Toronto Pride

Pride Toronto is Canada's biggest Pride, and it grew out of anger. The police bathhouse raids of 1981 pushed the community onto the streets, and the event dates from that year. Today it's a month of events that builds to one long weekend in and around the Church-Wellesley Village, with three marches rather than one. Money has been a real problem lately: sponsors pulled out amid the backlash against diversity programs, and organizers have warned that the event may have to shrink.

Over the closing weekend, the Village becomes a street fair, with Church Street closed to cars and stages and drinks gardens on the side streets. The Trans March is on Friday evening, the Dyke March on Saturday, and the big parade on Sunday afternoon heads down Yonge Street, the city's main north-south artery. Most of the street program is free. Some parties and drinks areas are ticketed, and the clubs on Church Street have long lines all weekend. The Trans and Dyke Marches feel more political and community-led; the Sunday parade is the big, sponsor-heavy show.