After a "use it or lose it" warning six months ago (see below), Moncton has lost its gay bar, ARIS. They write:
An era is coming to an end
After two years, we’ve decided it’s time for ARIS to close its doors. Our final day will be August 29th.
We want to sincerely thank our patrons for showing up, supporting us, celebrating with us, and making these two years what they were. We’re incredibly grateful for everyone who chose to spend their nights with us, and for our great staff who were there along the way.
After the end of this chapter, we’re looking forward to new adventures, new projects, and whatever comes next.
Until then, we hope you’ll join us for a few more nights.
Thank you for two years
Halifax's Rumours owners Gerald and José wrote "A Wake-Up Call for Our Community:"
After two years, Aries Nightclub in Moncton is closing its doors. Even after Pride, there simply wasn’t enough ongoing community support to keep the venue afloat.
That should concern all of us.
We’ve seen this happen before. LGBTQ+ spaces struggle, one closes, then another—and suddenly a community that once had places to gather, celebrate, dance, connect and simply be ourselves is left with almost nothing.
Halifax has LGBTQ+ spaces right now, including Rumours, Backlot and Stardust. We cannot take them for granted.
These aren't just bars and clubs. They are meeting places. They create jobs, host community events, give performers a stage, provide spaces for trans, sapphic, gay and queer people to connect, and give people somewhere they can walk through the door knowing they belong.
But having these spaces today doesn't guarantee we'll have them tomorrow.
Supporting LGBTQ+ venues means showing up. Come for a drink. Attend an event. Bring your friends. Try another queer venue. Share their posts. Support their performers. And most importantly, support each other.
We don't have to choose one LGBTQ+ venue over another. A strong community needs all of us to succeed.
The closing of Aries should be a wake-up call for Atlantic Canada.
Because once these spaces disappear, rebuilding them is incredibly difficult.
Support queer spaces while they're still here—not after they're gone.
❤️ To Aries and the Moncton community: thank you for the memories, the Pride, the celebrations and the safe space you created.
And to Halifax: let's protect what we have. Together.
Wayves promoted and documented ARIS' history in these articles:
- 2024-02-14: ARIS: New 2SLGBTQIA+ Bar for Moncton
- 2024-12-11: Moncton's Aris Bar: first-quarter check-in
- 2026-02-22: Moncton's Aris Nightclub: use it or lose it
