Calgary Gay History

Meet Lois in Lois Szabo Commons!

Posted on July 18, 2024 by Kevin Allen | Leave a comment

On Monday, July 29th at 7:00 pm, step into history with Lois Szabo, a 2SLGBTQ+ community builder, as she engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Kevin Allen of the Calgary Gay History Project. Please join us at Lois Szabo Commons: 936 16 Avenue SW and enjoy complimentary pizza and soda, sponsored by Calgary Pride. Bring a folding chair if you have one.

In 2021, the City of Calgary unveiled Lois Szabo Commons, a park in the Beltline, as a testament to Lois’ instrumental role in the creation and development of the groundbreaking gay bar, Club Carousel, in 1970.

*Lois with politicians, friends and family at the Park’s dedication ceremony. Photo: Marlene Hielema.*

This free event is part of Historic Calgary Week 2024. There are 88 events to take in during the fascinating 11-day history festival. The theme this year, Community Builders, will focus on the people and organizations that have made Calgary and surrounding area a desirable and vibrant place to live.

Bonus queer history event on the same day, July 29, at the Central Library:

3:30 – 4:30 pm — Generations United: Connecting Calgary’s 2SLGBTQIA+ Community

Join Historian in Residence, Tess McNaughton, in an exploration of Calgary’s 2SLGBTQIA+ history. In this presentation, Tess will share their research so far and explore queer stories of Calgary, proving that resilience and strength are timeless qualities. From overcoming adversity to celebrating triumphs, dive into the diverse history of this city. Through this presentation, you will gain insight and respect for the vibrant queer community members who have called Calgary home.

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The LGBT Purge: The True Story

Posted on July 11, 2024 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

Montreal-based journalist Shawn Dearn has released the second season of his award-winning podcast, Queer Legends: The True Story of Canada’s LGBT Purge. Impeccably researched, it tells the story of the LGBT Purge in Canada from World War I until today. “The Purge” was the Government of Canada’s effort to eliminate queers from the military and public service, which the Government apologized for in 2017. The story of the purge is significant queer history in its own right, but it also parallels the community’s ongoing struggle to achieve equality.

Kevin Allen from the Calgary Gay History Project is featured in episode 3. He discusses Calgary bus driver Everett Klippert and his pivotal role in Canadian history.

Queer Legends was sponsored by the LGBT Purge Fund, which notably has also commissioned Thunderhead a national queer history monument in Ottawa. The Purge Fund is programming events across the country. Rumour has it that there will be a pop-up event in Calgary sometime in August. We’ll keep you posted when we find out more.

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Posted in Gay history

Tagged bisexual, Everett Klippert, gay, Gay history, human-rights, lesbian, LGBT Purge, LGBT Purge Fund, Ottawa, queer, Queer Legends, Shawn Dearn, Thunderhead, transgender

Late in ’88

Posted on July 4, 2024 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

Do you want to explore Calgary’s Queer History from an autobiographical grade school perspective? (I think you do…)

Late in ‘88 is a limited-series podcast created by Bronwin Parks and Elinor Svoboda. The grade school classmates share their experiences of growing up queer and gender non-conforming in Calgary in 1988, at a time when there wasn’t language to describe identities that were fringe and undefinable. Shining a light on their middle childhood, Bronwin and Elinor explore the impact of historical context and the gift of contemporary language that allows more freedom of self-expression. The Calgary Winter Olympics acts as a backdrop to these conversations.

Elinor Svoboda and Bronwin Parks: creators of *Late in ’88*

Late in ’88 welcomes special guests and experts. The Calgary Gay History Project’s Kevin Allen makes an appearance in episode two, recounting his own queer history from 1988 as well as the story of Mark Perry Schaub, a Winter Olympics volunteer dying of AIDS.

Calgary is a different city than it was in the 80s. Late in ’88 explores how life has changed for queer people (and how it hasn’t) and the gravity of human connection which can make us whole. Recommended listening!

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