OutFest shines spotlight on Waterloo Region's LGBTQ stories

Waterloo Region's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer community is taking centre stage this week at OutFest.

OutFest is an annual festival, which celebrates the local LGBTQ community through film, live music, dance, poetry and other performances.

Organizer Isaac Mule says the festivalhelps amplify local LGBTQ voices,and challenges somecommonly held notions of what LGBTQ storytelling is all about.

"People hear 'queer theatre' or 'queer story' and there's this big misconception about what we're sharing," Mule told host Craig Norris on CBC's The Morning Edition.

"One of their pieces this year is about super heroes, so we're talking about finding one's self, finding one's voice, deception, and we're talking about it through superheroes."

'include youth to share their story'

This year also features a youth project called Fire Escape,produced with the help of award-winning Canadian producer Gary Kirkham.

"We really wanted to find a way to include youth, to share their story, to teach them about art, to teach them a way to communicate with us," Mule said. "Us adults don't always listen."

Canadian Idol Jr. winner, Matthew Edmondsonwill join in as a special music guest.

According to Mule,OutFest has an especially important role in the communitythis year because of the loss of other key LGBTQ eventslike tri-Pride, the Pride Prom and the Rainbow Reels festival.

"It was kind of surprising for me this year to see all three of those events either not happen or go through some kind of change," Mule said.

"It really highlighted the fact that Kitchener-Waterloo Region needed something, really needed a space to celebrate who they are, to share their story, to make friends, to socialize, to just come together as part of a community."

OutFest runs the evenings of Sept 8-10at the Registry Theatre in Kitchener.