Tag Archives: Our Past Matters

YYCGayHistory @ Pride 2023

Posted on August 24, 2023 by Kevin Allen | 5 comments

Here is a smattering of queer history offerings and more. So exciting – #OurPastMatters!

Tuesday, August 29th @ 7:00 PM @ The Central Library

Through the Multiverse: Queer Media Today. The 5th Annual Calgary Institute for the Humanities LGBTQ2S+ Lecture. Presented by Dr. Amy Villarejo, Chair, UCLA Department of Film, Television and Digital Media. Registration is required, reception to follow.

Wednesday, August 30th, 5:30 – 7:00 PM @ CommunityWise

*Pride Gay History Walk 2017. Photo: Gary Evans*

Beltline Gay History Walk. Have you ever been curious about the role of CommunityWise (formerly the Old Y) in Calgary’s queer history? Join Kevin Allen and the Calgary Gay History Project to find out more! Tickets are what you can afford, and all proceeds go towards strengthening CommunityWise’s work in supporting all 2SLGBTQ+ community. Spaces are limited.

Thursday, August 31st, 6:00 – 7:00 PM @ The Backlot

*A famous sign which predates the current location*

The Golden Age of Gay Bars in YYC. There are many storied drinking holes, taverns, discos, and clubs in Calgary’s queer history. Join Kevin Allen for an informal chat about where they used to be and their significance to our community’s history. Meet up at one of the last remaining gay bars in the city—The Backlot (209 10 AVE. SW)!

Saturday, September 2nd, 7:30 PM @ Rising Tides Taproom

Program Pride Relaunch. Program Pride was a community access television program in Alberta that ran from 1995 until 1997. A group of dedicated volunteers from Red Deer, Calgary and Edmonton created programming that ran on Shaw Cable in all three cities. Join former cast and crew members at Rising Tides Taproom (4545 Bowness Rd NW) as Program Pride episodes get relaunched on YouTube. Solid gold for Alberta historians!

Sunday, September 3rd, Calgary Pride Festival @ Prince’s Island Park

Our Past Matters Book Signing. After the parade, find the Calgary Outlink booth at this year’s Pride Festival and buy a copy of Our Past Matters: Stories of Gay Calgary. Book sales support Outlink, Calgary’s exceptional community peer support organization. Author Kevin Allen will be signing books in the afternoon between 2:00-3:00 PM—or just come by for a visit!

There are so many excellent Pride events this year to choose from. Come out! Support community!

Happy Pride!

{KA}

5 Comments

Posted in Gay history

Tagged Amy Villarejo, Backlot, Beltline, bisexual, Calgary, Calgary Institute for the Humanities, Calgary Pride, Central Library, CommunityWise, gay, gay bars, Gay history, Gay History Walk, lesbian, Our Past Matters, Prince's Island Park, Program Pride, queer, Rising Tides Taproom, transgender

Love Independent Bookstores!

Posted on April 27, 2023 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

April 29th is Canadian Independent Bookstore Day. If you buy a book at your favourite indie bookshop this Saturday, you can enter a contest to win a $1000 gift certificate.

We genuinely appreciate these stores and thank our hometown favourites: Shelf Life, Pages, and Owl’s Nest, for stocking and selling literally hundreds of copies of our books: Our Past Matters and What Narcissus Saw.

*Kevin in front of Shelf Life Books in 2018*

Browsing the bookshelves, talking to informed staff, and bumping into people you know, are all good reasons to shop in indie bookstores. {Also: social snacking is good for our health!} The stores have online shops as well, so there is no need to support booksellers that are foreign corporate behemoths.

The following Saturday, May 6th, you are invited to Twisted Element for the Chinook Fund Variety Show Fundraiser. Tickets are only $20 and go to the great cause of the Chinook Fund. This endowment fund, housed at the Calgary Foundation, disperses grants to local queer community organizations under the direction of a volunteer steering committee. So come out for a good cause and be entertained at the same time!

{KA}

1 Comment

Posted in Gay history

Tagged bisexual, Chinook Fund, gay, Gay history, lesbian, Our Past Matters, Owls Nest Bookstore, Pages on Kensington, queer, Shelf Life, transgender, Twisted Element, What Narcissus Saw

Shop local with @yycgayhistory

Posted on December 1, 2022 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

{The Calgary Gay History Project is on hiatus in December. Look for new queer history content in 2023—happy holidays!}

‘Tis the season for holiday shopping. If you are looking for a good read, check out our two award-winning books from our in-house imprint, ASPublishing.

Our Past Matters: Stories of Gay Calgary hit #1 on the Calgary Herald bestseller list in 2019 and has been selling ever since. John Ibbitson, from The Globe and Mail, explains: “You are going to read about some amazing people, places, and times in these pages… There is no one better equipped than Kevin Allen to give us a tour.”

What Narcissus Saw is Gordon Sombrowski’s second book of fiction exploring life in Fernie, BC. It was selected from hundreds of contenders as a finalist in the Whistler Independent Book Awards this past October. The awards jury wrote: “Sombrowski’s linked short stories immediately draw in the reader. He deftly breathes life and intrigue into his settings and characters with language to be savoured.”

Books are available in Calgary at Pages on Kensington and Shelf Life Books. You can also purchase books and have them shipped to you from our online store.

Happy holidays!

{KA}