Archive for the ‘people’ Category

surrounded by the colours of Kensington

Posted: April 19, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations, people
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On a warm sunny Saturday in April.
People out and about in Kensington enjoying the day.

Two women are posing in front of a mural in a Kensington lane while a man takes a picture and another man watches.

In a dead end Kensington lane with a car parked at the end of the lane. There is street art on both sides of the alley. One man is leaning against the wall on one side, taking a photo of a man who is leaning against the other wall.

Reflections of people walking on the sidewalk, reflected in the side windows of a red vehicle.

A couple is posing for engagement photos. She is sitting on the hood of a red and white Mini Cooper. He is leaning against the front of the car. The car has big eyelashes over the front headlights. The car is parked on a street in Kensington.

A couple is sitting on the sidealk outside a row of boarded up houses. The houses are brick and are painted in bright yellow, orange and red.

A couple is sitting by a window inside a restaurant. The exterior wall of the building is covered in a mural of brightly coloured little monsters. A woman is standing outside by the window as she checks her phone.

pillow fight!

Posted: April 5, 2015 in events, people
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Pillow Fight
Nathan Phillips Square, Saturday of Easter weekend
Lots of pillows to dodge.
Lots of exuberant fun.
Pillow fights, now a spectator sport!

 

two young men hitting each other with pillows in a pillow fight.

One young men is sitting on the shoulders of another. He is swinging a pillow around in a pillow fight. Many others, who are not on shoulders, are trying to hit him with pillows

A boy is swinging a brown pillow at a woman in a pillow fight.

Two Asian women wearing pyjamas are hitting each other with pillows. Lots of hair flying around.

A young man in a batman shirt is being hit over the head with a red pillow in a large pillow fight.

people at a pillow fight

A group of young men having a pillow fight outdoors,

A young woman is sitting on the shoulders of a young man. She is laughing. She has a pillow in her hand. The crowd is behind her. A large man's face is on the very left of the photo.

A group of young people in a crowd who are having a pillow fight at Nathan Phillips square. A woman wearing a t-shirt that says "Lets pretend this never happened" is ducking pillows and laughing.

A young woman is holding a pillow with a pillowcase that has pink, green and yellow geometric shapes on it. She is getting ready to hit someone with it in a pillow fight. She is laughing

A young man on the shoulders of another at a pillow fight at Nathan Phillips Square.

A groupd of young people in a crowd who are having a pillow fight at Nathan Phillips square. Old city hall is in the background.

A happy couple taking a break from a pillow fight. He is laughing, she is saying ouch and putting her hand over her ear.

a couple taking photos from the upper level of Nathan Phillips square. Down in the square below them is a large pillow fight, and a lot of spectators and photographers

four young men laughing as they partake in a pillow fight.

Three young men are in the foreground, all are at a pillow fight. One man, wearing glasses, has his pillow held tightly over his head, one is looking away from the camera and the third looks like his head hurts as he puts his hand on his forehead.

CTV reporter ducking pillows as she gives commentary. Camera of cameraman is just in view on the right. Crowd at the pillow fight is behind her.

A boy in a blue jacket is in the foreground, he's hitting a woman in a black jacket. A group of young people in a crowd who are having a pillow fight at Nathan Phillips square. Old city hall is in the background.

A young woman has her eyes closed and is smiling as the people around her are hitting each other with pillows.

A young red headed man is on the shoulders of another person in a pillow fight.

Lots of pillows being held up in the air.

crowds of people at Nathan Phillips square on a spring Saturday afternoon

Two young women and a young men at a pillow fight

A smiling man, crouched shoulders, clutching a pillow, walks past a crowd in a pillow fight.

A group of young people taking a selfie photo at a pillow fight.

Man with a spiderman pillow and woman with a pink pillow at a pillow fight

A group of young men enjoying a pillow fight as they swing their pillows at other people

Bald man wearing a ferrari jacket is smiling at the camera as he walks through a crowd having a pillow fight

pillow fight

Two young men having a pillow fight while a crowd stands around them in a circle and watches.

Young man in a black leather jacket has his eyes closed as he hits someone with a pillow in pillow fight.

Young men swinging pillows at each other and trying to hit each other, all in good fun.

A young woman wearing a maroon McMaster shirt is holding a very large stuffed yellow cartoon character bird (tweety bird?)who is wearing a blue denim hat. Posed for the camera. Smiling.

A little boy in a blue jacket with a determined and fierce look on his face in hitting someone in a pillow fight.

A man being hit in the face with a pillow

Three people in costumes are posing for a group selfie as a photographer walks past.

A young woman with black curly hair and glasses is smiling as she takes part in a big pillow fight.

Young people having a pillow fight and laughing.

Man with a beard and a moustache, wearing a white fuzzy jacket with a pale purple artifical flower pinned to it. He's smiling and holding a pillow over his head.

A young man's glasses are falling off because he's just been hit with a pillow.

Two women in a pillow fight, lots of long hair blowing and being thrown around.

Man wearing a yellow top with hood that says on the front "Random yellow fruit". He's yelling and is holding a pillow over his head.

Young woman with long light brown hair is smirking at the camera and showing off her pillow - it is a body pillow with a picture of a male movie star on it and he's dressed in purple tux and black bow tie.

A young man is swinging a pillow while someone on the left is taking his photo.

Young woman with a pillow in a mickey mouse pillow case

Boy wearing a fuzzy brown hat and a camo print fleece bathrobe over a grey T-shirt

A young man being overwhelmed a bit by a large number of pillows being aimed his way.

 

Irish for a day

Posted: March 16, 2015 in events, people
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St. Patricks Day, 17th March

Watching people watching the parade in downtown Toronto on Sunday afternoon.

A couple watching a St. Patricks Day parade. He is wearing big shamrock shaped glasses. They are both wearing green hats. He is waving to the camera.

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A woman walking a dog that is all dressed in frilly green. It's also wearing a hat that says "Kiss me I'm Irish".

A heavyset man wearing long green robe and carrying a plastic snake. He is supposed to be St. patrick, the patron saint of Ireland who drove the snakes out of Ireland many centuries ago.

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A man dressed in green, green pants, green shirt, big green bowtie, green shunglasses, and a big green hat, and he's wearing a shamrock around his neck.

A group of Irish setters with green bandanas around their necks. They are part of the parade. One of them is being hugged by a girl spectator along the edge of the parade route.

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buskerfest 2014

Posted: August 26, 2014 in events, people
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Buskerfest 2014

Yonge Street was closed from College to Queen for the event.

Yonge St. at Dundas, barrier across Yonge St. as it is pedestrians only. Lots of signs, lots of people,

Yonge Street on the Saturday afternoon of Buskerfest, looking north from Dundas Street

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A man dressed in green is on stilts as he walks up Yonge St.

Hovering above the crowd.

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There were street performers……

 

A group of four people are on stilts but dressed in very long pants. Two are playing a drum and two are playing shaking instruments. They are walking down Yonge St. People are on the sidewalks watching them. Street performance as part of buskerfest.

towering over the audience as they walk down Yonge Street

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A performer is on a very tall unicycle. He is juggling lit torches as he slowly goes around in a tight circle.

DyneMike, playing with fire on high

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A street performer is using a diabolo to entertain a crowd of people who are sitting and standing on the sidewalk around him.

This guy, part of Touch2Catch, was amazing to watch. Great diabolo action!

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A performer has been launched into the air. He is holding a large ring that is on fire. He is turning himself through the ring while in the air.

more Touch2Catch – jumping through a ring of fire

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One of the street performers from the group Touch2Catch is doing a side flip over a man who is on all fours on the street.

side flip over Dimitri

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A picture of buskerfest is displayed on an electronic billboard.

Samsung was putting tweets and instagram postings with their buskerfest hashtag on the electronic billboard above Yonge & Dundas. At one point I looked up and saw this one. A great photo! She captured an unobscured view of the exact moment the performer from Touch2Catch did a side flip over five people.

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A woman has taken the silver guitar from Silver Elvis and is pretending to play it while hamming it up for the small group of people that are watching.

sharing the limelight with Silver Elvis …. or taking over? All in good fun!

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A woman is having her picture taken with a performer who is dressed in a white dress made of balloons. She has balloon wings and white feathers in her hair.

Photo op with an angel in white balloons.  Balloon dresses are available from The Twisted Ones

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A street performer is twisting the upper part of his body in order to fit it through a tennis racquet.

What one does in the name of entertainment – putting one’s shoulders through a tennis racquet…. don’t try it at home kids.

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….. music

Musicians onstage, a group of adults standing in front of the stage. The adults all have drinks in their hands and they are all toasting. One of the musicians has a stuffed fish in his hand.

A toast to the cod, screeching in at Dundas Square.  The Screeched Inn performed on the stage at Yonge-Dundas Square, their “kitchen party”.

All money raised by performers on the stage at Yonge-Dundas Square went to Epilepsy Toronto.
In addition, Samsung donated $1 to Epilepsy Toronto for every tweet of buskerfest that included the hashtag #samsungsbbf

 

….. sidewalk artists

 

A woman is using chalk to make a large picture of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the sidewalk

ninja turtles taking shape on the sidewalk (artist: the Chalk Chick)

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A chalk drawing of Ariel, the little mermaid in the Disney movie on a sidewalk. A man's legs are also in the photo.

Ariel, Disney’s little mermaid is on the sidewalk. Another drawing by the Chalk Chick.

 

 

… and curious kids, entertained kids

Some children are watching buskers perform by peeking through a gap in the red and white plastic banners that are the backdrop to the show.

vantage point

 

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A dog, a Great Dane, is standing in front of two women dressed as clowns on pink and white ponies. The dog has barked at them and they are reacting by making faces and moving back

Some dogs don’t like clowns either. Great Danes have quite the bark!

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A large electronic billboard high above Yonge St. A picture of one of my buskerfest tweets is being displayed.

a narcissistic moment

With thanks to the Second Cup on Mt. Pleasant where I hung out while putting this blog entry together.

into the night at the CNE

Posted: August 21, 2014 in events, people
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another August, another trip to the Ex!

 

Evening shot as the sky is getting darker. Tiny Tom donut stand all lit up, with a line up of people waiting to buy donuts.

Tiny Tom Donuts, an iconic part of the CNE for as long as I can remember.

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Two acrobatic women hanging from a large triple hook shaped bar suspended from the ceiling. Bathed in blue light.

One of this year’s shows is ‘Mirage’, an acrobatic show at the Ricoh Coliseum.

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Two people on a rope in yellow and purple lights. Part of the audience can be seen in the photo.

another part of the ‘Mirage’ show

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A boy wearing a fedora is standing beside one of the midway games. He is holding a coke bottle with the name Jeff on it. Behind him is a large picture of 3 stars.

A star on the midway. The coke bottle says Jeff.

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Two young men are hammering away at Whac-a-mole while a woman who is running the game is talking to the people who are watching

playing Whac-a-Mole!

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A number of people are competing to win a stuffed monkey. They are shooting water into a target.

shooting for monkeys, Curious George as the prize

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A groups of young people are playing a midway game where you toss balls. What they are throwing them at is not in the photo!

Having fun tossing baseballs!

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CNE midway game with the prize being a stuffed minion from the movie 'Despicable Me'. A woman is paying to play.

getting ready to play for minions

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A young man is sitting by a giant roulette wheel, a midway game at the Ex

waiting for the wheel to stop

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Lights on one of the midway rides, Starship.

Starship lights and motion on the midway

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A display of candy apples for sale. Some are coated with smarties candies, some with multi coloured sprinkles and some with crushed nuts.

yum, candy apples… caramel, smarties, sprinkles and crushed nuts!

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Sand sculpture of a woman sitting on the ground, looking wistfully through a round window. In the background are some woman standing behind a wood barricade who are looking at the sand sculpture

women watching, sand sculpture

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Details of a sand sculpture (hands) with another sculpture behind (of a woman)

women from another angle

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A father and his daughters are on a midway ride, spinning in red "seats" as they go around in circles.

spinning quickly on the midway – or at least a bit too quickly for the camera!

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summer in the city

Posted: July 7, 2014 in general Toronto, people
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Summer in the city – although the summer feels like it’s only just begun!

A cyclist and his bike are sitting at the edge of Lake Ontario, behind the chain fence. It is evening and the sky is strating to turn pink

Early evening rest at the waterfront

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Two food trucks are parked on the street. People are buying food, or sitting on the conrete bench (low wall) that runs parallel to the sidewalk

Ice cream, slushies, hot dogs, chips, poutine….  food trucks on Queen Street in front of City Hall.

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Two people are standing behind a table that is covered with a red and white checkered table cloth. The menu is written on a chalk board in front of them. The last item on the menu is love, and it's cost is free.

Uncle Smoke gives away free love! Pulled pork with beans, corn bread and veg will cost you $10 though!  Pedestrian Sunday, Kensington Market.

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A man is sitting beside a stroller in the foreground. Behind him is a pool of water and then a large glass building. On the wall of the building are black and white images of some famous people including Andy Warhol, JFK, and Albert Einstein

Under the watchful eye of a few famous people – Ryerson Image Centre building.

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Some people are walking towards the camera as the cross a street including a couple who are holding hands. He is wearing an orange Tshirt that says Cool story babe, Now Make me a Sandwich.

“Cool Story Babe, Now make me a sandwich.” Any replies ladies?

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A girl is standing very close to one of the tanks at the aquarium, she has her hands open and on the glass.

hands on at the aquarium

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Dundas Square with many people sitting on chairs, under red umbrellas, watching a band play on stage

‘Sweet Alibi’ plays at Dundas Square

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A large group of people, inlcuding many kids, are walking towards Rogers Stadium for a Blue Jays baseball game. Most of them are wearing blue Blue Jays shirts.

game day, Jays fans

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pride parade

Posted: June 30, 2014 in events, people
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Shooting the pride parade was a lot different from shooting the dyke march!  The pride parade is much bigger and by necessity much more tightly controlled.  I was able to walk alongside the women in the dyke march but the streets were barricaded and non-participants kept off the route for the pride parade.

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crowds are behind barricades along the streets, policemen on motorcycles are waiting at the end of the street. parade hasn't started yet

looking west on Bloor towards Yonge.

I walked the first part of the route, along Bloor Street, just before the parade started.  Lots of crowds were behind the metal bars; a few police were watching/ignoring me.  When I turned the corner at Yonge St., I realized just how controlled the crowds were!  I chose not to continue walking south on Yonge.  A policeman opened the barricade enough to let me out.  After that I walked amongst the crowds….. and saw nothing of the parade!  Too many people!  But they were interesting people and I enjoyed walking amongst them. …. until Dundas when there were so many people and no one could move.   That’s was my cue to exit stage right.

So here’s a salute to all those who joined the fun.  A little raunchy and a little over the top at times but all good.

Two women in banana costumes posing for the camera.

Kudos to these two ladies who showed up in banana costumes! I asked them if they were part of a group, but no, they’re just fruity they said. I hope they joined the parade had fun (and didn’t get too hot!… unless they peeled…. )

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Two women, or men dressed as women, one in black and one in white. The one in white has a large black & white clockface behind her

timeless

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A group of people are standing behind metal barricades waiting for the parade to start, some are waving and some are smiling. A group of three girls are wearing pink boas.

pink, with smiles, waiting for the parade to begin

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A group of policemen and policewomen pose for a group shot before the pride parade

Before the parade started – They were actually posing for someone else… but I suggested that they look a little livelier, wave their hands or something…. thanks for obliging!

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viewable & captured from all angles

viewable, & captured, from all angles

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One guy in red underpants (with Christmas bells attached to the front) is pointing to the bare bottoms of his two male friends. He is making an exaggerated facial expression of surprise and shock.

boys just wanna have fun

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Two older men dressed in white are under a rainbow striped umbrella. One has a white boa, the other has a red boa.

keeping the sun away. These umbrellas were great – very photogenic!

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A woman with very large and almost bare breasts. Her face is decorated

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Two men are standing beind, and leaning on, the barricade. They are wearing multicoloured beads, incuding some very big beads that look more like balls for a Christmas tree

big grins! The one in blue was more game than his partner…. you could almost say that one in grey is grimacing more than grinning. Thanks guys!

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A group of men are standing behind barricades.

He had such a wonderful smile and he seemed so happy that I couldn’t resist taking his picture.

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four girls, each with a different coloured mask, like the ninja turtles TV characters wear.

ninjas, mostly unmasked

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a boy is sitting on his father's shoulders

a better view!

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many people lining the route of the pride parade on Yonge St.

The crowds at Yonge and Wellesley just as the parade reached that part of the route.

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A row of people wearing hats in the foreground, looking across an empty street to a very large crowd behind barricades

How does one even start to calculate how many people were there?

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A quick shot - he saw my camera, turned and quickly posed, and I got the shot. It wasn't until I downloaded the photos that I saw the marvellous juxtaposition!

A quick shot – he saw my camera, turned and quickly posed, and I got the shot. It wasn’t until I downloaded the photos that I saw the marvellous juxtaposition!

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a group of four girls wearing rainbow curly wigs, frilly short skirts and rainbow striped socks are walking up the street between two rows of parade watchers

almost their own little parade!

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streetcars at the intersection of Yonge & College, all corners are packed with people

stopping the parade to let the College/Carlton streetcar through

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Two people are standing on the window sill of a large window. The woman is wearing a striped dress. She is texting. The guy beside her is topless, wearing grey shorts

She doesn’t seem to be having fun – standing in the window of Starbucks at College & Yonge.

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Wall to wall people at the intersection of Yonge and Dundas. All you can see in the photo are people's heads.

I walked the parade route at about the same speed that the parade went. An hour and a half later, I reached Yonge & Dundas where the crowds were so thick no one could move.

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Two boys are standing on a window ledge so they are above a crowd of people. The small boy doesn't look too happy.

At the corner of Yonge & Dundas – by the time I made it to this intersection, I was beginning to agree with the boy in green!

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Two topless women are painted in big rainbow colours. Two clothed women are posing for a photo with them.

posing with the body painters – Body Art by Tania was the booth on Church St., near the start of the parade.

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*****

dyke march, more

Posted: June 29, 2014 in events, people
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….continued from the previous post

Here is the second sample of the photos that I took at the dyke march yesterday.

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Women walking in the dyke march and carrying banners that they have crocheted.

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A happy looking woman holding up a large rainbow coloured scarf that has a bright red heart in the middle of it
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a group of women marching in the parade with a banner that says Face It, other walkers are holding up signs that say Stop Homophobia and Transphobia
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water play with super soakers, and the crowd behind them is having great fun watching

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cyclists riding in the parade
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A line of walkers in the dyke march including one younger girl who has her head down
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A woman wearing gold shiney shorts with her cellphone tucked into the top of them. SHe is barebrested but with a large black bicycle drawn across them.

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A woman's bare shoulders exposing a tattoo that says I myself am made entirely of flaws stitched together with good intentions
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dyke march

Posted: June 29, 2014 in events, people
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The march finally got underway…..

Here is the first  sample of the photos that I took as it passed by.

A crowd of people are watching the parade from the sidewalk. Some are sitting on the kerb and some are standing behind.
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Three girls are walking in the parade
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Two women are walking in the parade. Both are holding signs. One says End Transmysogyny. The other says Some Dykes have Dicks.

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A woman, wearing a sash that says Ms. International Leather is running towards the camera. She is holding a flag that is white and blue. A few other women are walking behind. There are crowds lined along the sidewalk.
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blog_march_red

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In the foreground of the photo is the back of a woman's head. She has long wavy reddish hair and she is wearing a garland of flowers in her hair. In the background are motorcycles in the parade.
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A group of men is standing beside the street, watching the parade. One is using his phone to take a photo. One is leaning his head back and laughing.
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Two women on a red motorcycle. The one in front is topless and wearing a black helmet. She has her fist in the air.
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A crowd is watching the parade from the sidewalk. Motorcycles are passing by
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A woman with a camera around her neck and carrying a yellow umbrella is walking down the street

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dyke march – the befores

Posted: June 29, 2014 in events, people
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Getting ready, or waiting, for the Dyke March.  Saturday 28th June, from Allan Gardens west to Yonge St then north to Charles St.  It was a very warm and sunny day.

 

two lone photographers stand in a street that has no traffic. Crowds are on the sidewalks on either side. They are sitting, waiting for a parade to come past

Carlton street awaits the start of the march.

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Reflection in the round side view mirror of an old school bus that has been painted pink by CUPE.

reflecting on the CUPE bus, painted in pink and flying a pink flag.

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A man is wearing a rainbow flag like a cape, and he has one wrapped around his head like a headband. He is selling large and small sized rainbow flags. He is topless otherwise

I bought a flag.
Him: Oh, this is going to be put online?
Me: If it works.

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Two guys are sitting on the sidewalk. One has dyed his hair yellow and he's carrying a rainbow flag. The other is resting his chin on his hands, and his elbows on his knees. He has his rainbow flag draped over his head and he looks very bored.

It was a hot day and the parade was late getting started…….

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A multicoloured bracelet on a wrist. The bracelet says, Oy Vey I'm Gay.

I spoke briefly to a woman who was wearing this bracelet. One of the women she was with was wearing a sticker that said, “Eat Me, I’m Kosher” but I didn’t take a picture of it.

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detail of a crocheted banner that was made for the duke march

something about gender, details of a crocheted banner that was made to be carried in the march

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A good looking, very fit, man wearing just a pair of pink shorts and a pair of sandals is walking down the street.

pretty in pink

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A lacy umbrella decorated with crocheted 3D breasts in different colours, probably life sized.

custom crocheted umbrella to keep the sun off…. sitting on the grass before the parade

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A black helmet has two lines of pink fringe glued on the top it that make it look like a Mohawk hair cut. The helmet is sitting on the seat of a black motorcycle.

waiting to ride

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