'It gives them courage to be their authentic selves: Collingwood, Muskoka celebrate Pride
A wave of rainbows has brightened downtown Collingwood as the town marks its inaugural Pride weekend.
The event was supposed to launch in 2020, but was sidelined by the pandemic.
Dr. John Miller, executive director of Collingwood Pride says the festival is important to members of the LBTQ2S+ community beyond the town.
"Those people that are living in smaller communities where maybe they don't know that it's so accepted," Miller said Saturday with a Pride flag wrapped around his shoulders. "When you come forward and actually present a festival like this, it gives them courage to be their authentic selves."
Collingwood Pride launched with a series of special meals, musical and drag performances, and a bike rally.
Miller is encouraged to see so many downtown businesses join the festival, and by a rainbow-tinged makeover of Sunset Park after it was defaced with homophobic and racist graffiti.
Muskoka's Pride week kicked off Saturday with a marine parade on Six Mile Lake. Organizers say at least 30 decorated boats hit the water as people cheered and waved from their docks.
Muskoka Pride runs until July 251.5505238
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
This Toronto restaurant is no longer accepting tips. Here's how it's going
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff – tipping is no longer accepted.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
What new auto insurance reforms will mean for Ontarians, if they get introduced
Ontario has among the highest rates for auto insurance premiums in Canada -- just below Alberta and Nova Scotia -- however, the introduction of an insurance reform in the provincial budget could soon lower prices.