Gay Life in Canadian Cities

[Chadillaccc]

I thought this was probably a good idea for a thread, considering that the gay population is generally quite urban and since a disproportionate amount of gay men are interested in urban development (seemingly, judging by polls taken on SSP). Someone just shared this article with me on Facebook, and it's quite sad, but it gave me the idea for this thread, because even Canada's smaller cities can have thriving gay communities (for instance, I know Nelson BC, at 11 000 people, is probably the most accepting and open community I've ever experienced, with gay couples everywhere! ). However, those communities can also go into decline, such as this news story out of Lethbridge, a city in a metro of 110 000 people...



BORDELLO IS SHUTTERED
But the show will go on...

It is with great pain and sadness that Theatre Outré announces the closing of Bordello. Bordello, a performance venue for the registered non-profit theatre society, Theatre Outré, played host to numerous performances, shows and events over the past year in the heart of downtown Lethbridge. Starting modestly in the Whitney Building above the Owl Acoustic Lounge, the venue hosted world class theatrical events, including the world premiere production of Theatre Outré’s critically acclaimed international touring hit UNSEX’d, and the week long Pretty, Witty & Gay Festival that was funded, in part, by the City of Lethbridge through The Heart of the City grant.

After such a successful year, we decided to move our operations to a bigger and better space at 517A 4th Avenue South, in the historic MacFarland Building. This new space, which had previously been a dance studio, was transformed, through many hours of volunteer help, as well as a substantial financial investment by us, into a small black box theatre with a colorful lobby. The end result was a fantastic and exciting venue equipped for future performances by Theatre Outré and other community arts groups and artists.

Unfortunately, in the span of just the past few days, ignorant and homophobic neighbouring tenants in the McFarland Buidling have made it clear in various ways that we are not welcome in their midst. Two hateful, hurtful and defamatory emails were sent to our landlord questioning our integrity based on moral grounds and challenging our co-existing alongside their businesses, including an insurance broker and a music school for children. These emails were sent by Dale Reimer, of Reimer Insurance, and Lydia Collin, from Lydia Collin School of Music. We at Theatre Outré had contemplated the possibility of noise complaints due to our operations but had decided our performance hours, being in direct contrast to the working hours of our neighbors, should not become a major issue.

Full Story: http://www.theatreoutre.ca/about-us/venue/