Gay friendly bars edmonton
Edmonton to have 2 LGBTQ bars this summer as Evolution Wonderlounge begins move
For the first time in nearly a decade, Edmonton will have two gay bars this summer.
Evolution Wonderlounge will open a adj location on Jasper Avenue and Street, as its downtown location on Street near Avenue winds down operations.
&#;It forced us to start looking around so we found this space, so we&#;re like, let&#;s just do both at once until the lease runs out,&#; Evolution Wonderlounge co-owner Rob Browatzke told Global News.
The new bar will take over the Reign Premium Lounge & Kitchen, which has been sitting vacant since January.
Browatzke said he got the call from the landlord that the space was available. The new space will be renamed &#;Evo&#; and it comes with new opportunities.
The Wîhkwêntôwin location will offer two floors for dining and events.
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Evo plans to open earlier in the day than a typical nightclub, in request to provide happy hour cocktails, dinner menu items, and expand weeknight programming to include trivia nights, bingo nigh
My first Pride festival was Was it Lethbridge&#;s first? I don&#;t remember one in , and I certainly would have gone. Lethbridge in was a very different place than it is now, with a giant Pride Fest happening at a major mainstream downtown club. Then, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance of Lethbridge and Area (GALA/LA) threw monthly events at the Croatian Hall, outside of town, and the &#;97 Pride event was even further into the country. There were some queens down from Calgary (likely ISCCA, not that I knew what that was then) for a show at a little gay BBQ. Even the prospect of a slip n slide wasn&#;t enough to keep me there, not when my friend Dave suggested ditching for a night in Calgary, where I could slip and slide into some hot boy&#;s bed.
My first (and last, advance to think of it) Calgary pride saw a very hungover me closure up actually walking in the parade, with Calgary&#;s queer youth group at the time, I-dentity. The fact that impromptu attendance at my first parade involved me being in it was par
Kevin Hendricks, left, and Darrin Hagen in the loading elevator at Flashback in Courtesy of the Flashback Collection.
Flashback used to host gay drag races as part of the club’s annual Ms. Flashback contest. Courtesy of the Flashback Collection.
&#;You&#;re standing on very hallowed ground.&#;
Darrin Hagen stands on the sidewalk in front of the Excelsior Lofts on Street. The luxury condos opened in
In another life, the building was home to Flashback, one of the most powerful gay bars in Edmonton between the late s and early ‘90s. It was right across the street from another iconic queer club, The Roost.
Preserving and sharing stories
“[Flashback] was one of the only places where straight people and gay people could go hang out,” says Hagen, an award-winning playwright, queer historian, and drag artiste. He’s also the artistic director of Guys In Disguise, a legendary theatre company that specializes in drag comedies and got its start at Flashback in
“You could actually bring straight friends and they’d go: ‘Wow, this place is amazing.’ I
Welcome!
Jasper Avenue
Edmonton, AB
Open seven days a week at 4pm, our new location on Jasper Ave, EVO, has so many of the features our original space couldn&#;t accommodate. This accessible, street-level space is flooded by sunlight in the evenings, making it a perfect place to meet your friends for drinks and eats.
Yes, the new space has a full kitchen! Burgers, wraps, pizzas, rotating entrees, and a wide variety of appetizers feature prominently on the menu. As this is a new endeavor, the menu could alter over the next adj months, so try items now, and be sure to let us grasp which ones you can&#;t live without.
Weeknight music is dictated by you, with our TouchTunes jukebox, controllable by an app right from your table! Weeknight programming includes Karaoke every Wednesday starting April 16, Trivia every Thursday starting April 24, with plans for bingo, live harmony, open mics, and more coming to #yourgaybar this summer.