The beautiful vintage Sylvia Hotel overlooks English Bay. What a refined setting on a windy autumn day for a special lunch. What a moving event to Honour Our Elders on October 22, 2026! Our host, Allie King introduced Alex Ash from QMUNITY to speak about the urgent desire to expand intergenerational connections. Jen Marchbank along with Sylvie Traphan were honoured for their foundational work in rainbow communities with Youth 4 A Change. Dr. Marchbank’s keynote detailed Y4AC’s past collaboration with QUIRK-E in posters, videos and educational presentations which address elder abuse in the LBGTQ+ community. She also spoke about our work together in Basically Queer: An Intergenerational Introduction to LGBTQA2S+ Lives, as well as our youth and elders Call and Response performances.
Photo by Cyndia Cole
Quirk-e member Lukas Walther was also honoured for his foundational work with trans and gender diverse youth and their parents. Don Orr Martin, Lorri Rudland and Cyndia Cole shared stories and poems. Sonorous cello music was provided by Chloe Sekouri. Best of all, we renewed and strengthened our bonds to fortify us for the times ahead.
photo by Cyndia Cole
