Pride festivities fill up parking lots at The Forks

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This article was published 13/06/2015 (3829 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Parking lots were jam packed at The Forks National Historic Site Saturday, giving Pride Winnipeg organizers a lot of foot traffic from FIFA fans.

Dozens of concessions advertised everything from hot dogs and hamburgers to local gay pride artisan crafts including homemade soap and passion parties. They were crowded throughout the afternoon. By 4 p.m. when the event was due to wrap up, the skies still hadn’t opened, despite the forecast for showers.

The Festival stage, adorned with a multicoloured rainbow faced the grass. The action was on the other side of the rainbow where a cozy audience sat back in sheltered comfort with free Starbucks coffee and snacks. The stage offered a concert of poetry reading, comedy monologues and various singers.

The setting was sheltered from the wind, but the speakers carried the music out to the crowds beyond the stage.

“It’s been great. Definitely a bigger turnout than last year,” said Jonathan Niemczak, president of Pride Winnipeg. “I know we can attribute a lot of that on our out-of-town guests. There are a lot of Americans here. And there’s been a lot of walk-throughs, a lot of foot traffic.”

Last year, the event drew 35,000 people. This year it will probably be closer to 37,000 to 38,000, Niemczak said.

It was hard to pick out the American accents in the crowd but there was no question thousands of people packed The Forks. Winnipeg is one of the Canadian cities hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Parked cars displayed plates from Virginia and Minnesota, among the Manitoba locals.

Pride festival kicked off June 5 and continues to June 14. At 11 a.m. tomorrow, a rally is slated for the legislature grounds. At noon, a parade through downtown is set to go ahead.