Sometimes what stands in the way of getting a table is money. That's too expensive for many, but there are bursaries available to those who can't afford a table. Two of five bursaries have gone to Front Runners, a running group, and Q-Age, a spiritual group. And noisy is what Pride means to many Torontonians. But it's the horn honking and rowdy behaviour, not noise from the beer gardens and entertainment stages, that most people complain about.
People associate that with the event.
Her office didn't get many calls about the parade weekend itself last year, says Chris Phibbs, assistant to Downtown City Councillor Kyle Rae. The biggest complaint we received last year was about a float parked outside City Park co-op building with drums on it. Perhaps residents who don't like noise leave town for the well-publicized Sun, Jun 27 Pride weekend. It was shut down, even though the music was cranked in the early evening, and not late at night. Phibbs says the cell phone number for the one noise control officer on duty during the festivities is distributed to residents in the Church and Wellesley area.