Queer Montréal stretches city-wide

All the colours of the rainbow

Montréal’s queer scene offers a party for every taste and venues for every crew. Be it on the Plateau-Mont-Royal’s main thoroughfares or tucked away in Saint-Henri’s back pocket, queer is here, there and everywhere. Here’s some of the city’s coolest scenes in all the colours of the LGBTQ+ rainbow.

In vogue

Montréal remains a growing hub of ballroom and voguing, with balls and workshops scheduled around the city throughout every month.

• What: Voguing and ballroom.
• Where: Across Montréal at venues including Ausgang Plaza, Le National and outdoors.
• Explore: Ballroom 4 Community keeps tabs on all the events in town, from kiki balls to lessons from legendary figures in the scene. Funded in-part by the City of Montréal, this collective effort is a true model on how to bolster a local force to be reckoned with. The Montréal Kiki Ballroom Alliance (MKBA for short) is also worth a follow, highlighting events and lessons throughout the year, while Black Gxrl Sesh hosts weekly open studios and workshops for Black and Trans Queer People and Black Femmes.

Ladies united!

Some of Montréal’s biggest parties and gatherings are produced by the local lesbian scene, and it’s a trend sure to continue.

• What: Lesbian-themed gatherings and events
• Where: Venues including Champs Sports Bar, Ping Pong Bar and Club DD’s
• Explore: Promoters like Sweet Like Honey MTL, Queen & Queer and MESSY fill the calendar with unmissable parties and gathering opportunities from block parties to stand-up comedy events. Montréal’s sapphic community also finds a voice in Lez Spread The Word magazine, with bilingual articles and interviews with luminaries including model Ève Salvail, musicians Tegan & Sara, politician Manon Massé, 2-spirit grand chief Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer and actress Barbie Ferreira, star of the MTL-on-film valentine Mile End Kicks. (And gay golf lovers have a reason to rejoice as LSTW now also publish Hiatus magazine, every bit as stylish and coffee-table friendly as their other publications).

Dance all over town

Those looking for a dance party will find what they need all over Montréal island, including some of the city’s best themed nights out on the town.

• What: Dance parties galore
• Where: Venues including Cabaret Berlin, Système, Le Belmont and others
• Explore: Flush is one of Montréal’s most buzzing queer afterhours parties, running until 6 am with a roster of upcoming DJ talent that keeps Système in the Plaza Saint-Hubert buzzing all night long. Co-produced by drag artist Sisi Superstar and musician Awwful, Unikorn has been a hot ticket since 2018, at times overtaking both floors at La Sala Rossa and La Sotterenea. HomoPop’s busy soirées range from tribute nights to everyone’s favourite divas to underwear parties, often featuring drag performances by familiar faces from Canada’s Drag Race and beyond. And they’re not limited to just one quartier—HomoPop puts on events all over the city including their West End Gays parties at Riverside Saint-Henri.

Karaokurrrrr!

It’s a fact—queers love a good karaoke, and we’re particularly good at it too! And trust us, you haven’t done karaoke until you’ve done it here.

• What: Karaoke
• Where: Café Cleopatra, Bar Co-Op Milton and others
• Explore: Evolving from its beginnings as a straight stripper bar to include an all-comers upstairs room where everyone is welcome and anything goes, Café Cleopatra is the perfect host for the bi-monthly Bareoke, an unmissable union between karaoke and striptease that’s a Montréal must-do. Those looking to hit the high notes without baring any skin will love Queer Karaoke MTL every second Saturday at Bar Co-Op Milton, where the organizers regularly host open mic nights for those who want to sing their own songs too.

Queer Latinx rhythms

Montréal’s Latinx party scene has a strong presence here, and shines particularly bright in the queer scene.

• What: Queer Latinx events
• Where: Clubs like Newspeak, Toscadura and outdoor venues like Esplanade Tranquille
• Explore: DISCOÑO’s club nights not only stuff venues to the brim, this hot kid on the block makes the L in LGBTQ+ also stand for the Latinx community. With packed lineups of visiting DJ artists and performances, DISCOÑO offers a constantly shifting experience focused on techno, baile funk and Afro. Organized in part by the House of KFC, Pikete spotlights young DJs and performers, with a constantly roving party that moves throughout the city for each and every edition.

An archive of emotion

Community history plays a large part in Montréal’s LGBTQ+ DNA, particularly at the city’s small but mighty local archive.

• What: Archives gaies du Québec
• Where: #201-A 1000 Atateken Street
• Explore: Open for public perusal of their large archival holdings drawn from Montréal’s LGBTQ+ communities, the Archives gaies du Québec give a glimpse into the foundational few who made Montréal into the queer Mecca it is today. The space now also holds regularly rotating exhibitions in its archival spaces including a retrospective look at AIDS posters and the art of local photographers and collage makers—call or e-mail for a look.

Reading is fundamental!

After an in-depth exploration of the party scene, there’s few finer ways to relax than hitting up a book club or literary event, and when it comes to bookish queer events, Montréal’s got you covered.

• What: The Violet Hour
• Where: Espace des Possibles dans La Petite-Patrie and local bookshops
• Explore: Queer-lit fans will love Violet Hour, a local organization responsible for regularly scheduled readings and the monthly open-to-all Violet Hour Book Club. Not only does the club meet regularly at beloved bookshops like L’Euguélionne and Librairie Pulp Books & Café, book club members also receive discounts on that month’s selection. The organizers behind Violet Hour have also launched the annual Lire Queer Reader Fest, a week-long festival of book clubs held at bookstores all across the city including Joie de livres, Drawn & Quarterly and Mes Pants de Queer.

Quenching thirsts and filling hungers

Exploring all that queer Montréal has to offer requires regular refuelling, and these queer-friendly locations excel at nourishment in both solid and liquid forms.

• What: Queer eateries and bars
• Where: Everywhere!
• Explore: In Montréal’s Mile End neighbourhood, Pastel Rita is more than just a café and natural wine bar, it’s most of all a queer meeting place for local creatives, students and conversation lovers. Painted in bright pastel hues and vibrant greens and golds, it’s also more than instagram ready for your next #mtlmoments selfie. More than just a corner store, the Dépanneur Le Pick Up offers yummy sandwiches and baked goods with one of best backyard terraces to watch the denizens of Mile Ex passing by. They’ve also opened up a second location in Hochelaga as equally suited to people watching and thirst-quenching. What at first appearances is a steamy-windowed neighbourhood bar, Notre Dame des Quilles reveals itself upon entry as so much more. Besides the self-serve bowling lanes, the beloved NDQ is also host to comedy and karaoke nights, performances and queer speed dating activities. Finally, the queer-owned and operated Polari Wine Bar is one of Villeray’s most stylish watering holes, with a mouth-watering wine list and equally friendly staff and customers.