Pride Toronto - 2016 Parade!

Toronto celebrates its 35th Pride Parade this year with it being the most memorable year yet. There were over 204 participants in this year’s parade which started at Yonge and Bloor and ended at the heart of the city Yonge-Dundas Square.

Justin Trudeau made history as being the first Canadian Prime Minister to have marched in the parade which reflects the progress Canadian society has made on gay rights in recent years. Furthermore, there were many moments during the parade devoted to the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando and a sit-in by Black Lives Matter all demonstrated the most politically engaged Pride festivities in recent times.

Pride Toronto also had special guests from all over the world march the parade with appearances by the Prancing Elites, trans activist Aydian Downling, Vivek Shraya, and some of the cast members of the hit Netflix series Orange Is the New Black.

It was definitely a Pride Parade to remember!

Pride Toronto - DRAG ON! Captures Guinness World Record!

Toronto Pride set a new Guinness world record for the largest drag show on Saturday during Pride Toronto’s ‘Drag ON!’ event at Yonge-Dundas Square.

73 of Canada’s fiercest Drag Kings and Queens took to the stage for a performance that smashed the Guinness book of world record for the “Largest Drag Artist Show”. The record was held by GSWS Columbus, at a nightclub in Ohio which consisted of 55 participants.

Pride Toronto - Dive Into The AQUEERium

Ever want to watch fishy queens perform with actual fish in the background!? Well, fish no further Pride Toronto held “A Night at the Aqueerium” at Ripley’s Aquarium for an amazingly gay deep sea adventure!

Australian Dj Superstar Kitty glitter slew her beats across the Great Rainbow Reef while mermaids Sapphire Titha Reign and Judy Virago whimsically played with over 16,000 unique aquatic animals.

The executive director of Pride Toronto Mathieu Chantelois and Marcelo Gowi also made a splash appearance!

Pride Toronto - An Evening With George Takei

Most people know him from the cult following tv show Star Trek as Hikaru Sulu but now George Takei is a leading human rights activist for LGBT rights. As part of a speakers series by Pride Toronto, George Takei spent the night in Ryerson Theatre speaking about his own life experiences, social justice and equal rights, the strengths and challenges of ethnocultural living and the effects of social media.

George Takei had nothing but praise for Canada because of the recent change in gay blood donation policies. Since Health Canada approved and made progressive changes in gay blood donation policy a month ago the abstinence-based deferral period is now on par with the U.S.

The evening was very inspiring and sprinkled with George Takei’s iconic wit and humour. Everyone left the event with hope for a more fair and equal world.

Pride Toronto - Friday Night Live: Colour ROM Proud!

The ROM came alive with love, amazing talent and colour on its Friday Night Live: Colour ROM proud event with Pride Toronto.

Presented by Ford Canada and the Royal Ontario Museum, the 4-Hour Friday Night Takeover was jam packed with music, dance, food, and exciting performances. Attendees also got an exclusive preview of the CHIHULY glass exhibition which displayed formidable art bursting with colour and light by artist David Chihuly.

Toronto DJs Craig Dominic, Cozmic Cat, John Caffery, Kris Steeves and Scooter McCreight kept the night bopping away with their amazing tunes while the drag queens and Gogo Boys slew the crowd.

There were also many live performances throughout the night from Forte-Toronto Gay Men’s Chorus to NYC’s Tony Banks. The Friday Night Live takeover was definitely live and amazingly so!

Pride Toronto - Pink Flamenco!

Dance is for everyone, especially for those who really want to spice up their life! Harbourfront Centre’s summer-long Dancing on the Pier series began with the Pink Flamenco a passionate and same-sex instructional dancing event in celebration of Toronto Pride.

The sexy Flamenco dance was taught by queer-friendly professionals that not only coached everyone to express themselves through the Spanish dance but showed the class how it’s done! The live music got everyone into the mood to swing their hips and dance with their partners. Overall it was a very fun and welcoming event that gave everyone a taste of the Flamenco dance and flare

You Can Sit With Us - Pride T.O. Mean Girls Screening!

About 3000 fans of the 2004 cult comedy Mean Girls filled the Harbourfront Centre theatre at this year's Pride Month screening of Mean Girls.

The event took place on Wednesday, where fans came in all dressed in pink. Following the iconic line from the film — “On Wednesday’s We Wear Pink” as the Plastics’ dictated the fashion of the night's event. Many fans also came in with t-shirts and signs with iconic lines from the film. Including, “Quit Trying To Make Fetch Happen” and “You Can’t Sit With Us”.

Fans cheered as Daniel Franzese — known for playing iconic gay character Damien, entered the stage. Followed by fellow cast members including Rajiv Surendra (Kevin G), Olympia Lukis (Jessica), Daniel DeSanto (Jason), Nate Bucknor, and Ky Pham (Trang Pak). Chibi the Chihuahua also made an appearance.

Lindsay Lohan, who played Cady in the ilm, also made an appearance via video call hosted by Synaptop. During the online video call, fans from all over North America were able to ask questions. The excitement doesn’t stop here! During the live video chat, Lindsay Lohan revealed that she is working on a new album that will be available in the future.