FESTIVAL FIERTÉ MONTRÉAL-PARC DES FAUBOURGS – AUGUST 9, 2019
By Abbey Wolf
This year marks the 13th edition of Fierté in Montreal. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, which took place in Greenwich Village, June 28th, 1969.
It was that very event that inspired LGBTQ+ communities to commemorate that historical event annually.
The “sex garage” protest, which took place in Montreal in 1990, is also being commemorated at the festival this year. Another important spotlight will shine on indigenous people, to bring recognition, representation, and awareness of the plight of women, young girls, and “two-spirit persons” face every day. The focus being, their rights for justice and security.
Although it is known to spread joy and fun, the Pride festival is not only for celebration or an excuse to “party and dance” and to watch a parade filled with gorgeous drag queens and kings. There are multiple reasons why an event as such is necessary and even more so, as there are so many environmentally determined tensions in our society, these events create awareness. Pride events raise awareness by providing visibility for numerous groups and causes. It is a safe place for many to express themselves freely and without scrutiny.
The opening ceremony tonight started with an indigenous reconciliation ceremony, with songs and dances performed by four beautiful indigenous women. After the flag-raising, the evening kicked off with a short film feature called “Tsanizid” meaning “Wake up” in the Tsuutina Dene language.
Ariane Moffatt proudly headlined the evening and despite a thunderstorm, the crowd courageously stayed to watch the show till the end. Events at the festival will run from the 9th up to the 18th. The program and events schedule is listed on the Fierté site and you can also download a nifty app there.
https://fiertemtl.com/en
Montreal Pride Fest – Ariane Moffatt - Parc Des Faubourgs TD Stage – August 9, 2019
By Abbey Wolf
Ariane Moffatt was the headliner at the Montreal Pride Festival opening ceremony last night. Over a thousand of her fans braved the rain for this beloved hometown artist. At only 40, she has a long-standing career spanning close to 20 years. Since her debut album Aquanaute in 2002, Moffatt has risen to become one of Quebec’s top artists. Her music is a combined style of pop, electronica, jazz, and folk.
The set started with an intro of some footage from the “sex garage” protests during the ’90s in Montreal. Moffatt was only 11 years old at the time those protests took place, Moffatt, who made her “coming out” public in 2012, always remained fairly low key in her music regarding sexuality and/or preference. However, tonight, she expressed how it was a long journey for her to arrive at the stage, where she has become who she always wanted to be. Her performance tonight was very meaningful to her. She feels strongly about voicing out on issues regarding minorities.
Moffatt greeted her fans with a wave and a smile and started her set with enthusiasm. She sang a few of her hits, such as “Point de mire” and “Je veux tous”. Her set varied with songs from earlier albums and her most recent album, Petites mains pr cieuses, released in 2018. She was wearing a sleek black lycra tracksuit with the symbol of the tree of life. She had a full band (guitarist, bassist, drummer) and two fabulous backup singers.
Moffatt greeted her fans with a wave and a smile and started her set with enthusiasm. She sang a few of her hits, such as “Point de mire” and “Je veux tous”. Her set varied with songs from earlier albums and her most recent album, Petites mains pr cieuses, released in 2018. She was wearing a sleek black lycra tracksuit with the symbol of the tree of life. She had a full band (guitarist, bassist, drummer) and two fabulous backup singers.
She performed a wonderful cover of Sade’s “Smooth Operator” and closed her set with an entourage of beautiful drag queens lined up in front of the stage. Moffatt is genuinely pure and is a natural-born talent. As a performer, she effortlessly puts out and gives all of herself to her fans. What a great show it was!
Montreal Pride Fest – Geoffroy Parc Des Faubourgs TD Stage – August 14, 2019
By Abbey Wolf
Another Montreal home town talent to take the
stage at the festival is Geoffroy Sauvé, a multitalented musician
singer/songwriter and producer.
Geoffroy’s style is rather eclectic, leaning
towards indie-pop, and with flavours and influences of music from all over the
world. The artist has extensively traveled and this is an evident influence in
his writing and compositions.
Geoffroy, a former contestant of the Quebec franchise of La Voix, launched his debut album “Coastline” in 2015. Since his debut, he has been working hard to further his career and delve deeper into his art. His show at the festival was short and sweet, as unfortunately, he only had 30 minutes to play, so we only had a sampling of his songs. He played some of his smooth laid back tunes like “Sleeping on my Own” and “Coastline”, the title track from his debut with the same name. He also shared with us a new composition of his.
You can encourage this bright and
upcoming artist by downloading his latest tunes @ https://geoffroymusic.bandcamp.com/ and http://smarturl.it/Geoffroy_Coastline/
Montreal Pride Festival – Lesbian Speed Date From Hell! Le Ministétre – August 15, 2019 & Interview With Show
By Abbey Wolf
Lesbian Speed Date From Hell! is a comedy/horror play filled with a quick wit and quirky characters. Satirical with some edginess, it has just the right amount of grit and camp to get a good laugh. The social commentary driving this theatrical bus is about online dating cultures and stereotypes. It also takes a dig at “ghosting” or “cloaking”, which is an increasing phenomenon in social relationships. “Ghosting” is the term used when people remove themselves from relationships without notice and or explanation.
The actors in the play portray single lesbians, (except one straight male character) who attend a speed dating event. The play gives homage to Stephen King’s Misery, and as a parody, the story is about a woman who sets out to get revenge against another woman who had once “ghosted” her.
There are twists and turns and yet beneath the slapstick, the undertones were hard to
miss, such as the potential dangers of online dating and the effect negative experiences have on the human psyche.
The dialogue was entertaining and intelligent, so there was little need for props, although, the props were creative and well utilized.
The cost is friendly for any budget and the duration of the play is just under an hour. The venue, Le Ministére, provided a perfect and intimate setting for the play, with bistro-style seating and a fully equipped bar.
I asked the show’s writer/producer Christina Saliba a few questions regarding her play and what inspired her:
Abbey – “What initially inspired you to write this
play?”
Christina – “My writing team of Lorna Kidjo and Adam
Kolodny and I are die-hard horror fans and when I came across Festival De La Boite Noire, Montreal’s first ever horror-themed theatre festival, looking for submissions, this provided us an excellent platform to bring a niche genre of theatre, horror-comedy, to Montreal audiences. Adam had an idea for a horror film surrounding a speed dating event and with my own personal experiences attending lesbian speed dating events in Montreal, it just clicked. This also presented us with an opportunity to connect more with the queer community, which we are a part of, and delve into themes of disconnection and isolation that are so rampant in today’s digital cyberspace we all live in.”
Abbey- “What kind of future do you envision for queer
theatre in the digital age?”
Christina – “I think with brands like “Rupaul’s Drag
Race” and “Queer Eye”, queer content is certainly becoming more
popular and mainstream. Queer content is slowly but surely gaining momentum, however female/trans/ non-binary / POC queer voices still do not have as large and prominent platforms as their male counterparts. I think it’s important we provide those spaces particularly for the highly marginalized groups under the
queer umbrella and at all costs support authentic queer representation on
stage. I think in time, the lines between queer theatre and traditional theatre will be blurred as diversity will be so present and accepted that we won’t need to refer to a show as queer.”
Abbey- “What’s next? Do you have something on your
artistic back-burner?”
Christina – “Yes but I’m a big fan of surprises and I don’t want to give too much away! Let’s just say it’s not the end of “Lesbian Speed Date From Hell!”
Montreal Pride Festival – Margaret Cho Parc Des Faubourgs – August 16, 2019
By Abbey Wolf
What an awesome treat it was to have seen Margaret Cho perform stand-up at the festival last night. Cho is famous for her in your face, take no shit from anyone (even a psycho chasing her with a tire iron) attitude. She is outspoken and transparent (to say the least), and the crowd was in tears from laughing so much. Personally, my cheeks (the ones on my face) are still sore from having a constant smile for an hour.
Cho, who identifies as “bisexual”, ripped into all kinds of stereotypes, starting with her own culture, then Lesbians and gay men.
She gave passionate commentary about the current administration in her country (the USA), and she sincerely apologized for Trump, saying how “embarrassing” it is to have him as their president. She shared a few stories such as one with Sarah Palin and her daughter, where she confessed to having an attraction for highly conservative women.
She was graphic and did not hold back one cent when talking about sex. Enacting how it might seem if a gay man were to go downtown (so to speak) on a woman for the first time, AND, only for charity. This would be the most subtle way I could suggest what she said, but, I believe the picture tells the story in better detail.
Cho, who identifies as “bisexual”, ripped into all kinds of stereotypes, starting with her own culture, then Lesbians and gay men.
She gave passionate commentary about the current administration in her country (the USA), and she sincerely apologized for Trump, saying how “embarrassing” it is to have him as their president. She shared a few stories such as one with Sarah Palin and her daughter, where she confessed to having an attraction for highly conservative women.
She was graphic and did not hold back one cent when talking about sex. Enacting how it might seem if a gay man were to go downtown (so to speak) on a woman for the first time, AND, only for charity. This would be the most subtle way I could suggest what she said, but, I believe the picture tells the story in better detail.
The way Cho takes TMI to another level is masterful. She made some strong political statements, which, when saying them so was rather serious. Particularly about how damaging it is when women of power go against other women. She also made important commentary about current changes to abortion legislation in the States and how the impacts will be devastating to the progress women’s groups had made. Cho has been and will always be a strong force, voicing out for women and queers everywhere.
The venue was filled to the maximum and the energy was festive and spirited. The show ran for an hour and after the show, we have no doubt that Cho got herself that “poutine” she said she was anxious to have!
Montreal Pride Parade Wrap-Up - Parc Des Faubourgs – August 18, 2019
By Abbey Wolf
The 36th annual Montreal Pride Parade, was more colourful than ever before, as minority visibility was the highlight. There was representation from our local Niizh manidoowag (two-spirited people), Thailand, China, and Brazil, just to name a few.
There were tones of “activism” and political awareness, which was consistent with the organizers’ mission this year. Organizer and founder of the Pride Fest Éric Pineault had reported that the festival’s social media platform had received a record number of homophobic and transphobic messages this year. Therefore, there is still a lot of work and education needed to someday eradicate this kind of intolerance and hatred. One of the festival’s primary missions is to continue to raise public awareness, help to educate and strengthen the community.
Hundreds of thousands of spectators from all walks of life adorned the sides of the streets in perfect weather conditions. The crowds were joyful, enthusiastic and supportive.
As he has traditionally done for the past four years, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau marched along with other politicians, namely, Premier Francois Legault, Mayor Valérie Plante, New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh, and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May.
There was a moment of silence for all the lives lost to AIDS,
violence and for all injustices LGBQT2+ persons suffer all over the world. The parade halted and the city streets were so quiet, you could only hear the wind.
Known media personalities Mutsumi Takahashi Paul Karwatsky and Lise McAuley and the handsome Max Harrold showed their support and cruised by in their CTV convertible. The parade started at 1 pm and the 2.7-kilometer route on Ren -Lèvesque Blvd. ran from Metcalfe to Alexandre-Desève and lasted roughly three hours. The parade started at 1 pm and the 2.7-kilometer route on Ren -Lèvesque Blvd. ran from Metcalfe to Alexandre-Desève and lasted roughly three hours.
The crowds slowly made their way up to the festival venue at Parc des Faubourgs, which quickly filled. The evening was reserved for the party aspect of Pride Week, as thousands of people danced to house music, spun by one of Brazil’s top DJs Las Bibas From Vizcaya.
The venue was a fitting location for this year’s festivities, as the turnout was enormous. The grounds were divided into several spaces that were creative and fun. The food court had everything from hot dogs to gourmet style goodies like lobster rolls and paella.
Every year the pride festival grows and this year it bloomed! Here’s a puppy fist pump to send you on your way, gay-lee onward! 🙂