Calgary Pride Weekend

During the Calgary Pride weekend, people that I have known since my early 20s brought up memories on when – in the early 1990s – there was a Gay Pride rally in front of city hall, and then a march to the Bridgeland community centre for the dance. As I show my age, I would say, yup I was there for that. Back then, I had no idea what truly was going on. I was new to the gay community scene and disconnected from the issues that surrounded LGBTQ rights; without gay media websites and online social media. Mainstream media would either not talk about the LGBTQ community, or would only talk about AIDS/HIV, and reflect the community in a negative light. There was a local gay magazine back then, but if you were still closeted, it was not something you were wanting to pick up regularly. The only way you knew about what was going on for gay rights in Canada was mostly from talking to people in the know, or to friends that heard from someone who knew what was going on. Even finding out that there was a rally for Gay Pride in front of city hall was something I heard from a friend; there was no easy way to advertise it.

Now Pride is a huge event in Calgary, with events happening in lots of different venues, culminating with the street festival at Shaw Millennium Park. Politicians and major sponsors have become a big part of Pride. With accessible Internet – and the subsequent dawn of social media and gay media – we now have mainstream media throwing themselves all over things happening in the LGBTQ community, and we seem to run into a double edge sword. Has Pride become a big party; has it lost its political grass roots? It is something that has been discussed a lot over the past several years, but the topic is now gaining more attention.

With how diverse our community is, where is that happy medium between party verses politics?

Seeing the Dyke and Trans March walking with People of Colour conveyed that politics and rights issues are becoming more visible again. Their march was well attended; even though they are still pretty grass roots. They don’t have sponsors for the event so, the week before the march took place, Backwards was the host venue of their fundraiser, and the location of their after-party the night of their march. It reminded me of my first pride in front of City Hall and the walk to Bridgeland. If you feel that you don’t fit in during the major pride events, I recommend you checking out the Dyke and Trans March next year. Check out http://www.gaycalgary.com/a1230 for photos of the march.

On the party side of things, boy was there a lot going on. Luckily most of the events were in the downtown core. I tried to attend as many pride events per day as I could but, until Star Trek transporter technology becomes available, I couldn’t cover them all. Rob knows that during pride weekends, regardless which gay pride we are at, sleep pretty much happens on the first Monday after everything is done.

It was good to see that there was something for almost everyone in the community. Backwards attained a minors-allowed liquor license for their Pride Dinner and Drag Show, and it was awesome to see a birthday party for a queer youth there, with their friends and parents enjoying a drag show during pride. That was something that made my weekend, since it shows how far our community has come. Just think back to when you were 14 or 15; did your parents know you were part of the LGBTQ community? Were you out to your friends and their parents? Then, on top of that, have everyone celebrate your birthday during pride in a gay bar watching a drag show? I know, there would have been no way I could have done it when I was that age. There is still the extremely successful Homo Hop that happens every year during pride for queer youth, and this was something additional.

Pure Pride at Flames Central was sold out again. Simone Denny performing was the highlight of the event: the crowd sang along to most of her songs. Last time I saw her was at Pure Pride in Edmonton a couple years ago. She gave me goose bumps then, and she did it again in Calgary. Some of the songs that she sang were ones you would hear as you would be dancing at Boyztown Metro, or when you were watching the Queer as Folk on TV. It brought out the youth in a lot of us that night.

The Fellowship of the Alberta Bears packed Blind Monk on Saturday night. I was there for as long as I could be but, from other people that attended the event, I heard the bar was at capacity; a lot of people were hanging out front of the bar chatting with friends on the patio. It was already halfway full within an hour of starting, which shows that bears start to party as soon as the doors open, and they stay as late as they can.

The Calgary Pride Parade and Street Festival saw its highest attendance yet. Though the day started cold, at least there was no rain or snow, as there was last year. Check out http://www.gaycalgary.com/a1238 for coverage.

I covered the street festival for as long as I could, then went to Broken City for the Roof Top fundraiser. From there I popped down to the Texas Lounge for their drag show, which was also very busy. Then I was off to Backwards for their Pride Dinner and Drag show. I was only able to stay for their all ages show before heading off to the Backlot/Night Owl fundraiser for the HIV Community Link Positive Living Lunch Program. It was great to see the Backlot to Boyztown type of event happening again, so you can hop in between the bars. I then needed to make my way to Hot Mess at the Commonwealth. Hot Mess was sold out again, with a huge line up out front, so I knew that I needed to get in early or I might not be able to have enough space to take photos of groups of people. As always, the hottest guys of the night ended up at there. Check out all the events of the weekend at http://www.gaycalgary.com/a1214.

It is great when bars in Edmonton are doing events on the same weekend: makes it easier on the wallet for transportation and hotel stay. Friday night was JuJubee from RuPaul’s Drag Race at Mama’s Gin Joint. It was great to see some awesome talent perform during the night before JuJubee hit the stage. See the photos of the night at http://www.gaycalgary.com/a1242.

Evolution celebrated their 3rd Anniversary in September. It also started on Friday night, so it was my first stop after checking into the Coast Hotel. It was great to see Chi Chi Larue again, along with some hot male talent. Over the weekend I did video interviews with Chi Chi, plus Casey Everett, Seth Fornea, and Austin Wolf. Those will be posted over the next couple of months. Photos from that weekend are at http://www.gaycalgary.com/a1241.

Weather has constantly been a factor this year for most gay prides in Alberta. Medicine Hat Pride was not as warm as it usually was, and on the windy side. But that actually make it easier for people to enjoy themselves. In the past, there were years when mosquitoes were everywhere, and it was so hot that it made it hard to be outdoors for the afternoon. You were always covering up with sunscreen and mosquito repellent. They had a pretty good turnout and are planning changes for next year, like adding a beer garden, so people can party away during the day.

In the evening, they changed things up. The venue was the Medicine Hat Esplanade, which was a huge difference from having it at the Medicine Hat Legion. It brought a great new look and feel to the dance. There were some problems at the start of the night, where you couldn’t hear the vocals of the performers. You saw some frustration that the performers were having, but most could work around it. It was corrected once the sound tech came back to the venue and unlocked the soundboard. Sometimes, as non-profit groups make big changes to their events, problems do pop up, but those were small issues and I hope that they will be able to use the same venue next year. Check out the photos of the event at http://www.gaycalgary.com/a1244.

A couple weeks after pride Backwards found out, from the city, that the signage that the building has had for over 20 years has no paperwork. So Backwards was required to remove the sign, which created confusion for people, thinking they had closed their doors. The basement of the establishment still under development, and will eventually be the Backwards Nightclub part of the business, while the main level with the restaurant and stage was going to be rebranded. So, in the end, the city just helped pushing forward the rebranding of the main level to Six 2 Eight Stage and Lounge, while the applications for signage for Backwards Nightclub goes through the process for approval.