Davie Village

Davie Village (also Davie District or simply Davie Street) is a neighbourhood in the West End of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is the home of the city's gay subculture, and, as such, is often considered a gay village or "gaybourhood". It is centred on Davie Street and roughly includes the area between Burrard and Jervis streets. Davie Street - and, by extension, the Village - is named in honour of A.E.B. Davie, eighth Premier of British Columbia from 1887 to 1889; A.E.B's brother Theodore was also Premier, from 1892 to 1895.

The Davie Street Business Association coined the name "Davie Village" in 1999 and also commissioned banners from local artist Joe Average, which fly from lampposts along the street. The two-sided banners depict a rainbow flag on one side and a sun design by Average on the other.[1] Many businesses and residents along Davie Street and in the West End generally also fly rainbow flags as a symbol of gay pride, and many of the covered bus stop benches and garbage cans along Davie Street are painted bright pink.

Along Davie Street are a variety of shops, restaurants, services, and hotels catering to a variety of customers, as well as private residences. Davie Village is also home to the offices of Xtra! West, a biweekly LGBT newspaper, Qmunity (formerly the Gay and Lesbian Centre) which provides a variety of services for the city's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender residents, and the Vancouver Pride Society, which puts on the annual Pride Parade and Festival. The business with the most notoriety is Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium ("Little Sister's"), a gay and lesbian bookstore, because of its ongoing legal battles with Canada Customs that have received extensive national media coverage.[2][3]

The Village hosts a variety of events during the year, including the Davie Street Pride Festival which runs in conjunction with Vancouver's annual Gay Pride Parade, during which sections of the street are closed to motor traffic. Davie Day is also held each year in early September, to celebrate local businesses and the community itself. This Day is designed to build awareness and promote the surrounding businesses, and is focused around Jervis to Burrard Street.

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References

Route map: Bing / Google

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Davie Village.
  1. ↑ "Experiencing Vancouver's West End". West End BIA. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  2. ↑ "Little Sisters Book and Art Emporium v. Canada (Minister of Justice)". Sack, Goldblatt, Mitchell LLP. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  3. ↑ "History of Little Sister's Book & Art Emporium". Retrieved 20 May 2012.
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