Tag Archives: bisexual

Club Carousel Concert Highlights & Other News

Posted on April 3, 2015 by Kevin Allen | 2 comments

We had two packed houses at One Voice Chorus’ Club Carousel concert last weekend, and a dozen former Club Carousel members were in attendance. Nick de Vos, a Club Carousel alumnus and photographer, took the pictures below.

Calgary Gay History Project’s Kevin Allen provided history narration between choral moments.

Club Carousel Alumni, Nick de Vos and Lois Szabo, with Kevin Allen.

One Voice Chorus receiving standing ovation from audience.

Gavin Caldwell (Piano), Kevin Allen, Lois Szabo (Club Carousel Founder) and Jane Perry (Artistic Director, One Voice Chorus) in front of the recreated Club Carousel logo.

It was a magical day, and the Calgary Hay History Project would like to thank One Voice Chorus for focusing on our city’s gay history in their artistic programming.

In other news, our colleague in queer history, Dr. Aaron Devor, the founder and academic director of the Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria, let us know that their publication, The Transgender Archives: Foundations for the Future, is now a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award in the category of LGBT Nonfiction. Click on the book link for a free PDF copy; it is an absorbing read and exploration of trans histories.

The 27th Annual Lambda Literary Awards–or the “Lammys,” as they are affectionately known–kick off another record-breaking year with the announcement of the finalists. They were chosen from a record 818 submissions from 407 publishers. The winners will be announced at a gala ceremony on Monday evening, June 1, 2015 in New York City.

Lethbridge-based artist and curator Leila Armstrong, is looking to fill her Cabinet of Queeriosities with an open call for submissions. This is the third Queeriosities exhibition, celebrating LGBTQ history, identity, culture, and pride through a diverse range of subject matters and approaches. Let all of the queer artists and historians in your network know that they have until June to submit.

In closing, I will leave you with the final poem of the Club Carousel concert, sourced from the Club’s September 1973 newsletter and written by the editor.

Carousel Capers (Sept. 1973) Back Cover

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Posted in Gay history

Tagged bisexual, Cabinet of Queeriosities, Club Carousel, gay, Gay history, lesbian, One Voice Chorus, queer, transgender, Transgender Archives, University of Victoria

Club Carousel Cabaret March 28th

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Kevin Allen | Leave a comment

The Calgary Gay History Project is pleased to be working with One Voice Chorus (OVC) in their presentation of CLUB CAROUSEL on Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Church of Calgary, 1703 – 1^st St. NW.

(To catch a preview of one of the songs in the concert check out this evening’s Coming Out Monologues downtown at the John Dutton Theatre (March 20th.))

OVC writes, “Club Carousel may have long since shut its doors, but the courage and vision it took to found Calgary’s first gay club still resonates today. One Voice Chorus, Calgary’s mixed-voice choir for LGBTQ singers and their straight and cisgender allies, pays tribute to a piece of our city’s queer history with a concert featuring popular dance music from the era (1968-74).

‘With this concert, we aim to celebrate these gay and lesbian heroes who were building safe space for the queer community,’ says OVC’s Artistic Director, Jane Perry. ‘They paved the way for community organizations like One Voice Chorus, and I feel we owe them a debt of thanks. The choristers and I look forward to telling their collective story in music and in narration.'”

Calgary Gay History Project’s, Kevin Allen, will be narrating the concert describing the life and times of Club Carousel and its patrons. We hope you can join us!

Tickets: $20 regular * $15 student/senior * children 12 and under free!

Available online at www.onevoicechorus.ca, from choir members, and at:

New Age Books and Crystals (142–10 St. NW)

Shelf Life Books (1302 4 St. SW)

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Gauntlet Mining finds History Gems

Posted on March 13, 2015 by Kevin Allen | Leave a comment

The University of Calgary Student Press, 1970-1980: From Anonymous Classified Ads to Gay Liberation Op-Eds to Gay Academic Union as a Part of Campus Life

As the Criminal Code changes that decriminalized private same-sex acts between consenting adults in Canada went into effect in August 1969, the legal struggle against discrimination, for full civil and human rights of sexual minorities and for social and political change in Canada was just beginning. The 1970s are often called a formative age of queer activism: a time of gay and lesbian liberation movements, changing mores about sexuality in general, of a forging of a more visible community of people identifying by their sexual orientation, building upon but moving away from underground queer subcultures (as discussed in an earlier post on The Body Politic).

We looked at over ten years (1969-1980) of the University of Calgary student newspaper, The Gauntlet, to deepen our understanding of Calgary’s gay and lesbian history during this turbulent decade, and explore the role that the University and its student press played, providing a space for debate, but also for reaching out, support and organizing around an emerging advocacy agenda.

The Gauntlet Classified Ads – 1972

Despite the Gauntlet’s uneven editorial tone and often flawed reporting, as well as many omissions of landmark moments in gay and lesbian activism of the 1970s, a look at its writing from this decade still reveals important aspects of gay and lesbian history in the city. Moreover, it testifies to the role that the University of Calgary played as a public space, where early gay activism, as well as debate on some of the defining national gay and lesbian issues of the decade took place.

Read the full essay: here.

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