Latest news with #DykeMarch
Toronto Star
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
‘It's time to really show up' : Large turnout at Toronto's Dyke March highlights LGBTQ+ resilience in the face of sponsor challenges
Jam Louisy scanned the growing crowd on Church and Hayden Streets, patiently waiting for their friend to arrive as Toronto's annual Dyke March commenced. Thousands of revellers gathered at the Pride Toronto event on Saturday afternoon to march, dance, cheer and celebrate all things queer, and they rolled up to the city's Gay Village donning all shades of the rainbow while waving around lesbian, trans and other flags representing 2SLGBTQ+ communities.
CBS News
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
San Francisco's Dyke March returns with new organizers after 6-year hiatus
The Dyke March was back in San Francisco and after a six-year hiatus, new organizers came together to put on the event. "The energy is great," said Morgan Campbell, who attended the event. Campbell and Vaanity Tuscegli are part of the queer community and were spending the day at Dolores Park for Pride. They were just planning on observing the march, but after watching the beginning, they knew they had to join in. "I think it's a big deal with where the state of the world is," said Tuscegli. "I think it's good to celebrate what we do have and where we are with it and claim it back while we have the chance." Campbell says growing up queer, the term "Dyke" was used as an insult, but events like this change the narrative. "That's about reclamation, too," Campbell explained. "We all got called that in school, now it's just so nice to see it used positively." San Francisco Dyke March Interim Project Director M Rocket said the mission of the march is to bring the community together, to raise awareness, and create visibility. "It's essential for Dyke Visibility to be out and proud and to show our force and our activism and our art and our culture," Rocket said. This year, there was also a focus on disability access. Rocket said she's grateful to be a part of bringing the march back for its 33rd time after a six-year hiatus. But it took a lot of work, and they did it in a different way. The march organizers did not focus on grant funding, but instead on donations from over 300 individuals. "We've had a ton of support from the city and from individuals who have all donated to our crowdfunding campaign to be able to get this work done this year and come back," said Rocket. There was a rally before the march with entertainment and speeches from members of the queer community. Tuscegli said at a time like this, when LGBTQ rights are being threatened nationally, spaces like this one are needed. "I think any little bit of activism makes a difference," Tuscegli said. "It really does. I think we're bringing justice back to our community for the things we've had taken from ourselves."
San Francisco Chronicle
a day ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Pride weekend kicks into high gear with Dyke March, Pride Celebration
A year after the abrupt cancellation of 2024's Dyke March, the fun was more than back — along with a strident note of defiance. Tens of thousands of queer women and their allies thronged Dolores Park on Saturday for a party in the sun, filling the public space with bursting joy and laughter as they gathered to celebrate this year's Dyke Rally and March. Abi Everywhere, 36, was setting up early Saturday with her friend, Ren Hamm, 28, as a steady stream of revelers arrived. They had an inflatable unicorn mostly puffed up, blankets spread across the lawn and cheese plates and sparkling water ready for friends who would be arriving throughout the afternoon. Everywhere and members of her Burning Man community, Camp Beaverton, were among the thousands of queer folk congregating at Dolores Park for Pink Saturday and the Dyke Rally. 'It's a unique opportunity for our community,' said Everywhere, who grew up in a religious household in suburban Houston and couldn't come out until college. 'It's like a family reunion and a good way for the old guard to welcome the new folks.' The first Dyke Marches were held in 1993, with a parade in Washington D.C. in April of that year, and others in New York and San Francisco later that year. Over the decades, the event has drawn tens of thousands of marchers and revelers. Saturday's rally was set to go from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with performances by musicians, comedians and a drag king, as well as speeches by San Francisco Fire Chief Jeanine Nicholson and Imani Rupert-Gordon, president of the National Center for LGBTQ Rights. The march immediately follows, leaving from 18th and Dolores streets and traveling its usual route to the Castro and back to Dolores Park. A mile and a half away, at Civic Center Plaza, an equally large crowd was assembling to hear music, eat carnival food and celebrate queerness under the sun at the annual Pride Celebration. As the march began Saturday evening, hundreds lined the sidewalks along 18th Street as the Dyke March filled the street. Dykes on Bikes, a group of women motorcyclists, led the parade, followed by a truck filled with dancers and speakers blasting music. Some demonstrators held a sign reading 'Dykes for a Free Palestine,' surrounded by marchers carrying Palestinian flags. Other signs called for an end to deportations and called Immigration and Customs Enforcement 'cowards.' The two themes provided some dissonance, if not a contrast in vibes. Marchers near the very front of the parade danced and clapped and celebrated the event, while about 100 yards behind marchers shouted common pro-Palestinian chants. The festival, which is open to the public Saturday and Sunday, includes six stages with DJ sets, bands and singers, dance battles and other performances. Lara Starr, a Marin County resident, came to the Pride Celebration as part of Free Mom Hugs, a nationwide organization of people supporting LGBTQ events. Starr, who joined the group after her son came out as gay, said the volunteers are there to give hugs — or high fives or fist bumps — to bolster queer people, especially those who do not have support from their parents, as fill-in family members. 'Hydrate. Use sunscreen. Eat your vegetables. We are doing the full mom schtick,' Starr said. Another mom, Beth Stapleton, whose teenager is trans, said she had already hugged hundreds of people hours into the event. 'Some people really need it,' Stapleton said. The theme of resisting rising anti-LGBTQ hate ran throughout the celebration. At a booth on McAllister Street, volunteers with Headcount were offering chocolate to anyone who checked their voter registration. Luis Aguilar, a team lead with the Bay Area chapter of the voter registration organization, said that LGBTQ people face barriers to voting, especially trans people who have to show IDs, so he was particularly motivated to encourage voter registration at Pride. 'There's no other act of rebellion that's bigger than registering to vote and mobilizing a community,' Aguilar said. On the main stage, in front of San Francisco City Hall, performers were connecting discrimination experienced by LGBTQ people with that faced by immigrants. 'None of us are illegal. None of us are aliens,' said Anjali Rimi, board president of the Center for Immigrant Protection. Rimi said her organization works with LGBTQ immigrants seeking asylum due to threats and violence facing them in their home countries due to their sexuality. Kiki Lopez, an artist, also connected Pride with other political causes, including the call to free Sudan, Congo and Palestine. But, despite the political messages, the festivities were still fun. Back at Dolores Park, people lolled in the late morning sun, laughing with friends, sipping on tea, water and harder beverages underneath a cloudless sky. Others set up tents or sun shades as music from nearby speakers filled the air. Venders grilled hot dogs, hawked ice cream bars and drinks. 'I look forward to Pink Saturday as much as Christmas,' said Imani Brown, 42, who was there with her wife, Jenny Kline, and friend, Esther Crane. Brown sported a T-shirt emblazoned with the words 'She/Her/Daddy' — and had her own inflatable unicorn. 'I love this city,' she said. 'It's beautiful, diverse, and not special to be a queer, Black woman. ... It's wonderful, empowering.' The day felt particularly poignant for her and others amidst the current political climate, as jurisdictions around the country have passed legislation to curtail queer rights: On Friday, the Supreme Court had handed down a ruling siding with parents seeking to opt their children out of school instruction involving LGBTQ+ books. 'We're being terrorized by the U.S. government,' Brown said. 'This us us showing up and saying 'We can't be erased.'' Across the park, Aeryn M, 37, and Lauren Stanton, 40, stood under a tent at the 'Screen Door' handing out sunscreen, drinks and snacks to passersby. 'Joy is resistance,' said Stanton, who'd traveled from Long Beach for the party. 'If you're mad because we're thriving, die mad.' This article will be updated as the festivities progress.
CTV News
3 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Toronto Pride parade: what you need to know about road closures
FILE - Participants carry a pride flag as they walk in the Toronto Pride Parade, on Sunday June 25, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young The city's Pride month celebration is culminating this weekend with the annual Pride Parade. Over 25,000 marchers and 250 groups are expected to participate with hundreds of thousands more lining up downtown Toronto to celebrate the 2SLGBTQI+ community. The parade will begin at 2 p.m. on Sunday at Park Road and Rosedale Valley Road and will travel south along Yonge Street. It will end at Bay Street and Queen Street West. Meanwhile the Trans March and Dyke March are happening on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Here are the road closures you need to know: Trans March (June 27, starting at 7 p.m.) and Dyke March (June 28, starting at 1 p.m.) Hayden Street from Yonge Street to Church Street Yonge Street from Bloor Street East to Gould Street Gould Street from Yonge Street to Church Street Church Street from Gould Street to Hayden Street Pride & Remembrance Run (June 28) The following roads will be closed from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Wellesley Street between Jarvis Street and Queens Park Crescent Queens Park in both directions between College Street and Bloor Street West. Pride Parade (June 29) At 8 a.m., Rosedale Valley Road will be closed form Park Road to Bayview Avenue At 11 a.m., the following road closures will come into effect: Church Street from Yonge Street to Bloor Street East Park Road from Rosedale Valley Road to Bloor Street East Asquith Avenue from Yonge Street to Park Road Collier Street from Yonge Street to Church Street At 12 p.m., the following road closures will come into effect: Bloor Street West from Bay Street to Ted Rogers Way Yonge Street from Church Street to Queen Street East Dundas Street West from University Avenue to Victoria Street Bay Street from Queen Street to Dundas Street Police say all roads are expected to reopen at 8 p.m. Pride Toronto Street Fair (June 27 to June 30) From 9 a.m. on Friday to 7 a.m. on Monday, Church Street will be closed between Dundas and Bloor Street East. Wellesley Street East will also be closed between Yonge and Jarvis Streets.
San Francisco Chronicle
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Dyke March to return to S.F. during Pride Weekend following leadership shakeup
The San Francisco Dyke March plans to return in full force this Pride Weekend after last year's festivities were abruptly canceled due to an internal shakeup. 'Since the end of February of this year, 7 committees formed and got down to the business of hosting a Dyke March in the traditions of years past, focusing on Dyke visibility and disability access,' organizers wrote in a statement released on Monday, June 23. 'Because of the volunteer efforts of these dedicated, devoted Dykes and their tireless and generous spirits, the Dyke March is back.' Now under new leadership, a pre-march rally is set for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 28, at 19th and Dolores streets, and will feature performances by local acts Skip the Needle, jazz pianist Tammy Hall, and comedians Marga Gomez and Leigh Crow. The march immediately follows, leaving from 18th and Dolores streets and traveling its usual route to the Castro and back to Dolores Park. Dolores Street between 18th and 20th streets will be closed to traffic all day to accommodate crowds. Organizers ask that allies cheer from the sidelines while 'all Dyke contingents and individuals,' as well as cisgender and transgender women, participate in the march. 'Dykes (and Queers) are craving connection to each other in these turbulent times,' M Rocket, interim project director, told the Chronicle. 'Finding a way to channel the need for connection into a broader effort to support the community on this large scale is exciting and so gratifying, to feel like we've done something that may make a difference in the hope for real change.' A series of challenges — including deaths among its leadership and burnouts — prompted organizers to call off the 2024 event. Still, thousands gathered at Dolores Park for an impromptu Dyke March. Organizers said that they consulted the community to compose a collection of value statements that anchor the event's core mission. 'We dykes are against war, imperialism, all forms of genocide, including the ongoing US-backed genocide in Palestine,' part of the statement, shared to Instagram on Sunday, June 22, reads. 'We oppose the use of political, institutional, and military power to oppress marginalized groups of people, including Native peoples, Black people and other people of color, immigrants, asylum seekers, people with disabilities, and transgender individuals.' The Dyke March heavily relied on grant funding in previous years, but the 2025 revival is largely made possible by community donations. Organizers launched a fundraiser in March and have received nearly $65,000 of its $100,000 goal as of Monday. But there is still plenty of work to be done even after Pride Weekend to secure the future of the Dyke March. The event's 'new organizational membership model' will be unveiled at the fifth public Dyke Town Hall meeting on Aug. 20. An election for the new board is scheduled for Sept. 27.
