Sorry, what are we encoring again?
Illustration by Abby Koning.
In a Nov. 15 Instagram announcement with disabled comments, the fate of a beloved Victoria venue was sealed. The Victoria Event Centre (VEC), a space previously dedicated to bolstering emerging new artists and good music, will be converted into ENCORE BY PAPARAZZI in 2025.
ENCORE BY PAPARAZZI on Broad St. is a sister location to the club’s original location, Paparazzi Nightclub, located on Johnson St. The twin nightclubs will be just around the corner from each other on the same city block, and those mourning the loss of the Victoria Event Center are beginning to get the idea that ENCORE is going to be exactly that — a twin of Paparazzi.
The VEC’s space has been for sale since this summer after a “substantial rent increase,” shut them down. Their last day of operations was Oct. 27, but this has not stopped supporters from speaking about their grief for the space online. User @missrosiebitts said under a recent Instagram post:
“I feel like the VEC and I have grown up as artists together. It has been my longest home venue … I’ve produced and performed in countless shows at the VEC over the last 18 years … It’s heartbreaking to think it will cease to exist.” User @allasagna replied too, saying:
“I’ve always been a firm proponent that the VEC is hands down the best venue in Victoria.” User @peteheredotcom agrees: “A lot of the Love that exists around me in my life can be directly tracked back to the space and community in and around the VEC.”
Paparazzi does seem to be aware of the weight of accepting this sacred offer, saying on their Instagram they intend to “keep this space open and thriving for Victoria Night Life and the Vibrant Arts Community.” They also claim that ENCORE will be dedicated entirely to arts appreciation during weekdays, where live shows and events will be held. However, they say, “weekends will come alive with live DJs and a spacious dance floor,” meaning we will definitely still be getting a weekly dose of the typical Paparazzi-esque experience.
But did Paparazzi really hear that we “wanted more” of “the signature classic PAPARAZZI vibes that [we] have come to love”? And what are those vibes, exactly? A recent Instagram post on Nov. 29 shows off pink drink-cover stickers which say “Hands Off,” advertising that anyone who wants a drink cover can ask for one from a bartender for free. User @olivethistea comments:
“That’s great! Now let’s keep this energy with the new venue.”
Their sarcastic red-heart emoji says it all — should we really be excited that at this fine establishment, for $0 we can… lower our risk of being drugged? Most clubs I know of use their Instagram to advertise upcoming events and season lineups. It seems like Paparazzi understands that safety at their club is something they will need to promote in order for ENCORE to be well-received well, nevermind successful, when it opens.
Their mission is currently not going well. A recent Instagram post from @victoria_city_canada said simply,
“Victoria’s Paparazzi nightclub will open a new venue in 2025,” and the first comment is:
“And we’re all upset about it.”
Cleo Philp, a student from the university of Victoria, expressed the idea that Victoria nightlife has become an unsafe place — especially for queer people — telling Chek News that “a lot of [their] queer friends have had unfortunate experiences of being harassed by straight and non-queer people, and have generally had a bad time” at clubs in the area.
Paparazzi’s slow slip from being one of the few gay venues in Victoria has not gone unnoticed by the general community. A UVic student who wishes to remain anonymous told the Martlet last year that his straight, male friends started suggesting going out for drinks there in August 2023, whereas before then, it was known to all of them as a gay club.
“I don’t think I would quantify [Paparazzi] as a definitively queer space,” he said at the time.
A spokesperson from Paparazzi told the Martlet in an emailed statement that its “guests make up a cross-section of Greater Victoria,” and that there is no way to check everyone’s identity at the door. While this is true, according to the first ever census data including transgender and nonbinary people, Victoria has the most gender diversity out of any large urban centre in Canada (0.75 per cent). It would be wrong to assume that the cross-section of Greater Victoria would not include queer people, and everyone deserves an equal opportunity to drink, dance, socialize, and build community without fear of being discriminated against.
We want to know: What will happen to the rich community surrounding The Victoria Event Centre? Only time will tell if Greater Victoria will actually give Paparazzi their encore.
