parade

A Sea of Orange

Earlier this week was Orange Shirt Day which is a very visible part of Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. In a city whose past and present is heavily comprised of First Nations people, it’s a big occasion and that was shown most visibly with a procession throughout the city’s downtown.
Organized by the Wa Say Healing Centre this year was the 4th annual march, and coincidentally the first year the day is a statutory holiday in the province of Manitoba (it’s been a federal holiday since its inception in 2020).

I’ve gone out to photograph this event every year. For me, I experience things more deeply when I engage my passion for photography and tell stories with my cameras. We all have our own ways of paying respects to a day like September 30 — this is what I feel is my best way.

A boy waves a huge flag reading Every Child Matters at Winnipeg’s famous Portage & Main intersection while awaiting the start of the 4th annual Healing Walk, September 30th.

A woman quietly sings and plays a drum as thousands of people walk by on Portage Avenue during a Healing Walk on Orange Shirt Day.

Purple and orange at Portage and Main, during the 4th annual Healing Walk on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Winnipeg.

A couple greets with smiles and waves amid a sea of orange shirts at Portage & Main, with the future Metis Centre in the background.

Thunder the horse, led by Cora Morgan, attracts a shy smile from a girl walking alongside, Monday afternoon during the 4th annual Wa Say Healing Walk in downtown Winnipeg.

A small goat joins Thunder the horse on a procession on Portage Avenue, Monday afternoon. A crowd of thousands made their way from the historic Forks Market through the downtown to a powwow to mark Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Pride Parade: 2024

This weekend saw the big event for Pride Month in the city - the Pride Parade, winding from the Legislative Building through downtown to the Forks.
It was a fun mix of my former genre of daily newspaper photography, street photography and impromptu portraiture. Anytime plenty of people gather, especially for a positive purpose, it’s a great place for photography.

One of the many corporate participants unfurls a large Pride flag while queueing for the start of the 2024 Winnipeg Pride Parade.

pair of women write colourful slogans on a white vehicle  saying Pride is for everyone
A pair of friends watch a large crowd of people from a parkade above the street

A group of spectators watch the parade unfold along Memorial Boulevard from the parkade of the former Bay building.

A different view of spectators in the former Bay building parkade watching the Pride Parade unfold on the street below them.

A child wearing a Pride necklace waves support for the procession in front of him on Memorial Boulevard.

One of the many revellers makes their way along a crowded Memorial Boulevard.

Few places are as rich and interesting for classic street photography as a parade. The art, expression and spirit of a Pride parade make it even more productive for the ‘flaneur’ approach to photography.

Motorcycles, and a casual-attire Spiderman, are seen at the head of the 2024 Pride parade.

Where it starts each year - people waiting to take part gather in Memorial Park, across from the Manitoba Legislature. This ‘bardo’ state, of in-between or waiting for what comes next, is always one of the most interesting places to look at as a photographer, in my experience.