How to run a neighbourhood Pride parade: Tips from Taylor Massey
THE GREEN LINE
ORIGINAL STORY
How to RUN A NEIGHBOURHOOD PRIDE PARADE: TIPS FROM TAYLOR MASSEY
The Green Line team attended the East End Kids Pride parade at Dentonia Park on June 1, to learn how the grassroots organization, in partnership with East End Arts, is helping bring more queer festivities to Toronto’s east end.
Hazel Hein-McLeod, nine-year-old creator of East End Kids Pride, stands at 450 Broadview Ave. with a butterfly prop made by kids for the parade.
: Amanda Seraphina/The Green Line.
Amanda Seraphina James Rajakumar
Indian immigrant with a post-grad in journalism from Centennial College. Now living in Grange Park, meeting new people, and hearing different stories. Has four names, so it’s a pick-your-player situation.
June 13, 2025
Tips TO START A LOCAL PRIDE PARADE:
- Gather neighbours of all ages to brainstorm a theme for the parade three months in advance.
- Partner with local arts organizations or community centres three months ahead of the parade to provide resources for the day, including tents, props, snacks, etc.
- Similarly, three months in advance, contact face painters, ice cream trucks and performers to work at the parade.
- Two months prior, reach out to queer artists, or set up an online application for artists to showcase their artwork at the parade.
- In the month leading up to the parade, host art workshops for families at an accessible location.
- Use the workshops to build props and signs for the parade.
We all know Church and Wellesley is known for its Pride celebrations, but what about queer folks living outside of the downtown core?
In Taylor Massey, one group of residents came together to host a first-of-its-kind Pride parade for east enders, by east enders.
Map of Pride events across Toronto in 2025, according to the Pride Toronto website.
: Paul Zwambag for The Green Line.
Downtown Toronto is painted rainbow for the month of June, with drag shows, street fairs and the big Pride Parade held at the end of the month. But further east, the number of colourful events start to dwindle, especially in diverse neighbourhoods like Taylor Massey, where immigrants make up over 53 per cent of the population.
While Church and Wellesley has over 10 events throughout June, diverse east end neighbourhoods like Taylor Massey, Oakridge and Dorset Park only host one or two events each.
Ayat Salih, a Scarborough resident, sets up her art stall at the East End Kids Pride parade at Dentonia Park on June 1.
: Joe Lotocki for The Green Line.
“Queer people are everywhere. They're also in the east end, they're also in diverse neighbourhoods, they're also in immigrant neighbourhoods, and to pretend otherwise is just lying or a type of erasure," says Scarborough resident Ayat Salih.
"I'm really happy that an event like this is giving us more exposure to queerness.”
Hazel Hein-McLeod (left), creator of East End Kids Pride, and her mom Jessica Hein (right), co-organizer of East End Kids Pride, stand together at 450 Broadview Ave.
: Amanda Seraphina/The Green Line.
In 2023, Hazel Hein-McLeod, the then seven-year-old creator of East End Kids Pride, wanted to celebrate her queer friends in Taylor Massey. But given the neighbourhood’s lack of events, Hein-McLeod’s family and friends, along with local residents, decided to launch East End Kids Pride.
That year, 300 people attended the parade, followed by 500 people in 2024.
“It's made me feel comfortable to be alright that I am a kid [from a rainbow family], and that it's alright to be different,” Hazel says.
Jessica Hein, co-organizer of East End Kids Pride and Hazel’s mom, says hosting a parade at the local Dentonia Park helps introduce newcomers to Pride in a celebratory way.
“Creating East End Kids Pride gave space for the queer community, for trans people, non-binary people, rainbow kids, rainbow families to gather and be seen — to have visibility," she explains.
"I think one aspect of that is [to support] kids who are not out yet, and perhaps don't have families who are supportive of the queer community.”
Families gathered inside St. Matthew’s Clubhouse at 450 Broadview Ave. on May 3, 2025 to participate in a mixed-media t-shirt-making workshop.
: East End Kids Pride.
This year, East End Kids Pride festivities kicked off with art workshops throughout May at St. Matthew’s Clubhouse, followed by an expanded Pride parade at Dentonia Park on June 1, which 550 people attended.
In partnership with East End Arts, East End Kids Pride will also be hosting its first exhibition of artwork made by families during the May workshops. The exhibition will run from June 18 to 22 at St. Matthew’s Clubhouse on Broadview Avenue.
Eileen Arandiga, executive director of East End Arts, says that even though Pride’s main events lost funding this year, grassroots organizations like East End Kids Pride are building up and gaining traction.
“It's great to see the east end of the city being activated, the park being activated. I think that it shows that the event is growing,” she says.
East End Kids Pride is sharing its model with hyperlocal groups across the city to help set up pride events in more neighbourhoods outside the downtown core.
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