tuscani01]

The streetcars have 'always' been allowed through on College/Carleton since I have been going to Pride here - 15 years. There were delays and gaps on the parade far north of College so I don't think that these can be blamed on the streetcars and one does really need at least one east-west street available for public transit. If the parade takes too long - and it did for me - the answer is probably to restrict the numbers who can participate, and I doubt that would be any more popular.

The parade was not delayed at all... it was meant to be that long and organizers knew it would be over 5 hours long. Numbers were restricted to 50 marchers per group this year, but not a single group actually followed the restriction.

 

[Torontovibe]

The Pride Parade usually has the best flow, without big gaps, like in the Caribana Parade but this year was different. There were lots of big gaps this year and it kinda kills the vibe of the parade. Usually the parade moves very quickly and I don't even have enough time to film some of the floats but this year I was waiting, camera in hand, for long periods. I figured the problem was that the parade was just too big and the organizers just couldn't control it as well. Due to World Pride, I'll give them a pass this year but I hope things get back to normal next year because standing around waiting through all the gaps, is just too exhausting.

My real problem is all the corporate floats who add nothing to the parade. They don't even decorate the trucks, it's just product promotion. If these huge corporations won't spend a bit of cash to decorate a float, they shouldn't be in the parade. I don't want to see Red Bull cars and trucks at a Pride Parade. Put some effort into it, or stay the hell out of the parade. The organizers need to start putting restrictions on who gets in the parade. I do not want to see 2 (or more) hours of flat bed trucks covered with 10 dollars worth of balloons. Hire a proper designer and spend some money or piss off. That's what I'd be saying if I was the director. If they can't put any effort or creativity into it, why even bother. In Toronto you need to bring your A game and every year bring us the best of what the world has to offer.

Go BIG or go home!

 

[DTowner]

My real problem is all the corporate floats who add nothing to the parade. They don't even decorate the trucks, it's just product promotion. If these huge corporations won't spend a bit of cash to decorate a float, they shouldn't be in the parade. I don't want to see Red Bull cars and trucks at a Pride Parade. Put some effort into it, or stay the hell out of the parade. The organizers need to start putting restrictions on who gets in the parade. I do not want to see 2 (or more) hours of flat bed trucks covered with 10 dollars worth of balloons. Hire a proper designer and spend some money or piss off. That's what I'd be saying if I was the director. If they can't put any effort or creativity into it, why even bother. In Toronto you need to bring your A game and every year bring us the best of what the world has to offer.

Go BIG or go home!

Totally.

I did, however, notice that Church St wasn't as packed as I expected it to be. It of course was PACKED but not the fiasco I was expecting. Lol. I was able to get into 519 with very little wait time and also the south venue by Loblaws.

Loblaws. If security was as tight on 9/11, it would never have happened. Geesh! The storm-troopers came in and told women to get out of the men's washroom. Calm down! Nobody cares, and it isn't a crime. It took 3 of them to do it. Plus, one of them pushed me aside as I was leaving and he was entering causing me to hit the wall. Jack ass. And, no, he wasn't doing his job. He was being a prick. Other than that, it was a great weekend and police officers and security were great.

 

[gabe]

I think you can declare a certain part of a street a "wet zone" so to speak, so long as it is fenced-off and has security, etc. That's not quite the same as what you were saying (I think). Also, I don't think it's part of Pride Toronto's plans either.

It would have been better to have a portion of the street a "wet zone" it's not like people aren't drinking. Everyone is walking around with take out cups, and there is tons of of mini liquor bottles all over the place. Although i bet the bars probably wouldn't like having a wet zone.

 

[adHominem]

My real problem is all the corporate floats who add nothing to the parade.

Agreed. Well, and corporate floats in general, I dunno. I'm ambivalent every year about the big corporate presence at Pride. I'm a realist, and I get that events this big don't happen without sponsorship, but for every company like TD who walks the walk year-round, diversity-wise, there's two brands like Bud Light that are incredibly heteronormative the rest of the year. This year it seemed like it hit a new low. Lucky Charms, anyone? Unless that stupid leprechaun is gay now, that doesn't have anything to do with anything and their presence is kind of insulting.

That said, overall, it was a fantastic week and the village looked great. Cawthra Park was an excellent venue; the post-race party after the Pride 5K was there as usual and it worked out really well, everyone I was with was impressed with the shiny new park.

 

[khris]

Totally.

I did, however, notice that Church St wasn't as packed as I expected it to be. It of course was PACKED but not the fiasco I was expecting. Lol. I was able to get into 519 with very little wait time and also the south venue by Loblaws.

Loblaws. If security was as tight on 9/11, it would never have happened. Geesh! The storm-troopers came in and told women to get out of the men's washroom. Calm down! Nobody cares, and it isn't a crime. It took 3 of them to do it. Plus, one of them pushed me aside as I was leaving and he was entering causing me to hit the wall. Jack ass. And, no, he wasn't doing his job. He was being a prick. Other than that, it was a great weekend and police officers and security were great.

Pretty sure it is against the law to enter a washroom of the opposite sex.

 

[DTowner]

Pretty sure it is against the law to enter a washroom of the opposite sex.

You cannot get arrested for doing so. And if so, what is the crime (raises questions of heterocentrism). An establishment can ask you to leave (especially if people complain) but getting the cops involved? No. It's a security (as in the establishment's security) issue not a legal 'call the cops' one. No biggie, but if you got to pee, you got to pee.

 

[to_l]

I did, however, notice that Church St wasn't as packed as I expected it to be. It of course was PACKED but not the fiasco I was expecting. Lol. I was able to get into 519 with very little wait time and also the south venue by Loblaws.

Yeah, I thought it would be more crowded as well.

 

[ttk77]

I think there's a maximum density most people will accept before avoiding the area, and similarly for restaurants/patios, I think most people just avoided them assuming the waits would be terrible. I waited about half an hour to get onto the O'Grady's patio a bit before the parade ended, though I didn't see the line-up get too much longer after it was over. The street was a little too busy for me, and if I hadn't been able to get onto the patio, I doubt I'd have stayed nearly as long.

Also, the bars were charging full pint prices for what amounted to not much more than half a pint. I'm sure that played into things as well.

 

[Skeezix]

Pretty sure it is against the law to enter a washroom of the opposite sex.

You cannot get arrested for doing so. And if so, what is the crime (raises questions of heterocentrism). An establishment can ask you to leave (especially if people complain) but getting the cops involved? No. It's a security (as in the establishment's security) issue not a legal 'call the cops' one. No biggie, but if you got to pee, you got to pee.

I'm not aware of any provisions of the Criminal Code, or other legislation, which restrict use of washrooms by gender. (Correct me if I am wrong - I'm going by memory here) Having said that, private and public landowners are entitled at law to restrict the implied invitation to members of the public to enter their premises through the use of signage (e.g. signs that say you can't enter a store without a shirt or shoes). Someone ignoring the male/female icons on the washroom doors is potentially committing a trespass, which is both a tort and an offence under the Trespass to Property Act. The police will help enforce the latter (and can arrest the trespasser), although how they prioritize it is another matter completely.

The Ontario Legislature enacted Toby's Law in 2012, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression. On that basis, Loblaws could be violating the Human Rights Code if it, for example, dictated to transgender customers which washroom they must use. This is only relevant where there is an issue of gender identity or expression - it doesn't kick in to help someone who simply wants to use the other washroom because there is a shorter line-up.