6th Edition of Montréal Pride
From August 13 to 19, 2012
Montréal, August 13, 2012 — After its incredible success in 2011, Montréal Pride, presented by TD, is back for a 6th edition from Monday, August 13, to Sunday, August 19. This year, the program is bigger and more varied than ever, with shows and activities at Place Émilie-Gamelin, an LGBT human rights conference, cultural and community events as well as lots of exciting parties. The important Community Day will take place on Saturday, August 18, on Sainte-Catherine Street East in the Village, and the popular Pride Parade, the flagship event of the week’s festivities, will be on Sunday, August 19, at 1 pm on René-Lévesque, starting at Guy Street and ending at Sanguinet. The theme of this year’s parade is “Our Flag, Our Pride”.
Jean-Sébastien Boudreault, Vice-President Montréal Pride, David Pinsonneault, Senior Vice President, Commercial Banking, Québec and Atlantic and Co-chair, Québec Market, TD Bank Group, Éric Pineault, President of Montréal Montréal and Jasmin Roy, Montréal Pride spokesperson — high résolution image here »
TD Bank Group supports the festivities
David Pinsonneault, Senior Vice President, Commercial Banking, Québec and Atlantic and Co-chair, Québec Market, TD Bank Group, explained TD’s commitment to the LGBTA community: “We show our commitment to diversity and inclusion by our support for Montréal Pride, but also through our concrete everyday actions. We want our institution to be a place where employees and customers feel comfortable, supported, valued and respected in all their diversity. TD’s association with Pride Montréal is our way of supporting an active community partner who moves things forward and makes a tangible impact on society.”
On Community Day August 18, festivalgoers can pick up free whistles and have their picture taken at the TD kiosk. Photos can be immediately uploaded and shared with friends via computers onsite. As usual, TD employees will join the parade August 19 to share in the celebrations under the theme “Our Flag, Our Pride”.
“We are delighted to offer our largest and most extensive program of activities since we began in 2007, with an additional day of free shows at Place Émilie-Gamelin. In fact, most of our activities are presented for free, but we invite all festivalgoers to buy their pink Montréal Pride bracelets for the modest price of $5,” said Éric Pineault. The bracelet offers many added benefits such as rapid access to Place Émilie-Gamelin and to the Comfort Zone (spectator stands, toilets, and snacks). And once again this year, there will be a prize draw with over one hundred prizes to be won, valued at a total of almost $10,000. Tickets for the draw are available for just $5. “The bracelet and the prize draw allow us to maintain a high-quality program and free parade registration for community groups,” added M. Pineault.
Spokesperson, Honorary Presidents and Guests of Honour
Jasmin Roy, actor, journalist and radio and television host, returns as Montréal Pride’s official spokesperson in 2012. Jasmin has always championed the cause of social recognition for the LGBT community and, in 2010, he launched La Fondation Jasmin Roy with a mission to fight intimidation in schools. Jasmin Roy will lead a contingent representing the foundation in the parade.
Two prominent figures will participate in activities as Honorary Presidents, each bringing attention to different issues faced by the LGBT community: professional soccer player David Testo, the former Montréal Impact midfielder and one of the few openly gay athletes in professional sports; and French politician and HIV/AIDS activist Jean-Luc Romero, who in May 2002, became the first and only politician in France to have publicly revealed his positive HIV status. These prestigious personalities will be joined by three Grand Marshals who are well-known in the local LGBT community: Long-time activist and sociologist, Line Chamberland; journalist, publicist and political scientist, Julie-Maude Beauchesne; and artist and activist Kat Coric.
The 2012 edition of Montréal Pride will have three main components:
COMMUNITY AND LGBT HUMAN RIGHTS COMPONENT
Montréal Pride is organized each year to celebrate the legal and social advances made in Québec and in Canada, while raising awareness for the work still to be done to attain social and legal equality around the world. To underscore these important issues, the program will include a conference on LGBT human rights that will be held August 14, 15 and 16.
Five conferences will be presented at the Cinémathèque québécoise. The discussions begin on Tuesday evening with L’amour sans frontier (“Love without Borders”), in association with the Canadian Bar Association, Québec Chapter, which will examine questions surrounding immigration for same-sex couples. L’homophobie: une discrimination ordinaire ? (“Homophobia: an ordinary prejudice?”), presented by Jean-Luc Romero, will examine the realities of homophobia in France and in Québec and the mechanisms in place both in terms of prevention and punishment. The evening concludes with Si au moins j’étais laide (“If only I was ugly”), presented by Marie-Ève Baron, who recently made headlines after a heinous attack perpetrated against her and her wife in Paris. Wednesday night, there will be a panel discussion on feminist activism in Montreal with activists aged 20 to 80. And Thursday, Andrea Zanin will look at the history of the women’s leather community in Canada.
On Saturday, August 18, at 2 pm, Nate Phelps, the estranged son of Pastor Fred Phelps will speak about growing up in the Westboro Baptist Church and in the most controversial family in the US. This conference is presented in collaboration with the Centre for Inquiry Canada.
Kids’ Day is back for a second year on Thursday, August 16 from 9 am to 2 pm. There will be inflatable games, face-painting, the creation of a giant mural and lots of entertainment for neighbourhood kids aged 3 to 12.
Community Day will be held on Saturday, August 18, on Sainte-Catherine Street, between Papineau and Berri, from 11 am to 5 pm. This event allows members of both the LGBT and mainstream communities to discover many exciting organizations, community groups, businesses and sports teams, run by and/or catering to the LGBT community. Also on Sainte-Catherine Street will be the Green Health Avenue, a special space dedicated to information on healthy living and creating a greener environment.
For the second year, on Friday, August 17 at 8:30 pm, the Claude-Tourangeau Award will be given to an individual or organization in recognition of their remarkable contribution in the fight against serophobia.
CULTURAL COMPONENT
This 6th edition of Montréal Pride offers a wide variety of activities with something for every taste, from art and photography, to literary evenings, theatre, poetry and movies.
On Monday, August 13, there will be a Women’s Movie Night at the Cinémathèque québécoise with three short films followed by a discussion with the filmmakers.
For the first time, Montréal Pride, in partnership with the Centre communautaire des gais et des lesbiennes de Montréal (CCGLM) and the Bibliothèque à livres ouverts, will present Literary Pride from August 14 to 18. These evenings, hosted by Denis-Martin Chabot, television journalist for Radio-Canada for almost 28 years, will be an opportunity to meet and chat with authors. The evenings will be held in French.
This year, Village Scene Productions celebrates their 10th year of producing original queer-themed bilingual theatre with Bathhouse: The Musical!, an all-male burlesque musical comedy that will be presented at the Cinquième Salle at Place des Arts. Presentations in French (Bain-Sauna: le musical!) will run from August 15 to 17, with a performance in English on Saturday, August 18.
The official opening of the 6th edition of Montréal Pride, at Place Émilie-Gamelin, will be held on Wednesday, August 18, at 6 pm with, for the first time, the symbolic raising of the rainbow flag, followed by the opening evening of the Café des Arts. A group of 9 artists from the LGBTA community will present their work, curated by Jean-Pierre Pérusse, with 100% of sales going directly to the artists.
There will also be a photo exhibition entitled Trans Égeria from August 16 to 19 on Sainte-Catherine Street, between Saint-Hubert and Saint-André. This exhibition, which premiered in Paris in 2011, pays homage to several prominent transgender personalities who have marked international history.
FESTIVE COMPONENT
The program of free outdoor shows on the main TD Music Stage at Place Émilie-Gamelin will begin on Wednesday, August 16, at 8 pm with Génération Boomer. The show will feature Patsy Gallant, Richard Huet, Pier Béland, Guy Harvey from Les Gendarmes and Michèle Richard.
Starting at 7 pm on Thursday, Dream Académie is back for a 5th year with the most beautiful up-and-coming Drag Queens in Montréal. At 9 pm, La nuit d’Émily hits the stage, hosted by Émily Bégin, with performances by Véronique Claveau, Benoît McGinnis, Brigitte Lafleur, François Dagenais, Linda Thalie and Marc Dupré.
Friday night at 7 pm, dive into the Day-Glo colours of La vie en fluo, hosted by singer-actress Annie Dufresne and backed by her group, ÉlectroLise. They’ll be joined by special guests Alex Pépin, Renaud Lefort, Madame Minou, Les Raymondes and their dancers. At 9 pm, it’s Made in Québec, with a constellation of popular Québec artists and personalities. The voices of Diane Tell, France D’Amour, Patrick Bourgeois, Brigitte Boisjoli and Matt Laurent will come together on one stage to perform everyone’s favourite French and English songs under the stars.
On Saturday, August 18 at 3 pm, the Yoga Mega-Session, the largest outdoor yoga event in Montréal, is back for a second year. Led by renowned yogini Line Trépanier and accompanied by her distinguished guests, Blu Nathan, Stéfanie Bédard and Pedro Ramirez, this will be high-energy session to the sounds of the masterful beats of none other than DJ Mini, “Montréal’s Queen of Electro”.
Saturday evening at 7 pm, From Broadway to Hollywood brings together the best of classic Broadway musicals brought to Hollywood’s big screen. At 8 pm, get ready for the 5th edition of Montréal Pride’s signature show, Michel Dorion présente: C’est la fête!, hosted by Michel Dorion. Cantelli, Popline, Angel Ectrika, Shangela (from RuPaul’s Drag Race), Nana, Jimmy Moore, Pamela Lajoie, Mado and 70 other artists, singers, impersonators and dancers will take over the TD Music Stage with waves of stunning performances.
The Pride Parade, presented by Viagra, will take place on Sunday, August 19, starting at 1 pm under the theme, “Our Flag, Our Pride”. This festive theme will invite participants to show their true colours with pride! Just like the rainbow, the flag is a symbol of hope and peace, with its vibrant colours (red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple) representing the rich diversity of the LGBT community. It will follow the same route as last year along René-Lévesque, from Guy to Sanguinet. The traditional moment of silence will be held at 3 pm in memory of those we have lost to AIDS and homophobia.
The parade ends at place Émilie-Gamelin and the TD Music Stage for the ever-popular outdoor Mega T-Dance, with DJs Charles Poulin (Québec), DJ Mike Cruz (New York) and DJ Mark Anthony (Montréal).
Not-to-be-missed events this year: The PLATINUM Party, Montréal Pride’s official afterhours event at Bonsecours Market on from Saturday at 10 pm to Sunday at 8 am, with DJs Alberto Perez (Montréal), Danny Verde (Milan) and Joe Gauthreaux (Los Angeles); the Game Over Party on Sunday night starting at 10 pm, also at Bonsecours Market, with DJs Rich & Kiss (Riccardo Ricciardi and Olivier Kiss).
Many other events organized by our partners will be held from Monday to Sunday: the Emmental Expiré poetry night, evenings at Cabaret Mado, the women’s 6 à 9 de la Fierté on the terrace of Unity, the Collectif d’affaires 2012 cocktail at the Salle Astral, the Aqua Queer Prom Force youth prom at Local C/D, the Cuir as F*ck women’s party at Katakombes, the Black & White multicultural evening the Gouverneur Place Dupuis hotel, the official Boys Party at Apollon, the Fantasia Ball at Cabaret Cléopâtre, the Pig Party at Katakombes, the official Bear Party at Le Stud and the official closing party at Unity.
WHAT’S NEW IN 2012
This year, Montréal is enhancing the program for women with all-new activities and events. Among these is Crush, a girls’ party at Cabaret Underworld on Friday night at 9 pm with DJs Mariana Morales and Mary Hell. On Saturday, August 18, at 10 am, Montréal Pride will hold its First Official Montréal Dyke March, starting at the corner Sainte-Catherine and Champlain in the Village.
Two new fitness and well-being activities will be offered to festivalgoers. On Friday at 11 am, Productions D4C (Dancing for Causes) invites everyone to come and try a little Zumba, a dance routine that’s done to Latin and international rhythms in a fun and festive atmosphere. Saturday morning, Les Galopins running club will welcome everyone for the first Pride Run, a 5k run through beautiful Mount-Royal Park.
Saturday at 6 pm at Place Émilie-Gamelin, Montréal Pride invites everyone in the community and all their friends and family to join us for Montréal’s first Pink Dot event. The Pink Dot concept began in Singapore in 2009 as a way to show support for the LGBT community. Attendees of Pink Dot events gather at a specific place and time, dressed in pink, to form a giant pink dot as a symbol of inclusion, diversity and the freedom to love. An aerial photo is then taken to commemorate the moment.
THANK YOU TO ALL OUR PARTNERS
Montréal Pride would like to thank all its partners for their invaluable support: the TD Bank Group, official presenter of the event; Viagra, official presenter of the parade; the Government of Québec; Ville de Montréal; Tourisme Montréal; the Borough of Ville-Marie; Trojan; Fugues; SDC du Village; Winners; Coors Light; Priape; Barefoot Wine; Fétiche Armada; Mojo; OutTV; Via Rail; Eska water; and our hotel partners, the Gouverneur Place Dupuis, Delta Centre-Ville, Lord Berri, Fairmont Queen Elizabeth, Marriott Courtyard Vieux-Montréal, Maritime Plaza and Nouvel Hôtel & Spa. Many thanks also to our fantastic media partners: Virgin Radio 96, Rythme FM, CKOI-FM, OutTV, GuySpy, Guide Arc-en-ciel, Les Tubbies, gaytravel.com, PINK, Gayradiobec.com; Touristiquement Gay, Proud FM, GayGuideToronto and Xtra.
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Lynn Habel, Director of Communications
Montréal Pride
lhabel@fiertemontrealpride.com
Telephone: (514) 903-6193 x 3523 | Cell. (514) 833-2859
Steven Ross
Morin Public Relations
Steven@morinrp.com
Telephone: (514) 289-8688 x 236 | Cell. (514) 234-4251
About Montréal Pride
Montréal Pride was formed and legally founded under the name Célébrations LGBTA Montréal in 2007 as an initiative of Montréal’s LGBTA community, following Divers/Cité’s decision, in May 2007, to withdraw from the organization of the Pride Parade and Community Day. Montréal Pride is a community-driven, not-for-profit organization overseen by a Board of Directors consisting of members of the business community, local LGBTA associations as well as representatives from the event-planning and tourism industries.
TD Community Giving
TD invests in communities to make a positive impact where it does business and where our customers, clients and employees live and work. In 2011, TD donated over $66 million to support community organizations in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. In Canada, we focus on Education and Financial Literacy, Creating Opportunities for Young People, and the Environment. For more information, please visit www.td.com/corporateresponsibility.