Vancouver Pride Parade draws record numbers
More than 500,000 people attend 30th annual parade
Nicole Tomlinson, Vancouver Sun
Published: Sunday, August 03, 2008
The 30th annual Pride Parade "broke a lot of records," the president of the Vancouver Pride Society said.
John Boychuk said people were still coming downtown for the event at 2:30 p.m. and the parade, which started at 12 p.m., was going on longer than expected.
"We don't have any official numbers yet, but it looks like almost 30 per cent increase ... very close to half a million people," he said. "People are having so much fun, it's incredible."
Boychuk also said the crowd has diversified since he became involved in the event five years ago.
"There are more families, kids, and tourists," he said. "I'm very proud of the support that this community is receiving,"
The procession included 140 parade entries, Vancouver Pride Society's website said.
During the parade, screams praising one of the grand marshalls for the event, Sahran Abeysundara, made the Sri lankan break into tears, Boychuk said.
"In his country you can go to jail for being gay," Boychuk said. "Be proud to be Canadian today ... I am."
From Flickr
http://flickr.com/search/?q=vancouver+gay+pride+&s=rec
Staging Area
The Parade
Pride Parade 2008
Threaded Mode