Wasn’t that a magical night?! A path opened down through the forest, lit up by fairies and creatures of the woods. Sand under out feet, music in our spirits, we danced all night, painted one another, listened to poetry until the sun came up. We questioned what it is to be queer, to give expression to a reality often unseen. We walked through the fire, into the forest, met the witch in her tent, and made our sacrifice to the past, present and future. With tears of joy, we came together and let the burden of our pasts, the heaviness of the earth, join the sky in smoke and whispers.

Queer Garden of Eden was a performative art event, during which, a forgotten side of the Lower Don River Trail was opened up as a space of expression. Walking through an inconspicuous forest path, participants were invited to a secret gathering of dancing spirits on a sandy side of the Don River. The late afternoon gathering began with body-painting, which then flowed into an electronic music set, meandering through the night and the forest. We all offered our pasts to the witch of the forest, whose hut nestled at the end of a lit up forest path. The witch and her musical companions accepted our offering and, one by one, set them on fire. Tears were shed, poems were said, and songs were sung to the past, present, and future.