When the Rainbows Gathered.
On the 1st of August 1971, two significant occasions landed on the same day. Swiss people were celebrating their national holiday, which in those days was typically crowned by a pastor's address.
The male celebrants were well aware that since February 1971, women in Switzerland had finally been granted the right to vote. On that very same day, a Gay Day Picnic took place at Hanlan’s Point — Canada’s first 2SLGBTQI+ Pride gathering. For 55 years now, the queer liberation movement has been flowering in Canada. The fight for the protection of human rights, employment, housing, and healthcare gained momentum. The newly enfranchised Swiss women had a similar experience: they too gained momentum, moving into leading positions in politics and business.
Almost a hundred years ago, the queer community discovered and made its own a stretch of shoreline on Toronto Island called Hanlan’s Point. In the seclusion just beyond Toronto’s doorstep, gay men and lesbians found breathing room from the persecution and bigotry of mainstream society. At the time, homosexuality and queer ways of living were illegal. The short crossing over the water allowed police harassment and institutional prejudice to recede, at least for a while.
It did not take long before the cottages along the shore became the summer homes and seasonal rentals of gay men — much as Fire Island and Provincetown had become elsewhere. Most of Toronto’s population did not fully grasp what the gathering place at Hanlan’s Point meant. But politicians and other decision-makers called it the meeting point of the undesirable and the sinful. For those who belonged there, the island was a vital oasis in an ocean of hatred, and it came to be known with affection as “The Rose Beach.”
In the 1950s, the cottages were torn down, and in the 1960s many of the trees on the grounds were removed — all to make the oasis unwelcoming. The queer community came back to that one safe place, all the same.
Today, the 13th of June 2026, the heart of Newmarket is dressed in rainbow colours. At four o’clock, the Pride Parade will move through Main Street and — as it does every year — spread pure joy in living.
Homo Sapiens is thoroughly glad that the free and open society is so protected and celebrated.
In Switzerland and in Canada
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