december update

our x-mass party is coming soon, december 27. and we will have drop in on december 25. email for detail mountainpride@gaybanff.com

website

would love to let you all know we have a website up and running it is www.gaybanff.com and our new email address is mountainpride@gaybanff.com
we got new exiting activities coming up soon and our launch party in calgary went well
ttyl
kevin r

change / update

Hi all.
I hope all is doing well for everyone this summer. we have had a busy summer full of tourist everywhere and work probably busy for all of you guy's too. just a quick hi in response to Monica previous message of the group change as i am the new person now in charge of the group. we also had a few things added recently we have a real official web site about to be up within the next week or 2 the address will be www.gaybanff.ca and www.gaybanff.com the site will have a calendar of event and everything ii will send you guy's an email as soon as it is up officially so you can check it out. also mountain pride now has an official phone number. if anyone needs to call for anything it is 403-621-3719.
hope to see you all soon and also we are planing events for both Banff and Canmore coming soon so let us know if you have any idea or suggestion.
thank's all for the continued support
Kevin R
PS:Good luck to Monica with her graduate degree and thank's for all the wonderfull work you did over the past few years with this group

Changes

I'm gearing up for graduate school, so I'm leaving leadership of this group to a new person. He will introduce himself to you shortly. Starting and developing this group over the last two years has been an excellent experience. I'm so glad to have met all of you. I feel differently about the town I live in now, because of all of you, so thanks! I'll still be seeing you around town and at events, so this isn't goodbye (for those who were about to shed a tear!). Hope you've all had an awesome summer. See you soon,
Monica

new antihiv lube from australia

I found this really interesting and pertinent article on Edge Boston that I thought would be of interest, so I decided to share it with you all. Check it out at: http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ci=108&ch=news&sc=glbt&sc2=news&sc3=&id=22098

BBQ

Hope to see you at tonight's BBQ! RSVP to bowvalleycommunity@yahoo.ca for location.

Our Pride March!

An enthusiastic crowd of spectators cheered us on during the parade, and we saw a few familiar faces along the route! The weather in Calgary was purrr-fect for frolicking in the fountains at Olympic Plaza...

The theme was Celebrating Diversity through Unity, and our members showed true diversity in orientations and cultures. We marched behind our Mountain Pride banner, created by Brian. We also carried Bear Pride and Bi Pride flags. I had an interesting time... belly dancing to country&western music! A "straight ally" symbol was unveiled at the opening ceremonies, broadening the spectrum further.

One of our volunteers scared up swag from Banff businesses which we handed out along the parade route. Another created a bunch of biz cards using the logo designed by a former member, so we passed those out, too. We did plenty of networking and made some new friends. Now, I just have to recover from all the excitement and the sunburn!

Queer Radio on Wednesdays at 9-10 p.m.

Tune into CJSW (University of Calgary's campus radio) on Wednesdays 9-10 p.m. for queer programming! It can be tough to get a signal here in the mountains, but you can get it via internet by going to their website. The show alternates between Urban Sex/Queertopia/Speak Sebastian.

ONE: Celebrating Diversity by Unity

Pride Parade is only 2 weeks away! Mountain Pride's bus is filling up, but you can still get a spot on it if you contact us soon!
bowvalleycommunity@yahoo.ca

Straight Privilege

"This article is based on Peggy McIntosh’s article on white privilege and was written by a number of straight-identified students at Earlham College who got together to look at some examples of straight privilege. These dynamics are but a few examples of the privilege which straight people have. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer-identified folk have a range of different experiences, but cannot count on most of these conditions in their lives." A list follows at:
http://www.cs.earlham.edu/~hyrax/personal/files/student_res/straightprivilege.htm

You may want to show this list to someone today, as an action to celebrate the International Day Against Homophobia!

Do you need a room-mate?

Professional single male looking for a QUIET house or living space, preferably in Canmore. N/D, N/P, non-partier. Works F/T Nights...sleeps during day. Required by June 15/2007. Reply : banffcowboy@hotmail.com

Film Nights in Jasper

HIV West Yellowhead organizes bi-monthly movie events for GLBTQ&Allies. The next one is on Friday May 25th @ 8 p.m., showing the film C.R.A.Z.Y. (It's excellent! And Canadian, too.) For more info, 852-5274 and ask for Kelly or Emily.

Fairy Tales Film Festival May 24-31

Fairy Tales is a queer film fest in its 9th season!Check it out! If you are interested in making a group trip in, let me know at bowvalleycommunity@yahoo.ca

May 17th is the International Day Against Homophobia

Did you know that the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from the list of mental illnesses on a May 17th? That's why that was chosen as The International Day Against Homophobia. Just before the first World Outgames opened in 2006, a conference on human rights took place and instigated the IDAHO. See PFLAG announcement at right of this post for info on a Calgary event in honour of this day. The website is a great resource, too.

Drag Kings! May 3rd & monthly

"The First Thursday of every month is your chance to meet some of Calgary’s most dashing men and possibly even a lovely lady. Come out to Soda (211 – 12th Ave S.W.) for Fake Mustache, a fundraising Drag King show put on by MYN. The first show (7:30) is always All Ages and if you’re under eighteen cover is a mere $2! Be one of the first ten people to arrive in drag and you get in for free! The second show (10:15) is 18+ only (sorry!). Both shows run about an hour long, so if you work early in the morning you’ll still be able to get home in time for a decent sleep! See, no excuses to miss out of the talents of these fine young men..."

Camp fYrefly in Edmonton August 2-5,'07

I you are aged 14-24, you will want to check this camp out! It is Canada's largest leadership retreat for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-identified, two-spirited, queer, and allied youth.... Cost is only $25 per participant. Registration deadline isJune 15, 2007 but register early because they'll be full long before the deadline. You can also make a donation to help send a kid to camp and give them the chance you never had! For more info, registration or sponsoring a youth, visit http://www.fyrefly.ualberta.ca/.

1-877-OUTisOK

This is a help line for those dealing with issues related to sexual identity and orientation.

New Sexuality Questionnaire being developed at UofC

Dr. Kevin Alderson is developing a new questionnaire which measures sexual orientation and sexual identity. He is conducting a study to test its validity. If you are interested in being part of the study, contact him alderson@ucalgary.ca Participation is voluntary, anonymous and confidential. If the Alderson Sexuality Scale is validated, it will join the Kinsey and Klein scales in the attempt to provide a measure of sexual orientation and identity.

Crag article

Is anyone interested in being interviewed for an article in the paper about our group? Your name would appear in the article. It's an ideal time of year to run a piece, since so many new people are moving into town.

Anti-HIV Lube?

Did you know....there's research being done on a rectal microbicide effective against HIV? Learn about it at this website.

Pride Parade changed to Sunday June 10th

I've registered us to march in the parade! You don't have to march in the parade to come. Group transportation will be provided from Banff, with a stop in Canmore. Let's show the diversity of Queer out Here! Does anyone want to ride a motorbike? Post your responses and ideas in the comments of this blog.

Buttons&Pin&Flags, OH MY!

Just received a shipment of Pride stuff for us!

Calgary Spoken Word Fest has Queer event

Spoken word performances plus a book launch of Seminal: The Anthology of Canada’s Gay Male Poets (Arsenal Pulp Press) and a photography exhibition.

SPECIAL EVENT #1: OUTrageously Real Presented on behalf of the 1st North American OutGames and OutFest with the assistance of Arsenal Pulp Press Thursday, April 5, 2007 – 8:00 pmJack Singer Concert Hall Lobby EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts$15 / $10 for Students

OUTGames, OUTFest, OUTRights

Check out the events for the OutGames! I will be attending a human rights conference April 2-3. There will be a Saturday night dance, a concert by the Wyrd Sisters, a ski/snowboard event. Visit the site and let me know what you're interested in. If enough people get a hold of me, I might be able to arrange group transportation.

Pride Pizza

Thursday, March 29th at 7 p.m. FREE PIZZA!

Meet new members, make some plans for social events, and start planning our Pride festivities... RSVP to find out the location bowvalleycommunity@yahoo.ca

What's in a Name?

The champagne bottle has been smashed against our queer little vessel! Henceforth shall we be called....
"M o u n t a i n P r i d e".