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F or gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and their supporters, June is a month of pride and celebration, and the high point of that month is the Pride parade.

I went to my first Pride parade when I was still in high school. It was in Toronto, in the late 1980s. These days, Toronto’s Pride celebration is one of the biggest in the world, but back then it was much smaller. It felt huge to me though! I was enthralled by the beautifully decorated floats, the extravagant costumes and the music, and I was blown away by the sight of thousands of people dancing in the streets. I felt as if I had entered a magical world—one in which everyone could truly be themselves.

I began attending Pride as a teenager because I had gay friends and I wanted to support them. A few years later,

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A group of people in New York City show their support for Pride. isogood/iStock.com

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8 Robin Stevenson

I came out as a lesbian and went right on attending Pride events as a proud member of the queer community. More than twenty years later, it is still a day I look forward to every year.

Now when I go to Pride celebrations, it is in Victoria, British Columbia, with my partner and our eleven-year-old son. He was only a month old at his first Pride Day, and he hasn’t missed a year since. His favorite part when he was small? Balloons, ice cream and an excuse to dress up!

Pride Day is a spectacular and colorful event. But there is a whole lot more to Pride than rainbow flags and amazing outfits. So what exactly are we celebrating on Pride Day? How did this event come to be? And what does Pride mean to the people who celebrate it? Keep reading to find out!

Sometimes my family marches in the Pride parade and other years we watch from the sidelines.

In this photo, my son, my partner and I are sitting in front of the British Columbia Legislature and

waiting for the parade to go by. Robin Stevenson

A small child watches the Pride parade in Victoria, BC. Tony Sprackett