Richard Ryder (born 1966) is a Canadian comedian and broadcaster, [1] best known as a host of programming on Toronto, Ontario radio station Proud FM and national cable television channel OutTV. [2] He is the morning host on Proud FM, and his work for OutTV includes the reality series Knock Knock Ghost [2] and weekly RuPaul's Drag Race commentaries recorded in character as drag queen Wilma Fingerdoo. [3]
He regularly tours throughout Ontario as a performer at LGBT Pride and other LGBTQ-related comedy events. [1] [4]
Pink Triangle Press is an independent, Canadian media organization specializing in LGBTQ2S+ journalism, television and online interactive media. Founded in 1971, Pink Triangle Press is one of the longest-publishing LGBTQ2S+ media groups in the world. Today, Pink Triangle Press publishes Xtra, an online magazine and community platform covering LGBTQ2S+ culture, politics and health. Pink Triangle Press also publishes a series of newsletters including Pink Ticket Travel and Wander+Lust. Pink Ticket Travel is a Queer travel newsletter featuring travel tips and guidelines for LGBTQ2S+ travelers. Wander+Lust is a newsletter featuring travel tips and tricks for gay and bi men, including insider recommendations and exclusive offers.
Xtra Magazine is an LGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is a continuation of the company's former print titles Xtra!, Xtra Ottawa, and Xtra Vancouver, which were all discontinued in 2015.
Glad Day Bookshop is an independent bookstore and restaurant located in Toronto, Ontario, specializing in LGBT literature. Previously located above a storefront at 598A Yonge Street for much of its history, the store moved to its current location at 499 Church Street, in the heart of the city's Church and Wellesley neighbourhood, in 2016. The store's name and logo are based on a painting by William Blake.
CIRR-FM was a radio station in Toronto, Ontario. Owned by Evanov Communications, it broadcast a rhythmic contemporary format with a focus on the area's LGBT community. Launching on April 16, 2007, it was the first radio station in Canada targeted specifically to an LGBT audience, and the first commercial, terrestrial radio station in the world to target such an audience. It was one of six stations in Toronto that reports to Nielsen BDS' Canadian Top 40 airplay panel.
Ottawa Capital Pride is an annual LGBTQ pride event, festival, and parade held in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and Gatineau, Quebec, from mid to late August. Established in 1986, it has evolved into a 7 to 9-day celebration of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, advocating for equality, diversity, and inclusion in the National Capital Region. The festival offers bilingual events in English and French, known as 'Capital Pride / Fierté dans la capitale', seamlessly blending local pride with national importance.
Mathieu Chantelois is a Canadian television personality, journalist, magazine editor, and marketing executive.
The B-Girlz are a Canadian drag comedy trio, based in Toronto, Ontario. The troupe's core members are Michael Boyuk, who performs as Kora Harcourt and Mark Peacock, who performs as Barbara Quigley (Barbie-Q); while the third member has varied at different times, with performers including Robert Windisman as Conchita Castillio and Shawn Hitchins as Ivana.
This is a timeline of notable events in the history of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Canada. For a broad overview of LGBT history in Canada see LGBT history in Canada.
OUTtv is a Canadian English language specialty channel and streaming network that was launched in September 2001. The brand focuses on general entertainment and lifestyle programming serving Canadian and international LGBT+ communities.
Shawn Hollenbach is an American comedian, writer and actor, based in New York City. He worked at Comedy Central in the programming department. As a comic and actor he has performed around the country and throughout New York. He is an energetic and upbeat performer and self-deprecating humorist focusing on LGBT subjects and a "style that capitalizes on the myriad incidents and accidents that befall us all in the midst of our human existence". He currently works at Logo, Viacom's channel that appeals to the LGBT community and their allies as the social media manager for the channel and its most popular show, RuPaul's Drag Race.
Deb Pearce is a Canadian broadcaster and comedian, who, in the 2000s, hosted the midday program and then co-hosted the morning program with Patrick Marano on 103.9 Proud FM in Toronto, Ontario. She was previously a host on 92.5 Jack FM. After being let go from Proud FM, she became a host of television programming, including Rogers Television's foQus and OUTtv's Bump!.
Although same-sex sexual activity was illegal in Canada up to 1969, gay and lesbian themes appear in Canadian literature throughout the 20th century. Canada is now regarded as one of the most advanced countries in legal recognition of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) rights.
We're Funny That Way began as an annual charity comedy festival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1996. Launched in 1996 by Maggie Cassella, the festival featured stand-up and sketch comedy shows by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender comedians. It ran until 2012 when it took a five-year hiatus, returning in 2017. The festival has grown to a broader performance festival and now includes musicians, story-tellers, burlesque artists, plays, drag performances, generally following the genres associated with live cabaret.
The Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity (CCGSD) is a charitable organization which works towards stopping bullying, discrimination, and homophobia in schools and communities in Canada, and abroad. Through workshops, presentations, training conferences, and by supporting youth initiatives, they engage youth in celebrating diversity of gender identity, gender expression, and romantic orientation and/or sexual orientation.
LGBTory is a Canadian LGBT conservative organization. The group was established in 2015, as an advocacy group for LGBTQ supporters of the Conservative Party of Canada and provincial conservative parties. While officially open to all LGBT supporters of conservative parties across Canada, the group was founded in Toronto, Ontario by people associated with the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario who wanted to be represented in the Toronto Pride Parade. The name was inspired by the similar British conservative group LGBTory, now called LGBT+ Conservatives, which gave permission to use the name.
Knock Knock Ghost is a Canadian reality television series, which premiered on OutTV in 2015. Hosted by comedian Richard Ryder, the series features Ryder and actress Brie Doyle, as well as a psychic medium. The group travels to various locations across Canada which are purported to be haunted and conducts experiments to test whether it is possible to prove or disprove the existence of the afterlife.
Martha Chaves is a Nicaraguan-Canadian comedian, actress, activist and playwright. She performs standup in English, Spanish, French and Italian. She is a regular in the comedy circuits in Canada, the United States and Latin America, at Just for Laughs and other major festivals, and on CBC Radio.
Icesis Couture is the stage name of Steven Granados-Portelance, a Canadian drag queen who won the second season of Canada's Drag Race in 2021. She later returned to compete on the first season of the spin-off series, Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World, in 2022.
Andrew Johnston is a Canadian comedian and writer, most noted for his work on the television series Video on Trial and Roast Battle Canada.