Tossing anything is another thing under the gun, so to say. Parade participants haven't been able to toss anything from their floats for a few years now, but the rules go even further this year. It's outlined in the rules that 'No Tossing' of anything is allowed including: glitter,confetti or streamers-either by hand or by gun. Cleanup after the parade is enormous and the city has been cracking down and charging extra fees for cleaning. So there's no tossing of anything this year; nothing, zilch, nada! But don't worry, they'll still be passing out samples - it's just that they'll need to do it by hand and just one at a time.
There are also rules for parade participants, like no getting on/off a float once the parade starts, no nudity, no water guns, no animals, fireworks, firearms, helium baloons or barbecuring.....barbecuring on a Gay Pride Parade Float? Well obviously someone was doing it, that's why there's a rule against doing it.
So there's a lot of new rules, but that doesn't mean we still can't have a fun and exciting Pride Parade - it just means we need to be more careful about how we act - we don't want to end up like the recently cancelled Southside Irish Parade due to extremecrowds and poor behavior by spectators.
The Pride Guide has a great list of Ten Tips for Parade Spectators that you should take some time to read so you can enjoy the parade to it's fullest.
See you at the parade - and please have fun - but party responsibly!
