| Jun 28 | 8:30pm | Ocean Artworks (Granville Island) | $15 at the door
Wallgrin is the experimental art-pop project of Toronto composer, vocalist, and violinist Tegan Wahlgren. Blending lush strings, beat-driven pop, and ornate vocal arrangements, their music draws on mythological and fantastical imagery while channeling influences ranging from Celtic fiddle to avant-pop. Described as a songwriter who “measures up to standards set by art-pop visionaries like Björk and Kate Bush” (Northern Transmissions), Wallgrin has performed at international festivals including Iceland Airwaves and Tallinn Music Week. Featuring Jen Yakamovich (drums), Elisa Thorn (harp), Nikko Whitworth (bass), and Amanda Sum (keys/synth).
Devours is the dark synth-pop project of Vancouver DIY musician Jeff Cancade. Across five acclaimed albums, including the Polaris Prize-longlisted Homecoming Queen, Devours has crafted confessional electronic music exploring masculinity, body image, queer politics, and nightlife culture. Called “unpredictable, and relentlessly catchy” by Exclaim!, Devours delivers sharp, subversive queer pop that is equally introspective and irresistibly danceable.
| Jun 27 | 9:30pm – 2am | The Birdhouse | $14 – $26
Trust your instincts, close your eyes, and leap ~ It’s Man Up‘s annual MUSICALS DRAG SHOW! We’re packing up our cats, our rent, and all our angry inches, and heading straight to the Birdhouse ~ Skip with us along the yellow brick west 4th road, and all that jazz! Man Up MUSICALS is happening Saturday June 27th at the Birdhouse, a musical themed drag show and dance party celebrating the Broadway stage, screen, and beyond! This first-ever collab with Man Up is a perfect way to close out your Pride Month.
Featuring:
DJs Alma B & softieshan
Drag by: Rose Butch, Genesis, Wanda Fuca, Toddy, Lexxx, Mush, Cheryl Trade, Theo Rhetical, Maiden China
Photos: Jesse Ray Photography, @jesserayphotography
Presented in partnership with Man Up and the Birdhouse.
| Jun 26 | 7pm | Firehall Arts Centre | $0 – $25 sliding scale |
Fin’ Amor (Songs from a Former Criminal) is a 50-minute song cycle for tenor and hurdy gurdy performed by Bud Roach, with music by Jeffrey Ryan and libretto/direction by James Fagan Tait. A contemporary reflection on Medieval chivalric love poetry, the work commemorates the 50th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality in Canada in 1969. By turns political, reflective, and slyly humorous, the piece extends the art song tradition through its unusual instrumentation and deeply personal perspective.
Created by three gay artists whose lives were shaped by criminalization and social stigma, Fin’ Amor gives voice to stories too often absent from the classical canon. Come hear this sonically unique, intergenerational reflection on queer Canadian history, resilience, and survival.
Tenor Bud Roach maintains a busy schedule of performances from the Baroque to the contemporary. His recordings for the Musica Omnia label have been recognized internationally as ground-breaking achievements in historically-informed performance practice. “Roach is marvellous throughout….Five stars” (Early Music Today, UK). Recent highlights include staged works of Claude Vivier on tour in Berlin and London, UK (Soundstreams Canada, 2022), concert appearances with La Chapelle de Quebec, the Hamilton Philharmonic, the London Symphonia, the Bach Elgar Choir, Nota Bene Baroque Players, the Menno Singers, Soundstreams Canada, the Spiritus Ensemble, Talisker Players, Toronto Masque Theatre, and the Toronto Consort.
He founded the vocal quartet Capella Intima in 2009, and their recordings of Canzonette Spirituali, e Morali, 1657, and Alessandro Scarlatti’s “Gli equivoci nel sembiante” have met with critical acclaim in Canada, the US, and Europe. Bud has also premiered works by Jeffrey Ryan, Andrew Staniland, Melissa Hui, Abigail Richardson-Schulte, Norbert Palej, and John Burge.
ABOUT JEFFREY RYAN
With compositions that “engage heart and mind in a most satisfying way” (Audio Ideas Guide), Vancouver-based Jeffrey Ryan takes inspiration from the world around him and creates music from orchestral and chamber works to opera, art song, and choral music. With awards and recognition including multiple JUNO and Western Canadian Music Awards nominations, SOCAN’s Jan V. Matejcek New Classical Music Award and the 2025 WCMA for Classical Composer of the Year, his music has been commissioned, performed and recorded by orchestras, ensembles and soloists worldwide, including his award-winning portrait CD Fugitive Colours with the Vancouver Symphony and the Gryphon Trio. jeffreyryan.com
ABOUT JAMES FAGAN TAIT
Actor, writer and director James Fagan Tait is a native of Cornwall, Ontario. He trained at Ryerson Theatre School and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, where he worked as an actor and director for several years. He also studied theatre at Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris where he worked as an actor and director for four years. He is one of Vancouver’s busiest actors / writers / directors, creating, directing, and/or performing in shows for numerous professional and community-based companies, including Neworld Theatre, Boca del Lupo, Western Gold, the Vancouver Playhouse, Caravan Farm Theatre, Vancouver Moving Theatre, the Electric Company, Runaway Moon, Bard on the Beach, and many others.
Tomoki Sanders is a free electron who greedily explores Great Black Music, urban music, electronic, and the avant-garde. Child of the legendary Pharoah Sanders, Tomoki has been making their mark for the past five years with Kassa Overall‘s supergroup, and as an active member of the new generation of New York musicians that they present during Tomo Tuesdays, a vector of openness and diversity reflective of Tomoki’s dual Afro-American and Japanese culture and their non-binarity. For this special performance at the Birdhouse they are joined by the Todd Stewart Trio.
Presented in partnership with the Vancouver International Jazz Festival.
About Tomoki Sanders
Born in New York City in 1994, Tomoki Sanders (they/them) started playing percussion at age 4, and clarinet at 6. At 10, their father, the legendary Pharoah Sanders, gave them a saxophone. They had their first gig at 13, and began performing in schools, venues, and clubs around Japan’s Kanto Region, before studying performance and music production at the prestigious Berklee College of Music. On their first album, to be released in 2026, they recreate the link with the rich hours of the Impulse! label and, with all their fantastic personality, rush through the door re-opened by Kamasi Washington and Shabaka Hutchings.
Sanders has performed with their late father, as well as with the Jack DeJohnette Trio. They currently live in New York, performing alongside artists such as Moses Sumney, Ravi Coltrane, Tatsuya Nakamura, Taylor McFerrin, Mark de Clive-Lowe, KYOTO JAZZ SEXTET, George Garzone, Hajime Yoshizawa, ROOT SOUL, Fumio Itabashi, TOKU, Trap Music Orchestra, and more.
| Jun 21, 2-3:30pm | Jun 24, 6-7:30pm | Sun Wah Centre | $15 – $30 sliding scale
Ready to build strength in a supportive, queer‐centered space?
We’re partnering with our friends at Witness the Fitness for two strength workshops! These sessions are designed for all levels; whether you’re brand new to lifting or looking to sharpen your technique. You’ll learn the fundamentals of Deadlift, Squat, and Bench Press with hands‐on coaching in an inclusive environment for trans, non‐binary, and cis queer folks, plus allies who feel comfortable in a queer and trans‐focused space. Expect connection, questions, skill‐building, and a whole lot of queer joy.
Chanel (they/them) is a BCRPA certified personal trainer and weight training instructor. Chanel started lifting at WTF at the start of 2023, loved it, and never left. Known as the Ultimate Hype Person, they are dedicated to empowering clients, cheering them on to smash their PRs and celebrate the everyday victories like showing up for themselves. When not in the gym, Chanel loves to celebrate spooky-season all year long, read copious amounts of paranormal “romance”, and pet every dog that they can.
| Jun 20 | 3 – 5pm | Community Event | 4th floor, 268 Keefer St. | Free
Do you have under-utilized clothes and accessories? Are you on the hunt for some free, fab looks? Get those old clothes out of the closet and over to Sun Wah Centreon June 20 for our annual QAF Clothing Swap! We’re looking for clothes that are clean, gently worn, and unscented. Clothes can be dropped off starting at 1:30pm (pro tip: drop off your clothes early and check out the Hustling Verse Poetry Reading at Or Gallery at 2pm; then join us for the clothing swap from 3 – 6pm). Don’t have clothes to bring? No problem, you’re still welcome to join in the swap! All remaining clothes will be donated to PACE Society. All clothing will be sorted by size, and all-gender change spaces will be provided.
Jun 20 | 2 – 3pm | Poetry Reading | Or Gallery | Free
I Love Them By The Edge: an afternoon of Queer Indigenous Poetry ruminates on themes explored in Vance Wright’s solo exhibition of the same name, which was installed at Or Gallery from Jan 22nd – May 2nd of this year. Join us for an intimate poetry reading that further explores Queer Indigenous expression relating to oneself, to others, to land, and to desire. Facilitated by Vance Wright, readers include Justin Ducharme; full artist roster to be announced.
This program is free and open to all. Presented in partnership with Or Gallery.
Participant Bios
Vance Wright
Vance Wright (they/them) is a reconnecting two-spirit member of the Tl’azt’en Nation, and was raised on the unceded territories of the Sinixt Nation in what is colonially known as Nelson BC. Currently residing in the occupied and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ Nations in Vancouver, they are an emerging artist, curator and writer. They hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Emily Carr University, with a major in Critical and Cultural Practices and a minor in Curatorial Studies. Their artwork has been exhibited in the Contemporary Native Art Biennial (BACA), as well as artist-run centres such as Massy Arts Society or Oxygen Art Centre.
Justin Ducharme
Justin Ducharme is a writer and filmmaker from the Métis community of St. Ambroise on Treaty 1 Territory. He is an alumni of the 2022 Sundance Institute’s Native Film Lab, TIFF’s 2022 Filmmaker Lab and the 2024 TIFF Every Story Accelerator with his debut feature film project SEVENTEEN. Justin is the co-editor of Hustling Verse: An Anthology of Sex Workers Poetry published by Arsenal Pulp Press. His writing has been featured in Canadian Art, Room Magazine, Prism International and The Positive Side. He currently lives and works on the Unceded Coast Salish Territory colonially known as Vancouver.
MY HOUSE is a bold new work by the award-winning queer, Canadian-Filipinx choreographer Ralph Escamillan (aka Kiki Legend OA Mother Posh Gvasalia and Canadian Mother Posh Basquiat). This fabulous performance celebrates Ballroom Culture, and the familial bonds embedded within the structure of a HOUSE. Bringing the BALL from the runway to the stage, the piece features Voguers from the Canadian Scene, with a local Ballroom Commentators and DJ.
Subversive, joyful, and playful, MY HOUSE uses the collective fantasy-building of Ballroom, beats that make you pump, and movement that carries the liberating truth of being fully oneself on the floor.
SPECIAL DISCOUNT for QAF community: Enter the discount code QAF10 for a 25% discount. Maximum 2 discounted tickets per person. Offer is valid only until 5pm on June 12.
Presented in partnership with The Dance Centre
MY HOUSE
Choreographer & Performer Ralph Escamillan (Kiki Legend Posh Gvasalia Basquiat)
Commentator Max Morales (Princess Pegasus Pink Lady)
Costume and Styling Ralph Escamillan & Robyn Jill Laxamana
Black Dance Vernacular/ Decolonising Practice Consultant Justine Chambers
Video & Projection Designer Nancy Lee
Lighting Designer & Technical Director Andie Lloyd
Executive Producer Francesca Piscopo
Associate Producer Kevin Soo-Locsin
Marketing and Communications Manager Jonathan James
Accounts Manager Ann Hepper
Produced by FakeKnot, and co-produced by the National Arts Centre (Ottawa), Urban Ink, and The Dance Centre.
FakeKnot gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the British Columbia Arts Council, the City of Vancouver, Lululemon, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Vancouver Ballroom Arts, and the Health Initiative for Men (HIM). A special thank you to all the individual donors who made this production possible.
Ralph Escamillan is Associate Artist with The Dance Centre.
Queer Indigenous Films From Turtle Island and Beyond
| Jun 18 | 7pm | The Birdhouse | $0 – $25, sliding scale
Join us for a night celebrating Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer excellence, with a screening of short films and music videos made by Indigenous artists from around the world!
Featuring
“Four Spirits Walk As One” by Olly King (Cree)
“Taha, Ua” by Ngaire Lyden-Elleray (Tongan)
“Terror/Forming” by Rylan Friday (Saulteaux Ojibway/Plains Cree/Métis)
“Find My Way Back (feat Kee’ahn)” by Samuel Gaskin (Māori/Nigerian)
Please join us for a Q&A with the attending artists after the screening!
Co-presented with Full Circle: First Nations Performance
ODMK (goes by Olly or Oliver) is a Cree filmmaker from James Smith Cree Nation currently living in Treaty 1 territory. Working since 2014, they are a writer, producer, actor, animator & director. Co-directing ‘CONFLUENCE’, co-producing ‘LEVERS’ & starring in ‘8th Street Menace’. ODMK is currently working on their first feature film.
Ngaire Lyden-Elleray (she/they) is a multi-disciplinary artist, filmmaker and writer. Coming from a mixed Pasifika Indigenous background, storytelling has been an integral part of their life, and they are dedicated to uplifting Indigenous and Queer voices and narratives. Born in Ōtepoti, Aotearoa, on Ngāi Tahu Iwi land, Ngaire was raised in Tkaronto on the ancestral lands of the Wendat, Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Anishnabeg, Chippewa and Mississauga of Credit. They currently live on the unceded and traditional territories of the šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmaɁɬ təməxʷ, Skwxwú7mesh-ulh Temíx̱w, and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ təməxʷ.
Rylan Friday is an award winning director, writer, producer and curator from the Cote First Nation, Saskatchewan. He has produced Portraits From a Fire, directed Terror/Forming, Musk. & The Sound of You Collapsing. Rylan has spearheaded the 2020 iteration of the VIFF’s Catalyst Mentorship Program, and curated #Indigeneity series for Reel Causes, and the Who We Are Indigenous film series with VIFF and the MOV. Currently he is in development for his directorial feature film, Terror/Rising.
Samuel Gaskin is a Māori/Nigerian artist, award-winning performer, and the founder of Beat Entertainment—a BIPOC and LGBTQI+ led company championing authentic storytelling in music and theatre. A three-time APRA PDAs finalist (Pop/Contemporary) and winner of the 2025 PAC Australia GALA Award, Gaskin has earned acclaim for his intercultural works including RECKŌNING: Te Waiata Paihere Wairua, which toured nationally following multiple Melbourne Fringe Awards. His collaborations with Kee’ahn, Yothu Yindi & The Treaty Project, and others have been featured by Triple J, COLORSXSTUDIOS, Spotify, and Apple Music.
Radio-JusSunná / Sunna Nousuniemi is a queer Sámi audiovisual artist and storyteller from Anár, Sápmi. Their artistic path emerged when they grabbed their father’s video camera in early 00’s and started documenting their daily life with their friends in Anár. In 2025, their short film ÁHKUIN received the New Voice in Storytelling Award in Toronto at imagineNATIVE Media + Arts Festival. Recently, they graduated from the Sámi Education Institute as an artesan, specialized in traditional Sámi soft handicrafts. Since 2025, they have been working as the Artistic Director of Skábmagovat Indigenous Peoples’ Film Festival.
| Jun 14 | 11am – 3pm | Sun Wah Centre 4th Floor | $10
Fold, staple, photocopy, repeat! Join artists Cheryl Hamilton and Emilie McKnight for a hands-on introduction to the DIY world of zine making, presented as part of Varied Editions at Sun Wah Centre. This workshop explores zines as tools for storytelling, self-publishing, activism, and queer creative expression. Participants will experiment with layout, text, image, sequencing, and simple bookbinding techniques to create their own small-edition publication in a welcoming and low-pressure environment. No prior experience necessary. Materials will be provided, though participants are welcome to bring their own source material and creative inspiration!
Learn the fundamentals in this hands-on Silkscreen Workshop led by Varied Editions co-curator Cheryl Hamilton. Hosted at Malaspina Printmakers Society, this in-person session will guide you through designing, creating a stencil, and printing your very own one-colour design on paper. Whether you’re new to printmaking or looking to sharpen your skills, this workshop offers a welcoming space to explore the art of silkscreen. All materials provided.
| Jun 9, 16, 23, 30| 7:30 – 9pm | Witness the Fitness (Sun Wah Centre, 4th Floor) | $90 – $150, sliding scale
Taking place on the 4th floor of the Sun Wah Centre, Trans Boxing Vancouver is a 4-week intro to boxing geared towards first timers and beginners. Learn boxing fundamentals including stance, punches, footwork, and defence in a small group setting with a gentle increase in cardio and conditioning. Trans Boxing Vancouver is a trans-centred boxing initiative for folks of all gender expressions including trans, nonbinary, Two Spirit, gender nonconforming, genderfluid, and queer. Classes are facilitated with a technique-based, trauma-aware, and embodiment-focused coaching style. Participants are encouraged to attend the full four-week series; the sliding scale registration fee covers all sessions. All equipment provided.
Contact Coach Tsvi on Instagram @transboxingvancouver or via email transboxingvancouver@gmail.com to sign up.
ABOUT YOUR TRAINER:
Tsvi Levi (he/they) is the head coach and founder of Trans Boxing Vancouver. He began boxing in 2021 after a longtime curiosity of the sport, later to discover newspaper clippings of his great-grandfather who was a successful amateur boxer in 1930s Montreal. Enticed by the total presence boxing requires, the nervous system work, and boxing’s relationship with trauma, Tsvi uncovered themself as a trans man through the renewed embodiment training offered. Tsvi’s experiences as a trans person in the broader boxing community led him to found Trans Boxing Vancouver to build a bridge between the local trans and boxing communities and lower the existing barriers that prevent trans folks from accessing combat sport training. With a background in the arts and community organizing, Tsvi views coaching first and foremost as relational, built on consistent care and trust. As an athlete, Tsvi aims to be the first openly transgender amateur boxer in British Columbia.
An introduction to papermaking using tree-fibre pulp to create paper suitable for printmaking, drawing, dyeing, and painting. Led by Varied Editions co-curator Edward Fu-Chen Juan with assistance from Veronica Yang, this hands-on workshop guides participants through a condensed version of the ancient process of making washi paper, including pulp preparation, sheet formation (couching), and opportunities for experimentation. Participants will explore paper not simply as a surface for artmaking, but as an expressive medium in itself. Whether practical, sculptural, or poetic, handmade paper has long been embraced by artists working outside conventional forms and systems. No prior experience necessary. All materials provided.
| Jun 6 | 7pm | Studio 001 | LG Floor of Sun Wah Centre | $0 – $25, sliding scale
After a quiet absence, The Night of Storytelling rises again.
The series returns from its own slumber with its signature edge: an invitation for writers to take the stage and perform original pieces shaped around this year’s theme, Rebirth.
Think of Jesus on the Cross; think of Frankenstein’s monster. Think, too, of the quiet and the private; the resurrections that reverberate through one’s body.
This is not a gentle evening. It’s one of transformation, risk and revelation.
Join author and curator Danny Ramadan as he brings together a lineup of powerful voices stepping onto the stage, offering work that is raw, immediate, and alive to this moment.
Featuring Danny Ramadan, Amber Dawn, Aaron Chan, jaz papadopoulos and jaye simpson.
Artist Bios
Danny Ramadan
Danny Ramadan is a Syrian-Canadian author and a Canada Scholar. His memoir Crooked Teeth is critically acclaimed, and was nominated for the Governor General’s Award, the BC and Yukon Book Prize, and the City of Vancouver Book Award. He is also the author of the novels The Foghorn Echoes and The Clothesline Swing, along with the award-winning Salma children’s series. His books have won the Lambda Literary Award, the Publishing Triangle Award, and the Independent Publisher Book Award, and they’ve been translated into multiple languages. Since arriving in Canada, Danny has raised over $300,000 to support queer and trans refugees. When not writing, he can be found playing video games.
Amber Dawn
Amber Dawn is the author of six books and editor of three anthologies. Her body-of-work largely explores queerness, trauma-informed cultural production and madness. Her newest poetry collection Buzzkill Clamshell (2025) flaunts the chronically pained body as a source of lewd feminine power.
Aaron Chan
Aaron Chan is a writer from unceded Coast Salish territories (Vancouver, BC). He holds a BFA from the University of British Columbia and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of California Riverside. He is the author of the memoir This City Is a Minefield (Signal 8 Press) and the picture book, The Broken Heart (Rocky Pond Books). He won subTerrain‘s Lush Triumphant Literary Award in Creative Non-Fiction and is the recipient of the L.M. and Marcia McQuern Endowed Graduate Award in Non-Fiction Writing. His piece “Quiz” was longlisted for the 2024 CBC Nonfiction Prize.
jaz papadopoulos
jaz papadopoulos (they/them) is an interdisciplinary writer/artist/educator/party planner. A self-described emotionalist and avid Anne Carson fan, jaz likes talking about media, horticulture, lyricism, nervous systems, anti-Imperialism and erotics. Their debut poetry collection, I Feel That Way Too (Nightwood Editions), was a McNally Robinson best seller. They are currently writing their second collection—a chapbook on the sacred—in partnership with the St. Boniface Hospital and the Buhler Gallery in Winnipeg. jaz grew up in Treaty 1 and currently lives on syilx land in the Okanagan. Find them online at textualdealings.com.
Photo credit: Jessica Ray Photo
jaye simpson (she/they) is an Oji-Cree Saulteaux Indigiqueer from the Sapotaweyak Cree Nation. simpson is a writer, advocate and activist sharing their knowledge and lived experiences in hope of creating utopia. she is published in several magazines including Poetry Is Dead, This Magazine, PRISM international, SAD Magazine: Green, GUTS Magazine, SubTerrain, Grain and Room. They are in four anthologies: Hustling Verse (2019), Love After the End (2020), The Care We Dream Of (2021), and Queer Little Nightmares (2022). Their first poetry collection, it was never going to be okay (Nightwood Ed.) was shortlisted for the 2021 ReLit Award and a 2021 Dayne Ogilvie Prize Finalist while also winning the 2021 Indigenous Voices Award for Published Poetry in English. a body more tolerable, her second book of published poetry was recently shortlisted for a Lambda Literary Prize. she is a displaced Indigenous person resisting, ruminating and residing on xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-waututh), and sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) First Nations territories, colonially known as Vancouver.
Jun 5 – 27 | Tues – Sat | 12pm – 6pm | SUM Gallery | Free
The name has changed, the location has changed, but the QAF Community Art Show remains the heart and soul of our festival, 18 years on. Showcasing the outstanding work of our local 2SLGBTQIA+ artistic communities, this annual exhibition honours the legacy of Pride in Art founder, activist, and Two-Spirit artist Robbie Hong. Come down to SUM gallery to get a sneak peak at what the artists in our midst are up to!
Join us for the ArtParty! exhibition opening at SUM gallery at 268 Keefer St., on June 5 from 7 – 10pm.
