Pussy Riot to lead Toronto Pride Parade for 2015

Pussy Riot will lead this year's Pride Parade. The Russian feminist art collective made famous when its members were incarcerated in the wake of an anti-Putin performance will act as grand marshals for the main parade, which takes place June 28.

It's not yet clear whether the group will perform, but Nadezhda (Nadia) Tolokonnikova and Maria (Masha) Alyokhina will take the stage as Yonge-Dundas Square in some capacity as part of the celebrations. In fact, Yonge-Dundas is set to act as a new hub for a whole host of pride events, including concerts after both the Trans and Dyke marches.

If anyone thought that the year following World Pride would be a let down, organizers have done their best to defy that expectation with a host of other big names participating in the parade and the week of events leading up to it. Also on hand will be filmmaker John Waters, '80s pop icon Cyndi Lauper, and musician Chaz Bono.

In addition to Pussy Riot and Cyndi Lauper, other grand marshals for this year include Bollywood star and United Nations champion Celina Jaitly, David Furnish, and the parade's first youth ambassador in 14 year old social media star Brendan Jordan.

Photo by Greg Chow on Flickr

by Derek Flack via blogTO