At dozens of sparkling gathering places across our city, waves of events continue through the month including teas, drag shows, a mayor’s brunch, a Pride-themed Riverhawks baseball game and many, many dance parties.
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Pride Month in Edmonton kicks off with a dazzling and thoughtful “ruby red 40th anniversary celebration” of 2SLGBTQ+ identity and culture here throughout all of June.
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At dozens of sparkling gathering places across our city, waves of events will include teas, drag shows, a mayor’s brunch, a Pride-themed Riverhawks baseball game and many, many dance parties.
Highlights are numerous, like Drag Race’s Illona Verley and Kyne performing at Evolution Wonderlounge (10220 103 St.) 9 pm June 17 and 18 respectively. The Glitter & Grease outdoor community event starring Luciana will take over Churchill Square 7 pm June 24. And that same night at 9 pm, the 34th Annual Gay Edmonton Pageant, an all-ages drag show struts its stuff at Westmount Community Hall (12139 105 St).
Pride Month will then crescendo (but definitely not end) with Edmonton PrideFest on Churchill Square on June 25 with musical acts Virginia to Vegas, Amy Hef and Bollywood sensation Neha Batra to entertain the beer gardens.
An ever-growing list of smaller educational and celebrational events continues around town through the end of the month.
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Decked-out rainbow crosswalks, which started here in 2019, and ETS’ Pride-themed bus will also add to the wider loud-and-proud community spirit. And the High Level Bridge will reflect the Pride flag colors in the North Saskatchewan from sunset to midnight Saturday, so head down to the finally-bud-bursting valley to take a look, the scent of lilacs in the air.
You can find a full list of events to see what strikes your fancy at capitalpride.ca/events.
Coming up this first weekend is something massive and exciting as the hardworking Fruit Loop party mystics are hosting a three-day-and-night event at the Grindstone complex (10019 81 Ave.) The name says it all: Pride Reunited.
“We highly encourage people to just be there from June 3 at 5 pm to June 5 at 4 pm,” laughs Joshua Wolchansky, Fruit Loop Society of Alberta’s entertainment director.
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The free outdoor street fair will feature more than 50 performers, vendors, workshop hosts and artists, with special Fruit Loop showcases at 9 pm Friday and Saturday night.
“Each show is going to be its own unique capsule,” Wolchansky explains. “We’re going to have some burlesque, we’re going to have some incredible drag, of course. And it’s Grindstone, so we’ll have some musical theater on Friday — just an incredible range.
“We really wanted to make sure that we were providing as many opportunities for performance as possible,” the organizer-performer says, “so we’ve got some of the most established queens, but some of the newer performers as well.”
He says the motivation all comes down to people being able to be part of a familiar energy.
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“The most important thing about Fruit Loop is the crowd, the people who are there who show up event after event — and we have people who are 18 to 80.
“And this time,” because some of it’s outdoors and all ages, “it’s probably going to be eight to 80,” he laughs.
Saturday’s all-ages lineup is especially compelling.
At 2 pm there’s Drag Queen Story Time at the Secret Garden Stage behind the venue. Music by Matthew and the Keys, Emmet Michael and Homofonix runs 3:30-5 pm And at 8:30 pm there’s a Prairie Fairy Showdown, with a $500 cash prize for the contestant with the best makeup and costume matching the local beer logo, crafted by Sea Change, which donates 10 per cent of proceeds from every keg to organizations in the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
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“I actually got the Prairie Fairy logo tattooed on my thigh,” Wolchansky declares.
On the wider grounds Saturday, puppet crafting starts at 1 pm and the Doggos and Drag Queens Photo Op runs from 2:30-4 pm, taken by Brendan Roy.
“As we move towards an endemic stage,” Wolchansky notes, “we are mindful that not everyone feels comfortable being in an enclosed area. The 2SLGBTQ+ community obviously has several immunocompromised individuals out there, so it was really important for us that the majority of these events are going to be open air.”
That said, after the 9 pm showcases on the outdoor stage, things move inside with a combo Grindstone Sweat and Fruit Loop dance party on Friday, and a Sapphic Speakeasy and Fruit Loop dance party combo Saturday. Both start at 10 pm, with pop-up performances at 11 pm both nights for an 18+ crowd.
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Next weekend at Starlite Room (10030 102 St.), Fruit Loop is throwing its more familiar drag cabaret, Pride Recharged.
“That’s one night only and it’s just going to be an absolute fun, sweaty, delicious evening surrounded by 500 of our closest friends,” says Wolchansky.
Not wanting to use the word “normal” to describe it, I ask him if it’s great to be back to reality.
“I mean, in the rainbow community, we hate normal,” he laughs. “But during the pandemic we opened up communication that I think wouldn’t have been there — we supported organizations, we sought out new opportunities.
“But the ability to be in a space and feel people’s energy again, that’s something no Zoom meeting can ever do, no matter how well organized.”
This month, in short, is going to be amazing.
If you can’t wait for the big Grindstone event Friday, there are appetizer events. LaDonna Stone hosts the Pageantinta drag show at Evolution Wonderlounge 8 pm Thursday, and the Pride Month Kick-Off happens at City Hall Plaza from 4-5 pm earlier that day.
And don’t forget, that full schedule of events is at capitalprideyeg.ca — so get out there and have the best of times, you certainly deserve it!
