Is it Pride yet?

Every year, the 519 Church Street Community Centre kicks off Pride season early with a big bang by revealing the lineup for its outdoor Green Space party.

Xtra got the inside scoop on what the party will look like, and it’s going to be the festival’s biggest year yet. “Seven years ago, we only had one party,” says Mathieu Chantelois, honorary chair of the Green Space. “This summer, we will have six! We’re now the destination of more than 50,000 partygoers while still being one of the biggest fundraising efforts of the community centre.”

This year, The 519 has added another party to its lineup and it’s a doozy. On Saturday, June 28, Green Space will host Main Event, a 12-hour dance marathon at the Ryerson Quad, since last year’s Sunday party was so successful.

“We built a very strong relationship with the Ryerson team last summer, so this year for WorldPride we will be hosting two events at the quad,” says Chantelois, who promises that a much larger team of speedy bartenders will be in place to avoid a repeat of last year’s long lineups.

Also new this year, organizers will request a $10 donation at the quad entrance, while donations will remain voluntary at all events in Cawthra Square Park. Celebrations in the park will include the signature Starry Night event, with the theme once again Love Is in the Hair, for which OUTtv will import the most fabulous queens of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 6, airing next month. Infamous Montreal queen and self-proclaimed “clown extraordinaire” Mado Lamotte will be behind the decks. The organizers are counting on her to bring la joie de vivre and, as always, some handsome guys from La Belle Province.

And remember, Pride is only 20 party weeks away.

greenspaceto.org