Série 11 - Clubs/Entertainment Venues

Gay clubs and bars operated openly in Edmonton from 1969 onwards. The first club established (ca. 1969) was called Club 70 and was located at 10242-106 street. It ceased operating in 1977, and at this same location was briefly the Cha Cha Palace (late 1970’s), Boots and Saddle Nightclub (ca. 1978-2010), and finally The Junction Bar and Eatery (2010-2012). Boots and Saddle also operated Boots: the Blue Room, Simply Boots, and the Garage Burger Bar (1997-2010). Flashback Nite Club opened first in 1976 at 11639 Jasper Avenue, and then relocated to 103rd Avenue and 104 street, closing ca. 1991. The Roost Club opened in September 1977, initially open for men only, but expanded to include women in the following year. Buddy’s Nite Club opened on 124 street in ca. 1994, remaining there for 15 years, and operated its final six years on Jasper Avenue, closing in 2015.
Other LGQBT bars in Edmonton included Prism, for queer women, closing in 2010; Woody’s Pub on Jasper Avenue; Secrets Bar and Grill on 107th street; and Play Nightclub downtown. Another organization important as a social and entertainment outlet for Edmonton’s gay community was 'The New Royalist Social Society of Northern Alberta: The Imperial Sovereign Court of the Wild Rose', established in Edmonton in 1976 as part of an international Imperial Sovereign Court system. As well as providing entertainment for the gay community, the Imperial Court expanded its role to raise funds for gay and gay positive charities, and established a scholarship fund and the Star of Hope fund. Many of the gay bars and clubs hosted fundraising events or partnered with other organizations to raise monies for local community initiatives. [Some information provided by Rob Browatzke of The Junction.]