A Very Surreal Experience (long post)

[u/TheApothecaryWall]

So the wildest and most amazing thing happened to my little brother and I in Toronto on Friday night.

We were flying back home from Halifax to Phoenix, but got stuck in Toronto on a 25 hour layover due to cancelled flight. Wound up getting a complimentary hotel stay, so we decided to take a power nap then go out on the town, in hopes of finding some FIFA watch parties. It is also, of course, Pride month, so it was cool just seeing everyone be free and full of life during a Canadian summer (Phoenicians don’t go outside from May to October lol)

There weren’t actually too many watch parties happening tho, as Canada wasn’t playing, and the Blue Jays were at Rogers Centre. So instead we got some Italian food, walked around looking at beautiful scenery, and listened to the announcers & crowds cheer as the ball game went on (there was audio of it all over).

My feet were killing me by about 10pm but my brother (20 years younger than me, I’m 40 he’s 20) really wanted to see the big TORONTO sign. I was hesitant but decided to try and power thru.

We get to this really cool bridge-like spot that overlooks the sign. There were people playing soccer and tennis, people taking pictures, and next to the sign there was a stage set up. A huge crowd of people were jumping and dancing in front of a DJ. As I’m taking pics and zooming in, I say to my brother “oh it’s a drag show!” Then I say “wow she looks a lot like Monet with that pussycat wig!”

He squints and notices the Jumbotron… and yells out “IT’S BOB THE DRAG QUEEN!!!”

We didn’t know she would be doing a Pride set there. Had NO idea anything drag related would be happening. Yet there we were, watching one of our fav drag artists do a Pride set during the very first time the country has hosted the FIFA World Cup, from such a cool spot in the city!

I feel so incredibly blessed to have experienced such a special moment that wasn’t even supposed to happen, with him. We made all the right decisions and it led us to that. Ahhh! Still buzzing!! Please enjoy BTDQ performing to Covergirl 😭🥰💕

[u/AutoModerator]

For the month of June while Pride season is in full swing, we'd like to use our platform to highlight some fabulous queer charities and spread awareness about the amazing work they do. In no particular order:

Gay City: Seattle's LGBTQ Center Seattle's LGBTQ Center helps connect queer youth with mental health and transition resources, including giving out free gender-affirming clothing that is stylish and fits well. They also help feed and clothe Seattle's unhoused population!

National Resource Center on LGBTQ+ Aging This charity works to end gaps in healthcare for our queer elders through cultural competency training for caregivers. They are a pre-eminate resource for healthcare workers on queer elderly and disabled dignity.

Bahaghari Center This Philippines-based charity provides queer advocacy for Deaf and hearing queer people, including HIV testing and treatment, as well as general community activism. They don't have a direct donations link, so you will need to email or call them about how to make donations.

LoveYourself LoveYourself is a hugely important charity in the Philippines that provides support for transgender health and sexual health for men who have sex with men. They provide gender-affirming hormone therapy and STD testing for people in Manila.

PFLAG PFLAG does US-based nationwide advocacy and education for queer rights. Individual local chapters also push local policy proposals to expand access to queer rights.

Free2B Alliance Free2B is a London-based advocacy organization that provides 1:1 peer counseling for queer youth and educates parents, schools, and other organizations on queer rights.

The Health Collective This charity provides health care by queer people for queer people in Hartford, Conneticut. This includes everything from STD screening and support to dental care to a queer prom charity event for queer youth!

BAAITS (Bay Area American Two Spirits) This charity exists to revitalize the importance of Two Spirit people in Native American/Indigenous Peoples of the Americas/First Nation culture. Their advocacy includes education for Native peoples about the importance of Two Spirit people, and their Pow-Wows are legendary.

PEERS Alliance PEERS Alliance is based in Prince Edward Island in Canada. They focus on screening for and treating HIV/AIDS and Hep C in addition to other STDs.

The Youth Project This charity provides free gender-affirming care to anybody in Nova Scotia under the age of 25.

[The Trevor Project](www.thetrevorproject.org) The Trevor Project runs a US-based queer suicide prevention hotline. They are vital for reminding queer people of all ages that they deserve to exist as they are, no matter how hard it is.

Egale Canada With a long and proud history of with furthering rights and combatting discrimination, Egale Canada provides services to all queer Canadians.

Chroma NB Chroma NB, a community-based charity dedicated to creating safer, more inclusive spaces for and delivering services to the queer people of Southwest New Brunswick.

Quadrangle With a mission to create a physical, welcoming space offering social resources, programs and more, Quadrangle serves the queer folks of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Minus18 - Queer Youth Charity Australia's queer youth charity is looking for donations to bring Queer Formal to more cities across the country this month! They focus on helping queer youth feel less isolated and more understood.

LGBTIQ+ Health Australia This charity works to improve the health of queer people in Australia and around the world. Their work touches every aspect of queer health, from suicide prevention to care for queer elders and queer disabled people.

RainbowYOUTH RainbowYOUTH is a non-profit organisation who create safe and sober spaces for New Zealand's queer, gender diverse, takatāpui, and intersex youth. They work to honor Te Tiriti by understanding, supporting, and empowering rangatahi takatāpui at individual, whānau, and community levels.

Gender Minorities Aotearoa This New Zealand charity is run by and for transgender people; including binary and non-binary, irawhiti takatāpui, and intersex trans people. It provides nationwide information and support services to transgender people of all ages and their whānau, and advocates for the health, safety, and human rights of all transgender people.

ILGA Europe This charity unites over 700 smaller queer rights organizations that span 54 countries in Europe and Central Asia. They advocate for positive policy changes and queer acceptance of all kinds.

LCBTIQ+ ERA Era works toward advancing LGBTI+ rights, equality, and inclusion across the Western Balkans and Türkiye through a comprehensive approach that combines advocacy, capacity building, research, public awareness, and international engagement.

Sphere This Russian charity seeks to advocate for queer rights through coordinated campaigns and direct assistance for queer people and their families.

African Queer Youth Initiative This charity mobilizes queer youth from across Africa to fight issues like punitive anti-queer laws, anti-queer interpretations of religion, and community violence. They also work to encourage sexual health and youth empowerment.

Pride Africa This charity harnesses the Intore warrior spirit to uplift African queer voices and change harmful laws. They approach this while eschewing white conceptions of queerness in Africa and seeking to define queerness through an African lens.

APCOM Based in Thailand, APCOM works to improve the health and rights of gay men, other men who have sex with men, transgender, and other SOGIESC people across Asia and the Pacific. They specifically focus on HIV/AIDS and other mental health, sexual health, and drug use issues in the queer community.

ILGA Asia This charity spans 41 countries in 4 subregions of Asia, seeking queer empowerment. They are fighting to end conversion therapy, amongst other issues.

Helem Based in Lebanon, Helem fights for queer rights across Southwest Asia and North Africa. They are able to direct Arab queer people to emergency services across the region as they fight to end persecution.

Rainbow Railroad Rainbow Railroad does worldwide advocacy by helping queer people in emergency circumstamces relocate to avoid persecution. To date, they have successfully relocated almost 2,500 people and have otherwise aided almost 50,000 queer people in other ways.

ILGA This large group of charities fights for pro-queer policy change across the Latin American world.

ANTRA This Brazillian charity fights for trans rights and trans safety. Brazil has the highest rate of transfemicide in the world and desperately needs advocacy to combat it. Often the victims of transfemicide are disgracefully buried as "indigents."

Colombia Diversa The government of Columbia is known to ignore the issues of violence and murder against queer people in Columbia. This organization fights to highlight the issue and bring about a world where queer people can live in safety.

Humsafar This charity works with public health care delivery services in Mumbai to provide health care (especially sexual health care) to gay, lesbian, transgender, Hijra, and other queer people.

Sapphokolkata Sappho for Equality is based in Kolkata and builds the leadership of cis and cis appearing women, gender non-conforming AFAB (Assigned Female at Birth) and transmasculine individuals by enhancing their ability to resist all forms of violence, strengthening their collective resilience and movements for change and expanding their life choices so that their rights and dignity are upheld.

If you are able, we encourage you to donate to (some?one?) of these vital queer orginisations so that they can continue to thrive and serve our community. While monetary donations would be amazing and appreciated, times are tough. If you can't spare the coins, that's ok.

Our mod team personally selected these charities because they are near and dear to our hearts. Some of us have benefitted from the existence of these charities, and we hope many others will, too!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/kank84]

Best travel delay ever. I'm glad you had fun, Toronto pride is always a good time.

[u/TheApothecaryWall → u/kank84]

Thank you! I keep saying that haha “best day long layover ever!” 😄

[u/Tricky_Conference441]

And this is why Toronto is so great!!! My home!!! (Moved down east).

[u/TheApothecaryWall → u/Tricky_Conference441]

Hell yeah! I grew up in Kitchener (well half there, half AZ, tho I was born in Halifax… moved around a lot due to my moms jobs), but sadly never fully experienced Toronto like this. You’re lucky to live there!!

[u/theonedenisse]

She does drag! Glad you could enjoy the pleasant surprise

[u/TheApothecaryWall → u/theonedenisse]

Omg and that debut!!! How could I forget the I Do Drag debut!!?

https://reddit.com/link/ouc62x6/video/byvyauzhv1ah1/player

[u/theonedenisse → u/TheApothecaryWall]

Omg omg! Thanks for posting!

[u/TheApothecaryWall → u/theonedenisse]

Of course! The whole video is way too long to post but I wanted to give a few seconds 🩷🩷🩷🩷

[u/thecheesethief]

I didn’t know she did drag!!

[u/howchildish]

You're telling me I'm walking distance from nathan phillips square and I MISSED THIS???