This article was published on August 8th, 2012

Vancouver Pride weekend officially kicked off on Friday, August 3, 2012 with the largest block party in downtown Vancouver – the Barefoot Davie Street Dance Party. While the event got off to an unusually slow start, by the time sunset came, the massive block party was just heating up.

The Davie Street Party had a new format for 2012. No longer were there two main entrances, but just one at the corner of Davie and Broughton, which added to the confusion of how to get into the gated street party. Additionally, new for 2012 were advance tickets, as opposed to the previous years Fast Track and General Admission passes. While the new ticketing and entry system had it’s challenges, organizers tried their best to keep things orderly.

The entertainment was spread out over multiple blocks. The cash-only event had beer, wine and cooler tickets available in each zone for the designated drinking areas. Police and security were on-duty to ensure liquor did not leave the gated areas.

As with previous years, the stages has live performances and featured local DJ’s and artists. Many event goers celebrated the kick-off weekend with colourful costumes, hip summer fashions and leather fetish gear.