In the past 4 years we have seen an alarming number of LGBT venues shut down, but nothing spring up again to take their place.  Shortly after the Twisted Element opened in Calgary, we saw the end of the Verge, Indulge, Solar Café, Boyztown/Rekroom, and Detour/Arena/Loading Dock/Victorias.  In Edmonton, Alberta’s longest lived LGBT space, the Roost, shut down quite unexpectedly.  Following that was the opening of PLAY, which until this past month remained the newest LGBT space in Alberta.
Throughout this time there had been whispers of several new projects, but none of them came to fruition – some disappeared without a word, while some of them crashed and burned quite publicly.  However these came at a time when the economy was strong, property was at a premium, and the selection was limited.  It appears that the smart ones decided against brute force spending to get a bar going at the “wrong” time.
Now however, the economy is still waffling in a downturn and commercial real estate is becoming more available and reasonably priced.  We are seeing a re-emergence of people testing the waters, and even some diving right in!  You can smell it in the air that change is coming – in fact, some is already here!
In Edmonton, a freshly renovated straight bar tanked shortly after it had opened, presenting a prime opportunity for LGBT investors to take it over.  Thus, seemingly out of nowhere, FLASH swooped onto the Edmonton bar scene.  The venue looks upscale and classy, and the staff and management have been extremely friendly and upbeat.  Congratulations to Simon, Janine, and any other business partners that we may not have met yet.
Meanwhile the rumour mill is churning at gale force with stories about other gay bars opening up in Calgary in the near future.  If only a few of them pan out, we’re going to see a huge change in Calgary’s gay scene before the year is out – something that is desperately needed to pull our city out of a rut.  New bars bring out new blood and put people into the mood for exploration and discovery – something that can be beneficial to our existing bars too.  Personally we’re hopeful, but as we treat it on an official level, nothing’s real until it opens.
But to those praying for new gay space in Calgary, there is some good news – something that is real because it has already opened (technically it has already been open for some time now).  It’s not a bar per se, but they do have a liquor licence.  It’s not a nightclub but it does have a private club license.
I’m talking about the Village Bistro & Lounge, a gay owned and operated restaurant just two blocks east of the Calgary Eagle.  Until recently they were unable to announce their existence to the LGBT community because of a non-competition agreement that dissolved last month.
The establishment is on the 2nd floor of the Calgary Friendship Centre, a facility that offers some very unique and exciting opportunities to non-profit groups for fundraisers and other functions.  Minors are allowed, making it an ideal meeting place for LGBT youth.  Furthermore, the hall has a Bingo licence that makes it possible for Bingos to be held (legally) as a fundraising event.  Visitors are free to come and check it out, however you must buy a membership (for a reasonable price of $15) if you wish to return as a regular patron.  Currently their hours are only conducive to being a daytime hangout, but we are told they are aiming to extend them, sometime in the near future.
So, we would like to officially welcome owners Todd and Len to Calgary’s LGBT business community, wish them the best of luck, and offer our support as they enter a new chapter in their business.  At the same time we bid farewell to Lorrie Murphy and Michele Flynn, longstanding local business owners who have retired and moved on to a peaceful life away from the city.
Meanwhile, one of our existing Calgary bars has undergone a change in ownership - touted “Calgary’s Worst Kept Secret” by the former owner himself (hey, we didn’t know about it until he told us, so it couldn’t have been that bad).
For over 13 years, Ken Schultz of the Backlot has provided Calgary with a safe and calm environment for bar patrons – a place that people can rely on every day of the week, where they can go to decompress from their hectic lives inside and outside of the LGBT scene.  Ken made the decision to sell the Backlot to two of his staff members, Mark and Ward, so that he can finally retire - from the bar scene at least.  From talking to him, Ken seems excited to be able to experience the community from the other side of the bar counter.
Mark and Ward are two great guys, so the Backlot is in good hands.  So once again, congratulations are in order for these two as they become business owners for the first time (as far as I know) and continue on with Ken’s vision and the legacy of the Backlot!
And sadly, as we are getting ready to go to press with this edition, we received news that Boots in Edmonton has shut its doors for good.  This news comes roughly 3 months after the passing of owner Jim Shafer.  Bar tender Rob Browatzke made the announcement on Facebook the morning of June 1st, after being informed by the surviving owner, Ross Correia.  Events planned to happen at Boots this month have no choice but to find a new venue.   “Boots was never meant to outlive Jim,” says Browatzke.  The location has been gay space since 1969.
So yes, things in Alberta’s LGBT scene have already started changing, as they eventually must.
May 2010
The first Saturday after press, we zipped up to Edmonton to attend the grand opening of Flash, the new dance club that had just opened its doors in our sister city.  The drive took a little longer than we had expected, and by the time we arrived the party was already well underway.  We were introduced to Janine and Simon before being shown to the VIP area where a bottle of vodka was waiting for us, along with our own server!
Yes, we sort of needed to pick our jaws up off the floor after they explained all of this, because we weren’t expecting any of it.  The VIP area was pretty spacious, I guess they were thinking we would be a much larger crew, and we had to explain to them that Steve and I are the crew, aside from our writers.  And sadly with my Graduated Driver’s License still in effect, I’ve given up alcoholic beverages when I’m out.  So Flash definitely wowed us on first impression with such a warm welcome, we were hugely flattered and appreciated it even though, that night, we couldn’t take full advantage.
We made it back into Calgary the next day, just in time for the GAYMazing Race, a scavenger hunt that took 14 teams through Calgary’s LGBT community one location at a time.  At each stop, teams had a task they needed to complete in order to get the clue for the next stop, and also needed to collect photographs of themselves performing those tasks.
Our home/office was one of the stops, where teams had to sort through a bin full of magazines (containing at least one copy of every edition we have ever published) to find our very first Pride Guide.  Of course this took some thinking: our magazine started in November of 2003, and we usually publish our Pride Guides a month in advance.  Once teams found our May 2004 edition, featuring Fred Udey and Terry Stevens on the cover, they had to get their photo taken with Steve for the magazine.  How’s that for killing two birds with one stone?
Meanwhile I was distributing the May edition hot off the presses, and getting photos as I ran into teams at various LGBT locations throughout the city.  In fact, for those in the know, our magazine became somewhat of a secret weapon for finding the addresses of locations that were only given to them by name.
The finish line was at Spur, Pride Calgary’s dance venue sponsor this year, where teams got a chance to relax after a long race (if I recall correctly, there were upwards of 25 stops).  A variety of awards were given out to teams based on their performance throughout the day, which rewarded people for having fun as much as for winning.  All in all it was a superb and unique event that we hope will catch on as a yearly tradition.
Mid month, Gay Singles in Calgary hosted their 1 Year Anniversary Party at Axis Gallery in Art Central with the promise of a big announcement and unveiling.  The turnout was incredible: several hundred people, and booths for a number of non-profit groups to boot.  Actually, I was thoroughly impressed that this group could rally so many members in only a year, but after having the opportunity to mingle and experience the friendly atmosphere that this group fosters, I can understand why.
The big announcement was that Gay Singles in Calgary was expanding its scope.  Originally started as a networking group for single gay men, the group has been welcoming women, gay couples, and even straight allies I’m told.  So the big announcement was the official rebranding of the group to reflect these changes: Gay Friends in Calgary, along with the launch of a new website.  This is covered in more detail in the article on page 52.
The night of the final ARGRA Dance before the Rodeo, we popped over to visit an event happening in the North East quadrant of our city: The Parkside Reunion.  The Parkside was a bar that existed in Calgary well before our time, but nonetheless we stopped by the party to introduce ourselves and snap a few photos for history’s sake.  Sadly we weren’t able to stay for long, because we love hearing stories about what the LGBT scene used to be like.
But we had to rush back to the ARGRA dance in time for the Mini Rodeo!  This year Pierre, who has traditionally been the “goat” for the goat dressing event, was (conveniently) out of town.  And so Stewart (Izora) took his place.  I have to tell you, goat-Stewart had a lot more fight in him than goat-Pierre – he really made it difficult for those contestants to get the pair of underpants on him!  As usual, contestants completely botched the barrel races, but then spinning around with one’s forehead on a baseball bat doesn’t exactly help one’s sense of direction.  What a riot!
The Fairy Tales Queer Film Festival kicked off on May 27th, and should be wrapping up by the time this magazine comes out of press.  Jessica Dollard, this year’s Festival Director, has been on our case about taking some time to enjoy ourselves at the festival, amidst of our usual rush rush rush.  Unfortunately that’s a very difficult thing to do while we’re going to press, but I’m hopeful once this edition has been put to bed, we may be able to see something more than just the opening gala film.
As the exclusive Platinum Sponsor of Fairytales 2010 (I say “exclusive” because we are the only one at this level, not because anyone was excluded from attaining this level if they really wanted to), we are proud to be the presenting sponsor of this year’s Happily Ever After Party on June 4th.  We hope to see you there!
This Month
Oh oh, here comes June!  Not as busy a time of year as it has been in previous years (what with Calgary’s Pride in September), but enough to keep us on our toes.
• Prism is celebrating their 2nd Anniversary under new ownership, and invites you to join them  the evening of June 5th for their party.
• The big attraction this month is Edmonton Pride, from June 11th to 20th.  There is so much going on, so be sure to check out the ad on page 60 for a schedule of events.
• At the same time is Lethbridge Pride, from June 13th to 20th, which makes for a tough decision.  More information can be found in our article on page 51.
• Better start making your plans because at the end of the month is the Bud Light Canadian Rockies International Rodeo 2010.  Refer to the special ARGRA Rodeo Guide at a Glance on page 35 for details, maps, and schedules!
• If you’re in Calgary for June 12th, be sure to head down to MPs to celebrate their 3rd Anniversary under new ownership.