You Gotta Be OUT Here at BC Pavilion (Vancouver 2010)
Last night, I was invited by the kind folks of the government of British Columbia to a somewhat-secret event. I wasn’t given many details, all I knew is that “I was on the list”. Given that I always have wanted to be a secret agent in another life, I figured to myself “heck, the invite comes from a dear friend of mine, and it’s from the government of BC, so I kind of can’t say no”. Am I ever glad I didn’t say no! I ended up at a really wonderful party hosted by Vancouver Pride, and the planning/project management team of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. You can see a promotional video here.
The goal of this event was to share and bask in the excitement of having the first-ever Pride House, celebrating gay pride. The event, You Just Gotta Be OUT Here! was hosted by Sally Barton and Claire Squires. I bumped into many familiar faces and dear friends from the GLBT community, and it was nice to be hosted at the Vancouver Art Gallery. While I didn’t stay for too long, I fulfilled one of my biggest dreams: I met Mark Tewksbury in person (and even got a photograph with him!). Mr. Tewksbury won the gold medal in the 100 metres backstroke at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. An openly gay former athlete, Mr. Tewksbury is a fantastic role model.
We all can strive to be more like Mark Tewksbury. I was very happy to get a chance to share some Olympic Pride with him and a number of other fantastic folks from the GLBT community in Vancouver. You can visit Pride House on Bute near Davie, it is hosted at the Qmunity building. Thanks to the BC Gotta Be Here team for the invite!
Related posts:
- Vancouver Pride Week 2010 at J Lounge
- Vancouver Pride 2010 Coverage
- Opening of Pride House Vancouver 2010
- Pride House Vancouver 2010 Opening
- Vancouver Pride 2009
How wonderful. I heart Mark T as well. I used to be a competitive swimmer and I adored him at the time and then even more for his courage to come out. He’s also a wonderful commentator.
Was this Friday night at VAG? We were downtown and ate in the VAG cafe that evening (courtesy of babysitting grandparents!). We were going to stop in after eating but were told the VAG was already closed. I guess this is why!