“They’re words, goddamn it.” Andrew Vaughan speaks into the microphone before his audience at The Company House on April 11. His routine is part of the weekly Laugh House event: Experienced comedians and newbies alike take the stage in 10-minute segments to work the crowd. Ahead of each event, a live taping of a podcast […]
LGBTQIA+
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
Good things come in small packages this holiday
[Image-1] An MSVU student is hoping to alleviate the high cost of dignity this holiday season for disadvantaged women and trans people. Aiden Quinn, 23, is raising money to make care packages filled with things like tampons, clean underwear, wet wipes and other personal care items. Around Christmas time, he’ll be donating them to Adsum […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax and Gaetan Dugas
[Image-1] “More than one comma.” Delivered with an impish grin, that’s the reply I received from author Randy Shilts when I asked, over a bowl of chowder, if he’d scored a decent advance for his new book project. It was 1991 and we were both in the Boston area, on leave from our jobs as […]
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 inNews + Opinion
Pinkwashing motion voted down at Halifax Pride AGM
[Image-1] Pride’s role in supporting the LGBTQ+ community is being called into question after a controversial anti-pinkwashing proposal was voted down at the organization’s annual general meeting. “Halifax Pride failed us,” said Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project (NSRAP) board member Ardath Whynacht after the vote. Over 300 people were in attendance for the meeting Wednesday […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax Pride draws ire over proposed “pinkwashing” motion
[Image-1] It started as a dispute about whether a pro-Israel tourism campaign should be allowed at Halifax Pride. Now, it’s erupted into a debate over freedom of expression and the role of pinkwashing at the festival. A motion at the Halifax Pride society’s annual general meeting on October 5 would remove “pinkwashing” content from future […]
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
Tel Aviv tourism concerns are misplaced, says Atlantic Jewish Council board member
The promotion of Tel Aviv tourism at Halifax Pride continues to raise debate, but a member of the Atlantic Jewish Council says the Queer Arabs of Halifax and other concerned groups are misinformed about his organization’s presence at Pride. Last week, the Nova Scotia Rainbow Action (NSRAP) project launched this petition, declaring solidarity with Queer […]
Posted inArts + Music
Asexual and aromantic folks claim their place at Pride
On the first day of Halifax Pride week, Ky Greyson arrives at a coffee shop sporting a huge smile, freshly dyed cotton candy hair with matching pink eyebrows, and black leggings that read “unavailable.” He’s bursting with enthusiasm when he asks me what gender pronouns I prefer. Although some people don’t like labels, Greyson finds […]