After a fun-filled evening where a student group resurrected Halifax's queer history with a party at The Turret, the NSCAD Queer Collective is holding a roundtable discussion on safe, queer and trans spaces, as well as the challenges faced by those looking to create those spaces, from both internal and external forces. The event takes place this evening, Tuesday, April 2.

In an email to Down East, a spokesperson for the collective said, "The discussion will be a round table on the concepts of safe space, queer space and community accountability. Together we'll talk about the rhetoric of 'safe space' and what challenges we face as a community in trying to construct safer queer spaces. We have several local organizations lined up to speak about the work they do to create safer spaces for queer and trans* folk!"

An example of the internal challenges that these spaces face is represented in a historical project put on by the collective. During The Turret's heyday, local artist Rand Gaynor painted a mural, an image that certain members of the community took umbrage at, and covered it in graffiti. The NSCAD Queer Collective has brought back the mural, along with the graffiti. The mural's resurrection is also part of the Khyber's 125th anniversary.

For more information on the roundtable discussion, check out the Facebook event page. 

Halifax Pride's annual Fancy Gay Dress Party is almost here.

The event this year will feature Elizabeth Chiu as host for the evening, along with Ian Mullan and Quartet La Corde providing entertainment. The party is a fundraiser for Halifax Pride's upcoming events throughout the summer. For more info, check out the FB page.

The Youth Project is gearing up for a great fundraiser this coming May.

Called Strike out Homophobia, the event will help raise funds for the Youth Project's various services, outreach and education programs, and more.

You can sign up either as a team or as an individual if you are looking to participate and raise funds through social media forums and more. You can also sponsor individuals and teams.

For more information, check out the Youth Project's website.

Author, activist and gender theorist Kate Bornstein has cancer.

However, there is a silver lining in this diagnosis: it is treatable.

So Bornstein's friend Laura Vogel has started a GoFundMe page to help with medical expenses.

"The treatment plan that gives Kate the best chance of beating cancer is incredibly expensive," says Vogel. "Kate has spent the past thirty years helping the rest of us Stay Alive—now it’s our turn to give back.  Let’s HELP KATE BORNSTEIN BEAT CANCER AND STAY ALIVE!"

Donations can be made in various increments, from $5 ranging all the way to $10,000. The page was created on March 20 and in less than three days has raised more than $60,000 to help pay for Bornstein's treatments.

"Kate, or Auntie Kate as so many of us affectionately call her, has helped so many people surmount the trappings of social pressure, bullying, and oppression that so often lead to suicide," Vogel writes in a blog post. "Kate has helped thousands of people choose to 'stay alive,' as she puts it. So, when she told me that she wouldn't be able to follow the treatment plan that her doctors said was her best -- and only -- hope for beating cancer, it broke my heart. I was sad, confused, and outraged. And then I remembered: we can fix this problem; we can make Kate's treatment plan financially possible."

Bornstein's book, A Queer and Pleasant Danger, tells her story of living as a Scientologist. Check out her interview with Xtra, posted in August of 2012.

It's a great week in Halifax to be queer and help out at the same time.

Last year's host, Heidi Petracek.

Fundraisers like this are a big deal for the ACNS, since the money raised constitutes a large portion of their annual budget. All the funds raised at this event help people here in Nova Scotia by providing programs and services for those living with HIV/AIDS as well as those most at risk.

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On Friday, the second annual Masqueerade will be taking place at the Atlantica Hotel.

The event is open to all university and college LGBTQ+ students and allies in the HRM for this dance party, featuring drag performances by Kristi Davidson and friends. This all-ages, wet/dry event is selling tickets by each LGBTQ+ society on HRM's various campuses DalOUT, NSCAD's Queer Collective, Kings Pride, SMU-Q, NSCC's Diversity Club and Mount Pride Watch. Doors open at 9pm, with performances taking place from 9:30 until 10:30pm. Dancing and a photo booth afterward.

For more information, check out the Facebook event page.

A few months ago, Down East told you about the unfortunate hiatus that Eureka Love's talent show, 5 Minutes of Fame, was forced into.

Looks like there is a little bit of light at the end of that tunnel, and it leads straight to Saint Mary's University.

This Friday, Eureka will be back on the mic, along with 10 acts strutting their stuff on the stage of the Gorsebrook, on Saint Mary's University campus.

The event is being put on in conjunction with SMU-Q, Saint Mary's queer society. The show goes from 9pm until 11pm. For more information, check out 5 Minutes of Fame's Facebook page.

Halifax filmmaker Thom Fitzgerald's latest oeuvre, Cloudburst, is opening in theatres across Canada this weekend.

The film stars Olympia Dukakis, Brenda Fricker and Nova Scotia native Ryan Doucette. Fitzgerald has lovingly called the film a "geriatric lesbian road movie." It has played at and won accolades in film festivals around the world.

Here in Nova Scotia, the film will be screening in Yarmouth, where this evening co-star Ryan Doucette will be presenting the film.

The Oscar-nominated documentary "How to Survive a Plague" is coming to Halifax for a one-night screening, thanks to Carbon Arc Cinema.

The film tells the story of ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), an activist group based out of New York that looked to change public policy and perceptions around HIV and AIDS. The Hollywood Reporter recently posted that ABC is looking to create a miniseries based on the documentary. Check out Xtra's Tony Correia's review of the film. 

The screening will take place on Friday, March 15 at the Museum of Natural History, 1747 Summer St. You can grab your tickets at the door or online at Carbon Arc's website.

The Capital District Health Authority (CDHA)’s public health unit, along with the provincial Department of Health and Wellness, are looking to launch an education campaign related to the ongoing syphilis outbreak among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Halifax.

The campaign’s main target will be online advertising, but posters in various drinking establishments are a key component of the campaign. That's where you come in.

PrideHealth is asking MSM to tell them their top five bars in Halifax. In fact, anywhere alcohol is served -- pubs, clubs, lounges and more.

"We want the campaign to reach as many guys as possible, so we want to know, 'Where do you and your friends go to socialize,'" says Kirk Furlotte, prideHealth's health-promotion intern. Furlotte mentions that they are looking for bars that may not be viewed as strictly gay or queer spaces, such as Menz & Mollyz, Reflections or Seadogs. "We’re already planning to go there," he says. He also points out that individuals who participate don’t need to list five bars. "Even one or two would be helpful."

As for privacy, Furlotte assures that your name and personal responses won't be shared and will be deleted once all the information has been gathered. He notes that not every bar that is suggested will be guaranteed to be a part of this campaign.

Send your results to kirk.furlotte@cdha.nshealth.ca with your top five bars. If you’d like to know the final results, mention that as well.

The library is playing host to an exhibit detailing the history of Halifax Pride all month long. It was commissioned as a "look back" at how a protest march in 1988 became a festival over a quarter century.

This Friday at noon, exhibit designer and GLBTQ activist Chris Aucoin will be presenting a guided talk about the exhibit. For more info, check out the Facebook event page.

Errata: The original version of this post noted that the discussion would take place today, Thursday the 14th. Down East regrets this error.