There’s space for everyone at Fruit Salad Hamilton
From the creator of Mixed in Hamilton, Fruit Salad Hamilton is creating space for queer folk all year round
Community forms a core part of many of our support systems. It’s the places and the people who make us feel seen and welcome. It’s the places and the people where we feel we can be our authentic selves.
However, often times these spaces can be difficult to find. Sarah Barnhart has made it her job to create such spaces and help people to find their community, first with her work on Mixed in Hamilton and now with Fruit Salad Hamilton.
Inspired by an event she attended in Montreal, Barnhart started Fruit Salad Hamilton in 2021 looking to create more spaces for the lesbian, femme and gender non-conforming folks in Hamilton.
"Hamilton has a massive queer community and also a lot of people, especially women and femmes found themselves coming out in the pandemic and then really having no idea how to make friends, meet community [or] where to go. And then this space was available so I’ve had lots of people come and sort of say this is my first queer event, I just came out in the pandemic . . . and now there’s this space where I can do that and people who are also kind of in the same situation and build community,” explained Barnhart.
Through Fruit Salad, Barnhart has largely been organizing dance parties, including the city’s first queer prom. So far, the reception has been overwhelming positive. The happiness and excitement from the community is apparent in all the photos from the events.
"It makes me really emotional to see people experiencing queer joy . . . There’s just a lot of happiness and kind of euphoria around being allowed and welcomed into community and I’m hoping to [continue to] create that space for other people,” Barnhart said.
It makes me really emotional to see people experiencing queer joy . . . There’s just a lot of happiness and kind of euphoria around being allowed and welcomed into community and I’m hoping to [continue to] create that space for other people.
Sarah Barnhart, Founder of Fruit Salad Hamilton
Fostering this feeling is at the heart of Barnhart’s work. It’s important to her everyone feels welcome and seen in the spaces she’s creating, from people who questioning or still figuring out their identy to those who’ve known who they are forever and everyone in between.
“I’m hoping that they can see themselves represented. There’s not only one way to identify as queer or gay or lesbian or whatever the way you identify. I’m hoping that people like walk away with a sense of community . . . that’s the thing I hope people find the most is like a sense of belonging, community [and] connection,” explained Barnhart.
Barnhart also encouraged students consider coming out to future events.
"Especially if you’re new to your post-secondary education, maybe you’re newly out, maybe you’ve left home and now you have this opportunity to explore your identity [and] I think that’s a perfect reason to come out to an event.”
Going forward, Barnhart is hoping to also expand into doing more low key events, such as poetry readings.
"[I want to] have more events that out-side of just the dance party vibe because that isn’t for everyone . . . I love that we keep being able to create spaces for people to be queer all year,” said Barnhart.
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