Davie Village

Description

Davie Village (also Davie District or simply Davie Street) is a neighbourhood in the West End of Vancouver. It is the home of the city's gay subculture, and, as such, is often considered a gay village or "gaybourhood". It is centred around Davie Street and roughly includes the area between Burrard and Jervis streets.

The Davie Street Business Improvement Association coined the name "Davie Village" in 1999 and also commissioned banners from local artist Joe Average, which fly from lamposts along the street. The two-sided banners depict a rainbow flag on one side and a sun design by Average on the other. Many businesses and residents along Davie Street and in the West End generally also fly rainbow flags as a symbol of gay pride, and many of the covered bus stop benches and trash cans along Davie Street are painted bright pink.

Along Davie Street are a variety of shops, restaurants, services, and hotels catering to a variety of customers, as well as private residences. Davie Village is also home to the offices of Xtra! West, a biweekly LGBT newspaper. The Centre (formerly the Gay and Lesbian Centre) is located just off Davie Street on Bute. It provides a variety of services for the city's gay, lesbian, transgendered, and bisexual residents. The business with the most notoriety is Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium ("Little Sister's"), a gay and lesbian bookstore, because of its ongoing legal battles with Canada Customs that have received extensive national media coverage.

The Village hosts a variety of events during the year, including the Davie Street Festival which runs in conjunction with Vancouver's annual Gay Pride Parade, during which sections of the street are closed to motor traffic. Davie Day is also held each year in early September, to celebrate local businesses and the community itself. This Day is designed to build awareness and promote the surrounding businesses, and is focused around Jervis to Burrard Street.

Cost

Free

Getting There

From the Granville Skytrain Station take the Davie bus South on Granville Street to Davie Street.