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Photo: Tom Ford |
Now THAT was a pretty fabulous Pride Day if you ask me! The weather was very hot and very sunny, contrary to the miserable forecasts we had been hearing all week. We got the table set up in record time, spoke with hundreds of people, posed for thousands of photos, and had the largest group marching with us ever, around 17 men, I think.
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Pride Day Pictures
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Photo: Tom Ford |
Peter Gray was leading the main group of people up to the
rendezvous point at Church and Bloor. He was smart enough to
notice that the crowds were leaving, and so cut across Charles
Street in time to join the end of the parade. Unfortunately,
Daryl and I were a bit behind them and stubbornly fought through
the crowds to Church and Bloor, only to see the street sweepers
turning the corner south onto Yonge St! So there Daryl and I were,
mostly naked on a nearly empty street. We ran after the parade,
but there was no way we could catch them.
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Photo: Tom Ford |
I was late because I was preparing a new sign: "Nudists on the Go!" I had borrowed a friend's scooter, so Daryl and I rushed down Yonge Street, our own little contingent long after the parade had ended. Nonetheless, we got a lot of supportive hoots and applause from the crowd, especially those on the rooftops. We were stopped several times to pose for pictures. When we reached Wellesley, we headed back to the booth to wait for the others.
Another fellow caught out by the quick departure of the parade was Peter Simm, who had been working extremely hard in the previous few days creating a large prop for our contingent in the parade. Inspired by the fuss with the cops at the Barn, the idea we were working on involved having two Keystone Cops figures marching with us, chasing us comically about, and spinning a large wheel which was marked with such outcomes as "Place Charge", "Harass Nudists", "Make Deal", "Break Deal", and so on. Some technical difficulties delayed Peter and his wheel a few minutes, and by the time he managed to fight through the crowd to the departure point, it was too late.
As I waited for Peter Gray and the TNT!MEN contingent to return, worrying about what had happened to them and wondering if they had made it in time, I began to hear reports from people who saw them marching. In time they returned, exhausted, overheated, but well content.
Unfortunately, many didn't come back to the booth, and so weren't able to claim their reward for marching with us: either a pass for a TNT!MEN event or a ticket for the ferry to Hanlan's Point. If you were one of those who marched and didn't get your reward, let me know.
Don't worry about making it sound good; just whatever you saw or felt, in your own words. I think it's really important to make a good record of these events from OUR perspective; otherwise, the world outside will only have the media's perspective on it.
We were mentioned in two mainstream Toronto papers, some of our members appeared in the papers, and we made both parade broadcasts, on both "10% Q-tv" and "QT". Unfortunately, the QT version is no longer onine, but you can still watch the "10% Q-tv" coverage online. We appear at 49:05 minutes into the broadcast, just before the end.
Here's a few media highlights:
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Anyway, it was a fabulous Pride Day, we made our point, inspired thousands of people, and had a wonderful time. Congratulations and thank you to all the many people who helped throughout the day, including Peter Gray, Daryl Vocat, Richard Westgate, Walter Cavalieri, Gary Prudence, Bruno Poisson, Norm Rickaby, and the many others who leant a hand. Well done, fellas!
TNT!MEN Gay Pride 2000 Gallery
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TNT!MEN Banner in the Parade. While most were covered up to some extent, some marched completely naked (like Peter in the next photo), and once again the police said "There was no problem with nudity in the parade." Photo: Tom Ford |
That's Peter and Richard. Peter's dragging the cart he prepares each year for the marchers to keep their clothes in (not that they were wearing much to begin with!), and Richard is dressed as a Keystone Cop, with a home-made cock sock. During the parade, Richard would chase the other nudists disapprovingly, in reference to the recent police harassment of our nude dances. Photo: XTRA |
Gary is one of our long-distance members, and he came all the way from California to march with us in the parade. He wrote: "I had a great week in Toronto. And the high point was marching with TNT!MEN in the parade. I also enjoyed Hanlan's Point on Monday. Great weather and nice crowd." Photo: Gilberto Prioste |
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That's Bruno, one of our board members, and one women supporter who marched in the parade with us. Photo: Gilberto Prioste |
Marty is from Jacksonville, Florida, and this is his second time marching with us in the pride parade. Photo: Tom Ford |
Tom is from Illinois, and he's a veteran of these parades: he first marched with us in 1997. Photo: Gilberto Prioste |
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That's Richard again, carrying on in his best Keystone Cops way, eyes wide open for misconduct. In the blazing sun, that hat was really hot! I think he regretted wearing so much clothing.... Photo: Tom Ford |
Tom travels all over the place in order to participate in these naked opportunities. As you can see, he really enjoys them. Photo: Tom Ford |
Peter has been organising our naked Pride Day efforts since 1995. Photo: Tom Ford |
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Marvin's sign reads: "The Nude Math: Gay + Naked = Disorderly?" That's what a couple of cops seem to think, despite the broad acceptance by the police and the community of nudity in the Pride parade. Photo: Tom Ford |
Jim's another Californian, from San Diego, a member of his local club, and webmaster of the famous Penis Central! This is his third time marching with us. Photo: Tom Ford |
This year's parade went extremely quickly -- all 160 groups were out of the starting gate within 90 minutes. Photo: Tom Ford |
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James is another out-of-town member from Vermont who came a long way to join us. He wrote a great letter thanking us; read it by clicking on this photo. Photo: James of Vermont |
Lovely buns. Photo: James of Vermont |
There's a fellow on a rooftop with a garden hose who moistens all passing paraders. On such a hot day, it was much appreciated! Photo: James of Vermont |
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Tom, Walter, and Marvin. Marvin was the only one of us to make it into fab magazine. Photo: James of Vermont |
Peter and James, with Bruno behind and Walter to the right. Peter organised our entire Pride Day effort, and Bruno and Walter are some of our hard working board members. Photo: James of Vermont |
Tom. Photo: James of Vermont |
The page was created by Spike.
Last
Update: 16:18 EDT Monday 3 July 2000
Home Site: www.nakedplanet.org
This page is http://tntmen.abuzar.net/tnt/news/pride2000/
