🌈 LET’S GET CREATING! 🎨
Calgary Queer Arts Society is excited to launch a NEW Intergenerational Arts Club for 2SLGBTQIA+ community members of all ages — a space to meet people from different generations, explore creativity together, and build community through hands-on workshops.
What’s it all about?
✨ Meet new people
✨ Learn new creative skills
✨ Share ideas about the kind of arts programming you’d love to see
Good to know:
• Different art forms will be learned
• No experience necessary
• Participants receive an honorarium per session to help offset any barriers to participation
• April – September | 1–2 sessions per month | 2–3 hours each
• Held in various Calgary locations with light refreshments
• Accessibility supports available — transit assistance, sensory supports & ASL interpretation based on participant needs
• Light application + lottery selection to ensure a mix of ages and lived experience
🗓 Applications open until March 6
📬 All applicants will hear back by mid-March with next steps.
APPLY NOW — link in bio!
Special thanks to @calgaryartsdev. 💙
#YYCArts #2SLGBTQIA #Intergenerational #QueerCommunity
✨ STILL TIME TO SHINE ✨
Hey filmmakers! The clock is ticking but there’s still time to get your queer magic in front of our audience! 🎬💫
Fairy Tales Queer Art & Film Festival submissions are STILL OPEN until February 15, 2026; that’s your chance to be part of the 28th yeat of one of Canada’s most vibrant celebrations of 2SLGBTQIA+ cinema!
Why submit NOW?
💰 We pay screening fees to ALL selected films
🎨 Your work gets paired with expanded art programming
🏳️🌈 Join a 28-year legacy of queer storytelling
📍 Screen at one of Canada’s largest queer film festivals
What we want:
· Films with queer filmmakers, cast, or crew leading the way
· Shorts & features released in the last 2 years
· Work that hasn’t screened in Calgary yet (priority for shorts)
· Features NOT available online in Canada
· English subtitles/CC + content warnings required
Categories:
🇨🇦 Canadian Short
🇨🇦 Canadian Feature
🌍 International Short
🌍 International Feature
⏰ DEADLINE: February 15, 2026, at 11:59 PM MST
Don’t let your story sit on the shelf — this is your moment! Whether you’re a first-time filmmaker or a festival veteran, we want to see what you’ve created. Your perspective matters. Your art deserves an audience. And we’re ready to roll out the rainbow carpet for you. 🌈✨
Submit via FilmFreeway (link in bio) 👆
Your art. Your truth. Our stage. Let’s make 2026 unforgettable.
#FairyTalesFilmFestival #QueerFilm #2SLGBTQIA #FilmSubmissions #QueerArt YYCArts CanadianFilm QueerCinema FilmFreeway CallForSubmissions IndieFilm QueerStorytelling
Today, on World AIDS Day, we remember, honour and recommit.
This past year, our community lost the incomparable Joe Average — a visionary whose vibrant colours and bold compassion reshaped how the world sees HIV/AIDS, queerness, disability, joy, and survival.
Joe lived with HIV for nearly four decades, choosing to channel his diagnosis into a lifelong art practice that radiated life rather than fear. His work reminds us that resistance can be joyful, that tenderness is radical, and that communities affected by HIV and AIDS have always led with creativity, care, and courage.
As we mark World AIDS Day, we hold Joe’s legacy close:
A reminder that art can heal.
That visibility saves lives.
And that no one is ever disposable.
On this day and every day we recognize the leadership and love embedded in the work of @safelinkalberta and @thesharpfoundation. Everyone deserves care, housing, community and dignity. ❤️
Photo: Joe Average in his studio, 1996. ARLEN REDEKOP, THE PROVINCE
🏳️🌈 Calling Queer business owners — Make magic with us!
CQAS is taking 27 years of queer cinema out of the theatre and into everyday community spaces. We’re seeking Queer-owned businesses interested in hosting one free pop-up film screening + artist Q&A as part of our new series From the Vault.
No cost to you — just space and a commitment to safer-spaces.
Help us bring queer stories and community vibes into all four corners of the city.
Interested? Curious? Send us a message or email [email protected]
Special thanks to the Calgary Chinook Fund for making this series possible and to our community partner @ab2slgbtqi Chamber of Commerce!
In moments like these, we are reminded of the power of community, creativity, and the stories that refuse to be erased.
This week, the Alberta government invoked the notwithstanding clause to shield, harmful, anti-trans and non-binary policies from the constitutional scrutiny they would not withstand. This is cowardly, deliberate, and deeply harmful. It sanctions invasive interest in a child’s body, restricts access to life-saving healthcare, erect barriers in sport, and forces teachers into the impossible position of outing their students.
To take this action two days before Trans Day of Remembrance is not an accident. It is cruel, calculated, and meant to intimidate. Instead, what we witnessed at yesterday‘s Trans Day of Remembrance rally was the opposite: courage, solidarity, and a community refusing to be erased. We saw grief and rage, but we also saw creative power, Joy, joyful resistance, and a shared refusal to abandon one another.
Calgary Queer Arts Society, our art, our voices, and our imagination represent A freedom, the terrifies those who cling to fall wineries. They cannot legislate away our existence, our brilliance, or our future.
To our Trans and Non-Binary community members:
You live in the real world, one that is rich with color, creativity and diversity. They live in fear and imaginary constraints. We see you. We love you. You matter and you are more powerful than you know.
Take action today:
- Find your MLA at assembly.ab.ca
- Sign the petition at bit.ly/3XzG3TU
- Phone or write your MLA
public pressure works, and together we can turn the tide.
Whatever weight you are carrying, we hope it feels lighter in community.
Thank you for showing up, for making art, and for reminding us again and again that we are infinitely more powerful than those who seek to erase us.
In solidarity, and creativity, and in love.
mural credit - the incredible, local and creative power house, @kat_simmers. This 90 foot floral mural in the colours of the progress flag, including the Lone and playful be, stands as a beacon of hope and empowerment to all Calgary’s who refused to let hate and division to find this place we call home.
🎭 Thank You for a GRAND Celebration!
What a beautiful Sunday at The GRAND Theatre! 💙
We had the honour of joining Calgary’s creative community for “With Thanks, Calgary” — a heartwarming open house celebrating over a century of storytelling, resilience, and creativity in our city.
From behind-the-scenes tours to warm drinks, free pizza (shout out @portlandstreetpizza !), and a cozy screening of The Muppet Christmas Carol, the afternoon was a reminder of why spaces like The GRAND matter. They’re not just theatres — they’re gathering places, dream spaces, and home to the stories that shape us.
Thank you to @thegrandyyc and the incredible team for opening your doors, sharing your vision for the future, and creating space for community to come together. Shout out to @eightyeightbrewco for keeping the bar vibes just right! 🍻 We’re so grateful to be part of Calgary’s arts ecosystem alongside you.
Here’s to the next chapter — bold, inclusive, and GRAND. 🎬✨
📹 Video credit: @wilmerphotography
#WithThanksCalgary #TheGRANDyyc #CalgaryArts #YYCCommunity #QueerArtsYYC #SupportLocalArts #CalgaryTheatre #CommunityLove #ArtsAndCulture #YYCEvents #CreativeYYC #ThankYou
✨ CALLING ALL FILM HEADS ✨
Want to watch dozens of queer films before anyone else AND help shape one of Canada’s largest 2SLGBTQIA+ festivals? Say less.
Fairy Tales Queer Art & Film Festival is recruiting for our 2026 Programming Committee, and we need cinephiles who live for the craft. 🎬🌈
What you’ll do:
- Screen submitted shorts and features from across Canada and around the globe
- Engage in critical dialogue about narrative structure, cinematography, and queer representation
- Help curate a festival lineup that celebrates diverse voices and bold storytelling
- Collaborate with fellow film lovers who geek out over lighting choices and unconventional edits
What you’ll get:
- First look at emerging and established queer cinema
- Behind-the-scenes insight into festival programming
- Community with fellow queer film enthusiasts
- The satisfaction of platforming stories that matter
Ideal for:
- Anyone who’s ever said “actually, the director’s cut is superior”
- Queer folks passionate about seeing our stories told authentically
- No experience required—just a love for cinema and a commitment to the vibe.
Ready to join the team?
DM us or email wilmer@calgaryqueerartssociety with “Programming Committee” in the subject line.
Let’s build something beautiful together. 🎞️✨
#FairyTalesFilmFestival #QueerCinema #FilmProgramming #VolunteerOpportunity #YYCFilm #2SLGBTQIA #QueerFilm #Cinephile #FilmCuration #BehindTheScenes #FilmFestival #YYCArts
✨ SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN ✨
Your Queer story deserves the spotlight—and we’re here for it.
Fairy Tales Queer Art & Film Festival is back for Year 28, and we’re calling all 2SLGBTQIA+ filmmakers to submit their magic. 🎬🌈
📍 One of Canada’s largest queer film festivals
💰 Screening fees paid to ALL selected films
🎨 Expanded programming featuring art forms that connect to each film’s cultural roots
🏳️🌈 Celebrating queer lived experience, by queer creators
What we’re looking for:
- Films with queer filmmakers, cast, or crew at the helm
- Shorts & features released within the last 2 years
- Work that hasn’t screened in Calgary yet (priority for shorts)
- Features NOT available online in Canada
- All submissions must include English subtitles/CC + content warnings
Categories:
🇨🇦 Canadian Short
🇨🇦 Canadian Feature
🌍 International Short
🌍 International Feature
DEADLINE: February 15, 2026, at 11:59 PM MST
Submit via FilmFreeway (link in bio) 👆
Your art. Your truth. Our stage. Let’s make 2026 unforgettable.
🔗 [filmfreeway.com/FairyTalesQueerFilmFestival]
#FairyTalesFilmFestival #QueerFilm #2SLGBTQIA #FilmSubmissions #QueerArt #YYCArts #CanadianFilm #QueerCinema #FilmFreeway #CallForSubmissions #IndieFilm #QueerStorytelling
Join @violetchachki & @gottmik for THE KNOCKOUT TOUR – a full-throttle 90 minute live drag spectacular featuring:
✨Live vocals & original music
✨Jaw-dropping aerial
✨Lip Sync battles with MEGA prizes
✨High fashion looks & outrageous glamour
✨Theatrical Burlesque and striptease
✨Hot male dancers serving full-out numbers
✨The camp, chaos, and edge only we can deliver
+ SPECIAL GUESTS
This isn’t just a drag show – it’s a full-scale live concert experience that will leave you gagged. Don’t wait, tickets are flying fast – secure your spot and witness history in the making.
🎟️.png Get your tickets now before they’re gone!
VIP Experience includes:
• Early entry & access to merch booth
• VIP cocktail hour prior to show
• Meet & greet with both Artists, including Photo opportunity
• VIP Signing
• Exclusive Duo Tour T-shirt, Print and Duo merch tote bag
🥊 GIVEAWAY ALERT: KNOCKOUT TOUR 🥊
TEAM VIOLET VS TEAM GOTTMIK — Who you got?! 👑
We’re giving away 2 TICKETS to see international drag superstars @violetchachki and @gottmik battle it out at The Palace Theatre on October 23rd!
Fresh off Violet’s Crazy Horse Paris residency and Gottmik making history as the first trans man on Drag Race, these queens are bringing:
✨ Gender-bending burlesque & aerial acrobatics
🎸 Rock-inspired live singing performances
💄 Show-stopping costumes & original duets
🔥 Blood, sweat, and GLITTER
HOW TO ENTER:
Follow @queerartsyyc + @modoliveofficial
Tag a friend who needs to see this show
Comment: Are you TEAM VIOLET or TEAM GOTTMIK?
Winner announced October 20th!
This is glamour vs. rock n roll. Athletics meets high fashion. The most over-the-top fabulous take on a boxing match you’ll EVER witness.
Don’t miss your chance to see these icons flip the sports world upside down! 🌪️
#KnockoutTour #GottmikVsVioletChachki #YYCDrag #CalgaryQueerArts #ModoLive #DragRace #Giveaway #YYC
