What to know<\/p>\n
Pride J\u2019ouvert returns June 21 with a Jab-themed celebration rooted in Caribbean history and emancipation.<\/p>\n
Founder Tammara James-Francis created the event to provide a safe, culturally grounded space for Black and Caribbean Queer communities.<\/p>\n
The celebration combines music, paint and Carnival traditions while reclaiming Queer joy, community and freedom.<\/p>\n
The event aims to be a safe space for 2SLGBTQ+ communities and allies.<\/p>\n
For many Black Queer Caribbean people, finding spaces where both their culture and their identity are fully embraced can be a challenge. That\u2019s why Toronto\u2019s Pride J\u2019ouvert was created: to reclaim a beloved Caribbean tradition and transform it into a celebration where Queer communities can experience Carnival, joy and liberation without having to leave any part of themselves behind.<\/p>\n
Living at the intersection of Black, Queer, and Caribbean can be difficult. A 2024 study from The Enchant\u00e9 Network<\/a> found that 86 per cent of Black-Queer people in Canada had experienced racism in 2SLGBTQ+ spaces. Figures like this underscore the need for spaces curated by our community, for our community. For instance, Pride J\u2019ouvert.\u00a0<\/p>\n Set for June 21 from 1-8 p.m., the third annual Pride J\u2019ouvert<\/a> brings the annual Trinidad and Tobago tradition of J\u2019ouvert, a vibrant street party featuring music, paint, and powder to a safe space for Queer communities. The name itself is derived from jour ouvert, an Antillean Creole French term that translates to \u201cdaybreak\u201d or \u201copening of the day,\u201d with the event marking the start of Carnival celebrations in many Caribbean countries.\u00a0<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n \u201cJ\u2019ouverts in the Caribbean are a symbol of freedom,\u201d Tammara James-Francis, the founder of the annual event, told Queer & Now.<\/a><\/p>\n She explained that her own experiences as a Black Caribbean Lesbian allowed her to understand that while there are many J\u2019ouverts around the world, and she\u2019s attended many in Canada, the U.S. and the Caribbean, they\u2019re not always safe for us as Queer people.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely hard because you almost feel like you don\u2019t belong. It could be just one person looks at you a certain way, or one person makes a comment when they walk by you, and you hear it,\u201d she explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n So she designed Pride J\u2019ouvert, a space by Caribbean Queers, for us. Featuring paint, powder, music, and, quite frankly, our very worst behaviour, the party aims to be inclusive while staying culturally grounded in the traditions of carnival.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere are different levels of comfort present when you\u2019re around your own peers, and it\u2019s a space we needed for the Queer community in Toronto,\u201d the founder shared.<\/p>\n Pride J\u2019ouvert: Jab edition<\/p>\n The annual celebration of J\u2019ouvert is the starting point for carnivals in many Caribbean countries. The celebrations were born from a time when enslaved people were not welcome to join in the celebrations that marked the end of crop season, also known as Pretty Mas.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPretty Mas, that wasn\u2019t for us\u2026 it was for them. The pretty feathers, the nice clothes, the masquerade balls, things like that weren\u2019t for us,\u201d She explained. \u201cWhen crop season is over, basically we would do this to celebrate our freedom. Because the season\u2019s over, we\u2019re not working hard in the fields anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n This year\u2019s event is Jab-themed, with black paint used to emulate the black oil donned by participants in the Grenadian celebration of Jab Jab. This Grenadian masquerade tradition is also rooted in resistance and celebration. Dating back to the abolition of slavery in the Caribbean, freed people in Grenada covered themselves in dark oil and took to the streets to celebrate their liberation. The name comes from \u201cJab,\u201d the French Creole word for \u201cdevil,\u201d as this is how many colonizers referred to people who were enslaved. James-Francis explained that by dousing themselves in black oil, masqueraders mock that.<\/p>\n \u201cBasically, you\u2019re calling us Black Devils; and that\u2019s what Jab Jab stands for. We\u2019re gonna just make ourselves blacker,\u201d James-Francis explained.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s attendees are encouraged to dress in colours instead of the traditional all white, with the black paint taking the place of the traditional colourful powders and paints associated with J\u2019ouvert \u2013 and as always, expect to get dirty.\u00a0<\/p>\n Safety and security for women and Queer communities<\/p>\n Inclusive and Queer-focused, Pride J\u2019ouvert has not been without its issues in previous years, including homophobia from those outside of the party.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the first J\u2019ouvert\u2026 we had hecklers on the outside screaming derogatory terms,\u201d James-Francis said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t feel good.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re outside, we\u2019re happy, we\u2019re trying to have fun, we\u2019re not bothering anybody. But it doesn\u2019t matter; we still bother people just in our presence.\u201d<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n To combat this problem, the organizers are withholding the venue location until just days before the party. While attendees have been made aware that it will all go down in the west end, the exact location is not posted or shared anywhere as of yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had violent threats, and those are things that we don\u2019t like to share with the public, because in the Queer community they should just know we\u2019re never really safe wherever we are,\u201d she explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s always going to be people that look at us a certain way, and we always have to be on our toes and aware of things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n This is true for the Queer community, but also for women in general. James-Francis explained that before coming out as Queer, she at one point identified as Bisexual before settling into her identity as a Lesbian. But while going out and partying in all of those eras, she saw how many male party-goers made women in the spaces feel uncomfortable. This is something she has actively combated in her own events, to the extent that heterosexual allies often join the fete.<\/p>\n \u201cI have a lot of straight female friends that come to my party just because they want to avoid that. They\u2019re allies,\u201d the founder said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re like, \u2018Hey, I love me a little Queer party, I\u2019m gonna come and support you, and I know that I\u2019m gonna be safe there.\u2019 That\u2019s my main thing, safety and inclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n She shared that this year\u2019s event has not received any threats or negative attention, and security working the party will have no tolerance for physical or verbal violence or harassment.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just not to be tolerated because of what the party symbolizes. This is not just a party; it\u2019s a celebration, it\u2019s about emancipation, it\u2019s about our culture,\u201d James-Francis added. \u201cSo I try my best to create that safe space.\u201d<\/p>\n You can purchase tickets for Pride J\u2019ouvert<\/a> and find out more details on the official event website.<\/p>\n