The Parade

We had the marvelous opportunity of following the Equal Marriage float at Toronto's Pride all along the parade route on Sunday in Toronto. We were not on the float but about 20 feet after it in the ideal position to observe what happened.

Kevin Bourassa and Joe Varnell organised this float as a kind of garden marriage scene, peopled by a collection of interesting guests (Anne and Elaine Vautour, Doug Elliott, Gail Donnelly and Barb McDowall, Marc Hall, Joanna Radbord, Joe and Kevin, a priest played by Doug's better half and a scattering of others). To complement the visual scene, they also had a sound track which was a mix of low key dance beat music, overdubbed with TV sound bites and interview snippets about equal marriage.The whole was nice to look at and easy to listen to. (We have never heard an "tailored information" sound track at a Pride before and it was quite effective, as well as original in concept). And, from where we were situated, we could see and hear the crowd's reaction to the float very well.

During the 2 hours and 30 minutes of the parade, the reaction from the gays and lesbians in the audience (an audience10 deep on either side of the parade, all along the route) was pretty consistent. As the float approached, some people got it right away (there was a sign on the front of the truck saying "Just Married") and they started cheering and applauding. As the float rolled slowly in front of them, the response from the audience members grew into a noisy racket of cheers, clapping, yelling, crying out ("bravos" etc.). This noisy endorsement continued after the float had passed until it was out of earshot.

It has often been said that the gay and lesbian community is not all that enthusiastic about the marriage issue (said generally by individuals who are not interested in the question or who think it is not a priority). Frankly, we are now convinced that the Toronto gays and lesbians who attend Pride are, in fact, very interested in winning this battle----the kind of enthusiasm coming out of the crowd was too vibrant to miss. They loved it, they support it, and they want us to win this one. (Every time Kevin and Joe kissed, often in fact, they went wild.) Perhaps even more interesting was the reaction of the heterosexual people in the crowd---frankly, though not quite as demonstrative as the homosexual people, it was very enthusiastic too. We were impressed by the public's reaction and delighted to be there to witness it.

We would like to thank Joe and Kevin publicly for doing this neat bit of showmanship for all of us and for constructing this very interesting "opinion poll" which demonstrated (to us at least) that the community is ready and waiting for us to win. Also, we had a ball at the Parade and enjoyed it enormously. It is always fun to be associated with success and, on Sunday, we were there!

Michael Hendricks and René LeBoeuf
Montreal
July 1, 2021

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It was such a pleasure for Gail and I to finally meet the two amazing men from Quebec! And to have you part of the Toronto celebration was to say the least a wonderful bonus! We really feel that amazing sense of solidarity that we have created over this past year around equal marriage. Once again, thanks for being with us and for sharing what you both observed along the parade route. It really gives us a full perspective. We, too, were overwhelmed and overjoyed with the response from the crowd as we went along.

See you next year in Montreal for Pride!

Love and Blessings,
Barbara & Gail
July 2, 2021

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It was absolutely amazing to feel such overwhelming support for the cause and to celebrate equality. Thanks so much to Kevin and Joe for organizing such a gorgeous, hip float. You could market the CD equal marriage dance mix - very groovy!

Joanna Radbord (Lawyer in Ontario civil marriage case)
Toronto
July 2, 2021

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Thanks for joining us, Michael and Rene. You made it more than just a local issue and you looked smashing in your sparkly vests and hats. I had a blast, even though I thought I would be seated sedately for the parade on the float and ended up dancing most of the time with 17 year old Marc Hall (I am not 17 and my feet know it!). Marc was also warmly received by the crowd. Young people were especially emotional in their response to him. Marc told me that he had a great time at this his first Pride Parade anywhere. It was a thrill to be with you all.

Douglas Elliott
July 2, 2021

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Thank you for inviting me to be on your float. It was a real honour being in tha parade with you guyz. When you invited me I was soooo excited, you have no idea. I had a great time and so did Liz and Ray. It was my first Pride and it was soo amazing.

Marc Hall
July 6, 2021.

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Please consider helping us cover our expenses. Many hours of volunteer time has kept our budget low, but we still need your assistance. Join us on our journey for equality.

$2625 Total Donations to Equal Marriage Pride trust account:

• $500 Bourassa and Varnell
• $500 Doubleday Canada
• $25 Hendricks and Leboeuf
• $500 Ladybug Florist, Toronto
• $500 McGowan Elliott & Kim
• $100 Ontario Public Service Employees Union (Local 558)
• $500 Sack Goldblatt

Thank You!

Total estimated budget:
$7000 (Countless hours of donated labour have been contributed to the design and construction of the float in order to keep within budget)

In care of:
Bruce E. Walker Law Office
65 Wellesley Street East
Suite 205
Toronto, Ontario
M4Y 1G7

Enquiries: Bruce Walker (416) 961-7451
www.bwalkerlaw.com