9 HELPFUL MUST DOS TO GET YOU READY FOR PRIDE 2018 by liz bertorelli

Summer is fast approaching...at least that's what we keep telling ourselves, which means our favorite time of the year is near. Whether it's your first and tenth time attending PrideTO or really, any Pride at all, we have complied a list of 10 must dos to get you ready for Pride 2018.

1. Transportation: Car pooling with friends is always a great idea if you want to be environmentally friendly and save money on gas. Plus, it’s a lot of fun. If you do drive, make sure that the hotel you are staying at offers parking because that will be a challenge in itself. Parking spots in Toronto are hard to find and can become costly especially if you're going for the whole week. If you want to avoid having a car all together, you can hop on the train or bus. The sooner you can plan and book your transportation, the sooner you can start getting excited.

2. Book your stay: If you plan on sleeping after a long day of walking, mingling, drinking and dancing at festivities, all you need is a place to catch some ZzZs. It doesn’t have to be pretty since you’ll most likely not be there for long anyway...unless you’re throwing a sweet Pride after party (in that case let us know, ha!). Book your hotel or Airbnb as early as possible, Toronto Pride is one of the biggest pride festivals in North America and has seen up to one million people attend.

3. Show your pride: We're biased but you should probably get all decked out in Passionfruit apparel for Pride (and all year round) #plug. Support a small queer-owned business while saving money and time in line at the actual Pride events? Sounds like a win-win to us. But seriously, this is the best time of year to show off how proud you are to be yourself.

4. Cash flow: Having cash on hand is beneficial especially if you plan on buying souvenirs at street fairs or drinking it away at the beer gardens during the day. ATMs are a pain because if you do find one, there’s almost always a huge lineup. Cash is also easier to help budget your Pride experience a bit better too.

5. Bring a camera: iPhones have become an extension of our arms so be sure to put them to use and capture your Pride experience. One year, we brought a GoPro along for the trip and let me tell you, going through the footage every morning was worth carrying around a tiny little durable camera. Bring some sort of camera, and tag us in your Pride adventures @shop_passionfruit #yesanotherplug

6. Event tickets: If you plan on going to one of the Pride hosted events it’s always a good idea to stop procrastinating and get your tickets before hand. Tickets sell out pretty quickly and prices will go up at the door. If your plans change while you're at Pride, you can always sell off the event tickets for a bit more cash too.

7. Pack a bag: Packing a small day bag is always a great idea because it’s easy to spend all day and night out and about. Share a small backpack with a friend or take your own but just remember to fill it with the important things like: camera, phone charger sunscreen, water, munchies and money.

8. Bring a pride flag: Nothing says "we're on our way to Pride" more than a flag hanging out your car window or out of your backpack. It will come in handy all week long whether you want to wave it at the parade, dance around with it at parties or wrap it around you on walks through the street fairs. Bring one and show off those rainbow colours with pride.

9. Bring re-useable water bottles: Sure, there's TONS of vendors that will sell you water bottles for $2 a pop but let's all do the Earth a favour and bring our own, okay? We would be lying if we said we weren't judging you for not owning one already BUT incase you don't, please check out a list of some of the best re-usable water bottles out there, here.

Did we miss anything? Is this your first year attending Pride? What are you most excited about? What city are you attending Pride in? Let us know all of the things in the comments below.