Quebec City Pride
2019 Edition
The Quebec City Pride, which took place from August 29 to September 1, 2019, celebrated their fifteen years of pride. It stood out not only for its much more ambitious programming, but also for the extraordinary popularity of its activities.
To mark the 15th edition of the only gathering of LGBTQ + communities in Quebec City, the Alliance Arc-en-ciel has prepared a colorful program for its festival-goers. They were able to take advantage of the good weather to browse the surprising activities and attend several shows by renowned artists who livened up Place d’Youville every day. Indeed, the most nostalgic among us were able, on August 30, 2019, to attend the only performance of the DIVAS show, during which they were able, among others, to hear Michèle Richard, Martine St-Clair and Patsy Gallant .
The festival-goers were also able to sometimes sway, sometimes laugh, sometimes be moved to the rhythm of Barbada and her guests, Karim Ouellet and King Abid , Gabrielle Destroismaisons and Rafaëlle Roy, Beat Sexü and comedians from Dr Mobilo Aquafest’s group.
Wedding under the Rainbow
It was on August 31 that Yves and Sylvain were publicly united by marriage. By this highly symbolic gesture, the newlyweds not only wanted to highlight their many guests but also by celebrating the fifteenth anniversary of Canadian law permitting same-sex unions. They are proving to the world that love transcends the borders of heteronormativity.
Family Day
Inflatable games, face painting, shows of princes and princesses animated by drag queens, animals and story time, are the activities that families could enjoy during Family Day. This type of event was in high demand from festival-goers during the previous edition’s poll. The beautiful weather and the numbers specially designed for toddlers charmed parents who consider that this day should be added to the classics of the Fête Arc-en-ciel.
This Shöw’s funny
Dr. Mobilo presented us with a comedy show with an LGBTQ + flavor. In fact, the emerging comedians presented the opening night with acts that were as creative as they were daring. The comedians, Alex Forest, Tranna Wintour, Audrey-Anne Dugas, Samuel Cyr, Guillaume Wagner with the animation of Coco Belliveau, made this first edition of the show a success.
Redrawing the genders
Hosted by DJ KOKA, a duo composed of Karim Ouellet and King Abid, participants were invited to redraw genders, a committed artistic event during which live models composed of non-binary people will serve as inspiration. The concept of this activity is to get cartoonists to think about their way of representing the notion of gender.
Other highlights
60.000 visitors
If, in previous years, the Pride attracted around 40,000 people to downtown Quebec, 60,000 festival-goers took part in the events that took place throughout the weekend of its 15th edition. This popularity is explained by the quality of the activities that have been organized, as well as by the novelties that have been offered to the participants. These include, among others:
- The expansion of the VIP area as well as the improvement of the packages offered to festival-goers
- The increase in the duration of the Festival and the number of shows
- The expansion of the Place d’Youville site, for the comfort of participants
- The increase in the number of points of sale for the supply of drinks and promotional items
- Improving the offer of cultural activities
- The effort to reach different age groups and diverse audiences
- Improving the offer of afternoon activities and partner activities
- The mobilization of traders, producers and restaurants from Quebec who agreed to participate in the festivities. The promotion of local and Quebec purchasing adds a dimension of community and significant support to the FAEC
Finally, it should be noted that the party’s green shift, which began in 2018, continued in 2019.