After several years working on developing its Trans offering, Pride Toronto’s 30th anniversary in 2010 will host a full program for the Trans community. Comprising a Trans March, a TransVerse stage and entertainment program, a Trans-specific space for the duration of the festival, and an After Party, the program has something for everyone.
“We are privileged to have been handed the torch for the Trans March by last year’s organizers,” says Tracey Sandilands, Executive Director of Pride Toronto. “We had some plans for a march in previous years, and in 2009 the community took it upon themselves to arrange a march. We got involved in order to assist, and this year have undertaken to arrange the march as part of our opportunity to serve this community.”
The Trans March will take place on the evening of Friday 2nd July, starting at Bloor and Hayden Streets at 7 pm with a pre-march rally, and then marching down Church Street at 8pm. The march is a grassroots event where Trans people and their supporters take over Church Street, demonstrating political strength in numbers and reveling in the passion and diversity of the Trans community.
The march will end at Pride Toronto’s South Stage at Church and Wood Streets, where the TransVerse stage will provide a full evening of Trans-focused speakers and entertainment for the marchers. This event is designed to build on the success of the TransAction stage created in 2008, and to bring together a transformative, transfixing and transgressive program of entertainers, writers and activists from the Trans community. The program will also feature artists from across North America, as well as local performers and activists.
The Trans After Party in partnership with FunkAsia, Pride Toronto’s South Asian program, is a first this year and features even more Trans artists and dancers - all with a Bollyqueer flavor. The After Party will take place at the Phoenix Concert Theatre the same night, starting around 10 pm.
And then there’s TransSpace, a new initiative in collaboration with Xpressions, a local Toronto social and support organization that welcomes all members of the Trans Community regardless of gender, race or sexual orientation.
“This is an exciting opportunity for us to work with a new community partner organization,” says Sandilands, “and the work that Xpressions does in the Trans community provides important opportunities for gender diverse persons to meet, socialize and go out into the larger community.”
TransSpace at Pride Week 2010 will be located in the heart of the festival site, and will provide information, outreach and support to members of the Trans community, those who are questioning or simply curious. It will be a safe, inclusive and informative area and will be open for both Saturday, July 3rd and Sunday, July 4th.
“2010 will see the Trans program at Pride really come into its own,” says Sandilands. “We have some tremendous people in the Trans community that are helping put the program together, and their hard work will make this a Trans year to be proud of.”
For more information on the Trans March, please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or visit the Facebook Event Page at Toronto Trans March 2010.
