Festival weekend is underway and the streets of Toronto are filling up with Pride.The Dyke March kicks off a 2 p.m. Saturday from the corner of Church St. and Hayden St.The march, a street celebration for queer women and allies, has been a source of controversy since its first incarnation in 1996. Organizers say the march is “a political demonstration of critical mass, welcoming all self-identified dykes to create political and visible space.”Church St. is partying with a street festival all weekend long, so the street is closed to car traffic from Carlton St. to Hayden. St. from now until early Monday morning. For block-by-block information, Google Maps is showing the road closures in festive rainbow colours. Subway lines 1 and 2 are running as usual.The Toronto Pride Parade begins at 2 p.m. tomorrow with 150 groups participating, including CAMH, the Canadian Armed Forces, Google Canada, Metrolinx and Sick Kids. The parade starts at the intersection of Bloor St. and Church St., heading south and eventually ending up at Yonge and Dundas square.CUPE Ontario, which is among the participants, will honour their president Fred Hahn with the Solidarity and Pride Champion award on Friday evening for his contributions to LGBTQ rights in the workplace.This year’s parade will have it’s first-ever emcee, Miss Conception. The organizers say “you’ve been promised, expect the unexpected.”After becoming Canada’s first prime minister to march in the event last year, Justin Trudeau is expected to make an appearance again at tomorrow’s parade. Assembly of First Nation’s national chief Perry Bellegarde is expected to be there walking with him.But as festivities get going around the city, this year’s Pride celebrations are being met with complicated feelings by some.Police officers won’t be marching in uniform Sunday. After staging a sit-in part way through last year’s parade, Black Lives Mat ...
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