Pride is one of the most highly anticipated summer events for Canadians. Official Pride month is in June, not just for Canadians, but for everyone all over the world. This year, Toronto proudly held its 38th annual Pride festival; one of Canada’s biggest summer festivals. On June 1st the Pride flag was raised, marking the start of celebrations. The festival continued for 24 days. Toronto held a variety of different events for crowds of all ages throughout the whole city, including countless dances, parties, beach days, and musical events.
You could go out to the opera…the queer opera! For a select few nights, audiences could relax and take in a variety of different operatic productions; performances by soprano Teiya Kasahara, baritone Joel Klein and Jeremy Dutcher were featured.
Locals got the chance to let out their inner Broadway, for a night of musical theatre karaoke! With the help of a live band, participants wowed the audience with new and classic musical theatre selections… all while under the spotlight of the Second City Mainstage.
Toronto’s Symphony Orchestra held a lively concert at Roy Thomson Hall. Conducted by Peter Oundjian, the symphony orchestra played jazzy selections from the works of Bernstein, a bluesy concerto by Gershwin featuring incredible pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and a sweet symphony by Brahms.
These were only a select few of the numerous musical events that took place during Toronto’s Pride festival this summer. The 24 days of celebration in Toronto ended with their annual Pride Parade on June 24th.
Toronto wasn’t the only part of Canada getting their Pride on; from the beginning of May, to the first week in September, Canada buzzed with festivities. In Winnipeg, you could find their Pride pow-wow, with dancing colours blazing bright. Edmonton held a swing party, where folks danced the night away. And Moncton hosted a Pride concert that featured local artists from the LGBT+ community. Throughout the entire summer, people from each corner of the country marched in each their own Pride parade. From coast to coast Pride flags waved in the wind, voices sang proud, and smiling faces were all around.