People are rallying around a long-standing Winnipeg LGBT cabaret, hoping to ensure its doors will continue to stay open well after COVID-19-related health restrictions ease.
Three drag performers who are past Miss Club 200 pageant-winners and ambassadors for the Garry Street bar have started a GoFundMe drive which, in only a few days, has raised more than $24,000 of a stated $40,000 goal.
“A city of this size needs to have at least one queer bar, and it needs to be unapologetically, undeniably queer,” said current Miss Club 200 Prairie Sky on Saturday. “And that’s what Club 200 is for so many of us.”
The club, which opened in 1988, has been closed since May 8 due to public health orders.
The impact of not having a nightlife space for the LGBT community has been immense, Sky said, adding she knows many in the community have been struggling without having the welcoming safe space to go to to connect with other queer people.
As well, the performers saw how much time and money the club’s management was putting into ensuring the space was safe for patrons.
“We can only imagine it’s a pretty dire situation,” Sky said.
Club 200 owner Allen Morrison said Saturday the club has been hit hard financially since COVID-19 hit.
“There’s been some debt incurred — for sure, it’s been hard, been difficult,” he said.
Prior to being shut this year and last, as separate pandemic waves hit, provincial limits on operating hours and capacity also took a toll, Morrison said.
He also worries about the space not being around for the community.
“We’re that safe space for so many people in the community from different backgrounds,” Morrison said. “There’s just so many people who need that safe space.”
Morrison is humbled by the outpouring of support for the club, which he said does a lot of charity and community events. It’s an odd feeling to be on the receiving end of it, he added.
“I’m very grateful, and to be honest, it’s a little humbling,” he said. “It feels amazing to have that kind of support … it gives me a lot of optimism for the future.”
Graeme Houssin, who frequents Club 200 and hosts a podcast called Drag in the Peg, said the bar has been doing everything it could “to make sure our community was supported” during the pandemic. They can’t imagine what would happen to the drag scene if it closed down.
“It’s the last queer-owned bar specifically for the queer community in Winnipeg. It kind of operates as a bit of a community centre … it’s the spot for drag performers and queer folks,” they said.
“I don’t know what we would do without it. It would be a shame, and it would be a horrible loss for the legacy and history of Winnipeg’s queer community as a whole.”
