Joyous, celebratory, poignant, political, personal, playful and downright bizarre; Toronto Pride is certainly an experience! An event attended by huge numbers of people of all ages (including families) from across the city and beyond, it is truly an embracing of diversity.
I think I must have led a very sheltered life . . .! The atmosphere was amazing, the parade full of spectacle and fun, yet with some serious underlying messages at all sorts of levels.
Thursday was networking day, with a variety of appointments and meetups all over Toronto.
What better way to unwind after a long flight than to walk down the leafy streets join Toronto in laying claim to the glorious summer’s day on Woodbine beach? Grassy parkland gives way to the Boardwalk and shady trees before opening up onto the blistering hot sand of the bay and the blue horizon of Lake Ontario.
We arrived to soaring temperatures – Toronto’s hottest day of the year so far. Maybe it was the mellowing affect of the sunshine, but I was struck by the cheery, companionable hum of conversation on the subway as we crossed the city West to East from the airport to Woodbine.