Pride Toronto is excited to announce the winners of this year's prestigious Pride Toronto Awards, presented each year in a number of categories to individuals and organizations whose work and dedication have a positive impact on the LGBTTIQQ2SA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, Questioning, Two-Spirited & Allied) community.

"The Pride Toronto Awards provide us with an ideal opportunity to recognize the outstanding members of our community for their contributions over the years," says Tracey Sandilands, Executive Director of Pride Toronto. "Once again, we had an impressive line-up of nominations."

The winners, who will be feted at the 6th Annual Gala & Awards ceremony on Wednesday, June 30, 2010 at The Carlu, are:

Arts and Culture
Robert Sirman: A leader, visionary and passionate supporter of the arts, award-winning Robert Sirman has played leading roles in many of Canada's biggest cultural institutions, including Ontario's first Ministry of Culture, The Ontario Arts Council, the National Ballet School of Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts. Robert was Chair of the Board for People With Aids Foundation for several years, and augments his professional pursuits with volunteer commitments to charitable and arts organizations at home and abroad.

In recognition of his leadership on the award-winning redevelopment of the National Ballet School and the Radio City condo towers, home to hundreds (if not thousands) of LGBT community members, the City of Toronto named Sirman Lane in his honour.

Human Rights
Neill Kernohan: Neill Kernohan, an Ontario civil servant, is the driving force behind the creation of the Ontario Public Service Pride Network's "Positive Space" Campaign. A unique public sector initiative in Canada, the Campaign provides a supportive space for Ontario government employees of all sexual orientations and gender identities and fosters a more inclusive public service environment. Neill's commitment of personal time and energy to the initiative has contributed to a new awareness of LGBT issues at every level of the provincial government.

Lifetime Achievement
Kyle Rae: Kyle, the first openly gay City of Toronto councillor, has been a tireless advocate of queer rights for almost 30 years. For Torontonians, his name is synonymous with the struggle for LGBT rights that began with Toronto's first lesbian and gay pride celebration in 1981 and has included the fight to amend the Ontario Human Rights Code to include sexual orientation. Kyle has also campaigned for the provision of employer-sponsored same-sex partner benefits.

Pride 2010 Theme Award
The Theme award is bestowed on the person/s selected as Grand Marshal. The Grand Marshal is chosen through a public nominations process as a person who embodies the spirit of Pride and other criteria. The Grand Marshal for 2010 will be announced shortly.

Sports
PRIDE House: If there were an Olympic category for queer awareness, PRIDE House would take home the gold. PRIDE House, a pavilion at the 2010 Whistler Olympic and Paralympics Games, provided a venue for LGBT athletes, the community and allies to celebrate diversity through sport. The initiative provided LGBT athletes the opportunity to expose the hidden homophobia that characterizes the sports world and the issues that would otherwise remain invisible - and unacknowledged.

Youth Leadership
The Unity Conference: For some years now, The Unity Conference has united and supported youth and educators across Ontario in creating gay-straight alliances in their schools. The success of the organization demonstrates the need for school-based queer-friendly organizations that provide safe, positive spaces to explore the diversity of queer and Trans experiences.

Other nominees for the awards were Keith Clarkson (Arts and Culture), Susan Gapka (Community Service), George Ssemukuutu and Natalia Petite (Human Rights), Kephra Sennett (Sport), and Christopher Hayden and Matt Sims (Youth). Current political candidates are not eligible for the awards.

The awards will be presented at the 6th Annual Gala & Awards ceremony, to be held on Wednesday, June 30, 2010, at The Carlu, located at 444 Yonge St.
The theme of this event, "30 Years of Pride," is a reflection on the global political landscape at the time of key events in our collective past.

Tickets may be purchased online at http://www.pridetoronto.com.

About Pride Toronto:
Pride Toronto is the not-for-profit organization that hosts Pride Week, an annual festival held during the first weekend of July in downtown Toronto. Pride Toronto exists to celebrate the history, courage, diversity and future of Toronto's LGBTTIQQ2SA* communities and is one of the leading cultural events of its kind in the world with a total economic benefit in 2009 of $136 million.
Toronto's Pride Week has been named Best Festival in Canada by the Canadian Special Events Industry in 2004, 2005 and 2009, and is recognized as one of only eight Signature Events in the City of Toronto. It is ranked one of the TOP 50 festivals in Ontario by Festivals and Events Ontario (FEO) as well as one of the 18 Marquee Festivals of Distinction in Canada. With attendance of over 1,2 million, it is the third largest Pride celebration in the world and the largest in North America. For media accreditation for the festival, please visit http://www.pridetoronto.com.

*Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, Questioning, 2-Spirited and Allies

For more information:
Michael Ain
Marketing and Communications Manager, Pride Toronto
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
416.927.7433 Ext 226