The 31st annual Calgary Pride Festival, presented by TD, runs August 27 to September 6, 2021 with a series of virtual and in-person events that delight, excite, capture, captivate, and most importantly CELEBRATE the 2SLGBTQ+ community, both during and leading up to Pride Week. Celebrate Pride in your local community by checking out #OurPride events, happening now through September 6.
Choose your Festival experience and join us in-person, from your living room, or wherever you find yourself! Programming will be streamed simultaneously online at calgarypride.ca/live where copyright allows. Plan your pride by downloading the official Calgary Pride app at the Apple App store or on Google Play.
Official Calgary Pride events are free to attend, or by donation. In order to keep our communities as safe as possible during COVID-19, capacity is limited at in-person events and pre-registration may be required. Free tickets for in-person B!G PRIDE at the Drive-in events go live Monday, August 16, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. MDT on Showpass.
Some of our incredible events include:
Real Life Rainbow Royalty: an intimate conversation with Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil
Location: Online
Date: August 31, 2021
Time: 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. MDT
Join Manvendra Singh Gohil (he/him), Prince of Rajpipla, India and the world’s first openly gay Prince, as he shares his lived experiences of complex — and sometimes conflicting — identities with Calgary Pride. Prince Manvendra is the only Indian to be featured by Oprah Winfrey on three occasions and has appeared twice on Keeping up with the Kardashians. We invite everyone to tune in virtually for a courageous conversation about navigating our own conflicting identities. RSVP on Showpass to secure your spot.
“I have traveled the world and spoken in front of millions of people from cultures from every part of the globe. I have told my story and listened to yours. No matter where you are now or where your culture is from, a challenge many of us face is how to balance the many aspects of who we are, and who we love. On our many journeys of learning how to be our most authentic selves, many of us have made new families, while navigating complicated relationships with people and communities who may or may not accept us.” — Manvendra Singh Gohil, Prince of Rajpipla, India
—–
Intersections of Faith & Identity Panel
Location: Online
Date: August 26, 2021
Time: 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. MDT
It is often thought that 2SLGBTQ+ identities and religious values do not always go hand in hand, and often, 2SLGBTQ+ members do not feel affirmed or accepted within their religions. Many members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community have difficulties reconciling their 2SLGBTQ+ identities with their faith and feel they must choose between religion, culture or their identity. This panel discussion will explore best practices from 2SLGBTQ+ people who openly practice their religion, and how faith communities and religious institutions can create safe, welcoming environments for their 2SLGBTQ+ followers. RSVP on Showpass to secure your spot.
—–
B!G PRIDE!
Location: Online or in-person at the B!G ART Drive-in at TELUS Spark
Date: September 1 to 5, 2021
Time: Varies by day/show
Join Calgary Pride, B!G ART, and friends as we bring you our classic Pride in the Park experience with a Drive-in twist, featuring treasured local acts and exciting headliners. First-come, first-served free or by-donation tickets for B!G PRIDE at the B!G ART Drive-in will be available on Showpass starting August 16 at 10:00 a.m. MDT. One ticket per car (up to 5 people). Patio seating available for those without cars!
Wednesday, September 1: Cult classics meet the B!G ART Drive-in stage. Join Calgary Underground Film Festival at Calgary Pride for fan favourite films and the gender-bending entertainment stylings of Fake Mustache Drag. Early show: Fake Mustache celebrates the cult classic horror teen drama Heathers; an icon of fashion, snapbacks and teenage love in all the wrong places, featuring opening performances from local drag royalty and special hosts. Late show: Bring your noise makers and let’s do the time warp again at The Rocky Horror Picture Show This 1974 tale of queerness and rock & roll will feature an opening local drag show, hosted call-backs and live shadow cast.
Thursday, September 2: A double feature with our friends at Theatre Calgary! First, SISSY FIT PRIDE: RE-CAST: Join curator and director Brett Dahl, AKA Sissy and their band of Fantastics as they perform some of the greatest monologues from the theatre canon, reimagined! Celebrate the diversity, depth, and often unused talent of Calgary’s most exciting and dynamic, and talented queer/non-binary performers. Then, THEATRE CALGARY SINGS FOR PRIDE, hosted by Sissy, is a show-stopping “greatest hits” concert featuring a sparkling cast of 8 Calgary performers from 2SLGBTQ+ and IBPOC communities performing songs from well-loved musicals with a live band.
Friday, September 3 Early Evening Show: Calgary Pride and Calgary Folk Music Festival collide to bring you three enticing, diverse musical artists live on Sept 3. Further details coming shortly.
Friday, September 3 Late Evening Show (18+): Nightlife comes alive at the B!G PRIDE late show, featuring some of the very best drag Calgary has to offer, an exciting array of burlesque performances, DJ sets, and circus magic. 18+, valid government issued photo ID required.
Saturday, September 4 Daytime Show: Who misses the Family Zone from Pride in the Park? We do! Calgary Pride and B!G Art are excited to present FAMILY DAY, featuring a variety of musical and drag acts, live magic show and circus extravaganza. Fun for the whole family. Even grandma!
Saturday, September 4 Nighttime Show (18+): If you’re looking to dance on the wild side of Pride, look no further! Le Cirque de la Nuit and Calgary Pride are proud to present BEYOND BURLESQUE: a provocative and alluring Night Circus affair like no other, featuring some of Alberta’s finest queer artists. Following the evening’s main stage attractions, DJ Molly Fi takes the stage alongside LED flow artists to inspire your groove. Curl up your moustaches and fasten your corsets as we embark on a wild and twisted adventure beyond the big top, and into the hidden world of Le Cirque de la Nuit! 18+, valid government issued photo ID required.
Sunday, September 5 (Parade Day!): Though we can’t march through the streets together this year, the spirit of Calgary Pride’s classic Pride in the Park celebration is bottled into B!G PRIDE, a drive-in extravaganza featuring all of your favourite local performers AND a virtual Parade. Jam-packed with drag artists, musicians, dancers, circus performers, and more, B!G PRIDE Parade Day will certainly amaze.
—–
Reading with Royalty
Location: Central Memorial Park
Dates: August 28, 2021 & September 4, 2021
Times: Aug 28 – 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Sept 4 – 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Spark imagination and encourage inclusion at this family-friendly story-time program, led by local drag performers! In partnership with the Calgary Public Library, Reading with Royalty allows folks to imagine a colourful world where people can express their identities freely. This is one of Calgary Pride’s most treasured programs, with an audience of almost 5,000 kiddos — and kiddos-at-heart — to date. Reading with Royalty is “coming out” to Central Memorial Park on the first and last Saturday of Pride Week! Visit the Calgary Public Library website to register for free with your library card.
—–
To learn more about B!G PRIDE and other Calgary Pride programs, please visit our website at www.calgarypride.ca. Together, #WeAreCalgaryPride.
If you would like to schedule an interview with Hasina Juma (she/her), Director of Organizational Change at Calgary Pride, please contact:
Robyn Betts (she/her)
Public Relations & Marketing Account Manager
Alchemy Communications Inc.
M: 587- 891-5726
robyn@alchemycommunications.ca
-30-
About Calgary Pride:
Calgary Pride is a volunteer-led, non-profit organization. Our mandate is to advance visibility and inclusion for Calgary’s gender and sexually diverse communities; to do this, we endeavour to build strong community partnerships, implement ongoing programs like Reading with Royalty, Queerly Festive, Evolve: Pride Amplified, and Calgary’s premier celebration of diversity, Calgary Pride Week, Parade & Festival.
In the spirit of respect, reciprocity and truth, Calgary Pride, as an inhabitant of Calgary Alberta, honours and acknowledges Moh’kinstsis and the traditional Treaty 7 territory and oral practices of the Blackfoot confederacy: Siksika, Kainai, Piikani as well as the Îyarhe Nakoda and Tsuut’ina nations. We acknowledge that the territory we work and live upon is home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3 within the historical Northwest Métis homeland.
