I love to Pride and I have been fortunate enough to do so around the world!
Every year, June marks what we all know as Pride month, honouring the Stonewall Riots and one of our first public fights for equality. But throughout the year, destinations around the globe individually celebrate their own unique prides!
This month, during the week of October 4-11th, the snow capped mountain town of Banff, Alberta celebrated their PRIDE… And they invited me to join them for the weekend!
So after a beautiful drive to the Rockies I settled into my room at the Rimrock Hotel. Fun fact – when being built, the zoning wouldn’t allow the mountainside hotel to go up too high, so they built down and into the hillside! The views are incredible and I was treated to two seasons during my stay; a colourful Fall one day and a Winter wonderland the next.
With picturesque views of Banff National Park and multiple owls who were on display in the lobby as part of a rescue presentation, I never wanted to leave.
But I had exciting events to attend and sights to see so I was off to the Fairmont Banff Spring’s Vermillion Dining Room for an afternoon brunch and drag show!
With drinks flowing every colour of the rainbow, the talented ladies were baked for the gawds and performed several numbers each. Their personalities were large… But one thing came out even larger than all of them combined was the kitchen’s massively sized brioche cinnamon bun.
A bun so big, even a four top of size queens couldn’t finish it off.
With a full tummy and a Dua Lipa bop stuck in my head I hit the open skies for some sightseeing; starting at the very top.
As I rode up the gondola with my eyes closed tight – yes I’m terrified of heights – I questioned my choices. But when when my cart hit the summit I was presented with world famous views of Banff and beyond from atop Sulphur Mountain.
After an endless number of photos and a lengthy walk along the mountain’s boardwalk I decided it was time to leave the birds and go hang with some fish on a boat cruise tour of nearby Lake Minnewanka.
As one of the largest and deepest lakes in Banff National Park, there was a lot of distance to cover. As we all took in the sights and sounds, our captain and guide regaled us with the lake’s history and stories of past monstrous inhabitants.
Going from dark stories to dark spaces, it was time for dinner and a night of gay festivities at Banff’s newest, must visit restaurant/lounge/entertainment venue, The Radiant!
A place so new it still had its ‘new car’ smell and yet so well oiled you’d think it had been around for ages! The menu, which took me on an adventure into foreign places, was as delicious as it was unique.
The BOLLYWOOD CHICKEN N’ WAFFLES; Fried chicken doused in tandoori spices and accompanied by pakora waffle, with curried honey, fried halloumi, and lemon Thai basil sour cream was one of my top highlights with both the Panko’d Avocado Wedges and LePrawn James (a stack of chicharron-crusted deep-fried prawns) coming in a close second.
With my foodie feast complete, it was time to move inside The Radiant’s venue space for Queens, Kings and Burlesque.
Cartwheels, Acrobatics and Nipple Pasties were on the menu and much like dinner it was highly satisfying!
The show, which was hosted by the stunningly beautiful and comically witty Karla Marx, was like nothing I have experienced anywhere else in the world during a Pride event.
From the incredibly delicious cocktails – my fave was the 1924 with Vodka, Kahlua, Creme de cacao, house made salted caramel, Banff Roasting Co. coffee & toasted marshmallow – to the exceptionally polished performers, there was nothing more I could have asked for!
But as all good things must come to an end, It was time to retire for the evening and rest up for my morning Open Top Tour of the area.
The Open Top tour operates a modern version of a classic tour bus with a retractable canvas top. Our guide and Driver Ness was charming and informative taking us through the history of Banff and the Area dropping lots of interesting knowledge along the way on the 1930’s themed tour.
The weekend was a hit – from drag, cocktails, history, spectacular views and fresh air – Celebrating pride in Banff was a unique experience full of welcoming faces!
Mr FAB anff Pride
