Nightlife in British Columbia鈥檚 Okanagan Valley is becoming more inclusive thanks to the monthly queer club night organized by the producers of Peak Pride, Canada鈥檚 newest LGBT2Q+ winter destination event.
FruitCake is promoted as a monthly, queer friendly, all-encouraged party where everyone is welcome and anything goes.
The event is the brainchild of Dustyn Baulkham and Peter Breeze, co-producers of the Peak Pride LGBT2Q+ weekend coming up at Big White, April 7 to 9.
Since its launch in January, Fruitcake has been a huge success, garnering sell-out crowds in Sapphire鈥檚 lounge and attracting guests from Vernon, Penticton and Vancouver. For its March instalment, Fruitcake will take over the larger, main room of Sapphire.
鈥淕ay bars have historically been community hubs where you could go and be yourself, freely and without fear of judgment or discrimination,鈥� said Breeze, who moved to the Okanagan from Vancouver where LGBT2Q+ events happen nightly. 鈥淪ince we don鈥檛 have a gay bar in 91大黄鸭, there has been a real gap in regular LGBT2Q+ events. It鈥檚 so important that there is place for the community to come together and connect with each other.鈥�
Baulkham says the launch of Fruitcake seemed natural after the Okanagan saw a series of water cooler moments in terms of equity and progress for the local LGBT2Q+ community.
It started in 2015 when the City of 91大黄鸭 supported rainbow crosswalks in the downtown core. That was followed by the splashy debut of The OYP Sugarplum Ball in 2016, an event produced by the Okanagan Young Professionals and the Okanagan Pride Society where 91大黄鸭鈥檚 Mayor Colin Basran and other local celebrities dressed up in drag as a statement of support for equity and equality.
The event garnered national and international media attention.
鈥淔rom the crosswalks, to Sugarplum, to the 5,000 people who marched in the Pride March last year, we could see the momentum here for the LGBT2Q+ community,鈥� said Baulkham. 鈥淲e knew it was time for the community to have a space where they can regularly come together. It鈥檚 not about trying to recreate what the bigger cities have, it鈥檚 about cultivating our own community and making sure there is consistency so that people can thrive and local culture can evolve.鈥�
FruitCake: Short Shorts edition, the third installment of the monthly event, is scheduled for March 24 and will also serve as the official launch party for Peak Pride.
Vancouver drag queens Alma B Itches and Ilona Verey will join local talent: drag icon Yumi Osaka, DJ Shado and DJ JGIRL of Footwerk Events.
Advance tickets are $12.50+ taxes and fees, and available now at .
