Toronto's vibrant Pride parade to cap off weekend of celebrations, marches
Iranian-Canadian solo dance artist Artin Avaznia performs at Toronto's 2024 Pride festival. Avaznia is an Ottawa-born Iranian Canadian and is performing at Toronto Pride for the second year in a row this weekend. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Nautica Simone, (Mandatory Credit)
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Edmonton Journal
2 hours ago
- Edmonton Journal
Toronto's vibrant Pride parade to cap off weekend of celebrations, marches
Article content TORONTO — Artin Avaznia says he was transformed the first time he saw a group of Iranians marching in Toronto's Pride parade. The Iranian-Canadian dancer was in his mid-20s and it was his first time attending North America's largest Pride festival. It was a stark contrast to what he'd seen in his hometown of Ottawa, which he described as a 'small, very government city' that was lacking in large-scale queer representation at the time.
CTV News
3 hours ago
- CTV News
Beloved monster-sized Alberta dinosaur set for tests ahead of possible extinction
Tyra the Tyrannosaurus, the lovable landmark that towers over the Drumheller skyline in the heart of the Canadian Badlands, is facing an extinction-level event and is pictured in Drumheller, Alta., Tuesday, April 1, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh Tyra the Tyrannosaurus is set to be poked and prodded this fall to determine whether Drumheller's towering, monstrously popular icon can be saved from extinction. Mayor Heather Colberg says a technical check will determine how much work — and money — may be needed to keep the 25-metre figure in its current place dominating the skyline of the town northeast of Calgary. 'We've agreed on the engineering study, so that's going to take place probably this fall,' said Colberg, who also is leaving office this fall. 'Once that is done then, we'll have a good idea what her longevity is and everything about her, and then hopefully, we can make a decision before I'm gone.' 'If, all of a sudden, they come and say she's actually going to fall apart, then that's a whole different discussion. But if they say she's good for 30 years and she might need an outer coating, then that's different, too.' Tyra is four times the size of a real T. Rex and attracts 150,000 visitors a year, serving as the backdrop to hundreds of thousands of tourists' photos over the last quarter of a century. She stands across from the intersection of Gorgosaurus Street and Tyrannosaurus Drive near a visitor information centre. A nearby ice cream stand offers fossils, T-shirts and dino toys. Tourists can climb 106 stairs through Tyra's innards to stand inside her mouth and look down. While the town owns the land where she's located, the Drumheller & District Chamber of Commerce owns the attraction. The chamber has said the dinosaur is set to be dismantled when the lease runs out in 2029. That announcement has resulted in a public backlash, including 25,000 names on a petition calling for her to be spared. The Town of Drumheller also demanded meetings with the chamber and Travel Drumheller. The town announced in April the three groups would explore options, and the engineering study flowed from that. Colberg said she's optimistic the landmark won't go the way of the dinosaurs. 'I would be amazed if she's not (saved),' Colberg said. 'There's got to be a solution. I'm not giving up.' The town of 8,400 bills itself as the Dinosaur Capital of the World. Home to the famed Royal Tyrrell Museum, the community also has statues of dinosaurs that look like they crawled out of the Flintstones cartoon, greeting people on the streets. Colberg said she was initially surprised — but then not surprised — at the amount of national attention that Tyra's possible demise has garnered across Canada. 'People like the dinosaurs and love coming here for the dinosaurs,' she said. 'When you promote that you're the dinosaur capital of the world with the world's largest dinosaur, that's what people expect to see.' — By Bill Graveland in Calgary This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 28, 2025.
Vancouver Sun
3 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
Toronto's vibrant Pride parade to cap off weekend of celebrations, marches
TORONTO — Artin Avaznia says he was transformed the first time he saw a group of Iranians marching in Toronto's Pride parade. The Iranian-Canadian dancer was in his mid-20s and it was his first time attending North America's largest Pride festival. It was a stark contrast to what he'd seen in his hometown of Ottawa, which he described as a 'small, very government city' that was lacking in large-scale queer representation at the time. 'Seeing that brought tears to my eyes,' Avaznia said in an interview ahead of a performance at the Pride festival on Friday. 'I never witnessed that before, seeing representation of not just Iranians but the broader Middle Eastern folks, just because (being) queer and Middle Eastern doesn't always go so well together.' Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Avaznia said experiencing his first Pride in the city was 'monumental, seeing so many other queer folks of all different ethnicities and backgrounds.' This weekend will feature street parties, musical performances, picnics and marches before the festival culminates in the vibrant Pride parade on Sunday. More than 25,000 marchers from some 250 groups are expected to participate in the weekend's biggest show of solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. The last weekend of Pride month and the parade drew a large number of visitors. Toronto police say they will increase their presence throughout the city and in the Church-Wellesley Village _ the hub of Pride activities — to ensure everyone's safety. 'So many folks during this month feel seen, they feel protected, they feel heard and they feel they belong,' said Avaznia, who credits his own career momentum to Pride. But this year, the celebrations and the spectacle also come with questions about what the future of Pride Toronto will look like after major corporate sponsors pulled out of the festival. Earlier this month, Pride Toronto said it's facing a $900,000 funding gap due to withdrawals of big sponsors such as Google, Nissan, Home Depot and Clorox, and rising costs of running the festival. Pride Toronto executive director Kojo Modeste attributed the corporate withdrawals to backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States under President Donald Trump's administration. Some of the companies said their decisions were solely based on budgetary considerations, and Google said its employees will still march in Sunday's parade. Modeste has said that next year's Pride festival will likely be scaled down as a result of the shortfall if the organization does not get the support it needs to stay afloat. A scaled down Pride could jeopardize the festival's status as one of the largest Pride celebrations in the world, Modeste warned. For Avaznia, shifting corporate sponsorship doesn't mean Pride won't continue to be a beacon of hope for members of the queer community and those who flock to Toronto annually to feel a sense of belonging. Instead, he said, the changes highlight which brands are invested in supporting Pride for the right reasons. 'Certain sponsors do genuinely want to support and the ones that I've partnered up with have shown to me their true colours and how much they want to support us. Other sponsors that have pulled out … are also showing their true colours,' he said. 'Queer folks have dealt with a tremendous amount of adversities in their lives. A lot of us have dealt with housing issues, we've dealt with the loss of family, we dealt with substance issues,' he said. 'But we will always rise and we will always come forward.' Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
