Montreal’s alt pride week is on

With a leftist political bent and free-event policy that sets it apart from the city’s more conservative, corporate LGBT organizations, Montreal’s alternative pride week, Pervers/Cité, begins tonight, Thursday, Aug. 7 and runs through Aug. 17. Yesterday, the organization announced the program of this year’s eighth annual festival, which they say is their most ambitious yet. Here are some highlights:

Today, Pervers/Cité opens with a panel called C’est la Guerre!? Policing Gay Safety, Gentrification, and the Politics of Violence. Panelists Christina B. Hanhardt, Michael Hendricks and David Kavanaght will talk about the work of a local group called Lesbians and Gays Against Violence and the city’s history of raids and “social cleansing.” Centre St-Pierre (1212 Panet, #100) on Friday, Aug. 8, 6:30 p.m.

On Saturday, a group discussion entitled Plus ou Moins 2014: Community, Co-Option and the Carceral focuses on the “Poz Community” and how it has evolved from its activist beginnings through the establishment of  AIDS service organizations through the current professional and bureaucratic models. Centre St-Pierre (1212 Panet), Aug. 9, 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m.

The third annual Dyke March takes on the anti-austerity cause. Place Emilie-Gamelin (de Maisonneuve E. & Berri), Saturday, Aug. 9, 6 p.m.

Pervers/Cité holds a trans* rights march. Place Emilie-Gamelin (de Maisonneuve E. & Berri), Sunday, Aug. 10, 2 p.m.

Queer Ass Punk promises live music by Loosestrife, les Zerreurs, Nao Nao and Heathers, with DJ Velvet Underpants. Cabaret Playhouse (5656 Parc), Friday, Aug. 15, 10 p.m., $10/PWYC (no one will  be turned away)

Next weekend, the Queer Between the Covers bookfair will provide spread of reading material otherwise unavailable in Montreal — the city lost its queer bookstore, l’Androgyne, in 2002. Comité Social Centre-Sud (1710 Beaudry), Saturday, Aug. 16, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

As part of Fierté Montreal Pride’s official Pride Parade on Sunday, Aug. 17, Pervers/Cité is sending a contingent to protest the Conservative government’s proposed laws criminalizing sex work. As with all their other events, everyone’s invited to join Queers Against Law C-36: Pride in Our Work! Sunday, Aug. 17, 12:30 p.m., location on parade route TBA.

The festival’s closing party is the the 10th anniversary edition of No Pants No Problem, with Glam Gam Productions and Toronto’s Morgan M. Page  joining the NPNP team to mount a burlesque show, with DJ Like the Wolf on dancefloor duty. This event is also fundraiser for AIDS Action Now! and the Prisoners Correspondence Project. Il Motore (179 Jean Talon W.) on Sunday, Aug. 17, 11 p.m., $5 cover w/o pants, $10 w/pants, no one will be turned away for lack of funds

For the complete Pervers/Cité program, consult their website