WorldPride 2014 is excited to welcome Deborah Cox, Martha Wash and DJ’s David Morales and Quentin Harris as the first in a list of premiere international artists to perform at the world’s largest global LGBTQ celebration taking place in Toronto this summer.
Running from June 20 to 29, 2014, the festival will feature partnerships with major cultural institutions that have come together to support WorldPride 2014 with extraordinary programming during the festival, including TIFF, Inside Out (presenter of the annual Toronto LGBTQ Film Festival), TD Toronto Jazz Festival, Art Gallery of Ontario, Ryerson Image Centre, OCAD University, the Gardiner Museum and Buddies In Bad Times Theatre.
“With hundreds of artists performing unprecedented artistic partnerships taking place over 10 full days, the WorldPride 2014 arts and culture festival will be three times larger than the traditional Pride Toronto festival,” says Kevin Beaulieu, Executive Director, Pride Toronto. “Deborah Cox is an international celebrity and hometown favourite, who has supported Toronto throughout its bid for WorldPride 2014, and with the support, we have received from Toronto’s cultural institutions, it means our pride will be everywhere across the city.”
The Official WorldPride 2014 Toronto Opening Ceremony will feature Deborah Cox, in a co-production with the TD Toronto Jazz Festival, bringing its 27 years of artistic arrangement together with WorldPride 2014, producing the most fabulous kickoff of Pride Canada has ever seen. Deborah Cox will also perform a full concert experience at TD Wellesley Stage.
Martha Wash, “The Original Weather Girl,” whose voice will rain down timeless pop and dance classics such as “It’s Raining Men” will perform at the OLG Central Stage, where attendees will also find crowd-stopping International DJ’s David Morales and Quentin Harris.
Inside Out and TIFF will join forces to co-present a multi-day film series during WorldPride 2014 that will feature screenings, artist talks, and installations highlighting the creative vision, diversity, and talent of Canadian and international LGBTQ film and filmmakers events centred in the Toronto Entertainment District. Buddies In Bad Times Theatre the world’s largest and longest-running LGBTQ theatre company will feature a play for WorldPride called “The Lady Hamlet”, written by Sarah Schulman.
WorldPride 2014 will also be host to two photography exhibitions; one in partnership with the Art Gallery of Ontario called “Fan the Flames — Queer Positions in Photography”, and the other in partnership with the Ryerson Image Centre called “What it Means to be Seen: Photography and Queer Visibility”.
The Gardiner Museum celebrates its 30th Anniversary with Camp Fires: The Queer Baroque of Leopold Foulem, Paul Mathieu and Richard Milette. The OCAD University also presents Generations of Queer: Robert Flack, John Greyson, Elisha Lim, and Kiley May, an exhibition centred on storytelling, creating dialogue and queer discourse.
WorldPride 2014 organizers are very excited to bring 10 full days of spectacular programming to Toronto; great artists, music and exhibits of varying styles and dimensions. The arts and culture festival will have something for everyone, starting with a spectacular opening ceremony supported by TD Toronto Jazz Festival and the City of Toronto, and will continue with music and artistry over 10 entertainment-packed days.
To find out more, visit www.worldpridetoronto.com
