Never Apart was lucky enough to work with Fierté (Pride) this year, and we had our very own stage called “Village Paradise” that took place on Friday August 14th at Place Émilie-Gamelin. Our stage theme was based on Paradise Garage (the Legendary NYC House club) and we also celebrated diversity with another theme – “Birds of Paradise”. Birds of Paradise are beautiful shape-shifting birds, and we thought the idea of these birds related well to our Village Paradise stage.

The stage featured a dynamic cast of entertainers, both local and international, who represented many different facets of Never Apart. Our hosts for the evening were local gender blender and punk rock legend Plastik Patrik, and Trans Icon Candis Cayne, who was also one of the Grand Marshals for Montreal Pride Week. We also had the amazing Barbara Tucker come all the way from Ibiza, and NYC’s Cazwell and Amanda Lepore who performed many of their hit songs. From Toronto, Regina of Light Fires came blazing in as did Scott Fordham and his fabulous dancers. It was quite the spectacle!

Some of the most noteable eye-catching attractions were the intricate “Birds of Paradise” costumes. Three performers, Plastik Patrik, Mikela Jay, and Jordan King, donned the feathery creations and dazzled the crowd as they came on stage during the dramatic intro. The costumes were created by Sylvain Brochu, a local designer.

“When the Never Apart team offered me this project, I was instantly thrilled. I jumped into my research of images and inspirations, and then built this mood board to guide the creation process. We came up with this idea of fabricating hand-made, environmentally friendly vegan feathers. The three artists who wore them really embodied the unique and flamboyant nature of Birds of Paradise,” says Sylvain.