Tag Archives: Fairy Tales Film Festival

Calgary Gay History Project News

Posted on May 29, 2015 by Kevin Allen | Leave a comment

It is a busy time in Calgary for queer events and happenings. You can catch the end of the Fairytales Queer Film Festival this weekend as well as Third Street Theatre’s Stars of the Stage and Screen Gala.

One Voice Chorus, whom we partnered earlier this year to present the Club Carousel Cabaret has a concert coming up featuring a local Gay-Straight Alliance – topical given recent history in Alberta! Rainbow Connections: A Pride Concert will be held on Sunday, June 7th at 3 PM.

Close on the heels of the Third Street Gala is Calgary’s Outlink’s Glitter Gala on June 13th. The Calgary Gay History Project has been invited to participate for a second year. Our researcher, Tereasa Maillie, will be exploring the history of YYC Pride in a short presentation.

We are planning a couple of research trips as well. Kevin Allen will be on the West Coast again (Victoria and Vancouver) from June 14-18 to gather more interviews for the project. If you or some one you know has a Calgary gay history to share, please contact us. We also are tentatively planning a trip to Saskatoon (and Regina?) in the first week of August, to check out the Neil Richards Collection of Sexual and Gender Diversity at the University of Saskatchewan. Again, if there are any former Calgarians in Saskatchewan whom you know, please have them get in touch with us.

Now that the Provincial election has concluded, stay tuned to the website for weekly history vignettes, and updates to the project.

Have a great summer!

{KA}

Back in the Saddle

Posted on November 27, 2014 by Kevin Allen | Leave a comment

We are back to regular posting after a hiatus with Kevin running the municipal elections in Fernie, BC. It seems it is post-secondary week at the Calgary Gay History Project with research and presentations at SAIT, Mount Royal and U of C.

Today there is a public presentation at 12:30 PM with the Pride Centre at Mount Royal University. Everyone is welcome.

A special thanks this week, to Gene Rodman, a former CJSW DJ, who donated some of his personal papers to our archives along with his cassette collection of CGAY91 and Freedom FM shows he did with colleague Craig Lewington in the mid-90s.

Also thank you to Neil McMullen, who we interviewed this week, and took notes on his recollections of Calgary’s former Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) that existed in the 80s.

Finally, catch if you can the Calgary Cinematheque and Fairy Tales’ presentation of Portrait of Jason (from 1967) tonight at the Plaza Theatre, 7 PM.

{KA}

Pink Dollars fund Film Fest (ca. 2000)

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Kevin Allen | Leave a comment

The Calgary Queer History Project is staying with the Fairy Tales Film Fest theme, as you still have two days of Festival offerings to attend!

In the festival’s early years, ticket sales and sponsorships funded the completely volunteer run event. This was done in large part to avoid the drama of homophobia in public arts funding that had been happening throughout Alberta in the 1990s.

Queer cultural programming deserves the access to the same funding sources as every other cultural event – something that seems self-evident now. However, as recently as 14 years ago, there was still a strong censoring aspect in the community. The offended tax-payer argument is a perennial one, if you consider the recent drama about funding public art in Calgary. The basis of which is: if I personally do not like an artwork it should not be funded.

We are happy to report in 2014, Fairy Tales received public support from all three levels of government. The below editorial by Calgary Sun columnist, Rick Bell, on June 16th, 2000 gives one the tenor at the latest fin de siècle.

Thank you everyone who support us in the recent Telus StoryHive competition. Although we did not make it to the final 10 – we were close – we received a lot of positive feedback and regard for the project going forward. Stay tuned.

[KA]