On June 1st, queer voices are taking over the airwaves!
Tune in to CITR 101.9FM for a whole day of LGBTQ programming that starts at 6:00AM, including Barb Snelgrove, Ryan Clayton, David C. Jones, DJ Lisa Delux, Jennifer Breakspear, Miss Meow, Spencer Chandra Herbert, Kate Reid, Dean Nelson, not to mention your favourite unofficially-queer magazine Sad Mag!
QueerFM has been broadcasting on CITR for almost 20 years, making it one of the longest running queer radio programs in Canada. We caught up with Aedan Saint, QueerFM Broadcast Coordinator and Rainbow 24 organizer, to ask him for the story behind this event. We are glad we caught him just before his departure to Hawaii, where he’ll be kicking off a new Hawaii edition of QueerFM!
“I took over for QueerFM founder Heather Kitching in 2010 as she went off to Ottawa while I was hosting Fruit Salad (30+ year LGBTQ radio show on Co-Op Radio 102.7FM) for 16 months during and after my year as Mr. Gay Vancouver XXX. Juggling two radio shows on two stations was… interesting.
“I’ve been producing & hosting QueerFM since then… as well as creating the spinoff shows QueerFM Arts Xtra and QueerFM QMUNITY – AND coordinating the broadcasts of the closing of the Odyssey Nightclub in 2010, WinterPRIDE at Whistler 2011, The 2011 OutGames and Rainbow 24: LGBTQ Voices 2012.”
“I saw an old flyer from the early 1990s on the CiTR Programmer’s office wall. I thought it odd that no one had produced such a marathon in all the intervening years. As I planned to make my departure from CiTR and Canada in early June [for Hawaii], I thought…why not create a love letter to the LGBTQ community of Vancouver? Rainbow 24 is a snapshot in time of our community and its many voices.
“Why June 1st? Simple. US President Bill Clinton first declared June PRIDE Month in the US on June 2nd, 2000 which was re-signed by US President Barack Obama in 2009. Being an American and leaving to go back home, I thought it a poignant way to express the FAMILY that both Canadian and American LGBTQ Communities are, and that we’re stronger together.”
How can you get involved with QueerFM? You can listen on CiTR 101.9FM Vancouver, Like QueerFM on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter. Also check out QueerFMVancouver.com, or email them your love letters or requests to be a guest on the show!
What’s next for QueerFM after Aedan’s departure?
“QueerFM 2.0 launches just after my departure on June 5th to continue the legacy Heather and I have created and nurtured. Our NEW Producer/Host Jared Knudsen is a great guy, and when you add in the other hosts (Barb Snelgrove, David C. Jones, Ryan Clayton and Velvet Steele) there are not many topics in the LGBTQ community and beyond that they couldn’t handle. They’re a fantastic collaborative team. CiTR has been pretty fantastic in their support and we appreciate their continued commitment to diversity and support of the LGBTQ Community in Vancouver and beyond…
As for me, I’m headed home to Hawaii, and have a great little show called QueerFM Hawaii that I’ve already scheduled to start when I arrive as well as cross-show content between Vancouver, Victoria and Hawaii. So we’re expanding the rainbow… one city at a time! 
“Thanks SAD Mag & Vancouver…it’s been quite a ride.”
Rainbow24
June 1st 6:00AM – 6:0oPM
CITR 101.9FM
Listen online at CITR.ca
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