Vancouver's Queer History: Unforgettable LGBTQ+ Walk

What a fantastic 2-hour tour packed with so much meaningful information, helping us sketch in yet another part of the history of Vancouver. For 2 hours our guide Glenn offered up dozens of stories - the first Pride parades in the 1970s, the Little Sister's bookstore that was the site of anti-gay bombings during the 1980s, the United Church, which evolved into one of most open and affirming churches for LGBT individuals, the life of Ted Northe, activist who influenced Pierre Trudeau to decriminalize homosexuality in 1969, the impact of intersectionality of the Indigenous and LGBT communities...and so much more. Glenn is a brilliant and engaging guide and his tour was well researched.

I was visiting from Toronto and wanted to learn about Vancouver’s queer history. This was the gayest tour ever!!! Glenn was an excellent guide and kept the group very engaged. I laughed, I cried, I learned so much about Vancouver’s queer history. I would highly recommend this tour!!

This may have been our #1 activity during our 2 weeks in BC. Glenn is a fantastic tour guide, and it was even more special to my partner and I to learn that he's the one who did all the research and designed the tour. His passion and devotion to his community comes through in his thoughtful narrative, in how many people confided very personal stories in him while he was creating the tour, and in how many people recognize him on the streets in Davie Village. It was humbling and an honour to get to listen to someone who's helping preserve and share our history. If you're considering doing this tour - just do it, you won't regret it, and you'll laugh & learn more than you expect. - 2 Ontario queers who are so glad they googled "lgbtq tourism vancouver"

Glenn was personable and well informed. Clearly a lovely story teller and he was easy to hear even in a large group in the rain!

This was on our 2025 bucket list and we finally got to do it today! Glenn was such an amazing tour guide, his stories were so engaging and the pictures he showed us really helped with the visuals of what it was like in Vancouver at the time. I got really emotional at times, and I'm overall so proud to be part of the LGBTQ+ community. After learning about all the activists and notable figures in Vancouver's history, I'm so grateful to be able to walk around hand-in-hand with my girlfriend without fear. I'm going to recommend this tour to everybody because I think it's really important but also because it was so fun! It was pouring rain and it didn't put a damper on the day at all. I had such a great time and I want to thank Glenn again for all the research he's done in the creation of this tour. If you're thinking about doing this tour, DO IT! It's well worth it <3

This was such an eye-opening and meaningful (essential really) experience. Glenn is such a wonderful story-teller and amazing guide. He accommodated for everyone’s needs in our group and was so kind and considerate. I can’t even begin to image the amount of research and preparation that went into making this tour happen, and I am so grateful that Glenn is telling these stories that are from communities that have been historically marginalized and silenced, especially the not so pleasant ones. They remind us of how far we have come and encourage us to keep the spirits of the unsung heroes of our communities alive. I hope that many people can have to opportunity to join this tour and help preserve queer history in whatever way as much as possible.

Glenn is a passionate, engaged, and engaging storyteller who gives a fantastic, informative, and moving account of the broad sweep of Queer history around Downtown Vancouver and the West End. He is entertaining with a wide and deep knowledge of Vancouver's, and North America's, 2SLGBTQ+ history. This tour was uncomfortable (in a good way) in places as Glenn shares unvarnished accounts of the persecution of the Queer community over centuries and the honest accounts of lateral hostility and violence within the rainbow communities. Highly recommended, and the walking part was not at strenuous and at a comfortable pace, all in all about 2 1/2 km.

POWERFUL!!! Glenn delivered the most amazing gay history tour of Vancouver/West End. His story telling transports you to the time and place of each of the events as he guides you through the early days of the queer community of Vancouver right up to present day. I have lived in the area for more than 10 years, but I truely felt like a tourist, learning all about the gay history that I never knew about. Cannot recommend this enough. It was moving. Thanks Glenn. We loved this experience sooooo much

Glenn is amazing, and one of the best storytellers and historians I have ever toured with. My trans kid described the tour as “amazing and brutal and beautiful and joyous.” They say it was “life-changing.” Glenn mixes stories that are inspirational, challenging, and painful—as is true of LGBTQ+ history. Thank you for an experience our family will never forget.

What an amazing tour! Glenn is a masterful storyteller who weaves together a unified history of the community and city. He honors the lives of real people in a deeply insightful way. We laughed, we cried and we learned a lot. I would recommend this tour to anyone interested in a deeper understanding of Vancouver.