DIRTY LAUNDRY
The owner of a Church St laundromat won’t rent out his window to a gay artist.
Owner John Feeley – who also runs an insurance business upstairs – refused a request to preview videos for a Pride week show from his coin laundry’s storefront window at 568 Church St.
“I am working and have been for quite a number of months on a transaction for those premises,” says Feeley. “The window isn’t available to anybody on any circumstances. Why do I have to account to other people for how I rent my personal property?”
Local filmmaker (and regular Xtra contributor) David Collins had approached Feeley about a one week rental or donation of space.
Escape Travel across the street (and a bit farther up) is allowing the preview for Old, New, Borrowed Blue in its front window. The show can be seen during Pride week at Trinity Square Video, located at 172 John St. Call (416) 593-1332.
NO SHOESHINES ON PRIDE
If you want a shoe shine on Pride Day, you’re out of luck.
According to Scott Ferguson, a spokesperson for the Pride committee, Church Street’s resident shoeshine has three choices.
Peter Gibbs can take the day off and lose out on a lot of potential revenue, on the street’s busiest day of the year.
He can set up shop and risk a run in with the bylaw police because he lacks a proper permit (and Ferguson says that those officers will be out in force on Sunday).
Or, behind door number three, Gibbs can rent a space from the Pride committee in the designated marketplace.
“It would be $450,” says Ferguson. “$100 of that he would get back once he returned his tables and chairs.”
But Gibbs wouldn’t need a table and, and the most, maybe one chair. That doesn’t matter.
“You have to take them,” says Ferguson. “He would just put them in his booth area and that would be that. He doesn’t have to set them up.”
MEASSAGE FROM YOUR PARENTS
Mom and dad are buying billboards at Yonge and Finch streets.
Parents, Families And Friends Of Lesbians And Gays will install two billboards on Mon, Jun 21 on the west side of Yonge St, just south of Finch.
They’ll read “Someone You Know And Love Is Gay” and “It’s Not A Choice, It’s OK To Be Gay.”
York Region PFLAG president Marilyn Byers is behind the plan.
THIS YEAR’S HEROES
Every year during Pride, the Metropolitan Community Church Of Toronto honours its heroes.
This year’s honourees are:
The Canadian Foundation For AIDS Research (CanFAR)
Philanthropist Salah Bachir
City TV media mogul Moses Znaimer
Lawyer Clayton Ruby
Lawyer Marlys Edwardh
The Foundation For Equal Families, which served the federal government with an omnibus same-sex spousal rights lawsuit.
As with last year, the awards themselves will be a fundraiser. The $150-a-plate dinner will be held at 7pm on Thu, Jun 24.
And this year, the annual MCCT Pride Day service will be held outside.
It’s at 10am on Sun, Jun 27 at the north stage, corner of Church and Gloucester.
Call (416) 406-6228.
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