LGBTQ culture in Vancouver

Rainbow crosswalk in Davie Village

Vancouver's (British Columbia, Canada) LGBT community is centered on Davie Village. Commercial Drive has historically acted as a gayborhood for the Vancouver lesbian community. Historically, LGBT people have also gathered in the Chinatown and Gastown neighborhoods. Former establishments include Dino's Turkish Baths, a gay bathhouse on Hastings, and the city's first drag bar, BJ's, on Pender Street.^[1]

CBC has said Vancouver is seen as a haven for LGBT people,^[2] and Condé Nast Traveler has called Vancouver the most gay-friendly city in Canada.^[3]

Community centres

Qmunity, founded in 1979 as the Vancouver Gay Community Centre and formerly known as The Centre, is located on Bute Street in Davie Village.^[4]

Events

Vancouver pride parade, 2014

LGBT events in Vancouver include:

• Pride Week 1973
• Queer Arts Festival
• Vancouver Pride Festival, annual LGBTQ+ pride event
• Vancouver Queer Film Festival

The annual Gay Men's Health Summit is hosted by Vancouver's Community-Based Research Centre for Gay Men's Health (CBRC).^[5]

Media

Xtra Vancouver was a gay bi-weekly newspaper, published by Pink Triangle Press between 1993 and 2015. OUTtv is a specialty channel and streaming network headquartered in Vancouver that has been covering local LGBT events and culture since 2001.

Bars and nightclubs

Celebrities Nightclub's exterior, 2016

Exterior of Numbers, 2016

LGBT bars and nightclubs in Vancouver include Celebrities Nightclub, Fountainhead Pub, The Junction, and Numbers, and Pumpjack Pub.

Organizations

LGBT organizations based in Vancouver include:

• AIDS Vancouver
• BC Gay and Lesbian Archives
• Dancing to Eagle Spirit Society^[6]
• The Dogwood Monarchist Society (DMS)^[7]
• Gay Alliance Toward Equality
• Greater Vancouver Native Cultural Society (GVNCS Two-Spirit Society)^[6]
• Health Initiative for Men (HiM)^[8]
• Kiss and Tell collective
• Our City of Colours^[6]
• Pinoy Pride Vancouver^[6]
• Q Hall of Fame Canada
• Rainbow Refugee^[6][9]
• Salaam Vancouver^[6]
• Sher Vancouver^[6]
• Trikone Vancouver^[6]
• Vancouver Gay Liberation Front^[10]
• Vancouver Pride Society^[10]
• Yad b’Yad LGBTQ^[6]

References

1. "Gay footsteps through time". Daily Xtra. 2006-08-01. Archived from the original on 2017-06-16. Retrieved 2017-06-11.
2. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-safe-haven-lgbtq-1.6117787 ^{[bare URL]}
3. "An LGBT Guide to Canada's Most Gay-Friendly City". Condé Nast Traveler. 2015-07-03. Retrieved 2024-03-02.
4. "B.C. LGBT resource centre Qmunity finally ends decades-long search for new Vancouver location". Straight.com. 2017-05-19. Archived from the original on 2017-07-01. Retrieved 2017-06-11.
5. "Gay Men's Health Summit 2017 to explore HIV prevention beyond just sex". Straight.com. 2017-06-06. Archived from the original on 2017-06-07. Retrieved 2017-06-11.
6. Takeuchi, Craig (July 28, 2016). "From South Asian to Jewish Canadians: Metro Vancouver's LGBT cultural organizations and groups". The Georgia Straight. Archived from the original on May 28, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
7. "It's a regal affair for this society helping the local LGBTQ+ community | Listed". dailyhive.com. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
8. "The big picture of health for HIM". Vancouver Is Awesome. 2012-07-27. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
9. "Vancouver, Toronto LGBT organizations launch emergency response to Chechnya gay prison camps". Straight.com. 2017-04-19. Archived from the original on 2017-06-24. Retrieved 2017-06-11.
10. "Longtime Vancouver LGBT activists speak up for police presence at Pride parade". CBC News. 2017-02-20. Archived from the original on 2017-05-26. Retrieved 2017-06-11.

External links

• "LGBTQ community". City of Vancouver.
• Peeples, Jase (May 15, 2014). "A Definitive Gay Guide to Vancouver, B.C." Out Traveler.
• Ferber, Lawrence (July 3, 2015). "An LGBT Guide to Vancouver, Canada's Most Gay-Friendly City". Condé Nast Traveler.