Calgary Gay History

YYCGayHistory has a stamp!

Posted on May 29, 2025 by Kevin Allen | 2 comments

Today, Canada Post launched its Places of Pride stamp series—and Calgary has been included!

The first stamp in the series features Club Carousel. Canada Post created a video, featuring founder Lois Szabo, to tell the story of Calgary’s groundbreaking gay club. Next week, they will install stamp art across the facade of Home & Away, a restaurant and bar at 1207 1 St. SW that occupies the original location of Club Carousel.

*2025 Places of Pride: Club Carousel – Official First Day Cover*

The second stamp in the series features Montreal’s Truxx, also with a video and a mural in Montreal’s Gay Village.

The third stamp features Hanlan’s Point Beach. A billboard featuring the stamp illustration will be installed at Toronto’s famous Church and Wellesley intersection.

The fourth and final stamp in the series features the 3rd North American Native Gay & Lesbian Gathering. A mural will be installed at the Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg.

*Canada Post’s Places of Pride Stamp Series*

The stamp issue is designed by Kelly Small of Intents & Purposes Inc., illustrated by Tim Singleton, and printed by Colour Innovations. It includes a booklet of eight Permanent™ domestic rate stamps and four Official First Day Covers.

The stamps and collectibles will be available at canadapost.ca and at select postal outlets across Canada beginning on May 30.

#OurPastMatters!

{KA}

2 Comments

Posted in Gay history, Press Release

Tagged 3rd North American Native Gay & Lesbian Gathering, bisexual, Canada Post, Club Carousel, gay, Hanlan's Point Beach, lesbian, Lois Szabo, queer, transgender, Truxx, Two-Spirit

May 17th: Celebrate IDAHOBIT

Posted on May 15, 2025 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

The Calgary Gay History Project observes the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOBIT) every year. We like that it is a global moment of solidarity and visibility for queer communities. It connects the local to the international—the past to the present.

The IDAHOBIT 2025 theme, “The power of communities,” was announced during the ILGA World Conference 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa.

“IDAHOBIT, observed annually on 17 May, commemorates the 1990 decision by the World Health Organization to remove homosexuality from its International Classification of Diseases. Since then, the day has served as a focal point for raising awareness of the violence and discrimination still faced by LGBTQIA+ people across the globe.

“The power of communities” reflects the diversity and richness within LGBTQIA+ communities, from the grassroots to the global, celebrating our varied and intersecting backgrounds, identities, and experiences. The theme for 2025 highlights the strength and resilience that emerges from our collective solidarity, recognizing the contributions of human rights defenders, LGBTQIA+ civil society groups, allies, and millions of people in our communities who support human rights and collective liberation.

IDAHOBIT is not a centralized campaign; rather, it is a shared moment for communities and allies driving change around the world to take action in ways that resonate with their specific contexts and reflect their realities and priorities. Every initiative—big or small—counts and can make an impact, amplifying the movement’s reach and contributing to a world free from discrimination and violence.” – May17.org.

We still have work to do to bring full equality and dignity to our communities in Calgary, but we should also pause on Saturday to consider how far we have come since 1990, and consider as well the challenge of queer existence in other parts of the world.

{KA}

1 Comment

Posted in Gay history

Tagged bisexual, Calgary, gay, Gay history, human-rights, idahobit, lesbian, May17.org, queer, transgender

ArQuives National Survey

Posted on May 12, 2025 by Kevin Allen | Leave a comment

{The Calgary Gay History Project is happy to share this national survey from the ArQuives! – Kevin}

The ArQuives is gearing up for an exciting new chapter, and we want you to be part of it! With support from Women and Gender Equality Canada, we launched Community Ties: Our Future Together, an initiative to strengthen our organization and expand our impact across Canada.

We’re at a pivotal moment for 2SLGBTQIA+ communities across Canada. With rising threats to queer and trans rights globally and locally, it’s more important than ever to protect, celebrate, and share our stories. The ArQuives is stepping up to meet this moment by imagining how we can best serve our communities for the next 50 years.

Community Conversations

As part of this work, in February and March 2025, we hosted intimate, community gatherings in 12 cities across Canada: Calgary, Edmonton, Fredericton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Saskatoon, St. John’s, Vancouver, Whitehorse, Winnipeg, and Yellowknife. With approximately 15 participants in each city, we hosted intimate and generative community discussions to best understand how The ArQuives can best support local interests. Each session included opportunities for relationship building, networking, a brief presentation on The ArQuives, and interactive ways of sharing feedback.

Taking the Community Conversations Online

Now, we’re hoping to reach more folks from around the country through our online national survey, community conversations, and one-on-one interviews that will be scheduled individually with participants.

Take the survey now

We especially want to reach out to and hear from:

LGBTQ2+ community members who already are or might be interested in our programming;
Researchers, academics, and media who already or might use The ArQuives’ collections in their work; and
Partner organizations, including libraries, archives, museums, arts and heritage organizations, cultural institutions, and other LGBTQ2+ organizations.

The ArQuives values diversity and is committed to addressing historical inequities within our organization. We would love to hear from LGBTQ2+ communities that have been systematically marginalized, including from rural communities and those who are Indigenous, women, trans, nonbinary, gender non-conforming, Black, people of colour, newcomers, and persons with disabilities. We’re hoping to have a wide range of conversations, including young adults and older members of our communities.

{KA}