Among Scarecrow Video’s vast physical media archive one will find shelves loaded with VHS-only treasures: analog releases of feature films, instructional videos, DIY presentations, and all manner of cultural ephemera that never made the leap to digital formats. With the archivists at Moving Image Preservation of Puget Sound, Scarecrow has been working to digitize these releases and preserve these irreplaceable objects of our cultural heritage.

When MIPoPS received its first boxes of videotapes from Scarecrow to digitize, they were loaded with rare artifacts of our queer history, including decades of Seattle-specific memories: 30-year-old footage of Neighbors, R Place, and clubs of days long past; lesbian buddy-detective films that look suspiciously like they were shot in the offices of The Stranger; interviews with attendees of an International Association of Gay and Lesbian Square Dance Clubs convention; and so much more.

Seattle’s queer roots run deep, and in its 37 years, Scarecrow has absorbed a share of that history. Come prepared to be enchanted and enlightened as we dive into this newly digitized treasure trove and present some highlights of queer culture from Seattle and around the globe.