Calgary Gay History

Kootenay Gay History Project

Posted on April 9, 2026 by Kevin Allen | 2 comments

Readers of the Calgary Gay History Project might be interested to know that Kevin Allen has launched a new research initiative: the Kootenay Gay History Project, which explores queer history in rural South-Eastern British Columbia. The goal is practical: to preserve local history and make it available through a website, archival and display materials, and eventually, a book.

The project, commissioned by the Fernie Pride Society, is collecting stories, records, and local research about 2SLGBTQ+ people in communities across the region. Rural queer history sometimes stumps historians; it is more hidden and less networked than urban queer history, but Kevin relishes the challenge and has a local connection.

For 20 years, Kevin has had two homes, one in Calgary and one in Fernie {because he married an East Kootenay guy}! He says that starting the Kootenay queer history initiative has been an intriguing counterfoil to the Calgary project. In fact, many Rocky Mountain queers decamped for the cities of Calgary and Vancouver to seek a larger gay community, only to return to their hometowns in later life. Consequently, the two History Projects inform each other and highlight how queer mobility affected rural activism.

And Calgarians went to the Rockies, too! Perhaps you participated in the annual Fruit Float weekend down the Slocan River in the 80s. Or did you attend the Nelson-based lesbian performance festival Sappho Sez in the 90s? Do you have a queer Kootenay connection you’d like to share? Email us at kootenaygayhistory@gmail.com or see our Instagram page @kootenaygayhistory.

During a West Kootenay research trip, we were given a direct-action sticker from the early 70s by Michael Wicks, founder of the Nelson Queer Archive. The sticker was produced by the Canadian Gay Activists Alliance (Vancouver), one of Canada’s earliest Gay Liberation organizations.

*Original Direct Action Sticker from the early 1970s*

Michael said the stickers were put on telephone poles for fun and consciousness-raising on Davie Street in Vancouver. Another version had: “SMILE if you’re GAY” with the same Cheshire Cat. Well, we’re stuck on history.

Happy Spring!🌞

{KA}

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Posted in Gay history

Tagged bisexual, Calgary, Canadian Gay Activists Alliance, Fernie Pride, Fruit Float, gay, Gay history, Kevin Allen, Kootenay Gay History Project, lesbian, Michael Wicks, Nelson, Nelson Queer Archive, queer, Sappho Sez, transgender, Vancouver

Ride, Risk, and Revelation: Jaripeo @ CUFF 2026

Posted on April 2, 2026 by Kevin Allen | Leave a comment

This spring, the Calgary Underground Film Festival returns to Calgary from April 16–26, 2026, bringing some of the most daring and unforgettable independent cinema to the big screen. The Calgary Gay History Project is proud to sponsor one of its standout selections: Jaripeo in its Canadian Premiere on Sunday, April 26, 2026, at 3:30 PM at the Globe Cinema.

Set against the electrifying backdrop of traditional Mexican rodeos, Jaripeo pulls viewers into a world of adrenaline, spectacle, and raw physicality. But this is no ordinary documentary. Beneath the dust and danger lies a powerful, deeply human story about identity, vulnerability, and the hidden complexities of masculinity. Directed by Efraín Mojica and Rebecca Zweig, the film offers a rare and intimate glimpse into lives that challenge expectations. In a setting often defined by toughness and bravado, Jaripeo uncovers moments of tenderness, longing, and quiet resistance.

“Dreamlike and frank, Efraín Mojica and Rebecca Zweig’s JARIPEO is a clear-eyed survey of the queer culture that exists within Michoacán’s hypermasculine rodeos.” —RogerEbert.com

What makes Jaripeo so exciting is its ability to reveal queerness in a place many wouldn’t think to look. It expands the boundaries of queer storytelling, reminding us that 2SLGBTQ+ experiences exist everywhere—including in traditions often seen as rigid or exclusionary.

Expand your understanding of where queer histories live. Join us at CUFF and experience Jaripeo on the big screen!

{KA}

Mapping History Exhibition Launch

Posted on March 27, 2026 by Kevin Allen | 2 comments

The launch of Mapping History: The Calgary Atlas Project at Lougheed House is more than a conventional exhibition opening; it is a layered reimagining of how cities remember themselves. Running from April 2 to May 17, 2026, the exhibit transforms historical maps into immersive artworks, inviting visitors to explore Calgary through stories that are often overlooked or erased.

*The Lougheed House Exhibition runs April 2 – May 17 at 707 13 Ave SW.*

The Calgary Institute for the Humanities (CIH) founded the Calgary Atlas Project ten years ago. The idea was to create maps that recover crucial stories about Calgary’s past and present, stories that illuminate, in surprising ways, the character and diversity of the city. Overlooked stories from Calgary’s history are mapped onto the city’s geography, highlighting significant sites, events, and people. This is cartography as a cultural practice, an evolving atlas of human experience.

We were delighted to be involved with the Calgary Atlas Project at its inception. A Queer Map: A Guide to the LGBTQ+ History of Calgary was notably the first map produced in the series. The queer map documents community spaces, activism, and everyday life, tracing a history that has often been underrepresented in official records. By mapping sites of resistance and belonging—from nightlife venues to organizing hubs—the project demonstrates how queer communities have shaped the city in both visible and hidden ways.

*The Queer Map Launch on November 21, 2019, with the CIH’s Jim Ellis, artist Mark Clintberg and historian Kevin Allen // Photo by Hesam Rezaei, The Gauntlet.*

The Lougheed House itself has queer history, as the site of the Fruit Loop. With that in mind, Mapping History has programmed special events such as August Klintberg’s Queer History Artist Workshop, which invites participants to engage directly with 2SLGBTQIA+ histories through creative practice, drawing on archival research and artistic interpretation.

Guided walks, like the Beltline Gay History Walk, take participants into the urban landscape itself, connecting archival knowledge to physical space. These experiences underscore a key idea: that history is not confined to museums but embedded in streets, buildings, and everyday environments.

For anyone interested in art, history, or community storytelling, this is an exhibition worth experiencing firsthand. Mapping History offers not just something to look at, but an opportunity to see Calgary differently and to understand how its stories have been shaped. Whether you attend a workshop, join a guided walk, or simply spend time with the maps themselves, the exhibition invites you to become part of the conversation.

{KA}