When and where was the first gay pride parade
Some Aldermen objected strenuously as well. The Mayor’s office fielded hundreds of angry calls condemning the decision. The city was in a polarized uproar because Mayor Al Duerr had gone out on a political limb and signed a proclamation declaring June 16-23, 1991 as the first “Gay Rights Week.” The first Calgary Pride Parade occurred on June 16, 1991, which also happened to be Father’s Day. The most successful events happened on the weekend a sold-out Friday night Rocky Mountain Singers concert, “Something to Sing About,” at Knox United Church Hall, a Saturday invitational Slow-Pitch tournament, with carnival games on the side, and then a Pride Dance, with 500 strong, at Victoria Park Hall. The rest of the week, had events every day, including a four-night film festival curated by the Plaza Theatre, which programmed repertory cinema at the time. The Rocky Mountain Singers, Calgary’s gay choir, performed, and post-rally, the assembled retired to a local bar. CLAGPAG spoke powerfully to an excited crowd of about 150 people. They then walked over as a group to Central Memorial Park, at the Boer War Memorial, where the media were waiting for them. Nancy Miller, part of the CLAGPAG steering committee, remembered: They asked CLAGPAG to organize a political rally to kick off the week. PPC events also doubled as fundraisers to help get Calgarians to the games. The wind-up dance was held at the Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Association hall.ġ990 was a date that PPC organizers had their eyes on, as it was the year that Vancouver would hold the International Gay Games. There was an AIDS play presented called, “As Is,” a murder mystery night and more concerts.
In 1989, the festival grew to a weeklong celebration and attracted more participating groups as well as pride nights at local bars. The first festival was a modest affair and consisted of a music concert, workshop, community displays, a dance, and a family picnic. They produced Calgary’s first Gay and Lesbian Pride Festival in June 1988, the timing very consciously in honour of the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York. They sometimes referred to themselves as a gay “Chamber of Commerce.” Groups in PPC included: Camp 181, Apollo, Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), Calgary Lesbian and Gay Political Action Guild (CLAGPAG), Rocky Mountain Singers and Gaylines.