Our annual Gala has sold out each year to a room full of passionate, powerful feminists who have enjoyed an incredible evening full of entertainment, amazing food, and fellowship.

On November 18th, 2023, PerSIStence Theatre hosted our 7th annual Gala at the CLB Armoury to fundraise for our feminist initiatives - which this year includes our queer-themed season in 2024. Accordingly, this year's Gala was RAINBOW Tie!

This year's Gala was hosted by Ottawa-based Two-Spirited comedien Janelle Niles and featured a live performance from the Spectrum Queer Choir as well as all new recitations from returning Gala highlight performer El Jones. Plus DJ and Producer Shauna Gilpin (of Lavi Seks and SELENIUM Techno) cranked up the tunes for the cocktail hour.

Auctions & raffles for unique gifts and experiences - this year's live auctioneer was the fabulous drag performer Barbra Bardot!

We were overjoyed to have this year's menus crafted by Chef Amy Anthony (protein) and Chef Stephanie O'Brien (vegan):
Chef Amy Anthony’s Protein Menu

Amuse
Beet cured salmon with nasturtium and edamame purée, spiced blueberry foam, lemon yuzu caviar, carrot purée, micro greens and crispy wonton
with Chayee Bourass Bonarda

Salad
Miso roasted pumpkin with local greens, candied nuts, pickled sweet onion, and apple
with Bread & Butter Pinot Grigio

Main
Nam Chim style beef with seared Thai style greens, seasoned jasmine rice, and a cucumber mango salad
with Chayee Bourass Reserva

Dessert
A wide variety to select from by auction
with Astoria Fano Asolo Prosecco Superiore​
Chef Stephanie O’Brien’s Vegan Menu

Amuse
Faux gras cannoli with duckless pate, cherry anise gel, whipped vegan cheese and port gelee
with Chayee Bourass Bonarda

Salad
Tomato tartare, compressed watermelon, smoked carrot and cucumber herb salad with ginger lime dressing and sesame brittle
with Bread & Butter Pinot Grigio

Main
Pecan sage squash with apple leek purée and a wild mushroom ragu, polenta fries and maple miso jus
with Chayee Bourass Reserva

Dessert
A wide variety to select from by auction
with Astoria Fano Asolo Prosecco Superiore
St. John’s is home to a rich, diverse, and vibrant urban Indigenous community. Located on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Beothuk, the lands and waters in and around the City have traditionally served as a gathering place for the Mi’kmaq. The broader region of Newfoundland and Labrador continues to be home to diverse Indigenous Peoples, including First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. We honour and pay respect to the past, present, and future caretakers of these territories.

We also must acknowledge, as we gather together this historic evening, the labour theft extracted from people of African descent, used to build European wealth and economies globally, and in the Canadian nation state, including Newfoundland and Labrador’s shipbuilding and cod fishery industries, through the violence of trans-Atlantic enslavement.

We thank both First Light and the office of the Vice-Provost of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism at Memorial University for crafting and sharing these words that provide us with important perspectives.

As Armine Nutting Gosling herself reflected, “No class, or race, or sex can have its interests attended to...​unless it is represented by direct suffrage,” and in doing so she appropriately recognized the overlap of multiple forms of discrimination.