A rainbow of colourful costumes and floats flooded Rene-Levesque Blvd. Sunday as 200,000 people attend the Pride parade, celebrating LGBTA communities.
The gay pride festivities began at 1 p.m. at Guy St. and Rene-Levesque and headed east to Sanguinet St. The party's doubled in size this year, stretching 2.35 kilometres.
The family-friendly downtown parade set out to show the gay community exists throughout the city.
"We can we do better than come downtown and show the whole city and the whole province that we're here, and there are gays outside of the Village," said Pride vice-president Jean Sebastien Boudreault.
The parade provides a chance for people of all sexual orientations to feel accepted.
"All my life, people have been telling me being gay is not normal...and for once in my life, people are accepting me and loving me for who I am. I feel very special," said one festive paragoer donning a pair of white wings.
The parade ended at Place Emilie Gamelin, for a large outdoor dance party.
With a theme of "our superheroes," the event was designed to unite and celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and allied communities.
The superhero theme brought out a variety of eclectic costumes.
"My corset is made of rainbow-coloured licorice, my wings are made of skittles, and my shoes are made from other licorice... (It shows) that gays can be sweet!" said another party-goer.
Last year, a record 209,000 people took part in the parade. A recent study showed more heterosexuals than homosexuals participated in the family-friendly event.
