Vancouver Pride Parade 2013

The Vancouver Pride Parade will start at 12:00pm on Sunday, August 4, 2013, drawing over half a million people in the downtown core to celebrate diversity, inclusion, and to have a great time in the sunshine.

Photos by John Bollwitt on Flickr

This is the 35th anniversary of Pride in Vancouver and the parade has become among the largest and most successful events in the world in support of LGBTQ communities.

Vancouver Pride Parade Grand Marshalls

These individuals represent an intergenerational and international perspective on Pride, celebrating the people who have shaped its spirit with their passion for equality:

• Susan Harman, Karin Lind and Aideen McKenna are three amazing moms from PFLAG who have contributed over a decade of service to the parents, families, and friends of Vancouver’s LGBTQ Community.
• Brandon Timmerman is an extraordinary Ontario youth who founded Brockville Pride at the age of 16 and has continued to be an advocate for queer youth.
• Zdravko Cimbaljevic is the “first out gay man” in Montenegro and the founder of its modern LGBTQ movement.

Vancouver Pride Parade Route

The parade begins at Robson Street and Thurlow Street, heads west to Denman Street, follows Denman to Pacific Street and Beach Avenue and finishes at the Sunset Beach Festival site. The Sunset Beach Festival will start at 11:00am (at Beach and Bute) and is free to attend. Over 150,000 partiers make this their home base, enjoying a market, live music, community organizations, and more.

Vancouver Pride Parade Road Closures

Official road closures as listed by the City of Vancouver on Sunday, August 4, 2013 include:

• 1000–1100 Robson St. between Burrard and Bute from 7:00am to 2:00pm
• 700–900 Thurlow St. between Georgia and Nelson from 7:00am to 2:00pm
• 1100-1600 Robson St. between Bute and Denman from 10:00am to 3:00pm
• 800-1200 Denman St. between Robson and Beach 10:00am to 4:00pm
• 1300-1700 Beach Ave. between Denman and Jervis 10:00am to 4:00pm
• 1000-1200 Pacific between Jervis and Burrard 11:00am to 5:00pm

Photos by John Bollwitt on Flickr

2013 is also the first year that the Vancouver Pride Parade is a Civic Parade, a huge win for the Vancouver Pride Society. This means that the parade has solidified its place as “a cultural institution in Vancouver”, receiving a 345% increase in funding, which will offset city costs such as fire, police, ambulance, and sanitation.

Follow the Vancouver Pride Society on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date on all Pride Week events this week.