It took one and a half sweltering hours, for what is normally a 45 mins. drive, to get from the ferry terminal to downtown Vancouver. Once we hit Robson Street, it was bumper-to-bumper. Crowds everywhere, their unbridled enthusiasm for the Gay Pride Festival, was very much in evidence. The city was a riot of colour, dogs with their fancy tutus, rainbow flags flowing proudly from every pole, and shop windows displaying colourful boas, balloons, and streamers. The city was on fire!!
Saturday night, the sky was an explosion of light. We could see and hear the thundering roar (in between watching a gripping true-life 'who-done-it' murder story) as the fireworks bellowed their way up to the heavens. Fortunately, we could lazily observe it all from our balcony, watch the t.v. and avoid the crowds of people streaming past our condo some two hours before the event, and again, after the event. Not a single quiet moment this past weekend. Do people ever sleep in Vancouver? is a constant question. As for the heat...agh...too hot for me baby!! and it wasn't the flushes, this time we were all inflicted. At least no mosquitos on the 7th floor. They'd crash into the greedy seagulls, or butt heads with the crazy crows. At least the buggers don't bite!! They prefer real food.
It's hard to believe a full year has passed since the last Gay Pride Festival in Vancouver. This year's event seemed longer, louder, and bigger by far. On Sunday morning at the crack of dawn, crowds carrying blankets and chairs began to line up for the parade. Their patience was richly rewarded. Once the clock struck 12.00, the pageant began with great pomp and ceremony. The cheers, whistles and applause from the appreciative crowds was ear-deafening. I kid you not, there wasn't a single boring moment in the two and a half hour extravaganza!
As I watched the procession of exotically clad men and women making their way down Robson, I really admired their guts, determination, and Va Va Voom!! One man, dressed from head-to-toe in orange, stood at least ten feet tall (or so it seemed!) balanced precariously on a pair of very high stilettos, his face glistening with perspiration. "Careful" one lady in the crowd shouted out to him. There was nothing careful about his appearance. Her well-intentioned advice just floated into the sweltering breeze...How on earth did he carry his weight atop these spindles?? Another fellow was dressed as a man from the waist up, and as a very frilly lady, from the waist down. Clever expression of the Yin and Yang within us all.
Canadians by nature are polite, and I would say 'conservative' people. But this past weekend got me thinking a whole lot differently. The parade, which lasted for a pounding two and a half hours, was simply mind-stretching - for want of a better word!! It was a pageant of beautiful peacock-people, boas, bubbles, and balloons, and the most exquisite outfits I have seen in a long time. It would have taken at least all of the past year, to put some of the ensembles together. Now that takes creativity, and a hell-of-a-lot of Va Va VOOM!
Later, when it was all over, the streets were peppered with feathers of every hue and size. It left me with a lasting thought - - Angels really do come in all different colours...and God loves us all.
BFN
Patricia xxx
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