Pride Parade cheers Victoria

VICTORIA -- It's the only day of the year in the B.C. capital when one can see men dressed in Carmen Miranda-inspired headdresses and elaborate drag costumes, a band of leather-clad biker chicks riding motorcycles and condom-dispensing AIDS-awareness advocates all celebrating the same cause.

Yesterday's 2008 Pride Parade painted the city's downtown in vibrant shades of rainbow and filled the air with music and cheers from the estimated 30,000 people who lined the route along Pandora and Government streets.

About 38 groups and 500 people made up the procession, including an older man wrapped in a rainbow-coloured beach towel who shouted: "Be happy -- and, if you can't, be gay."

Times Colonist

Published: Monday, July 07, 2008