Two parties, no money

Divers/Cité and Célébrations de la Fierté
aren’t feeling any federal love this year,
but the shows will go on

RAINBOW RAGE:
Vance de Waele protests funding cuts on Tuesday, July 28

by PATRICK LEJTENYI

The party is already underway, but Divers/Cité’s 2009 edition celebrants might notice the festivities are running a little short this year. That’s thanks largely to the federal government, which nixed a $155,000 grant to the festival’s organizers five days before it was scheduled to open last Saturday, July 25. As a result, several shows were cancelled. The money that would have gone to those shows were put instead into paying for the bigger outdoor ones.

Organizers are understandably furious. Ian Abinakle, the festival’s artistic director, says the festival lost not only the $155,000 they were counting on, but also an unspecified amount of money in deposits for the artists, equipment and venues that they had booked. “Whether the cuts are due to homophobia or not, the situation is very unfair,” he says. “It’s unacceptable coming from a responsible government.”

The Harper government does not seem to mind the backlash too much. Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement issued a statement last week, following the announcement in cuts and the ensuing outcry, that said the federal government had to consider regional fairness when distributing the $100-million administered under the Marquee Tourism Events Program (MTEP). Divers/Cité met all the requirements, the ministry said, but because Quebec already receives around 42 per cent of MTEP funds, it was felt that other parts of the country needed the money more.

The decision has been booed by members of the Bloc Québécois and the Liberal Party. It also comes shortly after former minister of state for tourism Diane Ablonczy lost her portfolio after a Conservative MP complained about her handing $400,000 over to Toronto’s Pride celebrations earlier this month.

While Divers/Cité had to scramble to make up for lost money, the city’s other big gay-themed event, August’s Célébrations de la Fierté, is in a more secure position: its application for federal money was turned down last year, so they knew what they could and could not count on. “Our only option was to increase our private funding, so we worked hard to find new sponsors,” says Fierté’s vice-president Jean-Sébastien Boudreault. Even in the current economic climate, “all our sponsors came back, and we were able to get some new ones,” he says.

Out of a total budget of around $450,000, about $55,000 is public money, from the city and the province, according to Boudreault.

But Boudreault is also unhappy with the feds. “From the outside, it really does look bad,” he says. “They did not give a penny to LGBT events. And when Ablonczy had her portfolio taken away from her, well, it’s very troubling. We know where the Harper government stands in regards to our community, and we know that image is everything in politics. Sometimes perception is more important that reality.”

FREE FUN

Meanwhile, there is still a lot of free fun left at D/C’s Parc Émilie-Gamelin HQ. On Thursday, July 30, their rock-themed show Traffic will feature Angel Forrest, Jonas and Nanette Workman as of 8 p.m.

On Friday, Israeli psy-trance duo Infected Mushroom headline the electronic-music themed New Society night with guests beginning at 5:30 p.m. Saturday sees the Sunset Party with David Morales start at 2 p.m., with the Mascara drag night at the Ontario stage at 8 p.m.

Things wrap up Sunday starting at 1 p.m. with la Grande Danse followed by le Grand Bal at 3 p.m. See diverscite.org for details and info about indoor shows.