Author Archives: Kevin Allen

Queer History Conference

Posted on May 2, 2024 | 1 comment

We are thrilled to be attending the first National Queer and Trans+ Community History Conference in Edmonton this weekend. The conference is set to take place at MacEwan University, where researchers from all over the country will be coming together for a unique queer history immersion experience.

The conference “is designed to bring together 2SLGBTQ+ community members, non-profit organizations, heritage professionals, academics, historians, and emerging scholars who have an interest in documenting, preserving, and celebrating diverse and intersectional queer and trans+ histories in Canada. This conference serves as a scholarly community gathering space to share best practices, foster research collaborations, mobilize knowledge, and build upon existing community and professional networks.”

Registrations are sold out, and the program of outstanding scholars, community historians and activists looks stimulating. The Calgary Gay History Project is contributing a poster about the history and significance of Club Carousel—Calgary’s first gay bar—to the conference. We are happy to represent Calgary at this national gathering and hope to glean many new ideas of how to best preserve and share queer history in our City.

*Mayor Naheed Nenshi, Lois Szabo, and Councillor Evan Woolley (2021) at the opening of Lois Szabo Commons commemorating the founding of Club Carousel. Photo source: City of Calgary.*

A special shout-out goes to Dr. Kristopher Wells and his colleagues, who have been labouring behind the scenes to manifest this remarkable gathering—thank you!

{KA}

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Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged bisexual, Club Carousel, Evan Woolley, gay, Gay history, Kristopher Wells, lesbian, Lois Szabo, Lois Szabo Commons, MacEwan University, Naheed Nenshi, National Queer and Trans+ Community History Conference, queer, transgender

Canadian Independent Bookstore Day

Posted on April 25, 2024 | 1 comment

April 27th is Canadian Independent Bookstore Day. If you buy a book at your favourite indie bookshop this Saturday, you can enter a contest to win a $1000 gift certificate.

We love these stores and thank our hometown favourites: Pages, Shelf Life, and Owl’s Nest, for selling hundreds of copies of our imprint ASPublishing’s award-winning books: Our Past Matters and What Narcissus Saw.

Browsing the bookshelves, talking to informed staff, and bumping into people you know are good reasons to shop in indie bookstores. {Plus: social snacking is good for our health}

Most indie bookstores have online shops, so there is no need to support foreign corporate tech giants and send your hard-earned dollars out of the country.

See you at the indie bookstore this Saturday!

{KA}

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Posted in Gay history

Tagged bisexual, Canadian Independent Bookstore Day, gay, Glad Day, lesbian, Our Past Matters, Owls Nest Bookstore, Pages on Kensington, queer, Shelf Life, transgender, What Narcissus Saw

Backlot Commemoration

Posted on April 18, 2024 | 1 comment

The Backlot, a historic Calgary gay bar, will be moving (again). Founded in 1976, its current and third incarnation at 10^th Avenue and 1^st Street was established in 1996. However, the City has approved this site for redevelopment despite organized resistance last year called “Save Our Backlot.”

Interestingly, the developer is keen to acknowledge the history of the site—both its contemporary importance to the queer community as well as its location in Calgary’s second Chinatown from 1901-1910.

The queer history commemoration proposal (Brief) includes a commissioned mural at the site of the Backlot and an information panel and wayfinding bench.

*A rendering of the future intersection from the Brief*.

Senior Urban Planner Zack Hoefs is looking for community feedback through a survey.

He writes:

On behalf of Truman Homes and in partnership with FAAS Architecture, I’m reaching out today to share an opportunity for discussion on a commissioned piece of art for a recently approved development called Gallery at 1001 1 ST SW and 209 10 AV SW.

The approved project involves redeveloping the Calgary Gas Co. Workshop building, which is significant to the Queer Calgarian community in its use as The Backlot and the significance of The Backlot’s name to Queer Calgarian history. There is a Brief that, on pages 16-17, outlines what our project team currently knows about the site from the perspective of Queer Calgarian History, links to documentation that we used in our research, and a description of the location of the art.

What we are missing in this work is valued feedback from the Queer Calgarian community and Backlot ownership on what they would like to see in this commissioned art. We are looking for your opinions and feedback! Our team will combine this feedback with the history we know to create a brief that future artists will interpret when bidding on the work. The main questions we will be asking are included in the Brief.

The survey will be available to complete until Friday, April 26.