Relight The Neon

Name: Relight The Neon
Start: 2023-06-17T14:00:00-06:00
End: 2023-06-17T16:00:00-06:00
Location: Neon Sign Museum

June 17, 2023 @ 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm MDT

They called it Canada’s Studio 54. The infamous Flashback nightclub was established by owner John Reid as a celebratory haven for ‘gay people and their friends’ in the tumultuous 1980s. After it closed in 1991 the club’s iconic neon sign was lost from the public view – until now.

The Alberta Sign Association is currently restoring the sign, and it will be raised on a wall of the Mercer Building as part of the Neon Sign Museum at 104^th Street and 104^th Avenue N.W. on June 17, 2023.

From Disco to New Wave, from the Pisces bathhouse raid to the HIV epidemic – Flashback saw it all. And now we will all once again be able to see and enjoy the Flashback sign as it is properly honored on the same block where the original nightclub’s 104^th Street location once stood.

To add to the excitement, this beautiful sign and the legendary club it represents are the subject of a new feature documentary film funded by TELUS originals that will premiere in 2024.

Join us from 2-4 p.m. on June 17, 2023 to celebrate a fabulous queer-owned business that changed Edmonton’s culture and put our city on the map among the club set from Los Angeles to London.

This event will feature special guest speakers David Shepherd (MLA, Edmonton-City Centre), Janis Irwin (MLA, Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood) & Brooks Arcand-Paul (MLA-Elect, Edmonton-West Henday, President of the Alberta Sign Association – Erik Houde and the City Of Edmonton Senior Heritage Planner overseeing the Neon Sign Museum – David Johnston. Plus introducing the man behind the sign – John Reid will be local Queer historian and playwright Darrin Hagen!!

This will be the first LGBTQ+ sign to join the outdoor display of historic Edmonton businesses that used neon to illuminate their business.

Please note the start time is now 2:00 PM

Presented by
The City Of Edmonton – Heritage, Archives and the Arts
Alberta Sign Association
Telus
Downtown Business Association
And the craftwork of City Neon

Promoted by
Rainbow Story Hub Foundation
Edmonton Queer History Project
Tangerine Productions (Flashback Documentary)

18+ or All Ages
All ages

Venue
Neon Sign Museum

Address
Street Address : 10359 – 104 St NW
City : Edmonton
State/Province : Alberta
ZIP / Postal Code : T5J 1B9

Event Link
https://www.facebook.com/events/598193568943797

Indoor event or outdoor event
Outdoors

Type of event
Non-profit

Event Contact
Rainbow Story Hub Foundation
Edmonton Queer History Project
Flashback Documentary Film

Event Contact Email Address
contribute@yegqueerhistory.ca
EdmontonQueerHistoryProject@gmail.com