Prime Minister Justin Trudeau began marching with participants on Bloor St. in the 39th annual Pride parade on Sunday, just after 2 p.m. and from then on it felt like the party had started.The first big floats rounded the corner onto Bloor St. from Rosedale Valley Rd. and the whistling and cheering began from the crowds who lined both sides of the street six and seven rows deep.More than four hours later, the parade was still going on, with the last of the floats turning the corner from Yonge St. onto Dundas St. as celebrations started up in the nearby TD stage in Yonge-Dundas Square.It was the parade that Pride Toronto’s executive director Olivia Nuamah had promised — one of the biggest one ever.More than 235 groups took part.The Rainbow Railroad float was one of the first out of the gate, festooned with bright balloons and decals of flowers. It was followed by floats from major sponsors such as Bud Light, with participants dressed in angel-themed costumes fit for a catwalk. TD’s lime green float was followed by a massive contingent of marchers wearing similar coloured t-shirts. “I love it,” said Zack Zabor, who came in from Niagara Falls to watch the parade for his sixth time. “The joy, the laughter. It brings people together.”“It’s been great, very exciting,” said Heather, a bystander on Bloor St. who didn’t want her last name used. “Everyone is so happy. There’s such a variety of floats,” she said, noting that it was her first time at the parade.“I just heard great things about it and wanted to see what it is all about,” she added.Although it felt like a big celebration, there were still plenty of signs to remind people where the parade had its roots.Marchers held signs that said “It’s a crime to be LGBTQ in 70 countries,” “You can be whatever you want to be,” “Safety for our global LGBTQ community,” and “There are o ...
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