July 2004 - The neighborhood I'm living in is called Davie Village. It is the edge of the "gayest" part of Vancouver -- as you head west from my place, the population changes from an ordinary "slice of life" to a "walk on the wild side", and the gender from a mix, to mostly men. This wasn't a surprise to me, and I'm thoroughly comfortable here -- but it is different from anywhere I've lived for any length of time.

Being here since April (tomorrow's August 1), I feel a certain connectedness with the rest of the neighborhood, and as the time for Vancouver's Gay Pride grows closer, I could see the excitement building -- and decided that I would be an active part of it. No, I'm not headed for the Naked Pride dance (I'm just not that buff) nor even the ball (my evil stepmother won't let me) -- but there are tons of events and I've been to several: all good fun.

• Queer Acoustic was a series of free concerts held at the end of my street (about a 10 minute walk). They had the feel of our "home" Lowell Summer Music series but without nearly the crowd -- and the assembled crowd was a lot more diverse than Lowell gets. Taking place from 7:00 to 8:30 with the sun setting now around 9:15, toward the end the crowd was bathed in that wonderful warm sun-setting glow.
• Had good intentions to make it to a play across town, but was running a bit late and bumped into my [now ex-]classmate Ian and his partner at a bar en route; passed the time with a couple of pints.
• Mid-week brought the first of four fireworks competitions at nearby English Bay; tonight's the 2nd round and I'm writing this while waiting for the time to get a bit closer so I can join the huddled masses (an estimated 250,000 showed for the first evening; I was safely parked on the penthouse level of the apartment complex, taking pictures and drinking gin). [this isn't a Pride-associated event -- but its all happening here in the West End]

Tomorrow brings the Pride Parade and concomitant crowds. I love crowds (as long as they're not stealing my wallet) and if it gets too thick I can always retreat back to my apartment for a while. The parade starts at noon, a friend is coming over just then and we'll walk to a convenient spot. Some sort of beach party follows, and a block party after that. Should be a long... interesting, day.