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The dope on Divers/Cité More than 500,000 people packed the streets for this year's Divers/Cité celebration, matching last year's numbers. Organizers are calling it "a massive success." Notably, this year's event included a record number of corporate floats, something that got mixed reviews from some who see the parade as becoming too commercial. Coca-Cola, Diesel and Molson Hi-Dry were all represented, and even Alliance Atlantis film distributors got into the act with a float for their movie Beefcake. Awards went to Sisters, Project 10 and Priape for their floats. Given street beer sales that the non-profit organizers conducted this year, Divers/Cité ringmaster Suzanne Girard says she hopes the event will actually manage to break even (figures won't be available till the end of the week). The Reverend Fred Phelps, interviewed last week in the Mirror, was a no-show at the parade. Some of his family, however, did appear on Monday, August 2 at Dominion Square for a brief protest stopover. Approximately 40 counterprotestors jeered the Phelps clan, and two of the anti-Phelps crew were arrested after scuffling with them. The Phelps bunch had travelled from Ottawa where they burned the Canadian flag on the steps of the Supreme Court. --Matthew Hays |