Halifax is a city with a vibrant history, and that extends into its queer culture. Since the first gay bar opened in 1971, Halifax’s queer community has found a home in nightlife. The first “officially gay” gay bar in Halifax was Thee Klub. It opened in 1971 in the Green Lantern Building on Barrington Street. […]
Halifax Pride
Posted inNews + Opinion
Trudeau pinkwashing Pride parade
The most watched person at this year’s Halifax Pride parade will be a straight white man with a penchant for rainbow socks. It was announced Monday that Justin Trudeau will be marching this weekend in Halifax, becoming the first sitting prime minister to take part in a local Pride parade. But some members of the […]
Posted inArts + Music
High 5: DJ Fadzwa’s party starters
DJ Fadzwa, who’s been rocking dance floors since 2013, knows a great party song. The local DJ selects a diverse collection of Afro-house, dance, moohmbaton, dancehall and more that transcends borders and just provide a good time for those who just want to sweat it out. Performing at Halifax Pride’s outdoor DJ dance spectacle The […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax Pride addresses pinkwashing by discontinuing community fair
Halifax Pride is nixing booths from its festival grounds ahead of this year’s celebration. The change was announced late last month, several months after October’s tumultuous AGM, during which a “pinkwashing motion” brought forth by members of Queer Arabs of Halifax (QAH) was voted down. According to the Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project, pinkwashing usually […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax police opt out of Pride parade
[Image-1] Halifax Regional Police will be increasing their presence at this year’s Pride festival, but the department won’t be partaking in the annual parade. The voluntary withdrawal was announced today by HRP after ongoing discussions with Halifax Pride and coming amidst national debate about the appropriateness of a uniformed police presence in pride parades. “We […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax Pride’s new director, uncertain direction
[Image-1] Adam Reid has his work cut out for him. Reid, who previously sat on Halifax Pride’s board of directors and has been at the helm of Halifax’s Queer Acts Theatre Festival for just under a decade, was announced earlier this month as Pride’s first ever executive director. He’ll now work full-time to oversee the […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax Pride remains inclusive
[Image-1] On Wednesday of last week, the annual general meeting of the Halifax Pride voted down a controversial resolution that proposed to remove all mentions of Israel from the festival and parade, an 11-day long event attended by more than 200,000 people. The argument: Israel is using LGBTQ+ rights to sweep crimes against Palestinian people […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax Pride stands at a crossroads
[Image-1] We stand at a pivotal moment in 2SLGBTQ+ history in Halifax. We ask important questions: If our community spaces do not create a safe enough environment for our most marginalized members to contribute fully and we force conversations to continue on without them, who is being served? If our membership and decision making processes […]
Posted inArts + Music
Before the parade
[Image-1] It was spring of 1972 when Anne Fulton stumbled upon a poster that read It’s Time for Gay Liberation. That rallying cry appealed to the budding lesbian activist—Fulton was 20 then, maybe 21—and she went to the meeting the poster advertised. This gathering would turn out to be vital, for both Fulton and, more […]
Posted inArts + Music
Magic Monster
“What I wanted to do was make a film that reflected the modern Newfoundland,” says the writer-director Stephen Dunn, whose festival darling debut feature Closet Monster opens this week. “I love Newfoundland cinema—we have incredible filmmakers and voices—but I had never really seen a representation of what it’s like for a young person right now […]
Posted inArts + Music
Samson Learn is travelling down the Trans*Canada highway
Samson Learn is calling from the road, somewhere between Montreal and Ottawa. While he talks, the engine hums dully in the background. Learn has been travelling for just over four weeks. On a storytelling odyssey passing through our national artery, the Trans-Canada highway, Learn explains he’s attempting to redefine Canadians’ perceptions around the word “trans.” […]