‘Busiest weekend of the summer’ arrives

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to celebrate in the West End streets during what police call “the busiest weekend of the summer.”

With tonight’s fireworks grand finale and Vancouver’s Pride festival on in full force, hoards of excited revellers are expected to flock to the neighbourhood to join the festivities.

“You have a few hundred thousand people on Saturday night for the fireworks,” said Vancouver police Const. Lindsey Houghton. “Not much more than 12 hours later, you have half a million people to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Pride parade.”

Hours of setup are required for the Davie Street Dance Party, the wild party that kicks off the weekend Friday, said Sharon Nelson of the Vancouver Pride Society.

Extra police officers will be out to deal with the influx of people.

Streets in the West End will be closed today at 7:30 p.m. for the fireworks. Closures for Sunday’s parade begin at 8 a.m. and end at 3 p.m.

Source: Vancouver Sun