Pride Fest: Poppers—A PEI Tea Dance

Following a successful piano bar collaboration during Pride Fest ‘24, Pride PEI and Dave Stewart are once again collaborating during Pride Fest ’26 to present Poppers: A PEI Tea Dance. The event takes place on the green at Brakish, 2 Lower Water Street in Charlottetown, from 3–6 pm on July 26.

This is an opportunity to take part in living queer history with an outdoor afternoon dance fuelled by disco hits, club classics, and tracks from summer 2026.

Tea dances rose to prominence in the 1950s and 60s as a grassroots countermeasure against laws that made it illegal for bars to serve queer people or for people of the same gender identity to dance with each other. Typically held on Sunday afternoons in places like Fire Island’s Pines, tea dances have always been an opportunity for queer people to celebrate with abandon and, when applicable, catch the last ferry home and still make it to work on Monday morning. 

Allies are welcome and encouraged to attend. Please note that this event is 19+ and there is no cover charge.  

Pride Fest ‘26 runs from July 24 to August 2. For a full festival schedule, visit pridepei.ca, or follow Pride PEI on its social media channels.