But I Digress...

...which is something I rarely do. Broad wink.

I know, I know. Suddenly there is a veritable avalanche of blog updates, but this one is kind of timely.

WARNING: Some opinions expressed in this post may not align with your personal philisophy.

It is Pride Week in Edmonton through til June 21. There are events planned all over the city, including Pride Awards, a film festival and a Seniors' Strawberry Tea. And, of course, what Pride Week would be complete without a parade?

Especially a parade led by a giant puppet? The theme of this year's parade was "The Age of Aqueerius" and the puppet, designed by Brendan Boyd and built by members of the Odd-Lot Theatre Company reflected the acquatic nature of the Zodiac sign...

...complete with little fishies!

Whoops! There they are again!

The parade marched through the streets of Edmonton, and while it may not rival the spectacle or Toronto's Pride Parade, it was marvelous to see the rather conservative population of Alberta's capital come out (so to speak) and support their gay/lesbian/bi/TG brothers and sisters. As you can see from the photos, there were a few folks there.

This makes me happy. I have watched the hurt inflicted by ignorance and closed-mindedness upon people who have no choice but to live their lives the way they were meant to live. I have seen families torn apart because a child's sexual orientation flies in the face of the religious beliefs or the expectations of the parents. I have watched young boys taunted with chants of "gay" for not playing hockey, girls called "dykes" because they would rather read a book than make out with the popular boys. I watch in horror as another "pro-family"group denies loving couples the privilege of cementing their relationships with vows and a public celebration of their love. Gay couples are families, too.

I know homosexuality is a hot-button topic, and each person is entitled to his or her own thoughts on the subject. But please remember that just because someone lives a life different from the one you understand, it does not make one of you right and the other wrong. Open dialogue, a meeting in the middle, will go a long way toward making this world a better place for gay and straight

Not everyone involved in the puppet project was gay/lesbian/bi/transgendered, but everyone believes in equality and pride...

...and that fills me with pride.

Way to go Odd-Lot!

(BTW, these photos were hijacked from Jackie Healy's Facebook. Thanks, Jackie!)

We now return you to your regularly scheduled fibre blog.