The balls create a canopy over a pedestrianized street in the city?s Gay Village For the past six summers, pink balls have been strung up like strands of pearls over a segment of Montreal?s Sainte Catherine Street East, home to the city?s Gay Village. The street is closed to cars from May to September and the space is used to host outdoor cafes and concerts. This year, as the Gay Village planned its 35th anniversary celebration, and the city geared up to host its first-ever Pride festival (which kicked off earlier this month), it made sense to turn the balls technicolor.
The Walk of Colors?nicknamed ?18 shades of gay? by the community?was installed in May using 180,000 balls divided into 18 different shades to create a rainbow. The 3,400 strands alternate colors to transition from one shade to another, creating a gradient effect that stretches a little over one kilometer in length (about 14 blocks).
Raphael Thibodeau

Landscape architect Yannick Roberge, who has worked with Claude Cormier + Associates to bring the installation to life since 2012, knew that the balls had become a tradition for the neighborhood, and didn?t want to change the concept too much. ?It brings the notion of seasonality and ritual, which is very important for a community,? says Roberge. ?It is like a crabapple tree that blossoms to start spring.?
His idea to reference the shades of the gay pride flag was an easy decision, and one that?s aesthetically reinforced by the hundr...