somewhere over the rainbow
To cap off a perfect weekend of sunshine and good food and fireworks and hanging out, we wandered down the street this afternoon to watch the 2009 Vancouver Pride Parade (we're about ten blocks from the heart of the Village and the parade route runs along a street a block from our place).
While the tone of the parade was cheeky (figuratively and literally) and vibrant and fun, there were undercurrents of the ongoing fight that is at the heart of it all. One float was dedicated to drawing attention to the 40 years that have passed since the Stonewall Riots of 1969. The riots could be described as the insemination of the gay rights movement that was born one year later when the first Gay Pride march took place. Forty years is a long time to be fighting for equal rights.
Photo owned by agaumont (cc)
And the fight continues, on many fronts and for many important humanitarian causes. Amongst the lighthearted floats for Davie Street nightclubs, local GLBT clubs and associations, GLBT-friendly businesses and politicians were the following cause-oriented parade participants:
- Amnesty International
- Greater Vancouver Native Cultural Society
- BC Persons with AIDS Society
- AIDS Vancouver
- Healing Our Spirit BC HIV/AIDS Society
- Street Youth Job Action
- BC Compassion Club Society
- BC Civil Liberties Association
In essence, the basis for the parade is nicely summed up by this element from one of today's floats:
Love is the way. Once we're all at the intersection of Respect Road and Equal Rights Road, we can be proud.
