Q-Ball Awards and National Coming Out Day

Credit: Cate Cameron photo

Q-Ball Awards commemorate positive contributions to human rights by Vancouver’s GLBT community

October 11 marked National Coming Out Day, an internationally-observed day for discussion about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues that celebrates the coming out process.

This year marks an important milestone for Vancouver’s GLBT community. On September 19, the first annual Q-Ball Awards Ceremony was held at the Westin Bayshore Hotel. The formal red carpet, black tie gala fundraiser for Qmunity, celebrated individuals who have made significant contributions to the struggle for human rights and full equality for GLBT Canadians.

The first round of inductees in to the hall of fame included Rt. Hon. Pierre Trudeau, Mark Tewksbury, Janine Fuller, Ted Northe and Robert Kaiser (also known as Joan-E).

I’ve asked a couple of hall of famers to choose their favourite photos from the event. Mark Tewksbury offered the one at top as the first submission.

Pictured at top: Olympic gold medalist Mark Tewksbury (100-metre backstroke, 1992) is no stranger to medals—here he receives another one at the Q-Ball Awards.

“I left my medal upstairs and held the one given Pierre Elliot Trudeau for the official shoot. An unforgettable, magical night.”