This year’s Pride parade will be the largest and longest in the festival’s history, a whopping four-and-a-half hours.
Logistically, that’s created a bit of a planning nightmare, says interim executive director of Pride Toronto Glen Brown. “It’s been great but also a bit of a nightmare.”
“Our concern is that at some point the cops will just say, ‘No, you can’t take up the streets any longer,” he adds.
Why is the parade so long this year? Brown says politics are in the spotlight again. “There seems to be a buzz in the air. I don’t know if it’s because we have Rob Ford as a mayor and Stephen Harper as a prime minister, and we may see Tim Hudak win in Ontario.”
“Maybe it’s because Pride has shifted gears and perceptions. Maybe it’s all the youth taking an interest in Pride? There’s certainly something in the air. It’s exciting.”
The weather forecast for the next few days looks good. According to Environment Canada, on Saturday there’s a 60 percent chance of thunderstorms with a high of 27 degrees. On Sunday it looks like sunny skies and 27 degrees.
Why you can trust Xtra
