Historic Calgary Week | Calgary Gay History

Tag Archives: Historic Calgary Week

Walk, Don’t Run, This Saturday!

Posted on July 24, 2014 by Kevin Allen | Leave a comment

The Calgary Gay History Project is honoured to participate in Historic Calgary Week 2014, a program of the Chinook Country Historical Society. We are reprising the very popular Beltline Gay History Walk that happened during last year’s Pride Week celebrations.

The event “runs” from 7:00 – 8:30 PM, Saturday, July 26th and begins and ends at CommunityWise (formerly known as the Old Y) at 223 12 Ave. SW. We will be meeting outside the building near the front steps. As an aside, those steps and porch were recently renovated and have been nominated for the Calgary Heritage Authority’s Lion Awards on July 31st (also an event in Historic Calgary Week).

Doug Young personal papers, Glenbow Archives M-8397-1.

In a happy coincidence, I was at the Glenbow Museum Archives today, going through gay activist Doug Young’s personal records and came across his hand drawn map of the Beltline from the mid-80’s. Interestingly, there were more queer spaces at that time, then we have today.

Looking forward to seeing you at the walk!

{KA}

New Gala, Next Walk & Queer Archive Donation

Posted on June 19, 2014 by Kevin Allen | Leave a comment

Calgary queer history readers and/or party aficionados might be interested in Third Street Theatre’s inaugural “Stars of the Stage & Screen” gala & costume party on Friday, June 27th at the Arrata Opera Centre at 8pm.

All money raised goes to the next production season of Third Street Theatre – Calgary’s only queer theatre company that challenges stereotypes and gives a voice to a marginalized LGBTQ community. Tickets and info: here.

We will be reprising our Beltline Gay History Walk on Saturday, July 26th from 7:00-8:30 PM as part of Historic Calgary Week. Come out to learn about meaningful spots in our communities history including the location of Calgary’s first gay bar, Club Carousel. The walk will start and finish at CommunityWise (the Old Y) at 223 12 Ave. SW. Usually we head to a Beltline Pub afterwards for more conviviality. Everyone is welcome!

Finally, I had lunch this week with an old colleague and friend of mine, Shelagh Anderson, the former publisher of QC Magazine, who now lives in Nova Scotia with her wife and daughter. She donated a complete collection of the Calgary based queer periodical which ran for about 3 years beginning in 1995 for the archives we are building. As a bonus: many of the covers are signed by the subjects of the cover story. Thank you Shelagh!