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My Cindy Adventure.

First of all the weekend was amazing!!! Simply way too much to do and I am grateful that I know when enough is enough and when to say no. It’s all skills I learned in my recovery. So as I left off in my last post I has a wicked time at the Toronto Roller Derby’s Clam Slam on Friday.

Saturday night was the lovely Miss Cindy Lauper and wow I has a press pass so this was a sure thing right? John and I after a very stressful day with getting Maggi home for the weekend. She finally was delivered at 6pm and we headed down to Queens Park to meet our friend Drasko (who was already at the park) We travelled down Carlton and headed up University and walked behind the Parliament buildings and we were met with a massive line. It seem that the security was tight. We called our friend and he informed us that their was a VIP / Media line up on the East side.

Upon arriving at the gate I presented my pass to the yummy security guard and was met with “OH more media” and was informed that John my partner would still not be allowed to come in. So we stepped back and called Drasko who by this time was already in the media area. He was telling us that they were escorting Media out of the pit and in with the general public they were told not to use flash (I mean what photographer is not going to use flash in a dark park) John and I decided to go to church street and check out sober pride I mean by this time it’s only 8:30

As we were leaving we thought we would take stock of the whole situation. So picture a fenced in area of 5000 secure people with only a few entrances / exits completely surrounded by thousands of unsecured people for my safety I think we made the right choice. It’s too bad it would have been my first Concert ever. John and I walked East on Wellesley St to Church St. I was amazed at exactly how many people were still coming to see Cindy!!! By this time it was past 9:15 and the line to get in was easily went all the way around the park. Droves and droves of people.

Church St was defiantly not as busy as last year at this time I remember it taking me 2 hours to get from Wellesley St. to Carlton St. So in effect it was a good move to have attractions that brought people out of Church St. to relieve congestion.

Sober Pride

When I took on the assignment of Sober Pride I naturally thought it would be a good match. I do advocate for and work with people who are transitioning from a lifestyle of chaos to order. In many ways the work I do is, Harm Reduction Coaching. It applies to everyone I help people reduce the harm in their lives that are preventing them from living their lives to the fullest. The issue could be alcohol and drugs as much as money and relationships often it is everything at the same time.

My personal journey from Chaos to Order took the Harm Reduction path. It now has simply become my journey, and I live with out shame of my past and own it because I create it. I choose to see how I perceive my own past. I chose this path simply because I was not comfortable with the Abstinence Model for me it was too rigid, and I am not fond of support groups. I had one good friend who said it to me this way, :”I simply could not imagine sitting an a group of other junkies” I get it. I can honestly say I only truly know 2 people who have used abstinence and are Queer. Please don’t get me wrong it has it’s place and is very needed by some addicts.
John and I attended Sober Pride 3 times over Pride Weekend. Each time it was the same. Quiet! Quiet! and oh More Quiet. John and I did not get it at all!!! I had to really reflect upon this post and consider the value of this space from the perspective of all people who are in need of support with their sobriety. This space provides a safe place for addicts to just take a breath in the mist of all the chaos and come back to themselves with the support of others who are doing the same.

Pride is pretty crazy and for me, I know that when the crowds are too much all I really want is quiet, so I simply go home. It may explain my lack of desire to fight all the people at the Cindy Lauper concert. I have my partner, so for me this means that I am able to discuss any feeling that may come up. I get that not everyone has those structure in their lives. This space is Perfect! “The Eye of The Storm” I am proud The Pride Toronto provides this space.

The Parade / March / Party / Protest thingy… a conclusion to Pride.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Shaun Proulx Media and Pride Toronto I had the best seats in the house!!!! Check out all my Pics below.

Conclusion

This pic was taken by my friend Drasko it summed up this pride for me. In short it me in the middle of all the shit.

Political and powerful this Pride, I met so many great people. I had my eyes opened about the history of our pride and have a clearer understanding of where we as a community are heading. This pride I had my personal “story” changed and for it I have become more aware of the possibilities. I love that we as a community can have contrasting opinions and through inclusion and tolerance we remain strong. I have heard it from many of my friends this was the best pride ever!

Have you ever had one of those days when you just need something to lighten the mood a little? I have the perfect thing for you! Clam Slam! A little known Pride Affiliated event that’s chalk full’o craziness. First of all I do have to apologize to my Trans readers I so really wanted to cover the March that took place yesterday It was one of those event that I personally have never been too and I am aware of the struggles that this community is experiencing. I will cover some of my thought on this, in a whole post dedicated to the Trans Community as soon as Pride is over.

Early in the morning I went into Maggi’s room and discovered a whole bottle of Lorazapams that she felt she did not need to tell me about. I was feeling rather played by the time we had our guest come over to head out to the Toronto Roller Derby. I was in desperate need of something fun and very silly.

The Hanger, is located at Downsview park it’s quite the complex and I need to investigate the goings on there. I was surprised at the amount of space this complex took up. When we approached the building their was of course, music pouring out of what is a massive empty space with a simple rope line on the ground marking out the rink. Nothing like the old ’70s velodrome rinks. The players were skating around warning up and their was an overwhelming sense of camaraderie between the player a stark contrast to when the game was actually being played.

The crowd was so into the event cheering on team members with names like, Mexican Jumping Mean and Sista Fista. Over all the evening was highly entertaining and very fast paced. Those girls know how to have a good time. Hopefully next year they will have a Trans Team ’cause that would just make the whole event that much more fun. I will go back next year. Also The Toronto Roller Derby holds event through out the year so check out their full schedule on line.

In the end the Vagine Regime won 105 – 60 for the Clam Diggers.

Next on the Pride Train for me is Cindy Lauper have a great pride everybody!

Yesterday, I went to the Flag raising I actually have never been so, I thought since I had been trapped inside all weekend that I would get out.
The setting was the top of City Hall a smallish crowd along with various members of counsel were in attendance and several community leaders.
A short program led by the mayor and introduced by Counsellor Ray followed by a BBQ. See the pics below.

Finally I wanted to mention that I have a little amendment to my schedule this week and I have added The Clam Slam on Friday check out this Pride Craziness I can’t wait!!!!

I made it through the weekend and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the peaceful protest that John and I held in our home.
I am exhausted and pride is just starting. Friday night I attended the pride Media Launch party and I have to admit that that event was not sober friendly but I enjoyed it none the less. I did pop out a little early with my friend Drasko and went home to make steaks on the barbie.

So let me give a brief rundown of the sober events happening over the next week at Pride.

Today, I will be attending the Flag raising at City Hall if you don’t make it don’t worry over the next week I will be live blogging while attending events so keep coming back to see what I am up too. You can also follow me at www.thetinythings.com my micro blog to see more events that are not Pride official but rather Pride related.

This evening there will be a screening of the Film Beyond Gay- the Politics of Pride at the Isabel Bader Theatre and the National Portrait collection will be viewing at the festival site from 7:30 – 10PM every night this week. This is a remount of the Portrait collection of the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives.

On Friday we have the Trans march which will be great sober fun for the community starting at 7:00 PM Also later that evening at the Panasonic Theatre the Gay for Comedy Gala will take place.

On Saturday at 10 am the pride remembrance run and Proud Voices starting at 2 pm at James Canning Gardens of course the free zone starts at 10 am providing a totally alcohol and drug free zone lasting through to Sunday. Also the Dyke march starts at 2:00 PM at Church and Hayden.

Cindy Lauper headlines on Saturday night at Queens park I will be there backstage getting photos so check out my blog later this week.

Sunday is a busy day besides the big parade which starts at 2:00 pm along Young St. you can also check out the Market place and community fair in the Church and Wellesley Village. At 5 pm at Queens park the closing program called Never Say Goodbye is being held . Again all day the Free Zone providing Alcohol and drug free events all day.

I hope everybody takes the time to think about your health and and safety this week and most of all reduce the harm you do!

Ultra Naté and Suzanne Palmer perform at Aqua Pride 2010
Pride Toronto announced today that due to promotional commitments for her new album in Europe, Kelis is no longer able to perform at Toronto Pride. She sends her deepest apologies and hopes to reschedule soon.

However, as an event that never disappoints, Aqua Pride, this year a collaboration between Pride Toronto and one of the events in the annual Prism festival, presents Ultra Naté and Suzanne Palmer. Now in its seventh year, Prism Festival has hosted a variety of established artists including Brett Hendrickson, Kelly Rowland, Peter Rauhofer, Ana Paula, Honey Dijon, Abel, Tony Moran Deborah Cox, Hector Fonseca, Chaka Khan, Mya, Tracey Young, Offer Nissim, Mickey Friedman, Roland Belmares, Lena Love, Manny Lehman, Isaac Escalante and many more.
“This year’s edition of Prism Festival’s Aqua Pride is going to be off the chain with these two notorious divas!  We can’t wait!” says Pride Toronto’s Arts & Entertainment Manager, Mary Zondanos.
In 2010 Ultra Naté celebrates two decades of chart-topping hits. A musical chameleon, Naté is always experimenting new sounds. This year it’s non-stop recording for the diva with the likes of David Morales, Quentin Harris, Nervo (who co-wrote David Guetta’s ‘When Love Takes Over’), Tony Moran and a collaboration with Michelle Williams (formerly of Destiny’s Child). Naté will be aiming for super stardom later this year with the release of her new album ‘Hero Worship’.
Suzanne Palmer, a featured vocalist on many tracks by the Grammy award winning Peter Rauhofer, is back with ‘Big Love’ playing in clubs all over the world. Tracks like ‘Hide U’, ‘Show Me’, her smash ‘643/Love’s On Fire’ (with Tiesto), ‘Luv 2 Luv’, ‘Home’, ‘Sound Of The Drum’, ‘Fascinated’, ‘Free My Love’, ‘Style’, ‘Much Better’, ‘Alright’, ‘Muscles’, ‘Hide U’ Palmer never cease to stun crowds. Having spent the last several months recording, including a recent trip to Israel to record tracks with Offer Nissim, Palmer makes a special stop in Toronto especially for this annual ‘can’t miss’ event.

Since 2006, the Prism team has worked hard to build a solid foundation in the city, increasing attendance by 30 percent at their annual festival over the last four years. Prism takes place this year at the Kool Haus, Guvernment, Skybar, Fly Nightclub and Pride Toronto’s Wellesley Stage.

Year-round, Prism produces events in venues throughout the city:  Prism College, Madonnarama, Britney Mania, Prism Divas, Eden (Labour Day), Arrival (New Year’s) and a slew of other events that keep our local talent busy (Shawn Riker, Marc Falco, Jeremy Khamkeo, Cajjmere Wray, GIA, Lena Love, Jamal, Sumation, Cesar Murillo). Prism was also behind the legendary ‘Queer As Folk Babylon tour’, producing 100 shows for over 200,000 people across North America.

Prism has carved out a reputation for producing some of the hottest late-night parties during Pride Week. Their annual Prism Festival has featured artists like Chaka Khan, Kelly Rowland, Offer Nissim, Ana Paula, Peter Rauhofer, Manny Lehman, Flava, DJ Abel, Francois Sagat, Tony Moran, Tracy Young, Deborah Cox and Sydney Blu.

Single event tickets and weekend passes are on-sale now exclusively at www.priape.com/prismtoronto or through Priape retail locations in Toronto and Montreal. Call PRIAPE at 1-800-461-6969 for more details or for store locations.

Pride Toronto once again stands in solidarity with LGBTTIQQ2SA communities around the world with its human rights program, called Global Human Rights for Queers: What OUT is About 2010. This program promotes awareness of queer human rights abuses around the world, ranging from anti-sodomy laws to the death penalty in a number of countries.

“This is the fifth year since we introduced this annual program,” says Frank Folino, Human Rights Coordinator. “The 2010 program includes a wide variety of events, as well as several exhibits throughout the festival.”

Highlights of Global Human Rights for Queers: What OUT is About 2010 include:

Tuesday, June 29^th – Bridging Queer International Human Rights at Home and Around the World: A panel discussion at the historic Gladstone Hotel in the heart of the Queer West Village, the event will feature panelists Arsham Parsi, Marilyn Byers, Kim Vance, and Kenji Tokawa led by moderator Andrew Vail. 1214 Queen Street, at 6 pm

Friday, July 2^nd – Trans After Party: Annual performers Funkasia pay tribute to the Trans community through the edgy and the underground by hosting the official after party for the Trans march. At the Phoenix, 410 Sherbourne Street, 10pm

Saturday, July 3^rd & Sunday July 4^th -What OUT is About Exhibits: Visitors can learn about the civil and human rights violations faced by queer communities around the world and what can be done to support the continuing movement for equality. Saturday and Sunday, 11 am to 8 pm – Church Street, north of Wellesley and Queen’s Park.

Sunday, July 4^th – YogaPalooza – Peace, Love & Pride in Queen’s Park: Toronto’s Biggest Yoga Class ever is free on Sunday in Queens Park. Join in the unique celebration of music, movement and meditation for Human Rights led by renowned Yogi, Salimah Kassim-Lakha. Queens Park, mainstage, 12:30pm to 1:30pm. Register at http://yogavision.com/yogapalooza.

More information on all events can be found at www.pridetoronto.com/events.

About the Moderator and Panelists:

Andrew Vail: the creator/writer of The Middle Edge, which can be read on www.gayguidetoronto.com. He has also written for Xtra! as well as a variety of local and national publications. Andrew joined the group Lesbian and Gay Youth Toronto in 1982 and became a youth activist for queer rights, marching in many Pride parades over the years.

Arsham Parsi: is a founder and Executive Director of Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees – Also Coordinator and Cultural Ambassador of the Stockholm-based International Lesbian and Gay Cultural Network (ILGCN), official member of the Brussels-based International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA), the Toronto-based Rainbow Railroad group, and the Berlin-based Advisory Committee of the Hirschfeld-Eddy Foundation for LGBT Human Rights.

Marilyn Byer: is proud to be one of the founding members with Barbara & Tom Beattie of PFLAG Canada-York Region On. (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual, Transgendered). Marilyn’s son “came out” to her in 1994, and this chapter was started in 1996. PFLAG’s mission is to support and educate- to cope with an adverse society; to enlighten an ill-informed public; to end discrimination and to secure equal human rights. She does by giving workshops, presentations and speeches for corporations, churches, and clubs and frequently in high schools on “How to end Homophobia”. Marilyn spoke at the “RISE” conference (respectful, inclusive and supportive education).

Kim Vance: is a founder and Co-Director of ARC International, based in Canada and Switzerland. ARC International is an organization which uses a unique community leadership development model to: facilitate international coordination and networking among organizations working to advance human rights based on sexual orientation and gender identity; develop and facilitate the use of tools to engage in international advocacy (particularly within the UN); and foster the relationship between grassroots organizations and governments and/or human rights mechanisms. Before founding ARC, Kim served as President of Egale Canada, and is a seasoned activist within the LGBT communities at the national and local level in Canada.

Kenji Tokawa: is a founder and coordinator of a program attempting to make arts and activism more accessible to trans people of colour – GenderFOC: writing workshops for trans/gendervariant people of colour. GenderFOC is only a seed project with funding from the Community One Foundation to run a small series of pilot workshops, and we are waiting to hear back on more funding to continue it. She has been a facilitator with the Trans Access Project out of the 519 Church Street Community Centre since spring 2008; we are a team of trans people who train social service providers how to make their services more accessible to trans people.

“Freedom  is from within.” – Frank Lloyd Wright

DOWNLOAD THE FREE PRIDE TORONTO iPhone App!

Pride Toronto this year is launching of its own iPhone application. Designed and developed by Toronto-based firm Mobile Fringe, the Pride app is free and available through Apple’s App Store.

“Visitors new and old will rely upon the PrideTO mobile app to keep track of the various events, the entertainment activities and featured locations throughout the 10-day festival,” says Tracey Sandilands, Executive Director of Pride Toronto.

Powered by Mobile Fringe’s mobile event platform, the app features:

• List of Pride events with detailed information
• Map of event locations
• Affiliated events with map and detailed information
• What’s On Today – a filter of each day’s events
• Links to social media, including Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, You Tube, and the Pride photo album on Flickr where users can post their own photos directly:

Other information available includes contact info for the organization, location of Dis/Ability areas, TTC info and event tips.

“There’s something contagious about demanding freedom.” – Robin Morgan