VANCOUVER QUEER HISTORY SPEAKER GLENN TKACH
You might know me as the founder of the Really Gay History Tour, or simply as "the guy in the pink hat" walking the streets of Vancouver’s West End. Since 2017, I’ve been a Forbidden Vancouver storyteller, uncovering the hidden, the scandalous, and the profound.
But I'm taking queer history from the pavement to the podium - to businesses, builders, and boardrooms throughout Vancouver.
Under the pink hat is a queer historian and storyteller dedicated to bridging the gap between the past and the present, to help us find our way to the future.
THE STORYTELLER UNDER THE PINK HAT
In my teen years, I discovered drama. Acting felt like a safe way to express my anger, longing, and confusion.
Strangely, when I was acting, it felt like the one time I wasn't pretending.
The pink hat is already trying to manifest.
Growing up in a small prairie town in the 80's, I knew there was something different about me. So I did my best to stay invisible. To try and keep my identity hidden.
But there were early signs of a pink obsession.
I came to Vancouver, to study theatre professionally.
But acting was no longer working for me.
At a time when I was constantly pretending to be someone else, what I really craved was to just be me - the most authentic version of myself.
Yikes, I am literally wearing a mask.
I found that my favourite role was always the narrator -
the one person who could stand in front of others and just be.
So I put acting aside and became a storyteller.
Storytelling was like magic.
Without the aid of props, sets, or costumes, I could conjure entire worlds, rich and intricate, using only words and gestures.
I discovered that storytelling had a unique power. Audiences had to imagine the world I was describing, which made them collaborators. We were creating together.
I was no longer staging stories in front of spectators. I was staging them right inside the mind of each listener.
THE STORY OF THE PINK HAT
From trilbies to flat caps, from boaters to bretons to bowlers, the storytellers from Forbidden Vancouver Walking Tours can always be seen in period-appropriate headwear. When I first joined the company in 2017, I found myself immersed in a world of hats.
But when I began creating The Really Gay History Tour, it was obvious that I didn’t need a period costume. Queer history is not confined to one era. I needed something different.
Then, I saw it. In the dollar store. It was just a cheap plastic fedora. Its shape conveyed a sense of history - like a piece of the past. But it was pink. A break with custom, and with gender norms. It feminized the masculine.
And it reminded me of the research I was doing. How old black and white photos and documents suddenly seem very colourful when I find the queer undertones.
The pink hat has become my calling card. It is my version of drag. It is a form of protest. It is queer visibility. It is a beacon for others looking to find their history. What started as a piece of dollar-store plastic has become a handmade bespoke work of craftsmanship. I wear it with pride.
I am both proud and humbled by the tour's impact on the thousands of guests who have taken it. Many have described it as healing, empowering, and even transformative.
This has inspired me to dig even deeper, and spread our stories even further. Since 2019, I've been taking queer history directly into the spaces where our culture is being built. I'm using our past to help shape our future.
The story's not over! Let's tell the next chapter together.
Use the form below to find out how these stories can impact your organization.
Christina J. Cook - Intact Insurance
"Thank you for such a great presentation, and for all you do in our community."
