Lesbians from all over British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest joined in unity for the 7th Annual Dyke March held in East Vancouver, B.C. on Saturday, July 31, 2010.
The mostly female-charged event began around 11:00am at spacious McSpadden Park and wound its way along Vancouver’s famed Commercial Drive before ending in celebration with music, food and temporary tattoos at Victoria Park. The 10-block half-circular route brought out all of the area’s most rambunctious lesbians, their partners, children, family members and rainbow-clothed dogs. Yes, I just said rainbow-clothed dogs. They were absolutely adorable. So were their owners. Vancouver, you are comprised of very lovely people!
A special thank you goes out to Tourism Vancouver and The Vancouver Dyke March and Festival Society (VDMFS) for all of their hospitality.
The following photos were snapped while walking along the Vancouver Dyke March route with hundreds of other strong, awesome women (token Canadians for a day, perhaps?). Enjoy!
Photo credit: Stephanie Brusig
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The 32nd Annual Vancouver Pride Parade was held on Sunday, August 1, 2010 in beautiful downtown Vancouver, B.C. Sponsored by the CBC, Telus and Bud Light, Vancouver Pride was the place to be on “Sunny Sunday”.
Grand Marshalls Candis Cayne (Chelsea Lately, Nip/Tuck, Stonewall), Nikolai Alekseev (Founder of Moscow Pride), Barb Snelgrove (LGBT Gay Rights Advocate), and Catherine White Holman (Founder of Vancouver's Three Bridges Clinic) joined hundreds of thousands in celebration from Robson Street to Denman Street and ending at the Gay Pride festival at Sunset Beach on Beach Avenue. LGBT-favorite locale Davie Village was hopping before, during and after the parade and festival as thousands of event attendees found solace and celebration in the glitter-stained streets.
Per usual, the Dykes on Bikes leather ladies kick-started the parade with an uprising of support from the all-ages crowd. Marching bands, Marriage Equality groups, firemen/firewomen, bikini-clad females, and political groups followed. Water fights spontaneously burst out along the course and the participants were not the only ones getting soaked. The parade lasted just over two hours in total and provided entertainment and excitement throughout. One interesting note to readers – Katy Perry’s California Gurls song played repeatedly on the different floats. See, even Canada loves their California Gurls!
Vancouverites are full of pride whether they consider themselves to be in the LGBT community or not. In speaking with the locals throughout the weekend, one thing became very clear: Vancouverites are respectful of their residents, friends, sisters and brothers whether they are LGBT or not. Even more surprising coming from the United States is that Vancouver’s politics coincide with this observation. In fact, while enroute to Davie Street one evening, one of our tour guides pointed out that two of the largest churches in Vancouver are run by gay men. The stigma that surrounds the words “gay,” “lesbian,” “transgender” and “bisexual” in America simply does not apply in Vancouver. I highly recommend visiting this accepting and loving city for Pride next year.
The following photos were captured exclusively for SheWired at the Vancouver Pride Parade.
Photo credit: Stephanie Brusig
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