July 7, 2012
Gay Times in Montreal This Summer
Mark Thompson READ TIME: 3 MIN.
MONTREAL, Canada - Searching for a fun holiday this summer? Then look no further than beautiful Montr�al! With two major LGBT festivals (Divers/Cit� and Pride), a huge Gay Village closed off to automobile traffic until September, a fabulous queer arts festival and the 3rd edition of the Queer of the Year contest, Montr�al is the place to be!
Planning on coming to Montr�al this summer? Here's a glimpse of what's in store for the LGBT community.
Queer of the Year, August 11 - 19: Tourisme Montr�al's third annual Queer of the Year contest is back! 5 participants from around the world will be flown to Montr�al during Pride week (August 11-19) to face off during a series of challenges . Finalists will be flown to Montr�al by Air Canada, with the winner receiving another return trip to Montr�al and C5000$. Le Germain Montr�al hotel is providing accommodations to contestants and the production team, as well as three free nights to the winner during their return trip to Montr�al. Enter now until July 20th.
LINK: https://www.facebook.com/QOTYcontest
Aires libres pedestrian mall, May 17 to September 3, 2012: This summer Montr�al's vie en rose is even rosier than ever. The canopy of bright pink lights over rue Sainte-Catherine is so tr�s gai for strolling under or meeting friends for drinks or a meal on a terrace. Aires Libres turns Sainte-Catherine Street East into a pedestrian zone from Saint-Hubert Street to Papineau Avenue. And this year is the Montr�al Gay Village's 30th birthday, so watch for their special celebratory exhibit!. Some more fun events on the line-up are: The FIMA arts and crafts sale, merchant street sales, a circus arts festival, and of course the uberfabulous Divers/Cit� and Montr�al Pride.
LINK: http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/What-To-Do/Events/aires-libres-sainte-catherine-street-pedestrian
Divers/Cit�, July 30 to August 8, 2012: This year is Divers/Cit�'s 20th anniversary of celebrating diversity through sharing, solidarity and openness to the world! The renowned arts and music festival is moving to the magnificent Quays of the Old Port, where La Grande Danse - the grandest outdoor house music event in North America - will keep the crowd dancing for the 10th time with DJs such as Chus + Ceballos and David Morales. Yet another anniversary is Mado's 15th year of hosting the biggest, bitchingest drag show of them all, Mascara.
LINK: http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/What-To-Do/Events/divers-cite
Montr�al Pride Celebrations, August 13 to 19, 2012: Montrealers just love a parade, and none more than the fabulous Pride Parade! Maybe because it keeps getting more and more outrageous and fabulous with each passing year. With the theme Flag, Our Pride this year, expect to see some very colourful floats. It takes place on Sunday, August 19 and ends at Parc �milie-Gamelin with a tea dance and closing show. Another favourite is Community Day, when dozens of social, political, sports and business organizations line Rue Sainte-Catherine.
LINK: http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/What-To-Do/Events/celebrations-pride-montreal
Montr�al Roller Derby League: Not your grandma's rollerskate date! But it's got a dedicated following among gay guys and girls as well as serious sports fans. The season began with the Beast of the East in April and continues until early August, at the Ar�na Saint-Louis. The best players are chosen for the MTLRD's international team New Skids on the Block, which was the first non-US team to qualify for the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) playoffs in 2010.
LINK: http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/What-To-Do/Events/montreal-roller-derby-league
A good place to get some background info on Montr�al's LGBT community - such as Village history, Qu�bec's gay rights pioneering legislation, year-round queer events and lots of resources - is at Tourisme Montr�al's website. And the LGBT blog on The Montr�al Buzz keeps you up to date on trends in queer Montr�al.
LINK: http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/blog/category/gay-life/
http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/Traveller/gay-and-lesbian
A long-term New Yorker and a member of New York Travel Writers Association, Mark Thompson has also lived in San Francisco, Boston, Provincetown, D.C., Miami Beach and the south of France. The author of the novels WOLFCHILD and MY HAWAIIAN PENTHOUSE, he has a PhD in American Studies and is the recipient of fellowships at MacDowell, Yaddo, and Blue Mountain Center. His work has appeared in numerous publications.
