Record archives, 2023
Fière la fête celebrates 13th edition in Sherbrooke
By William Crooks
Local Journalism Initiative
Fière la fête, Sherbrooke’s week-long LGBTQ+ celebration, has returned for its 13th edition from Sept. 8–14 with a packed schedule of community-focused programming. The theme this year—Unis dans l’adversité, unis dans la fierté (United in Adversity, United in Pride)—reflects both the resilience and unity of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in the face of mounting challenges.
Fière la fête is organized by Fierté Sherbrooke Pride, with president Roxanne Paquin-Saikali at the helm. The event aims to provide space for connection, celebration, and advocacy for LGBTQ+ individuals and their allies throughout the Eastern Townships and beyond.
“The queer community has been facing a lot of adversity recently,” said Paquin-Saikali. “We’re talking about things like the report from the Comité de Sage, which suggests a lot of going backwards on rights that were acquired—like trans women being welcome in female spaces.”
Beyond that, issues like resurgent homophobia and transphobia in schools are a growing concern. “We’re hearing the word ‘gay’ being used again as an insult among teenagers. It’s really worrisome,” said Paquin-Saikali. “We kind of want to highlight how united we are against these types of behaviours.”
The week kicked off Monday with a festive launch party at Buvette du Centro, hosted by Sœur Alma Marikita of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and featuring music by the Valss collective and surprise performances.
Workshops and cultural events followed. On Tuesday, a zine-making session led by local artist Axel Roy was held at TransEstrie. Wednesday included a rural LGBTQ+ conference by GRIS Estrie in Bury, a sexual health clinic, and a live talk show with sociologist Chacha Enriquez and “transeignante” Freya Dogger, hosted at Le Boquébière.
Thursday’s literary evening, Dissonances Queers, will feature authors Sayaka Araniva-Yanez, Zed Cézard, and Jean-Michel Fortier, along with performances by storyteller Catherine Robert. “It’s going to be a great day just for the community to meet, for people to talk,” said Paquin-Saikali.
A standout event takes place Friday at Le Boquébière: a ballroom “Vogue” night inspired by the drag balls of 1970s and 80s New York, popularized in the documentary Paris is Burning. “It’s really going to be unique,” said Paquin-Saikali, adding that performances will include Foxy Lexxi-Brown and Canada’s Drag Race star Kiara.
Saturday’s programming includes the second edition of the SherbyQueer market at Place Kassiwi, the debut of “Gouinego” queer bingo, and a colourful edition of Gates of Drag.
The week concludes Sunday with a drag brunch at OMG Resto, followed by a vibrant community day at Place Kassiwi featuring booths, a story hour with Jessie Précieuse, HIV and STI workshops, a photobooth, makeup stations, and creative poster-making.
The highlight of the week—the Marche des diversités—steps off at 3 p.m. from the city’s downtown entrepreneurship hub on Sunday. “It’s really a march for the queer community, for the people,” said Paquin-Saikali. “You’ll see all queer people and their families and allies, marching together, singing together, chanting slogans together.”
Participants can expect drag queens hyping up the crowd on the Mixbus, a Montreal-based mobile sound system rented for the occasion. But the emphasis remains on community rather than corporate sponsorship. “It’s not going to be like you see in bigger cities, with huge floats covered in logos,” said Paquin-Saikali. “It’s about visibility, about saying: ‘We’re here, we’re loud, and we’re not going away.’”
Full programming is available online at fierelafete.com.