#LOVEISLOVE :: With World Pride Toronto 2014 fast approaching, Pride Toronto executive director Kevin Beaulieu and his team have their hands full and then some. But that hasn’t stopped Beaulieu, his staff, and volunteers from taking the opportunity to harness the attention global LGBT festival is receiving – and point it in the direction of our brothers and sisters in need.

World Pride’s #LoveSochi social media campaign during the Olympics was one such effort (pictured above, GGN-ers Patrick Marano, Jeff O’Brien, Shaun Proulx, Raquel Richards (in pink) and Sabrina Pirillo pause their after-work cocktails to participate); Beaulieu spoke with us on The Shaun Proulx Show on SiriusXM Canada Talks CH 167 about why World Pride is an important time to focus on less fortunate LGBT people, and what to expect when WorldPride finally does arrive in Toronto:

RELATED :: GLOBAL DESTINATION :: Host city to WorldPride 2014, Toronto is the first city in North America ever to win the honour – in a showdown in Florida against Stockholm, Sweden – of inviting and welcoming the world to experience a Pride like no other. This June 20 – 29, LGBT friends from far and wide are expected to visit Toronto and witness the vibrancy Toronto citizens are fortunate enough to enjoy all the time – and to be dazzled: Toronto’s typical Pride festival is one of the largest and most spectacular in the world.

Toronto is North America’s fourth largest city, and is ranked the safest large metropolitan area in North America by Places Rated Almanac. LGBT people are particularly comfortable and accepted here – Toronto was the site of the first same-sex marriage in the world.

While many cities boast they are cultural melting pots, Toronto truly is, making it an ideal location for WorldPride 2014. With approximately half of it’s 2.8 million inhabitants born outside of Canada, 14o different languages are spoken in Toronto; 30-percent of inhabitants speak a second language other than English or French… (read more)

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GLOBAL DESTINATION :: Host city to WorldPride 2014, Toronto is the first city in North America ever to win the honour – in a showdown in Florida against Stockholm, Sweden – of inviting and welcoming the world to experience a Pride like no other. This June 20 – 29, LGBT friends from far and wide are expected to visit Toronto and witness the vibrancy Toronto citizens are fortunate enough to enjoy all the time – and to be dazzled: Toronto’s typical Pride festival is one of the largest and most spectacular in the world.

Toronto is North America’s fourth largest city, and is ranked the safest large metropolitan area in North America by Places Rated Almanac. LGBT people are particularly comfortable and accepted here – Toronto was the site of the first same-sex marriage in the world.

While many cities boast they are cultural melting pots, Toronto truly is, making it an ideal location for WorldPride 2014. With approximately half of it’s 2.8 million inhabitants born outside of Canada, 14o different languages are spoken in Toronto; 30-percent of inhabitants speak a second language other than English or French.

The mix works. It’s impossible not to appreciate authentic international living when walking the streets of Toronto, streets that lead to a cornucopia of communities representing the mosaic of cultures that make up the whole. Chinatown, Little Portugal, Little India, and Little Italy are just some of the ‘hoods that show off Toronto’s ethnic diversity. Neighbourhoods like posh Rosedale, the bookish Annex, hip Leslieville, and eclectic Cabbagetown offer cultural and architectural delights all visitors will appreciate.

TIP :: Sign up for our free WorldPride 2014 and Gold Access newsletters to stay abreast of all the scoop as you plan your WorldPride experience.

An international population mean shops, restaurants and cultural attractions of international scope – there is literally nothing you can’t see, savour or shop for in Toronto, which offers an embarrassment of dining riches to suit any budget, weekends overflowing with experiences to check out, and some of the best shopping in the world.

Speaking of shopping, Toronto has it all. Every major luxury brand from Louis Vuitton to Chanel to Gucci are represented along the tony shopping Mecca that is Bloor Street, in Yorkville, the city’s chic heartbeat. Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market has been hailed by National Geographic as the best market in the world, while bohemian Kensington Market is a must-visit destination, along with the renown Toronto Eaton Centre by the bustling Dundas Square. Independent boutiques and shops abound, nearly all gay-welcoming.

WorldPride Toronto 2014 visitors can also expect more attractions than one visit to Toronto could possibly allow them to fit in, including Toronto Grand Dame The CN Tower, Ripley’s Aquarium (winning accolades worldwide), The Toronto Zoo, The Royal Ontario Museum, and the sumptuous Art Gallery of Ontario. A notoriously walkable and green city, High Park is a stunning place to spend an afternoon; the whole of Toronto is dotted with gorgeous green space.

RELATED :: Plan Your Trip

Every visitor must schedule a day on the spectacular Toronto Islands, the crown jewel of the city where the splendid Rectory Cafe awaits, boats bob and sail, families and friends play on beautiful beaches (even a clothing optional beach awaits) – the Toronto Islands are simply more people from all walks of life mingling, Toronto-style.

A people-watcher’s paradise, Toronto will doubtlessly become the ultimate in checking each other out when visitors arrive for WorldPride 2014. There are plenty of places to do so: sidewalk cafes are everywhere; there is nothing quite like patio season in the city. And there’s something about the beautiful mix of citizenry that allows everyone in Toronto – visitor or citizen – to feel comfortable displaying who they are, be it low-key wallflower to hipster, family-type to work-the-runway peacocks. The city’s public transit – one of the best in the world – is where people pretend they aren’t watching you, when really they are.

For the WorldPride Toronto 2014 visitor, Toronto’s historic gaybourhood, Church & Wellesley, is where a large part of the action will take place. Bars, clubs, tubs, shops and restaurants are ready to welcome all, as Alexander Wood, Toronto’s original gay hero, proudly overlooks the unfolding of a special moment in time he couldn’t possibly ever have dreamed of.

RELATED :: The New York Times: Toronto’s Ethnic Buffet

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COLOURS OF OUR WORLD :: GGN vlogger Vance Hedman continues his exclusive WorldPride 2014 video series continues, in conversation with James Fowler and Syrus Marcus Ware who curated The Church Street Mural Project. The vibrant endeavour sees talented artists celebrating the legacy of Toronto’s world-renowned LGBTQ village as it gets ready to welcome the world to Toronto for WorldPride 2014.

Follow the Project on Twitter and like the Project Facebook page. Like GGN‘s WorldPride 2014 Facebook page here.

GGN homepage featured image: William Craddock – The Pin Button Project.

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WHAT’S WITH ALL THE CONSTRUCTION? GGN vlogger Vance Hedman‘s exclusive WorldPride 2014 video series continues, as he digs up the dirt with Church Wellesley BIA GM David Wooten about all the construction and projects underway as The Village prepares for WorldPride 2014:

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THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OUR WINNERS!

TANK YOU VERY MUCH :: It may be cold out but the look this season is a skimpy WorldPride 2014 tank. Last month TheGGN hit the beaches of Miami, the hills of Hollywood and the deserts of Palm Springs sharing the WorldPride Toronto 2014 love courtesy of Toronto Tourism.

Want to win one of these WorldPride 2014 tanks we shared with our sexy sisters down south? Tweet: “I love TheGayGuideNetwork.com’s new look! #WorldPride2014″ and we’ll do a random draw next week! For more pics, visit our WorldPride 2014 Facebook page!

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While some of the murals have already been completed, the Church Street Mural Project was officially launched at the Bank of Montreal at Church and Alexander streets on Saturday, Oct. 19 officially being dubbed the Church Street Mural Project. “This project began as a little idea when we were trying to figure out what we can do to create a legacy project for World Pride 2014,” said councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam at the launch. The murals are meant to represent the diversity of the population and will act as a way to represent Toronto to the world in June.

A total of 11 murals will grace buildings along Church Street, with some still in the works.

“We wanted to show the diversity of the (LGBT) community, so we got artists with a history in the community and they made submissions based on the stories they heard and their own experiences,” Ware said. The topics of the murals represent diversity but they also act as a commemoration of the 1981 bathhouse raids that sparked fury and protests. “One of the things we didn’t want was a bunch of montage murals,” Fowler said. “We wanted to show different parts of the community and we wanted artists working in different styles with diverse backgrounds.”

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With the Winter Olympics taking place in Sochi Russia it should be of no surprise that there has been some pressure surrounding gay rights with the creation of Russia’s Anti-Gay Propaganda law. Vladamir Putin has been trying to gain the support of conservative Russia with several initiatives that are meant to bring traditional values back to Russia and segregate them from the Western world.

So what exactly are these anti-gay propaganda laws? Essentially they state that it is not illegal to perform “gay acts” in public but it is illegal to promote homosexuality to the younger generation. Where does this leave gay couples with children? Russia has seemed to embrace these new laws with an 88% acceptance rate using general population polls. Where reality kicks in is when we see the real effects of this type of discrimination, youth assaulting homosexuals and publicly humiliating them, is this really the progress they were searching for? I say no.

How have other countries reacted? One reaction that I particularly enjoyed with this lead up and start of the Sochi Olympics was the reaction of USA president Barrack Obama. Not only is he absent from the games themselves, but guess who they choose to represent the USA, the flag bearers for the country, two homosexual athletes Billie Jean King and Caitlin Cahow.

How have advertisers reacted? At&t offered this statement.

“AT&T has a long and proud history of support for the LGBT community in the United States and everywhere around the world where we do business. We support LGBT equality globally and we condemn violence, discrimination and harassment targeted against LGBT individuals everywhere. Russia’s law is harmful to LGBT individuals and families, and it’s harmful to a diverse society.”

How about the athletes themselves? Some movements asked for athletes to boycott the games themselves but most athletes don’t see this as the way to go. Some have opted to show their support for Principle 6 of the olympic charter that states “Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement,” this pretty much speaks for itself.

How have Canadians reacted? The Canadian Institute of Diversity and Inclusion have released a funny commercial.

Amercian bobsleder released this statement in return. Christian Niccum, elaborated:
“They’re making fun of our sport for their cause and it doesn’t really make a lot of sense to me. If I were to go hug my dad and someone took a picture and showed it in really slow motion, they could use it in a video like that and that’s just ridiculous. It’s my dad. Can’t we show affection to each other without it being some sort of sexual contact? This is sports. It’s the same thing. Why does it have to be like that?”

How do you feel about all this?

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