Tag Archives: Lois Szabo Commons

Queer History Conference

Posted on May 2, 2024 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

We are thrilled to be attending the first National Queer and Trans+ Community History Conference in Edmonton this weekend. The conference is set to take place at MacEwan University, where researchers from all over the country will be coming together for a unique queer history immersion experience.

The conference “is designed to bring together 2SLGBTQ+ community members, non-profit organizations, heritage professionals, academics, historians, and emerging scholars who have an interest in documenting, preserving, and celebrating diverse and intersectional queer and trans+ histories in Canada. This conference serves as a scholarly community gathering space to share best practices, foster research collaborations, mobilize knowledge, and build upon existing community and professional networks.”

Registrations are sold out, and the program of outstanding scholars, community historians and activists looks stimulating. The Calgary Gay History Project is contributing a poster about the history and significance of Club Carousel—Calgary’s first gay bar—to the conference. We are happy to represent Calgary at this national gathering and hope to glean many new ideas of how to best preserve and share queer history in our City.

*Mayor Naheed Nenshi, Lois Szabo, and Councillor Evan Woolley (2021) at the opening of Lois Szabo Commons commemorating the founding of Club Carousel. Photo source: City of Calgary.*

A special shout-out goes to Dr. Kristopher Wells and his colleagues, who have been labouring behind the scenes to manifest this remarkable gathering—thank you!

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Tagged bisexual, Club Carousel, Evan Woolley, gay, Gay history, Kristopher Wells, lesbian, Lois Szabo, Lois Szabo Commons, MacEwan University, Naheed Nenshi, National Queer and Trans+ Community History Conference, queer, transgender

Protecting Queer History Places

Posted on October 20, 2022 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

The National Trust for Canada is holding its annual conference in Toronto. It starts today, and its title is: The Heritage Reset: Making Critical Choices.

The conference is asking this question: “as the urgency increases to advance decolonization and anti-racism, take bold climate action, and redress economic and social inequity, are heritage principles and heritage places in step, or stuck in the past?”

Specifically relevant to queer history, they are exploring the idea of a social-cultural reset. How can the heritage community embrace a fuller story and confront exclusion?

It’s a good question. Locally, has Calgary’s heritage community done enough to protect queer historic places and spaces in the city? The answer of course, from our perspective, is “no.”

To be fair, the City of Calgary created Lois Szabo Commons last year, and the Lougheed House did queer history programming in 2019. But where are our protected buildings, heritage plaques and interpretations of queer history sites? How do we make our relatively invisible queer history visible?

Earlier this year, the National Trust hosted a webinar on this very subject with Andrew Dolkart from the inspiring NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project. We encourage you to watch it.

*Click image for National Trust webinar: Organizing to Identify and Protect LGBTQ+ Heritage Places: Strategies and Lessons from New York City*

In the next year, this will be a thrust of the Calgary Gay History Project. To date, we have been active in building the Calgary queer landscape through mapping projects and walking tours. It is time to agitate for queer inclusion in Calgary’s built heritage inventory.

{KA}

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Posted in Gay history

Tagged Andrew Dolkart, bisexual, Calgary, gay, Gay history, lesbian, Lois Szabo Commons, Lougheed House, National Trust Conference, NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, queer, transgender

YYCGayHistory @CalgaryPride 2022

Posted on August 11, 2022 by Kevin Allen | Leave a comment

A big thank you to all of the Calgary Gay History Project readers who filled out our survey for queer history offerings at Calgary Pride this year (August 26 – September 5). Here is where you will find us:

Saturday, August 27, 2 PM

Join Shelf Life Books and Kevin Allen for a talk about his book Our Past Matters: Stories of Gay Calgary. The talk will be followed by an open mic, where audience members can share their stories of Gay Calgary or read poems or prose pieces (with a 6-8 minute time slot limit). If you identify as a part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community and would like to participate, then please let us know at events@shelflifebooks.ca! You can also sign up before the event, space permitted. Registration for audience attendance is recommended and appreciated! Free event.

Saturday, August 27, 4 PM

The Calgary Gay History Project’s Kevin Allen will lead a gay history walk through the Beltline. Learn about the City’s fascinating LGBTQ2 past. The walk begins at 4:00 PM in Central Memorial Park (meet at the Boer War Memorial in the centre of the park) and ends at 5:30 PM at Lois Szabo Commons, a new city park celebrating LGBTQ2 history. Spaces are limited; please register in advance through Calgary Pride. Free event.

Friday, September 2, 7 PM

Our friends at The Calgary Institute for the Humanities presents the 4th Annual LGTBQ2S+ Lecture, featuring Dr. Jules Gill-Peterson. Titled: Trans Panic: A Global History, Dr. Gill-Peterson explores the history of violence against trans women. Where did it come from? And when did it arise? Letting go of a purely psychological lens, history shows that targeting trans femininity has been integral to colonial statecraft around the world for the past 150 years. On Zoom or in person at the Central Library. Reserve your spot: here. Free event.

Sunday, September 4, Noon

Our History Booth at the Calgary Pride Festival—Immediately following the Pride Parade on September 4, join us at Pride’s new festival venue – Fort Calgary. At our table there will be history artifacts, books, and ephemera as well as Project volunteers to answer questions and have conversations about Calgary’s Queer History. Sponsored by Calgary Pride. Free event. Stop by and say, “hi!” Happy Pride!

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