Now for some fun!
Last Sunday was the Pride Parade and Festival celebrating Calgary Pride's 25 Anniversary.
This, the biggest Calgary Pride yet, was the 5th year that I've photographed this celebration of freedom to love. While the weather was often threatening (it had been raining for two days previously), it did not stop hundreds of people from lining up with their lawn chairs along the expanded 9th Avenue Route.
This year Pride had a big corporate sponsor (Alberta Treasury Branch), tons of company entries in the parade, and, with the Federal election happening in October, a huge contingency of politicians.
I settled myself beneath the +15 that runs across 9th Avenue between Centre and 1st SW. It made for some interesting pre-parade shots of the people around me.
After the parade I spent some time at the super muddy (think nearly Woodstock) Shaw Millennium Park.
The enthusiasm was there, but the weather was cold and threatening to rain. Again. The presenters were wise in that the usual performers (Argentina, etc.) were replaced by DJs that kept everyone dancing. Still, there were the usual speeches including: Nenshi, channeling his inner rock star; three openly gay NDP MLAs; and Brian Burke, flames President and Pride Parade Grand Marshall, with two uncomfortable looking hockey players.
The mantra "you can't expect a rainbow without rain" was repeated several times. I think it's what kept the rain away, actually.
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