It was hot, it was colourful. It was a first. This year there were 127 floats in the Victoria Pride parade and for the first time, the City of Langford was one of them.
Thousands lined the rainbow punctuated streets to watch participants in the city’s 30th Pride parade and festival. This year was Victoria Pride Society’s best attended parade to date. Various media estimates put numbers between 40,000 and 70,000 people who came out in the sweltering heat to show their love, support and solidarity for the CRD’s diverse rainbow community.
The Society’s vision is “a city free of marginalization, discrimination, and oppression, where members of Gender, Sex and Relationship Diversity (GSRD) communities are safe to live and love, openly and authentically.” WATCH: The Victoria Pride Parade live on CHEK and CHEK+ The Westshore spoke with Langford Mayor Scott Goodmanson and Langford councillors at their marshalling area just before the parade began. “This is fantastic.
Walking up and down the streets, seeing the folks getting together—just one huge community made up of numerous sub-communities whether it’s municipal communities, fire departments, hotels, businesses, school districts all here for one purpose,” said Goodmanson. “We are so excited to be at Pride this year, Langford’s first pride parade—our community is just so diverse and beautiful, and we are celebrating this year with all the CRD,” said Coun. Kimberley Guiry.
The councillors agreed it was imp.
