The BC Alliance for Arts + Culture wishes you happy Pride 2022!

The BC Alliance of Arts + Culture would like to wish you a happy Pride! Pride emerged as a celebration to commemorate the Stonewall Riots of 1969, and is the product of activism led by queer and transgender people of colour against police harassment. The Alliance recognizes that the fight for justice is ongoing, and we stand in solidarity with the 2SLGBTQAI+ community.

In celebration of Pride, we've put together a list of some events happening locally, both in Vancouver and around the province this month:

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Kelowna Out & Proud Film Festival
The Rotary Centre for the Arts is proud to host and produce the fourth annual Kelowna Out & Proud Film Festival featuring stories by and about the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. This year's festival will run June 16, 17, and 19 at the Mary Irwin Theatre. To purchase a festival pass, click here.
(Location: Mary Irwin Theatre, Kelowna, Jun. 16-Jun. 19)

PRIDE at the TIDE
The Queen of East Van, Isolde N. Barron, is back alongside her Baddest B!&@h, Peach Cobblah, to host a hybrid pride experience. Celebrations will kick off with an interactive drag show and a guest performance by Valley Girls Dance, followed by a dance party with special musical guests, Queer As Funk! Join the celebration in person at the theatre, or purchase a live stream ticket and enjoy from the comfort of your home. To purchase tickets for the event, click here.
(Location: Online or at The Tidemark Theatre, Campbell River, Jun. 18)

Queer Arts Festival
The Queer Arts Festival (QAF) is an annual artist-run transdisciplinary art festival at the Roundhouse in Vancouver, BC. Each year, the festival theme ties together a curated visual art exhibition, performing art series, workshops, artist talks, panels, and media art screenings. To read more about the various exhibits and events happening as part of the Queer Arts Festival, click here.
(Location: The Roundhouse, Vancouver, Jun. 18-Jul. 8)

‘Queering the Interior’
Queering the Interior centres on the people and moments that defined the queer community in the Kootenays while paying tribute to the legacy of activism that led to a diverse and robust LGBTQ2S+ population today. Spanning decades, this 45-minute documentary will explore how the discrimination and demands of one generation were transformed into the rights and responsibilities of those that followed. Both cautious and celebratory in tone, this film will illuminate a history that started with a brave handful of pioneers who ushered in the largest rural queer community in Canada. To purchase tickets for the screening, click here.
(Location: The Civic Theatre, Nelson, Jun. 22)

Film Screening of Nelly Queen: The Life and Times of Jose Sarria
Jose Julio Sarria was a WW2 veteran, a cabaret performer, a political activist, and the first out candidate for public office in 1961 all BEFORE Stonewall. He was one of the founding fathers of the LGBT+ community and has been called our community's own Rosa Parks. He was never one to shy away from controversy, he stood up for our civil rights as he fought back against police harassment and he galvanized the LGBT+ community in 1950s San Francisco. He is credited with being the first to use the term gay community and his activism birthed a political movement that has stretched across the continent. He proclaimed Gay is Good and urged the community to organize through his cry "United We Stand, divided they catch us one by one." The screening is free and interested participants can register for the event here.
(Location: Simon Fraser University - Surrey Campus, Surrey, Jun. 23)

Objects of Pride
Celebrate and connect during Pride Month this June through a unique virtual show and tell on June 29, 2022. Open to all members of the community that identify as LGBTQ2S+, this online event is an opportunity to share a personal story about an object, photo, song, or other artefact that connects you to your LGBTQ2S+ experience and history. After a quick introduction, participants will join small, facilitated break out rooms, allowing for more opportunities to connect and learn from each other through histories and experiences. Participants are encouraged to share their objects and stories on Instagram using the hashtag #ObjectsofPrideMOV. Participants can register for the event here.
(Location: Online, Vancouver, Jun. 29)