On June 22, the Two Spirit, Gay, Lesbian, Queer, Trans Plus community and our allies are celebrating International Pride Month with Castlegar Queer Fest at the Castle Theatre. Queer Fest is the first event of its kind in Castlegar and promises to be an evening of stellar entertainment.
Our host for the evening will be recently-elected SD 20 School Board Trustee Birkley Valks. When not acting as a Trustee and running his own business, Valks performs in drag and will be presenting one or two numbers, along with drag clown LBee. Born and raised in the West Kootenays, LBee is a drag jack. She takes the stories that live inside her brain, heart, and guts and brings them to life on stage. She relies heavily on imagination and the magic of human connection for inspiration.
Castlegar Queer Fest will be headlined with a 45 minute set by Tonye Aganaba. Aganaba is a multidisciplinary artist, musician, and arts facilitator residing on the unceded territories of the Squamish, Musqueam & Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. Their music can be described as Soul/Neo-Folk/R&B. Their new album ‘Something Comfortable’ is an intentional and devotional endeavour inspired by their battle with Multiple Sclerosis. The album serves as the score to ‘AfroScience’ an immersive performance and workshop series fusing live music, dance, visual art/digital media and storytelling to stimulate conversation and action around identity, public health, and expression. Tonye’s shows, workshops, and dialogues are connected and intimate experiences, and evoke a kind of vulnerability that we all hunger for.
The evening will also contain the magic of poetry by Castlegar Pride co-chair Bre Harwood and a DJ set by mochilero, along with a slide show on the big screen featuring queer Kootenay visual artists. Visual artists who would like to be included in the slide show should contact us at castlegarpride@gmail.com. Tickets for the event are available online at https://castlegarpride.brownpapertickets.com. We look forward to this evening of celebration with our queer community and those who love and support us. For more information, contact castlegarpride@yahoo.com
Castlegar Pride