The City of Vancouver will proclaim 2018 as the “Year of the Queer” after a unanimous city council vote on Monday.
The official proclamation and launch event is set to take place on May 23.
The proclamation comes after a report was submitted to City Council, recommending that in recognition of 15 significant anniversaries celebrated this year by local LGBTTQ organizations – and to celebrate the contributions these organizations have made to Vancouver’s social, cultural and artistic landscape – the City issue an official proclamation.
Council: Year of the Queer passed unanimously! https://t.co/jNpUBDBAjm
— Andrea Reimer 惠綺文 (@andreareimer) May 15, 2018
The report noted that the city celebrates and supports the LGBTTQ community by hosting a council-approved Pride Week kick-off event, in partnership with the Vancouver Pride Society.
The event typically involves a panel discussion in the Council Chamber and the raising of the Pride and Trans on the north lawn of City Hall for the duration of Pride Week.
2018 is a “particularly special year in the LGBTTQ community because it marks the anniversaries of 15 local arts, cultural, health and community organizations that do
important work on behalf of Vancouver’s LGBTTQ community,” the report added.
These anniversaries include:
- 40th Anniversary of Vancouver Pride Society’s Pride Parade and Sunset Beach
Festival - 40th Anniversary of Qmunity – BC’s Queer, Trans, and Two-Spirted Resource Centre
- 35th Anniversary of AIDS Vancouver
- 35th Anniversary of Little Sisters Bookstore
- 30th Anniversary of Out on Screen’s Vancouver Queer Film Festival
- 25th Anniversary of LEGIT – Canadian Immigration for Same Sex Partners
- 20th Anniversary of Pride in Art Festival
- 20th Anniversary of Rainbow Refugee Society
- 20th Anniversary of Monsoon – Asian Lesbians, Bisexuals and Trans in Vancouver
- 15th Anniversary of Vancouver Dyke March
- 10th Anniversary of The Queer Arts Festival
- 10th Anniversary of The Frank Theatre Company
- 10th Anniversary of Sher Vancouver
- 10th Anniversary of Zee Zee Theatre
- 10th Anniversary of Health Initiative for Men
Collectively these organizations have provided 330 years of service to the city’s LGBTTQ community, the report said.
The proclamation comes after a request to the city for one by the Executive Directors of the Vancouver Pride Society, The Frank Theatre, Out of Screen and Pride in Art Festival.
The event will be marked with the raising of the Pride and Trans Flag on the north lawn of City Hall, and include a panel discussion in the Council Chamber, as well as an outdoor event on the Helena Gutteridge Plaza.
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