We were in the crowd of a half million attending Vancouver Pride today. The key summer event always occurs during this weekend smack dab in the middle of summer. It is perfect as it now coincides with the British Columbia Day long weekend.
We generally try to get downtown before it begins. We walked from the Burrard Station to where the parade was setting up. Then, we slowly made our way down Robson Street, along the parade's route. We staked our spot next to a tree just before the Denman corner. We were in front of the CIBC near the Safeway. The parade started at 11:00 but took around fifteen minutes to get to our point. For the next two and a half hours, we watched the variety of groups, floats, politicians, municipal organizations, media outlets, unions, and everybody else. Oh, yeah, and the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau and his family took part.
What a joy to live in a country where the politics is civil and society inclusive! There's more than a simple respect for diversity; there's a thirst for it!
As is our tradition, we popped into the Babylon Cafe for huge chicken shwarma plates. The parade was nearing its end at about that time. We then followed the end of the parade to the beach. We didn't meet up with friends today. The weather started out a little grey but ended with a day worthy of a BC summer. The music and events at Sunset Beach ended our day out. It was perfect.