Community Articles (listed by posting date)
General News · 12th July 2026
Cortes Pride
Putting it all together for the coming Pride weekend on Cortes. This is a weekend in which we celebrate diversity in community and inclusiveness, and we'd like to include you. We all have a sparkle inside of us, why not give yours some room to shine? Or just show up and have fun flying free.
July 24th: join us for a free community meal of suchi bowls, with fashion show showcasing all sorts, and bingo… with some amazing prizes donated by local businesses and creatives.
This will be a night of laughter and community in gentle space for all bodies. The fashion show has space for more people to participate and we’d love to see what zany and fabulous outfits you can bring together. Outfit options, courtesy of the Cortes Island Free Store, will also be on hand for those who are inspired at the last minute. Sign up in advance is helpful with Soma at sfeldmargmail.com
July 25th: we dance, we celebrate with local musicians, amazing drag performers and a night of DJs.
Come out at 7:30 for the opening with Kloe & Heidi
Moving into a Pride-themed ecstatic dance set with DJ ConnieQ, you know she knows how to move that dance floor.
AND Drag performances by Jenny Magenta, Eddi Licious & Henrietta Dubet at 9:00 & 10:00
And we close the night with more dancing with DJ Exclamation Heart, a DJ from Comox we're all excited about to bring us up another level.
$25 at the door - which includes snacks!
(all funds raised go to next year’s Pride)!!!!
Performer bios:
Jenny Magenta
Jenny Magenta THE “too much too loud femme monster” is a seasoned, salty and 56 year old performer, artist, and educator known for her tragi-comic, wild satirical style and award winning advocacy for disability in the arts! Her work will blow your socks off with her intense characters, remarkable choreography and magnetic vibe!
Formerly from Vancouver now a local Cortes Islander for 10 years!
Henrietta Dubét
Henrietta Dubét has made a name for herself in the Victoria drag scene since her humble roots in 2015, when she ran screaming into now gone queer venues with enthusiasm and flailing limbs. She dubbed herself "self-proclaimed Queen of the people" and refuses to hear herself described otherwise. As an absolute assault on the senses, Henny either tantilizes or terrifies her audiences (often both) with a non-apologetic approach to hosting and genuinely just wants everyone to have a great time!
Eddi Licious
Eddi Licious is a Métis Two Spirit drag king, dancer, shape shifter and performance artist who has been stomping around Canadian and international stages since 2005. They have performed in a wide variety of venues ranging from local community centres to large city arenas, captivating both in-person and online viewers. Eddi has dedicated much of their life to entertaining audiences of all kinds with their galvanizing energy, wit and chaotic charm and enjoys using art as a means of promoting acceptance of diversity. This artist was featured on Season 2 of CBC’s ‘Canada’s a Drag’ and is locally known as a trailblazer and inspiration to the queer performance art community.
DJ Exclamation Heart
Rooted in rhythm and revolution, Exclamation Heart is a queer, neuro-spicy, and disabled artist who punctuates love when weaving tunes She has an embodied knowing that music is good medicine, and curates her sets to inspire collective joy, emotional release, and ecstatic connection. Every beat is a love letter to listeners where we can rejoice in our collective love of music, that was written in the stars.
Influenced by the healing power of movement and the sacred chaos of the human experience, Exclamation Heart plays with intention and appreciation for the messages sung and strung by the artist that inspires her. Her mission is clear: to create safer, soul-charged spaces that celebrate diversity and awaken our wild within.
DJ ConnieQ
Connie has been keeping dance floors bumping around the coast for the past several years bringing her musical magic to ecstatic dance spaces, Pride events and beyond. You can expect poppy classic remixes, bass that moves you and high vibes that bring love n joy into all the cracks n crevices.
Guaranteed to amuse and inspire you, she brings trans n queer joy, neuro-fabulousness, and has been a cornerstone of dance on Cortes Island, keeping the dance alive within us all.
* please note that although Kloe & Heidi will be opening the evening at 7:30, they’ve chosen not to share bios for this, all you need to know is that they are very talented musicians and will be serving you high energy to get Pride going.
July 24th: join us for a free community meal of suchi bowls, with fashion show showcasing all sorts, and bingo… with some amazing prizes donated by local businesses and creatives.
This will be a night of laughter and community in gentle space for all bodies. The fashion show has space for more people to participate and we’d love to see what zany and fabulous outfits you can bring together. Outfit options, courtesy of the Cortes Island Free Store, will also be on hand for those who are inspired at the last minute. Sign up in advance is helpful with Soma at sfeldmargmail.com
July 25th: we dance, we celebrate with local musicians, amazing drag performers and a night of DJs.
Come out at 7:30 for the opening with Kloe & Heidi
Moving into a Pride-themed ecstatic dance set with DJ ConnieQ, you know she knows how to move that dance floor.
AND Drag performances by Jenny Magenta, Eddi Licious & Henrietta Dubet at 9:00 & 10:00
And we close the night with more dancing with DJ Exclamation Heart, a DJ from Comox we're all excited about to bring us up another level.
$25 at the door - which includes snacks!
(all funds raised go to next year’s Pride)!!!!
Performer bios:
Jenny Magenta
Jenny Magenta THE “too much too loud femme monster” is a seasoned, salty and 56 year old performer, artist, and educator known for her tragi-comic, wild satirical style and award winning advocacy for disability in the arts! Her work will blow your socks off with her intense characters, remarkable choreography and magnetic vibe!
Formerly from Vancouver now a local Cortes Islander for 10 years!
Henrietta Dubét
Henrietta Dubét has made a name for herself in the Victoria drag scene since her humble roots in 2015, when she ran screaming into now gone queer venues with enthusiasm and flailing limbs. She dubbed herself "self-proclaimed Queen of the people" and refuses to hear herself described otherwise. As an absolute assault on the senses, Henny either tantilizes or terrifies her audiences (often both) with a non-apologetic approach to hosting and genuinely just wants everyone to have a great time!
Eddi Licious
Eddi Licious is a Métis Two Spirit drag king, dancer, shape shifter and performance artist who has been stomping around Canadian and international stages since 2005. They have performed in a wide variety of venues ranging from local community centres to large city arenas, captivating both in-person and online viewers. Eddi has dedicated much of their life to entertaining audiences of all kinds with their galvanizing energy, wit and chaotic charm and enjoys using art as a means of promoting acceptance of diversity. This artist was featured on Season 2 of CBC’s ‘Canada’s a Drag’ and is locally known as a trailblazer and inspiration to the queer performance art community.
DJ Exclamation Heart
Rooted in rhythm and revolution, Exclamation Heart is a queer, neuro-spicy, and disabled artist who punctuates love when weaving tunes She has an embodied knowing that music is good medicine, and curates her sets to inspire collective joy, emotional release, and ecstatic connection. Every beat is a love letter to listeners where we can rejoice in our collective love of music, that was written in the stars.
Influenced by the healing power of movement and the sacred chaos of the human experience, Exclamation Heart plays with intention and appreciation for the messages sung and strung by the artist that inspires her. Her mission is clear: to create safer, soul-charged spaces that celebrate diversity and awaken our wild within.
DJ ConnieQ
Connie has been keeping dance floors bumping around the coast for the past several years bringing her musical magic to ecstatic dance spaces, Pride events and beyond. You can expect poppy classic remixes, bass that moves you and high vibes that bring love n joy into all the cracks n crevices.
Guaranteed to amuse and inspire you, she brings trans n queer joy, neuro-fabulousness, and has been a cornerstone of dance on Cortes Island, keeping the dance alive within us all.
* please note that although Kloe & Heidi will be opening the evening at 7:30, they’ve chosen not to share bios for this, all you need to know is that they are very talented musicians and will be serving you high energy to get Pride going.