Posts Tagged ‘topless’

Pride Parade 2019

Posted: June 29, 2019 in events, people
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I’m a few days late but here are some photos from this year’s Pride Parade, Sunday June 23rd.

young woman with prirode shirt, turquoise headband, and small rainbow flags has arms up as she cheers and yells
a boy in a black t shirt sits on his father's shoulders as they walk in a parade and hold out their arms to touch hands of spectators

large group of pro vegans walking in a parade

people sitting onscaffolding in the front of a three stprey building on Yonge street, watching the pride parade

people dancing in the street as they walk beside by the drivers door of a white truck as it pulls a float in the pride parade, going down Yonge street with many people on the sidewalk watching

three people on the top of a pride parade float, one has a hello kitt cutout covering the top of her back, another is wearing a black long hair wig and a sparkly blue dress. the last has rainbow leggings, a yellow top and a feathery head dress on

an older man in a yellow fedora sprays people with a very large green and yellow super soaker

a father holds his two young sons on top of metal barricade at pride parade, father taking pics with his phone, boys holding flags

the face of a little brown furry dog peaks over a man's shoulder, mouth open, tongue out and looking happy

people draped in white with large white fabric wings sitting on top of a float in the pride parade

people on a float in a parade, one has a Canada umbrella

a person in a long red wig and a short white dress is posing for a male photographer on a float in the pride parade, people walking behind the float

a man with a beard and moustache, and camera around his neck, walking in pride parade, reaches out his hand, hands of spectators reaching out to him

below: The crowds line both sides of Dundas at the end of the parade route as the beginning of the parade has just reached them.

many people line both sides of Dundas as the first group of walkers comes through at the pride parade, indigenous people, drummers, dancers,

below: Thousands of pieces of bright and sparkly mylar.

thousands of pieces of mylar in the air, just released over the heads of people watching the pride parade

below: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walked at the beginning of the parade, along with a lot of security.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walks in the pride parade in Toronto with other people, waving to the crowds, police men and security detail also in the picture

people dressed in white with white umbrellas, on top of a float in the pride parade

a man dressed in an outfit of big chunky beads in bracelet and necklace and a wig of large coiled bits of plastic in bright colours, many colours,

people standing on the sidewalk watching the pride parade

two people with T shirts that say smile with pride

a man in black vinyl outfit, sleeveless, with a large box on his head that has been decorated like a garden, with ivy and flowers,

a man driving a red vehicle is spraying people out the window with a super soaker

a young man in a pink wig, a fancy necklace, and a crown, walks in a pride parade

a woman with bright butterfly wings onher arms leads a group of walkers in a pride parade

two young men in Pride Parade, one has a giant O made of blue balloons and the other is carrying a giant U made of green umbrellas

person with long yellow wig and sunglasses, walkin in parade in front of a group of naked men. Also a tall skinny man with a green hat and pink shorts

two men standing on a concrete barrier, watching parade, other people on the sidewalks

a group of people walking in the pride parade with rainbow flags and accessories

a couple in the pride parade, each wearing white t shirts that say celebrate all, and each with one arm in the air, woman has pink sunglasses and man has rainbow sunglasses and fedora

people using a large metal scaffolding structure on a construction project beside Yonge street to sit on to watch pride parade

a young black man with black baseball cap and green sunglasses has a big smile as he helps carry a banner in the pride parade

an older woman gives the camera a strange look

a man in a red shirt stands by the drivers door of a white truck as it pulls a float in the pride parade, going down Yonge street with many people on the sidewalk watching

a man with sunglasses, bare chest, wide brim straw hat, and a costume of gold fake feathers on his back

a woman in a low neck black top has Ace of and then a picture of heart on her chest, a pride flag is draped over her shoulders, walking with lots of long tubular shaped balloons

women behind metal barricades at pride parade, as a topless man walks past

a young asian man in white button down shirt, black pants, black bowtie, and red sunglasses, stands beside an air canada banner, getting ready for pride parade

a black man holds a sign that says Queers are still dying in African continent, he is holding a flag from Cameroon

a woman in a skimpy blue, pink, and white outfit poses for photographs in the middle of a street, pride parade, she has very long blonde hair.

man with beard with pale pink wig and gold crown, another person in a yellow outfit but bare chested

a person walking the pride parade carrying a sign that says I am marching for those who can't

a man with bare midriff, beard, mustache, and star shaped sunglasses poses in front of a bunch of balloons

at the mouth of the Don

Posted: July 13, 2016 in graffiti and street art, locations
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street art painting of a blue fish on light blue background, stylized

Today I walked the southern part of the Lower Don River trail.  It’s not the most relaxing place to walk even though the path follows the river.  I have a habit of absentmindedly meandering and I didn’t want to meander right into a cyclist on the narrow shared path.   There was constant background noise from the cars and trucks on the nearby Don Valley Parkway but it was the GO trains that made the most noise as they rumbled right beside me.  Yes, you are correct, it’s not my favorite place to walk.  But I also knew that there was a reward near the end of the trail.

Near the ‘mouth of the Don River’ (in reality, where the Don River turns into the Keating Channel), there are some new murals on the bents supporting the ramps between the DVP and the Gardiner Expressway.  They are part of the Love Letter to the Great Lakes project.   A previous blog post, love letters in paint, concerned the murals from this project that were painted near Ossington and Queen West.

below: If you approach the area from the north, this is the first bent that you see.  All sides of it have been painted by Kirsten McCrea.  If you are driving south on the Don Valley Parkway and you exit to the Gardiner westbound, you drive right over this, and the next few, bents.  In case you haven’t guessed, a bent is that concrete support thingy holding up the road.

a bent supporting an offramp has been covered in a bright mural, grass and weeds grow in front, the river is behind, a small tree also in the picture

below: The other side of the McCrea mural is in the background, behind the bent that has been painted by PA System (Patrick Thompson and Alexa Hatanaka).  Amongst the swirly watery  shapes there is a face near the top.  Extra bit: The guy on the bike stopped to take a photo too.

A swirl of colours makes a mural of faces and hands and watery things, on a bent under the Don Valley Parkway

below: The other side of the PA System bent. A large fish fits perfectly in the upper portion while a hand reaches up from the vertical part.

A very large fish is painted across the top of a bent, and a hand is on the vertical part, with finger tips pointed upwards.

below: The work of MC Baldassari who is currently from Montreal.

concrete support, or bent, under a ramp has been painted with a mural based on a large dark blue triangle

below:  The other side of the above bent.  It looks like the woman has come through the pillar.

concrete support, or bent, under a ramp has been painted with a mural based on a woman's head coming through a large dark blue triangle

below: A woman with a mouse in her hand and a flower in her hair kneels beside the foxes,
a mural painted by EGR (Erica Balon).   In the background you can see a much taller bent that has been painted blue.   This bent is on a different ramp, the ramp that you would find yourself on if you were driving east on the Gardiner and then exiting to the DVP.  It has been painted by Jason Botkin and it includes the word Wonscotanach.  Apparently that was the First Nations name for the river before John Graves Simcoe came along in 1790 and decided to call it the Don River.

A mural on a bent in an underpass, a young woman is kneeling. She is holding a mouse in one hand. Two foxes stand beside her.

below: There are more animals on the other sides, along with a city lit up in the night in the background of the mural.   Raccoon, rabbit and a pink butterfly fluttering past.

2 bents covered with murals. In the foreground, the mural is dark blue, with a pink butterfly, a rabbit, a mouse and a raccoon.

woman holding a mouse in a mural on a bent in the foreground, with another bent in the background, a mural of water and topless red women walking or standing in the water

below: Rajni Perera‘s mural features red and yellow women walking or standing in the water.

part of a mural of water and topless red women either walking or standing in the water

below: Looking back

a cyclist rides past 4 bents under the Don Valley Parkway that have been painted with murals as part of the Love Letter to the Great Lakes project.

below: A collaborative effort by Jarus and Kwest beside the Don Valley trail, just north of the other murals.

large sea creature painted on a mural on a concrete wall.

below:  And one last photo before leaving the area… a quick note sprayed on a concrete support.

rough spray painted words 'Hi Love' on a concrete support on a railing by a river.

pride parade 2016

Posted: July 5, 2016 in events, people
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Or rather, pre-Pride parade.  The parade route is usually very crowded and this year I decided not walk it.  Instead, I mingled with the parade participants who gathered on Bloor Street in preparation for the event.  What you’ll find in this blog posts are a lot of pictures of people, people laughing and smiling and enjoying the day.  I hope I have captured some of the energy and spirit of the occasion.

below: A temporary rainbow LOVE sign

a rainbow coloured large sign that says LOVE on it, in front of a row of brick houses. A policeman is walking along the street in the right of the picture
below: The orange guy from the fruit group!

a man dressed as a fruit, an orange, with big green glittery bow in the front and oversized orange frame glasses, also white gloves and an orange hat. He is smiling a big smile and waving at the camera
below: One of the floats parked on Rosedale Valley Road. Toronto in balloons, ready and waiting for the parade to start.  The calm before the storm.

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below:  When I first approached this group, the man in the middle had a rainbow flag in front of him. As I took the picture he flung the flag to his back and hammed it up for the camera.  Thanks!

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below: These boots are made for walking, but that bike sure looks great!

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below: Apparently, wearing large amounts of feathers on your back is quite warm. Not so good on a hot day!

Two men with large feathery wings on their back. The one in front has black wings and is wearing a black leather hat. He is topless. The other man is wearing a white T-shirt and white feathery wings as well as a rainbow striped hat.

below: The solution – water of course.   Super soakers and the spraying of water is a big part of the pride parade.

a man wearing black feather wings and a black leather cap is being sprayed with water

below: The three coloured Transgender Pride flag – the stereotype colours of light blue for baby boys and light pink for baby girls with a white stripe in the middle for those who identify as neither.

A young person with short hair and a floral wreath in their hair, holds three pink and light blue trans flags,.

below: #ShareLove wash the hashtag used by Telus and the people on their float. I love the glitter and the purple hearts!

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below: Puppets from Kids Help Phone Line make an appearance at the parade with a little help from some friends.  The one T-shirt reads “Tell us about your #firstpride”

two young women with puppets, from the Kids Help Line float at the parade. One puppet is a girl and the other is a boy.

below: Well, what can I say? It’s Pride.

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below: Nonchalantly blowing bubbles.  Someone looks unimpressed.

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below: I managed to find the saddest person on Bloor Street.

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below: Thanks to these two women who showed off their T-shirts for the camera. #ProudBecause was Fido’s campaign for Pride. Each person on the team had a T-shirt like this, and each person had filled in the white rectangles with their personal messages.

two women pose with their backs to the camera. They are wearing yellow T-shirts that have multicoloured hashtag symbol with the word #ProudBecause written below it. Below that is a white space where they have each filled in the reason for why they are proud.

below: Spectators waiting. One is keeping cool.

A man in a large red afro wig is standing beside the parade route, on the sidewalk but behind the barricade. Viewed from the back, all he is wearing is a leather thong and red shoes and socks.

below: The Liberals had a large presence, most of them in red T-shirts.  They congregated on Asquith Green early on and there were many in the staging area on Bloor Street.  As the world knows, Justin Trudeau walked in the parade with Toronto Mayor John Tory and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne.  As an aside, I may be the only person who didn’t get a photo of Trudeau!

When the parade started, I left Bloor Street, heading south on Ted Rogers Way then back towards the Hayden Street entrance to Bloor subway station.  Somewhere along that route (and I can’t remember exactly where) I saw a small group of PC/Tories with their signs walking towards the parade.

a man wearing a rainbow coloured mask and a rainbow bandana over his head, holding a flag. In the background is a group of people wearing red T-shirts that say Proud Liberal

below: Tomodachi is Japanese for ‘friends’.

a group at a parade, rainbow umbrella, one woman holds a sign that says "Pride from Japen" and another woman holds a placard that says "we are tomodachi"

below: The Federation of Canadian Naturists were also walking in the parade.

a group of naturists , mostly seen from the backside, naked bums, bare bodies

two young Asian men pose beside a man in drag, long auburn hair and a red tight fitting dress, there is also a topless man wearing a hat with a Mexican symbol on it and holding a Mexican flag.

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a person in an orange wig and with green lipstick. You can only see the face because the rest of her is covered by the yellow feathers and glittery pieces that she's wearing. A very vibrant picture.

A woman dressed in a Sailor Moon costume sits on the ground beside a large rainbow flag

A minister in black shirt and white collar, also wearing a large wood cross on a necklace. Other people dressed for the pride parade are in the background.

A young Asian woman wears large round sunglasses with pink peace symbols on them as well as a pink and a green fuzzy necklace. A man holding a rainbow flag is smiling in the background.

a man in drag, pink dress, and a very large pink wig. He also has a partial mask over his face so that is forehead and very large nose look blue.

A young person with very short hair, wearing round purple and pink sunglasses and a tie dyed T-shirt that says Free Hugs on it.

line of people waiting behind barricades at the side of the street waiting for the Pride parade to begin.

a girl in pink sun hat, white sunglasses and a bright multi coloured dress poses for a picture

Two young women from the group 'Mercy for Animals'. One is holding a green placard in the shape of a rabbit and the other is holding a placard in the shape of an orange pig.

two people on a motorcycle posing for the camera

dyke march 2016

Posted: July 3, 2016 in events, people
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This year’s Dyke March (the 20th!) was an energetic, supportive, and positive celebration once again.  It was led as usual by motorcycles and then Dykes on Bikes.  Numerous groups and individuals walked and there was a good turnout that lined the sidewalks to watch the parade pass by.  Colourful.  Joyful.

many motorcycles as part of Dykes March, downtown Toronto

two people hugging, one in black pants and knee high boots, motorcycles parked around them.

walkers in a dyke march in Toronto - one cyclist in a tight red body suit is yelling in celebration, other cyclists around her

walkers in a dyke march in Toronto

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two women on a red motorcycle in a parade

girls and women marching in a dyke march

a young woman with magenta coloured hair and a t shirt that says "Kiss me i'm gay"

walkers in a dyke march in Toronto - a woman carries a large crocheted umbrella with a multicoloured fringe

women walking in a dyke march

walkers in a dyke march in Toronto - two women dancing

topless bare breasted cyclists in dyke march

walkers in a dyke march in Toronto - a woman in a turquoise top with her arms raised, a rainbow flag in one had, another woman is grinning

walkers in a dyke march in Toronto - a group in various leather clothes, some topless

walkers in a dyke march in Toronto - Dykes on bikes, parade has stopped so the cyclists have put down their bikes and many of them are lying down, crowds on the sidewalks watching the parade

two women carrying a crocheted banner for Dykes on Bikes, walkers in a dyke march in Toronto

walkers in a dyke march in Toronto - Latino, or Spanish speaking group with a baner that says" Estamos Aqui"

spectators sitting on a sidewalk. A woman with flowers in her hair and pink sunglasses as well as white knee socks. The man beside her has a fedora on.

Two people holding hands, one is wearing a pink T shirt that says "Women want to have FUN - damental rights". Closely cropped picture

walkers in a dyke march in Toronto -

walkers in a dyke march in Toronto - a woman with a red boa is dancing and talking to other women at the same time

walkers in a dyke march in Toronto - a large group of cyclists on Yonge Street, Dykes on bikes

walkers in a dyke march in Toronto - two young women walking together, one is holding a sign that says "love is proud"

spectators on a sidewalk watching the Dyke March, one woman has a sign that says "Marching for those who didn't make it"

walkers in a dyke march in Toronto - a woman on a motorcycle with a rainbow flag

two groups, one Muslim and one Jewish, walking in a Dyke March

walkers in a dyke march in Toronto - a couple hugging, a couple wearing long colourful beads

walkers in a dyke march in Toronto - Dykes on bikes, one woman on a bike has one arm in the air,

walkers in a dyke march in Toronto - a young black woman is shouting as she raises her sign in the air

black dog all dressed up for pride, walking in a dyke march

a woman with very short purple hair, a pink sleeveless top, and many tattoos, is taking a picture with her phone of a group marching in the Dyke March

a woman with a rainbow string bikini stands beside a well tanned man in white shorts and no shirt as they watch women marching in the Dyke March

walkers in a dyke march in Toronto - a woman on an E-scooter in short white shorts and a red shirt and red pointy hat

walkers in a dyke march in Toronto - a CTV reporter is walking backwards as he is being filmed following the Dyke March

spectators on the sidewalk watching a parade. A man with a camera, a woman with her shopping, a man with a pink boa, another man with a pink shirt and white pants

people watching a parade

kids riding on bikes with their mothers in a dyke march

walkers in a dyke march in Toronto -

walkers in a dyke march in Toronto - two women wearing T shirts that say "This parade is gay", as well as a topless woman holding a sign that says "We are not targets". Another sign says "Learn the difference between sex and gender"

a woman is carrying a crocheted rainbow banner for a dyke march, behind her a larger group is carrying a crocheted banner that says diversity

a woman in dark sunglasses stands beside a banner with sections for different famous lesbian women - Mary Woo Sims, Lynne Fernie, Betty Baxter, We Wha, Gertrude Stein,

crocheted banner for dyke march is lying on the pavement. A woman is sitting on the kerb and she is crocheting

#pride | #prideTO | #prideToronto

almost around the block

Posted: August 22, 2015 in graffiti and street art
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Walking around the block, sort of, near Ossington and Queen.

North from Queen Street, west side of the alley

graffiti and street art by elicser on a wall in an alley, on the side of a Wine Rack store

detail of mural by elicser of two faces, a woman and a man in profile

Little animals crawl along the bottom part of a wall in an alley. They are covered in polka dots, there are two turtles, a hippo, a dinosaur and part of a beaver

street art on a wall in an alley

mural on a wall around, above and below three windows, looking down the along alongside the mural towards Queen St. west

part of a mural on a wall, a couple cheek to cheek with the woman wearing a purple party hat, also a topless green woman

detail of part of a mural showing a snake head and a skull. the snake looks fierce and has his tongue out

East side of the alley

street art, car movement and lights

mural of a jogger and a car with bright headlights shining through the night

Turning, now behind Queen Street West

graffiti and street art on both side of a corner of a building at the intersection of two alleys
street art covered wall in an alley

close up of a door covered with bright yellow, red, and blue graffiti

sticker graffiti, hot dog with line of mustard on it on a blue and yellow door

part of a street art painting on a wall with two windows, two large male faces, one in grey and pink and one in a brownish yellow

close up of a street art painting showing a large hand in front of a blue and red sweater

street art around two windows on a wall, pink on the top, green and brown on the bottom, with two faces, one realistic woman's face and one stylized face with eyes closed

A small corner in an alley that is behind metal bars, has graffiti on the wall. Beyond that is a wall cover with street art.

lovebot playing card wheatpaste high on a wall in an alley

pink swirls and a light purple skull in a street art painting

Where the alley meets Brookfield Street

A wall in a parking lot is covered with a mural with large S A and K letters,

A double garage door is covered with a painting in black andd white of geometric shapes, converging lines, with two faces as well.

two wheatpaste graffiti pieces, one yipyaps and one man's head. The word irony is written as well. They are on a worn black painted wood surface

On Brookfield Street at Queen Street West

street art by amek in pink white on blue background, sidewalk and bicycles in front of it.

below: The red line marks the alleys in which the above photos were taken.

map of Queen West at Ossington showing the northwest quadrant

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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