20 Years of L&G Pride

Saturday, June 24, 1989
The Concert Hall

The GCDC funded a variety of LGBTQ2+ community organisations and events during the 1980s. For many groups, money raised from participating in GCDC events was their main source of funding. 

“The money often went to groups or activities that would otherwise have had no funding at all.”

– Ron Merko, GCDC DJ and Organiser

By 1989, many participating groups had raised well over $10,000 through their participation in the GCDC. According to a document compiled after the GCDC’s dance “Vive La Similarite” on June 25, 1988 (no poster available), Canadian Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario (CLGRO) had earned $11,054 to date; Lesbian and Gay Youth Toronto (LGYT) earned $15,790; Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto earned $19,811; the Toronto Historical Bowling Society (THBS) earned $11,724, and the Tri-Aid Charitable Foundation, a social-service organization that primarily focused on the needs of gay youth, raised $15,476. Toronto Area Gays (TAG), which had been part of the GCDC since its beginning, raised the most funds through dances; by 1989, they had earned $21,491.