For many, Elgin Street is painted red, black and white. This is “Sens’ Mile.” It’s the home of rowdy hockey fans, endless beer and good grub – BBQ stain on your face kind of grub.
However, by the next Stanley Cup playoffs, Cher could be joining the festivities.
Or at least her drag impersonator could be.
A new gay club, Flamingo, opened on the corner of Elgin Street and Gladstone Avenue at the end of last month.
A few streets over, the gay-positive sex store Venus Envy is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
The Village, a non-profit organization working to create a gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans-friendly district downtown, is adding more pride flags on the Bank Street promenade.
In various ways, the GLBTQ scene is taking hold of Centretown, but what does this mean for the community?
Sébastien Provost, producer of the Flamingo, says it means change. He says he’s not worried about opening a gay club on what’s been nicknamed the “straight mile.”
“Segregation is so 1980s,” he says.
New generations are changing the way they see the GLBTQ community in Centretown, adds Glenn Crawford, chairman of the Village.
“I think there is a perception that Bank is the gay street and Elgin is the straight street, but I don’t think younger generations pigeonhole themselves as much,” he says.
Flamingo will be the largest gay bar in the city and will have a capacity of 350 people, says Provost.
The club is slated to be half jazz lounge, half party zone sprinkled with a touch of drag.
Crawford voiced some concern over the rough reputation of the area.
“There will always be homophobia, I just hope there won’t be any problems,” he says. “People don’t like to rock the boat here. Ottawa doesn’t like to put itself out like that.”
Crawford says encouraging growth in the area will help keep people in the city who drive culture and creativity.