5th Annual Toronto
Queer West Arts & Culture Festival
Theme: Queering Boundaries
Nine Days - Saturday August 7 to Sunday August 15, 2010
Toronto's only Queer Arts and
Cultural Festival is here!
Get Social - Join us on:
Our festival use to proceed Toronto Pride Week, in June. The Queer West Board
of Directors and Arts Collective think Toronto's LGBTQ fabulousness shouldn't
all be jam packed into that month. The annual arts festival, has now moved to
AUGUST and become A WHOLE DIFFERENT FESTIVAL, ON ITS OWN, in an attempt to showcase
queer culture, without the Commercialism. We feel there are tourists in the
city all summer long, especially in August; they will be looking for something
different, than Pride.
"Queer West Fest is arguably a more substantive event this year
then Pride Toronto." National Post Editorial
"Queer West Arts Festival is the best low key queer festival in
City of Toronto." Xtra Newspaper
"Queer West Fest event boasts a big attitude with an alternative
bent that celebrates all things queer positive." Outlook
Magazine
Final Queer Arts Festival event list:
"We working very hard to update the web site including
official events and film festival details. Jaclyn's team is busy preparing program
guide and posters. We hope to have full details, head shots, event pictures
and business logos posted by Sunday Morning August 1st., maybe sooner......
Thank you for your patience....
Queer West President and web site editor- Michel F. Paré
.....queerwestinfo@gmail.com 416-879-7954 (BB)
(Re)claiming, (Re)naming and (Re)presenting the contested spaces of “Queer”
through the Arts
Toronto's 5th Annual Queer West Arts Festival This year arrives for NINE DAYS
in August on the THEME of QUEERING BOUNDRIES with arts shows, dance, music,
spoken word, drama, laughs, film, community fair, books, and, of course, cabaret!
The LARGEST of three dedicated queer arts festivals in ALL OF Canada.
August 2010 will mark the 5th annual QUEER WEST ARTS & CULTURE FESTIVAL
– To mark this historic event, Toronto's "West End" will be (re)claimed,
(re)presented and (re)named as "queer" over the course of 9 days (Saturday
August 7 to Sunday August 15, 2010).
This year QUEERING BOUNDARIES will be the vision to initialize a wide-scale
community reinvention. The Queer West Toronto community is committed to ushering
in a necessary and more contemporary attitude in reaction to the ever-changing
threads of fiber that fashion the notion of “queer” in its entirety. The festival
will view the complexity of queer identity beyond set places, spaces and community
settings and bring diversity to the forefront of all programming. Artistic and
cultural productions in a multidisciplinary range of forms will be the vehicle
to show queer identity as a contested space. Though the theme is QUEERING BOUNDARIES,
where and how those boundaries are formed is subjective. The Queer West community
emphasizes a sharing of space and the exchanging of ideas as a political act,
within and outside of the Queer West Village.
Saturday August 7th—Launch Party!
Where: The Hen House
Address: 1532 Dundas West
Start Time: 8pm
End Time: last call at the bar!
The Henhouse,1532
Dundas St W. 416-534-5939 on north side, just past Dufferin. Open daily
from 5pm-2am. Sat & Sunday Brunch to 3 pm. Wonderful cozy little bar, where
even strangers are friendly. Mixed crowd. Henhouse has become one of the most
popular up-and-coming lesbian bars on the Queer West scene. Where the Henhouse
really seems shine is its inclusive atmosphere — which is fitting for the Queer
West Village in general. It’s nice to go out to a place with your gay friends
and run into your straight friends. Domestic beer is cheap, $5 a bottle and
only Cameron Ale on tap at $5.50 a pint. Open 6 PM to 3 AM The 1950 jukebox
will be jumping with Siouxsie and the Banshees, Kate Bush, Donna Summer, Blondie.
Most played Fleetwood Mac, Dolly Parton. . Little Portugal (Rua Acores) neighbourhood.
Queer West Toronto, Ontario. www.henhousetoronto.com
Event Description: Queer West Fest kicks off its 5th year running at one of
queer Toronto’s best kept secrets—THE HEN HOUSE! So, put on your tightest skinny
jeans, practice your best pick-up line in front of the mirror and be prepared
for a night of jokes, laughter, conversation and dancing. Let’s turn this mother
on its head, yo!
Sunday August 8th --Sexy Words!
Where: The Lula Lounge
Address: 1585 Dundas St. West
Doors: 6:15pm
Start: 7pm
Cover: PWYC (suggested $5)
Lula Dance Lounge - 1585
Dundas Street West, 2 blocks west of Dufferin (Southside, just past Sheridan.)
. 416-588-0307. If you love live music, this is a great new place to see the
raw musical talent of Toronto. Imported afro-cuban, sala, swing bands and spoken
word nights. Little Portugal (Rua Acores) neighbourhood - Queer West Toronto,
Ontario.
Event Description: The best performers in the city will be doing their
thing. Poets ruminate on fucking, loving, fighting, and connecting viscerally
to spaces, bodies, sounds and smells.This is the sequel to the smash success
of Bent Expressions at The Press Club January 24th. tonight's event
will again be hosted by Philip Cairns, fullmoon@auracom.com
actor/writer/visual artist. This should prove to be a very memorable evening,
all about Sex, Sex and more Sex!!!!
Queer West Arts Collective proudly presents, as part
of the Queer West Fest: “SEXY WORDS” - An evening of Queer Poetry and Spoken
Word on the theme of SEX.
Performers include: Duncan Armstrong, Yehuda Fisher, Parul Pandya, Cathy
Petch, Jay Stewart, The Storm and Nichola Ward. MC/Host is Philip Cairns.
Duncan Armstrong is a poet/short-story writer who has had work published
in “CV2”, “Labour of Love” and “Renaissance Conspiracy” and been featured at
Pride, Word on the Street, TKO’s Coffeehouse & The Art Bar.
Philip Cairns is an actor/writer who has performed his poetry and performance-pieces
at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, A Space, Free Times Cafe, The Black Swan, The
Art Bar, The Theatre Centre and has acted in scores of small theatre productions.
Yehuda Fisher - a.k.a. PAN hosted Art Attack for CHRY FM and WordJam
at Free Times Café. He has competed in many poetry slams in North America &
is a member of the Slam Fam Poetry Collective.
Parul Pandya writes about love, life, history and sexuality. She has
a blog, The House of Provocation, appears regularly in “Xtra” magazine and also
writes reviews for the T.I.F.F. Parul's day-job is as a member of Performing
Arts at Harbourfront Centre, where she is responsible for community outreach
for World Stage.
Cathy Petch, the host of “Plasticine Poetry”, is a writer of plays, poetry
& fiction. Her play, “A Mean Thing”, was recently performed in Peterborough.
She’s been published in “Labour of Love” & is a member of Wine with Everything.
Jay Stewart was part of the Young Creator's Unit at Buddies in Bad Times
Theatre where he created “Ticked '07!” He has performed at Toronto's AIDS Conference,
Writing Outside the Margins, Fruit Loopz, Queer Cab and Inside Out.
The Storm, a Spoken Word Poet, recently competed at the Toronto Freedom
Festival & has featured at PoetsJazzoetry the Revival, Poetic Fashion, Women’s
Voice and Brown Girls in da Ring. Her website is www.thestormlive.com.
Nichola Ward is a writer/performer, the founder of the publishing/performance
group Ground Queero and a member of OUTwrites. She is the author of "Little
Sarah - Wordkeeper" and "Babylon Alley".
Full description, biographies and photographs of each performer.Poetry
Night.
“Queer in Toronto” photography
exhibit
Be sure not to miss the adjacent photography
exhibit “Queer in Toronto”A Queer West Arts Festival exclusive
- one night only
""Queer in Toronto"" is an arts-based project created to
acknowledge the diversity of queer women in Toronto and their contributions
to their communities.
(L. to R. - Taryn Pimento and Margo Foster)
Emerging from arts-based graduate research at OISE/UT, Taryn Pimento and
Margo Foster.bring us a collection of black and white portraiture celebrating
the diversity of queer women throughout the GTA and the powerful contributions
they make to their communities. Taryn and Margo are queer graduate students
from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at University of
Toronto who have developed a community arts-based project to acknowledge
the diversity of queer women and their contributions to their communities in
Toronto. Their academic areas of interest include queer and feminist theory,
alternative pedagogies and the social economy. Noticing the lack of visibility
and representation of queer women in Toronto, they began documenting the experiences
of queer women in the city through photography. Bringing together their love
for photography, their curiosity about people's stories, and their desire to
honour and acknowledge queer women,
The purpose of this project is to visually represent the diversity of queer
women in the city and to explore notions of community through personal stories.
There is very little representation of queer women in Toronto in terms of academic
research, mainstream and gay media, and popular culture. Furthermore, there
is little designated physical space and recognition of queer women’s contributions
to their communities.
The aim of this art exhibit is to make queer women more visible. By assembling
this collection of photographs and personal accounts, they hope to create the
opportunity for participants to recognize the impact of their own histories
and to contribute to a sense of collective power that queer women are often
denied. To find out more, send an email to queerintoronto@gmail.com
or call Taryn or Margo at (416) 655-6788
The Details: Lula Lounge. Doors 6:15 pm Show Start time is 7 pm. Cover
is $5 minimum at the door. www.lula.ca
1585 Dundas Street. one block west of Dufferin, Queer West Toronto, Lounge number
(416) 588-0307
Monday August 9th—The Steps. Currently
running as random local neighbourhood street idea since May, "The
Steps" it is catching on and locals are coming by to check it
out, then coming back again and again. Michel (Queer West founder and host of
Wilde Chats Philosophy Cafe), says the best advertising is Word of Mouth. Someone
who knows someone, asks. "Have you been to"The
Steps" yet? That's how people arrive. Is it about talking? Well
yes and no. Is it about music? Could be and many other things. Oh come on...
I am curious.... What is it about anyway? That's the best part. "The
Steps" refuses to be defined; all the attendees have their own
definition. www.nacogallery.com
Where: Naco Cafe (Patio) 647-347-6499
Address: 1665 Dundas St. W.
Start time: 8pm
End Time: 11pm
Cover: Free
Contact Info: Michel - Torontodigitalq@yahoo.ca 416-879-7954
Tuesday August 10th— Dinner and Performance of Harriet’s
House
Where: LeVacK Block
Address: 88 Ossington Ave
Start time: 8pm
End Time: 11pm
Cover: $5 (no advance tickets) 40 chairs only, get there early, otherwise standing
room for 30 people.
LeVack Block 88 Ossington Avenue. Situated on Toronto's coolest
new street, Ossington, is LeVack Block. With its grand windows and corner location
LeVack Block provides the perfect place for watching the street come alive as
the sun goes down. In the front room a vintage bar with a wrought iron cage
welcomes you into the large dining room with striped walls, kitschy figurines
and Parisian turn-of-the-century erotica. The warm room with its many retro
chandeliers is dim and creates the perfect setting for a romantic meal or a
fun get together with friends.The restaurant and bar area in the front has nine
brews on tap, and a neon-lit party venue in the back houses DJs and always a
queer live band. Queer West Toronto, Ontario. www.levackblock.com
Event Description: An evening of good food (6-8 pm) followed by a full-cast
reading of Gailey Road Production’s heart-stopping play, Harriet’s House. Dealing
in love, loss, and adoption in a same-sex family, this piece is a contemporary
drama on queer mothering and daughtering in today’s globalized world. Q &A
follows with playwright Tara Goldstein, director, Jocelyn Wickett and full cast!
Gailey Road Production’s Web Site:
http://web.me.com/gaileyroad/Site/Welcome.html
Wednesday August 11th—Queerly Lit!
Where: the Gladstone Hotel Melody Bar
Address: 1214 Queen Street West
Doors: 7:30
Start Time: 8pm
Host: Queer West’s very own, Jaqlin Walters
NO COVER
Granny Boots is early evening entertainment for queer folk who like
to be in bed by 11. Tonight's Host: Queer West’s very own, Jaqlin Walters
you and your Granny get to be home early AND entertained all in one night! Tonight
GRANNY BOOTS starts at 8 PM sharp and ends at 10 PM.
Event Description: Granny Boots and the Queer
West Young Adult ShOUT! (Un)Conference Series, host an evening to celebrate
the boundless world of the queer imagination with Vivek Shraya, Tamai Kobayashi,
and Alec Butler while they share their perspectives on writing and seeing
IN QUEER Magazine!
Vivek Shraya, is a transplanted prairie boy living in Toronto. Active
in the local queer community, he’s also a musician who has toured North America,
showcased at NXNE and CMW, and appeared with Tegan and Sara, Dragonette, and
Melissa Ferrick. Shraya has released five records, including 2009’s Keys &
Machines, and was recently featured on ABC’s Private Practice. His now the author
of a short story compilation, titled "God Loves Hair", which explores
gender politics, queer theory, religion and regionalism. http://blog.vivekshraya.com/
Tamai Kobayashi, author of Quixotic Erotic and Getting Wet: Tales of
Lesbian Seduction, to name of few of her works, explores the erotic in ways
that some have described as "ranging from tender and sultry to coolly surreal".
Born in Japan in 1965 and raised in Canada, Tamai Kobayashi is a writer, songwriter,
and videomaker who lives in Toronto. Her writing has appeared in a number of
lesbian anthologies and literary magazines. Kobayashi is one of the founding
members of Asian Lesbians of Toronto. Her story "Panopte's Eye" is
an excerpt from a novel-in-progress. www.ryerson.ca/library/events/asian_heritage/kobayashi.html
Alec Butler, Playwright born on Cape Breton Island in 1959, Nova Scotia
, now living in Toronto. She began her life as a woman (Audrey Butler) but in
1999 completed gender reassignment and changed her first name to Alec. Butler
is co-artistic director of Temperamental Journey, a playwright-centred company
devoted to creating provocative and entertaining theatre in the spirit of social
change and artistic excellence. The Globe and Mail has called Mr. Butler a "lesbian
[sic] punk iconoclast." He has had many of his plays published in journals.
His work Radical Perversions: 2 Dyke Plays, was published in 1990 by Women's
Press. He was also a finalist for the Governor General's Award , 1990 for Black
Friday? Plays include: Black Friday? (premiered at Dangerous Dreamers, Sydney,
Nova Scotia, 1994, directed by Bryden MacDonald); Hardcore Memories ( Women
in View , Vancouver, British Columbia, 1993, directed by the author); Claposis
( Fringe of Toronto Festival, 1990, directed by the author).
Thursday August 12 - Queer West Arts Festival Bicycle
Gallery Night. A curated cycling tour of six west end galleries.
(An all ages & orientations event)
Event Description: It's a free, fun-filled introduction to Queer West
Village exciting art scene! One and All welcome; from queer cyclists; to art
lovers lovers, to couples, friends to total strangers, come and cycle with us.
. Gallery Night is an art crawl style bike tour of art galleries, occurring
in site specific locations and visits to artists studios. Discover galleries
that you may not know and see art of all kinds including glass, painting, fabric,
and sculpture as we cycling back-alleys and side streets to each gallery.
Meeting point is on Thursday August 12 at Trinity Bellwoods Park Queen &
Strachan gate, between 6:30pm - 7 pm (Starts 7pm shape) when everyone rides,
en masse, at a slow pace, towards the first gallery of the night. The tour ends
around 9:30 pm....Safety Volunteers will watch your bicycle, at each stop while
people head into each gallery . People are welcome to join or leave the tour
as they wish/need. Helmets and night lights are recommended. Tour Leader
is Toronto artist Rui Pimenta, who is know for his famous Art Spin Tours
this summer www.artspin.ca
Friday August 13th—Queer West Song Fest
Where: Mitzi’s Sister
Address: 1554 Queen Street West
Start Time: 8pm
Host: Holly Rock
Cover: PWYC (with all proceeds going to performers)
Mitzi's Sister
- 1554 Queen Street West, 416-532-2570.The real action is catching up with the
local gossip at the bar. Lovely, summer Patio seats 40. Open 11 am-2 am Mon
to Sat., and 11 am to midnight Sunday's. “Our bar menu is all microbrews,
so I think that is one of the attractions,” says owner Lesli Gaynor. We
support local breweries. A sizable space made cozy by warm staff and mauve walls
displaying local artwork; friendly chatter happens over microbrews and massive
servings of well-crafted pub dishes. Live bands, queer author reading series
and music jams. Lesbian owned. $$ Affordable Parkdale neighbourhood, Queer
West Toronto, Ontario.
Event Description: An evening of ear-pleasing live tunes, even better
people and a spectacular venue in the heart of queer west! Lion Tiger Bear,
Mark Cassidy and People You Know!
People You Know Band! As unpretentious as they are pleasing-to-the-ears,
this three-piece band is easy to listen to, easy to look at and even easier
to love. But don’t think that the members of PYK assume that success will come
easy. Working their way up the ranks of Toronto’s music scene since April of
2008, this band of close friends has picked up new instruments, forged a new
sound together, and put a few miles on some rental cars. With shows at Canadian
Music Week, Toronto Pride and a recent win as Extra Magazine’s ‘Best Band’ of
2008 and 2009, People You Know don’t show any signs of slowing down,
or letting their snowballing success go to their heads.. www.myspace.com/peopleyouknowmusic
Mark Cassidy -Toronto native Mark Cassidy is a gifted singer and songwriter.
Over the past year Mark has been performing his unique blend of folk/pop for
audiences in and around his home town. Primarily focusing on developing his
craft of writing and performing. Opting for the intimacy and intensity of a
solo voice and guitar. Further allowing him to connect more intimately with
his audience.
Prior to this Mark had spent 3 years traveling across Canada and through The
United States playing on college and university campus’. His stage show repertoire
has grown. His most recent compositions are emotionally charged reflections
on his past, his present and his future. In 2010 he hopes to return to more
extensive touring to expand his growing audience. In the final days of 2009
Mark recorded 2 acoustic demos of his most current material. This will certainly
lead to a completely new release in 2010. www.myspace.com/markcassidy
Lion Tiger Bear Band, we play indie/folk music. This is a new band to
discover, but very dedicated to the craft. Craig and Emily Schneider have played
various venues while playing in other bands/solo such as Opera House and Voglie.
The play at Transac on Mondays, open mic. No web site.
Saturday August 14th— Cinema evening at the 3rd annual
Queer West Film Festival (Full details of all films to be shown and
press release by Sunday August 1st)
Where: The Revue Cinema
Address: 400 Roncesvalles Avenue
Start Time: 4 pm
End Time:6 pm
Cover $5/PWYC
Event Description: This year the 3rd annual Queer West Film Festival
is Queering Boundaries. We are excited to screen films that question the boundaries
of the home, the body and the mind. Films that create a dialogue about racialized/trans/queer
identity. Films that rethink and redefine the queer subject on screen. Mostly,
the films screened at the Queer West Film Festival strive to broaden the notion
of identity through each films narrative (de) construction. The QWFF will also
be focusing on the boundary queering work of Toronto’s Triangle Program through
a brief 15 year retrospective. http://triangleprogram.ca/about-2/
The 6th ANNUAL TORONTO PRIDE PARADE ON BICYCLES 2010 - No Politics
involved. Queers on Gears having fun since 2003.
Sunday August 15, 2010 - 6th Annual 54K Queer West Arts
Festival Pride Ride, Hosted by the Gay
West Bicycle Club Pride in our queer west Toronto Community
Event Description: Leisurely tour along Toronto's waterfront from West
Toronto to Port Credit with today's ride leader Michel Paré. We meet at 220
Cowan Avenue in front of the Masaryk-Cowan Community Centre at 12 Noon.
Route: From Cowan Avenue, we cycle along to Queen West and over to High
Park. Across to Martin Goodman Trail and head West along the Waterfront Trail
through Colonel Sam Smith Park over to Marie Curtis Park to Port Credit avoiding
Highway Two except for slight jog at Long Branch. A 54K excursion exploring
the parks and river banks of western Toronto About a 3 hour trip. Dress up.
Decorated your bike win a prize.
This event ends around 3:30 - 4 PM back at the Patio of the "Cadillac
Lounge" for libations and ruminations. 1296 Queen St West www.cadillaclounge.com
If lost or going to be late arriving at meetup point call 416-879-7954
. Helmets are recommended for all rides. Mandatory for those under 18. Out of
town visitors, welcome to cycle in this event. This is a FREE event, no membership
fees to cycle with us today. Gay
West Bicycle Club Now in it's 8th year, the only dedicated gay and
lesbian cycling club in eastern Canada with close to 100 members. GWBIKECLUB
on Facebook www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7366448476
or Yahoo Groups: http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/gwbikeclub/
Step out of the Village. Do it at QUEER WEST ARTS
FESTIVAL - This Year! Show your support and spread the word to
all queers and lover of queers.
2010 Sponsors
Thanks from Queer West Arts Festival to our 2010 sponsors. Xtra newspaper,
Gailey Road Productions, HenHouse, Mitzi's Sister, Westside Stories Video, Queen
Video, Revue Theatre, Lula Lounge, Le Vack Block, IvarDesign.com, Good Catch
General Store and Naco Gallery Cafe. (logos coming this weekend)
Queer West Arts Festival gratefully acknowledges all sponsors and supporters,
past and present. Drop us a line if you want to donate to or support Queer West
Arts Festival - queerwestinfo@gmail.com
416-879-7954 anytime
Volunteer Opportunities
Queer West is organization that welcomes everyone.... Write and send your resume
to Festival Program Coordinator - Jaclyn Isen - queerwestfest@gmail.com
Festival Event Coordinators: Philip, Michel P., Cait, Casey, Jacqulin,
Jaclyn, Kailee, Jane, Parul, Regina and Sarah.
Community Information & HelplineMain Phone Number: 416-879-7954
Queer West Arts Festival exists to celebrate the history, courage, diversity
and future of Queer West Toronto's LGBTTIQQ2S communities (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Transsexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, Questioning, Two-Spirited) Produced
and organized by Gay
West Community Network . Queer West Fest is the brainchild of Michel François
Paré
Gay West Community Network Inc. (Queer West Arts Centre and Toronto Queer
West Arts Festival) is a not-for-profit corporation. # 1752698. P.O. Box
204 Stn. C. Toronto ON M6K 2A9.Queer West Toronto gaybourhoods (Map)
Get Social - Join us on:
Our festival use to proceed Toronto Pride Week, in June. The Queer West Board of Directors and Arts Collective think Toronto's LGBTQ fabulousness shouldn't all be jam packed into that month. The annual arts festival, has now moved to AUGUST and become A WHOLE DIFFERENT FESTIVAL, ON ITS OWN, in an attempt to showcase queer culture, without the Commercialism. We feel there are tourists in the city all summer long, especially in August; they will be looking for something different, than Pride.
"Queer West Fest is arguably a more substantive event this year then Pride Toronto." National Post Editorial
"Queer West Arts Festival is the best low key queer festival in City of Toronto." Xtra Newspaper
"Queer West Fest event boasts a big attitude with an alternative bent that celebrates all things queer positive." Outlook Magazine
Final Queer Arts Festival event list:
"We working very hard to update the web site including official events and film festival details. Jaclyn's team is busy preparing program guide and posters. We hope to have full details, head shots, event pictures and business logos posted by Sunday Morning August 1st., maybe sooner...... Thank you for your patience....
Queer West President and web site editor- Michel F. Paré .....queerwestinfo@gmail.com 416-879-7954 (BB)
(Re)claiming, (Re)naming and (Re)presenting the contested spaces of “Queer” through the Arts
Toronto's 5th Annual Queer West Arts Festival This year arrives for NINE DAYS in August on the THEME of QUEERING BOUNDRIES with arts shows, dance, music, spoken word, drama, laughs, film, community fair, books, and, of course, cabaret! The LARGEST of three dedicated queer arts festivals in ALL OF Canada.
August 2010 will mark the 5th annual QUEER WEST ARTS & CULTURE FESTIVAL – To mark this historic event, Toronto's "West End" will be (re)claimed, (re)presented and (re)named as "queer" over the course of 9 days (Saturday August 7 to Sunday August 15, 2010).
This year QUEERING BOUNDARIES will be the vision to initialize a wide-scale community reinvention. The Queer West Toronto community is committed to ushering in a necessary and more contemporary attitude in reaction to the ever-changing threads of fiber that fashion the notion of “queer” in its entirety. The festival will view the complexity of queer identity beyond set places, spaces and community settings and bring diversity to the forefront of all programming. Artistic and cultural productions in a multidisciplinary range of forms will be the vehicle to show queer identity as a contested space. Though the theme is QUEERING BOUNDARIES, where and how those boundaries are formed is subjective. The Queer West community emphasizes a sharing of space and the exchanging of ideas as a political act, within and outside of the Queer West Village.
Saturday August 7th—Launch Party!
Where: The Hen House
Address: 1532 Dundas West
Start Time: 8pm
End Time: last call at the bar!
The Henhouse, 1532 Dundas St W. 416-534-5939 on north side, just past Dufferin. Open daily from 5pm-2am. Sat & Sunday Brunch to 3 pm. Wonderful cozy little bar, where even strangers are friendly. Mixed crowd. Henhouse has become one of the most popular up-and-coming lesbian bars on the Queer West scene. Where the Henhouse really seems shine is its inclusive atmosphere — which is fitting for the Queer West Village in general. It’s nice to go out to a place with your gay friends and run into your straight friends. Domestic beer is cheap, $5 a bottle and only Cameron Ale on tap at $5.50 a pint. Open 6 PM to 3 AM The 1950 jukebox will be jumping with Siouxsie and the Banshees, Kate Bush, Donna Summer, Blondie. Most played Fleetwood Mac, Dolly Parton. . Little Portugal (Rua Acores) neighbourhood. Queer West Toronto, Ontario. www.henhousetoronto.com
Event Description: Queer West Fest kicks off its 5th year running at one of queer Toronto’s best kept secrets—THE HEN HOUSE! So, put on your tightest skinny jeans, practice your best pick-up line in front of the mirror and be prepared for a night of jokes, laughter, conversation and dancing. Let’s turn this mother on its head, yo!
Sunday August 8th --Sexy Words!
Where: The Lula Lounge
Address: 1585 Dundas St. West
Doors: 6:15pm
Start: 7pm
Cover: PWYC (suggested $5)
Lula Dance Lounge - 1585 Dundas Street West, 2 blocks west of Dufferin (Southside, just past Sheridan.) . 416-588-0307. If you love live music, this is a great new place to see the raw musical talent of Toronto. Imported afro-cuban, sala, swing bands and spoken word nights. Little Portugal (Rua Acores) neighbourhood - Queer West Toronto, Ontario.
Event Description: The best performers in the city will be doing their thing. Poets ruminate on fucking, loving, fighting, and connecting viscerally to spaces, bodies, sounds and smells.This is the sequel to the smash success of Bent Expressions at The Press Club January 24th. tonight's event will again be hosted by Philip Cairns, fullmoon@auracom.com actor/writer/visual artist. This should prove to be a very memorable evening, all about Sex, Sex and more Sex!!!!
Queer West Arts Collective proudly presents, as part of the Queer West Fest: “SEXY WORDS” - An evening of Queer Poetry and Spoken Word on the theme of SEX.
Performers include: Duncan Armstrong, Yehuda Fisher, Parul Pandya, Cathy Petch, Jay Stewart, The Storm and Nichola Ward. MC/Host is Philip Cairns.
Duncan Armstrong is a poet/short-story writer who has had work published in “CV2”, “Labour of Love” and “Renaissance Conspiracy” and been featured at Pride, Word on the Street, TKO’s Coffeehouse & The Art Bar.
Philip Cairns is an actor/writer who has performed his poetry and performance-pieces at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, A Space, Free Times Cafe, The Black Swan, The Art Bar, The Theatre Centre and has acted in scores of small theatre productions.
Yehuda Fisher - a.k.a. PAN hosted Art Attack for CHRY FM and WordJam at Free Times Café. He has competed in many poetry slams in North America & is a member of the Slam Fam Poetry Collective.
Parul Pandya writes about love, life, history and sexuality. She has a blog, The House of Provocation, appears regularly in “Xtra” magazine and also writes reviews for the T.I.F.F. Parul's day-job is as a member of Performing Arts at Harbourfront Centre, where she is responsible for community outreach for World Stage.
Cathy Petch, the host of “Plasticine Poetry”, is a writer of plays, poetry & fiction. Her play, “A Mean Thing”, was recently performed in Peterborough. She’s been published in “Labour of Love” & is a member of Wine with Everything.
Jay Stewart was part of the Young Creator's Unit at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre where he created “Ticked '07!” He has performed at Toronto's AIDS Conference, Writing Outside the Margins, Fruit Loopz, Queer Cab and Inside Out.
The Storm, a Spoken Word Poet, recently competed at the Toronto Freedom Festival & has featured at PoetsJazzoetry the Revival, Poetic Fashion, Women’s Voice and Brown Girls in da Ring. Her website is www.thestormlive.com.
Nichola Ward is a writer/performer, the founder of the publishing/performance group Ground Queero and a member of OUTwrites. She is the author of "Little Sarah - Wordkeeper" and "Babylon Alley".
Full description, biographies and photographs of each performer. Poetry Night.
“Queer in Toronto” photography exhibit
Be sure not to miss the adjacent photography exhibit “Queer in Toronto” A Queer West Arts Festival exclusive - one night only
""Queer in Toronto"" is an arts-based project created to acknowledge the diversity of queer women in Toronto and their contributions to their communities.
(L. to R. - Taryn Pimento and Margo Foster)
Emerging from arts-based graduate research at OISE/UT, Taryn Pimento and Margo Foster.bring us a collection of black and white portraiture celebrating the diversity of queer women throughout the GTA and the powerful contributions they make to their communities. Taryn and Margo are queer graduate students from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at University of Toronto who have developed a community arts-based project to acknowledge the diversity of queer women and their contributions to their communities in Toronto. Their academic areas of interest include queer and feminist theory, alternative pedagogies and the social economy. Noticing the lack of visibility and representation of queer women in Toronto, they began documenting the experiences of queer women in the city through photography. Bringing together their love for photography, their curiosity about people's stories, and their desire to honour and acknowledge queer women,
The purpose of this project is to visually represent the diversity of queer women in the city and to explore notions of community through personal stories. There is very little representation of queer women in Toronto in terms of academic research, mainstream and gay media, and popular culture. Furthermore, there is little designated physical space and recognition of queer women’s contributions to their communities.
The aim of this art exhibit is to make queer women more visible. By assembling this collection of photographs and personal accounts, they hope to create the opportunity for participants to recognize the impact of their own histories and to contribute to a sense of collective power that queer women are often denied. To find out more, send an email to queerintoronto@gmail.com or call Taryn or Margo at (416) 655-6788
The Details: Lula Lounge. Doors 6:15 pm Show Start time is 7 pm. Cover is $5 minimum at the door. www.lula.ca 1585 Dundas Street. one block west of Dufferin, Queer West Toronto, Lounge number (416) 588-0307
Monday August 9th—The Steps. Currently running as random local neighbourhood street idea since May, "The Steps" it is catching on and locals are coming by to check it out, then coming back again and again. Michel (Queer West founder and host of Wilde Chats Philosophy Cafe), says the best advertising is Word of Mouth. Someone who knows someone, asks. "Have you been to"The Steps" yet? That's how people arrive. Is it about talking? Well yes and no. Is it about music? Could be and many other things. Oh come on... I am curious.... What is it about anyway? That's the best part. "The Steps" refuses to be defined; all the attendees have their own definition. www.nacogallery.com
Where: Naco Cafe (Patio) 647-347-6499
Address: 1665 Dundas St. W.
Start time: 8pm
End Time: 11pm
Cover: Free
Contact Info: Michel - Torontodigitalq@yahoo.ca 416-879-7954
Tuesday August 10th— Dinner and Performance of Harriet’s House
Where: LeVacK Block
Address: 88 Ossington Ave
Start time: 8pm
End Time: 11pm
Cover: $5 (no advance tickets) 40 chairs only, get there early, otherwise standing room for 30 people.
LeVack Block 88 Ossington Avenue. Situated on Toronto's coolest new street, Ossington, is LeVack Block. With its grand windows and corner location LeVack Block provides the perfect place for watching the street come alive as the sun goes down. In the front room a vintage bar with a wrought iron cage welcomes you into the large dining room with striped walls, kitschy figurines and Parisian turn-of-the-century erotica. The warm room with its many retro chandeliers is dim and creates the perfect setting for a romantic meal or a fun get together with friends.The restaurant and bar area in the front has nine brews on tap, and a neon-lit party venue in the back houses DJs and always a queer live band. Queer West Toronto, Ontario. www.levackblock.com
Event Description: An evening of good food (6-8 pm) followed by a full-cast reading of Gailey Road Production’s heart-stopping play, Harriet’s House. Dealing in love, loss, and adoption in a same-sex family, this piece is a contemporary drama on queer mothering and daughtering in today’s globalized world. Q &A follows with playwright Tara Goldstein, director, Jocelyn Wickett and full cast! Gailey Road Production’s Web Site: http://web.me.com/gaileyroad/Site/Welcome.html
Wednesday August 11th—Queerly Lit!
Where: the Gladstone Hotel Melody Bar
Address: 1214 Queen Street West
Doors: 7:30
Start Time: 8pm
Host: Queer West’s very own, Jaqlin Walters
NO COVER
Granny Boots is early evening entertainment for queer folk who like to be in bed by 11. Tonight's Host: Queer West’s very own, Jaqlin Walters you and your Granny get to be home early AND entertained all in one night! Tonight GRANNY BOOTS starts at 8 PM sharp and ends at 10 PM.
Event Description: Granny Boots and the Queer West Young Adult ShOUT! (Un)Conference Series, host an evening to celebrate the boundless world of the queer imagination with Vivek Shraya, Tamai Kobayashi, and Alec Butler while they share their perspectives on writing and seeing IN QUEER Magazine!
Vivek Shraya, is a transplanted prairie boy living in Toronto. Active in the local queer community, he’s also a musician who has toured North America, showcased at NXNE and CMW, and appeared with Tegan and Sara, Dragonette, and Melissa Ferrick. Shraya has released five records, including 2009’s Keys & Machines, and was recently featured on ABC’s Private Practice. His now the author of a short story compilation, titled "God Loves Hair", which explores gender politics, queer theory, religion and regionalism. http://blog.vivekshraya.com/
Tamai Kobayashi, author of Quixotic Erotic and Getting Wet: Tales of Lesbian Seduction, to name of few of her works, explores the erotic in ways that some have described as "ranging from tender and sultry to coolly surreal". Born in Japan in 1965 and raised in Canada, Tamai Kobayashi is a writer, songwriter, and videomaker who lives in Toronto. Her writing has appeared in a number of lesbian anthologies and literary magazines. Kobayashi is one of the founding members of Asian Lesbians of Toronto. Her story "Panopte's Eye" is an excerpt from a novel-in-progress. www.ryerson.ca/library/events/asian_heritage/kobayashi.html
Alec Butler, Playwright born on Cape Breton Island in 1959, Nova Scotia , now living in Toronto. She began her life as a woman (Audrey Butler) but in 1999 completed gender reassignment and changed her first name to Alec. Butler is co-artistic director of Temperamental Journey, a playwright-centred company devoted to creating provocative and entertaining theatre in the spirit of social change and artistic excellence. The Globe and Mail has called Mr. Butler a "lesbian [sic] punk iconoclast." He has had many of his plays published in journals. His work Radical Perversions: 2 Dyke Plays, was published in 1990 by Women's Press. He was also a finalist for the Governor General's Award , 1990 for Black Friday? Plays include: Black Friday? (premiered at Dangerous Dreamers, Sydney, Nova Scotia, 1994, directed by Bryden MacDonald); Hardcore Memories ( Women in View , Vancouver, British Columbia, 1993, directed by the author); Claposis ( Fringe of Toronto Festival, 1990, directed by the author).
Thursday August 12 - Queer West Arts Festival Bicycle Gallery Night. A curated cycling tour of six west end galleries. (An all ages & orientations event)
Event Description: It's a free, fun-filled introduction to Queer West Village exciting art scene! One and All welcome; from queer cyclists; to art lovers lovers, to couples, friends to total strangers, come and cycle with us. . Gallery Night is an art crawl style bike tour of art galleries, occurring in site specific locations and visits to artists studios. Discover galleries that you may not know and see art of all kinds including glass, painting, fabric, and sculpture as we cycling back-alleys and side streets to each gallery.
Meeting point is on Thursday August 12 at Trinity Bellwoods Park Queen & Strachan gate, between 6:30pm - 7 pm (Starts 7pm shape) when everyone rides, en masse, at a slow pace, towards the first gallery of the night. The tour ends around 9:30 pm....Safety Volunteers will watch your bicycle, at each stop while people head into each gallery . People are welcome to join or leave the tour as they wish/need. Helmets and night lights are recommended. Tour Leader is Toronto artist Rui Pimenta, who is know for his famous Art Spin Tours this summer www.artspin.ca
Friday August 13th—Queer West Song Fest
Where: Mitzi’s Sister
Address: 1554 Queen Street West
Start Time: 8pm
Host: Holly Rock
Cover: PWYC (with all proceeds going to performers)
Mitzi's Sister - 1554 Queen Street West, 416-532-2570.The real action is catching up with the local gossip at the bar. Lovely, summer Patio seats 40. Open 11 am-2 am Mon to Sat., and 11 am to midnight Sunday's. “Our bar menu is all microbrews, so I think that is one of the attractions,” says owner Lesli Gaynor. We support local breweries. A sizable space made cozy by warm staff and mauve walls displaying local artwork; friendly chatter happens over microbrews and massive servings of well-crafted pub dishes. Live bands, queer author reading series and music jams. Lesbian owned. $$ Affordable Parkdale neighbourhood, Queer West Toronto, Ontario.
Event Description: An evening of ear-pleasing live tunes, even better people and a spectacular venue in the heart of queer west! Lion Tiger Bear, Mark Cassidy and People You Know!
People You Know Band! As unpretentious as they are pleasing-to-the-ears, this three-piece band is easy to listen to, easy to look at and even easier to love. But don’t think that the members of PYK assume that success will come easy. Working their way up the ranks of Toronto’s music scene since April of 2008, this band of close friends has picked up new instruments, forged a new sound together, and put a few miles on some rental cars. With shows at Canadian Music Week, Toronto Pride and a recent win as Extra Magazine’s ‘Best Band’ of 2008 and 2009, People You Know don’t show any signs of slowing down, or letting their snowballing success go to their heads.. www.myspace.com/peopleyouknowmusic
Mark Cassidy -Toronto native Mark Cassidy is a gifted singer and songwriter. Over the past year Mark has been performing his unique blend of folk/pop for audiences in and around his home town. Primarily focusing on developing his craft of writing and performing. Opting for the intimacy and intensity of a solo voice and guitar. Further allowing him to connect more intimately with his audience.
Prior to this Mark had spent 3 years traveling across Canada and through The United States playing on college and university campus’. His stage show repertoire has grown. His most recent compositions are emotionally charged reflections on his past, his present and his future. In 2010 he hopes to return to more extensive touring to expand his growing audience. In the final days of 2009 Mark recorded 2 acoustic demos of his most current material. This will certainly lead to a completely new release in 2010. www.myspace.com/markcassidy
Lion Tiger Bear Band, we play indie/folk music. This is a new band to discover, but very dedicated to the craft. Craig and Emily Schneider have played various venues while playing in other bands/solo such as Opera House and Voglie. The play at Transac on Mondays, open mic. No web site.
Saturday August 14th— Cinema evening at the 3rd annual Queer West Film Festival (Full details of all films to be shown and press release by Sunday August 1st)
Where: The Revue Cinema
Address: 400 Roncesvalles Avenue
Start Time: 4 pm
End Time:6 pm
Cover $5/PWYC
Event Description: This year the 3rd annual Queer West Film Festival is Queering Boundaries. We are excited to screen films that question the boundaries of the home, the body and the mind. Films that create a dialogue about racialized/trans/queer identity. Films that rethink and redefine the queer subject on screen. Mostly, the films screened at the Queer West Film Festival strive to broaden the notion of identity through each films narrative (de) construction. The QWFF will also be focusing on the boundary queering work of Toronto’s Triangle Program through a brief 15 year retrospective. http://triangleprogram.ca/about-2/
The 6th ANNUAL TORONTO PRIDE PARADE ON BICYCLES 2010 - No Politics involved. Queers on Gears having fun since 2003.
Sunday August 15, 2010 - 6th Annual 54K Queer West Arts Festival Pride Ride, Hosted by the Gay West Bicycle Club Pride in our queer west Toronto Community
Event Description: Leisurely tour along Toronto's waterfront from West Toronto to Port Credit with today's ride leader Michel Paré. We meet at 220 Cowan Avenue in front of the Masaryk-Cowan Community Centre at 12 Noon.
Route: From Cowan Avenue, we cycle along to Queen West and over to High Park. Across to Martin Goodman Trail and head West along the Waterfront Trail through Colonel Sam Smith Park over to Marie Curtis Park to Port Credit avoiding Highway Two except for slight jog at Long Branch. A 54K excursion exploring the parks and river banks of western Toronto About a 3 hour trip. Dress up. Decorated your bike win a prize.
This event ends around 3:30 - 4 PM back at the Patio of the "Cadillac Lounge" for libations and ruminations. 1296 Queen St West www.cadillaclounge.com
If lost or going to be late arriving at meetup point call 416-879-7954 . Helmets are recommended for all rides. Mandatory for those under 18. Out of town visitors, welcome to cycle in this event. This is a FREE event, no membership fees to cycle with us today. Gay West Bicycle Club Now in it's 8th year, the only dedicated gay and lesbian cycling club in eastern Canada with close to 100 members. GWBIKECLUB on Facebook www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7366448476 or Yahoo Groups: http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/gwbikeclub/
Step out of the Village. Do it at QUEER WEST ARTS FESTIVAL - This Year! Show your support and spread the word to all queers and lover of queers.
2010 Sponsors
Thanks from Queer West Arts Festival to our 2010 sponsors. Xtra newspaper, Gailey Road Productions, HenHouse, Mitzi's Sister, Westside Stories Video, Queen Video, Revue Theatre, Lula Lounge, Le Vack Block, IvarDesign.com, Good Catch General Store and Naco Gallery Cafe. (logos coming this weekend)
Queer West Arts Festival gratefully acknowledges all sponsors and supporters, past and present. Drop us a line if you want to donate to or support Queer West Arts Festival - queerwestinfo@gmail.com 416-879-7954 anytime
Volunteer Opportunities
Queer West is organization that welcomes everyone.... Write and send your resume to Festival Program Coordinator - Jaclyn Isen - queerwestfest@gmail.com
Festival Contact Information:
Festival Program Coordinator & Volunteers - Jaclyn Isen - queerwestfest@gmail.com
Film Festival Program Director - Casey Reid - qwfilmfest@gmail.com
Advertising / Sponsorships & Web maintenance- Michel Paré - queerwestinfo@gmail.com
Literary Events - Philip Cairns - fullmoon@auracom.com
Media & Public Relations Director - Parul Pandya - queerwestfestmedia@gmail.com
Festival Event Coordinators: Philip, Michel P., Cait, Casey, Jacqulin, Jaclyn, Kailee, Jane, Parul, Regina and Sarah.
Community Information & Helpline Main Phone Number: 416-879-7954
Queer West Arts Festival exists to celebrate the history, courage, diversity and future of Queer West Toronto's LGBTTIQQ2S communities (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, Questioning, Two-Spirited) Produced and organized by Gay West Community Network . Queer West Fest is the brainchild of Michel François Paré
Gay West Community Network Inc. (Queer West Arts Centre and Toronto Queer West Arts Festival) is a not-for-profit corporation. # 1752698. P.O. Box 204 Stn. C. Toronto ON M6K 2A9.Queer West Toronto gaybourhoods (Map)
Festival Guide - Courtesy of Queer West
Arts Collective: Overview | Festival News
Queer West Arts Festival: About Us | Official Events | Spoken Word
Queer West Film Festival: About Us | Film Festival Schedule
History Archive: History Gay Festivals Toronto | History of Queer West | History of Gay Toronto
Other Festivals: International Queer Arts Festivals | International Queer Film Festivals | Pride Festivals Canada & USA
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