THE HILL: The Secret Edge of Downtown
…Roedy Green, leader of the Vancouver chapter of Gay Alliance Towards Equality. The Naive Homosexual was an unofficial handbook to assist gay men struggling with questions about being gay. This…
Searching ECAMP
History of Edmonton’s Gay Bars, Part 1: The Beginning
…with gay men shortly after opening each day. In the evenings, the back section of the Mayfair Hotel tavern was a haven for members of the gay and lesbian community,…
Queers on Campus
…Gateway supplement which included articles on queer Christianity, being gay and Asian, and how to be a straight ally to LGBT people, among other topics. The following year, GALOC launched Gay and Lesbian…
The Pisces Bathhouse Raid: Igniting Four Decades of Activism
…but several small events grouped together to honour the theme “Gay Pride Through Unity” attracted 250 people. These events grew into Gay and Lesbian Awareness Week around 1984. It would…
After the Pisces Bathhouse Raid: Michael Phair – LGBTQ2S+ Activist and Community Leader
…Klein realized his battle against gay rights was pointless and backed down, allowing gay rights to be “read in” to the law of Alberta. Michael returned to his office in…
The Imperial Sovereign Court of the Wild Rose, Part 1: The First Twenty-Five Years
…more. The Edmonton Pride Festival started out as Gay Pride ’83 and was mostly small gatherings put on by the Gay and Lesbian Awareness (GALA) organization. These events gradually expanded,…
History of Edmonton’s Gay Bars, Part 4: The Expanding Scene
…the gay community. Under the leadership of the family matriarch, Club Soda made its entry onto the scene for a brief period around 1986. The venue altered between gay and straight audiences…
After the Pisces Bathhouse Raid: Millie – I’m Number One
Paul Chisholm’s first contact with another gay man occurred as he hitchhiked out of Saskatchewan in the late 1960s. Legend tells us that his story began near Lac La Biche…
10024-102 Street: Rony’s / Dapple Gray Cafe / Appleby / Cheddars / Cafe Elite
…in some after-hours socializing or illicit gay cruising, a constantly-evolving restaurant location played a central, and sometimes dramatic, role in downtown Edmonton life. Gay restauranteur Rod Smith opened the Dapple…
History of Edmonton’s Gay Bars, Part 3: The Long-Running
…they also catered to the gay and lesbian crowd. Seeing an opportunity for a new gay bar, Jim Brown began renovating the second floor into a licensed space. On June…
After the Pisces Bathhouse Raid: Dr. Henri Toupin – Dignity in the Eye of the Storm
…home on Saskatchewan Drive overlooking Hawrelak Park. Name plate for Dr. H.M. Toupin. Image courtesy of Darrin Hagen. Dr. Toupin was also gay. He engaged with the gay community but,…
History of Edmonton’s Gay Bars, Part 5: Into Today
…at 10155 – 112 Street. Outlasting the first attempt at a gay bar on Whyte Avenue (Club Aquarius), Chicago opened its doors at 10838 – 82 Avenue. Featuring a wide range of…