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* Well, this is awkward. Several accounts and local places I follow all had Portland Pride as this past weekend. Turns out it's in July now. I went to stuff last week that said it was 'part of the lead in to Pride Weekend' in the event description.
There are three possible explanations for me thinking it was still in June. 1- me being a flake. 2- Confusing the two Portlands. 3- The same organizers who forgot to publicly post that there were any Pride events in 2020 until the night before strikes again.
While it's possible I did see the July dates somewhere and assume it was a typo, I am leaning heavily towards 3, especially since some bars were doing events for 'Portland Pride weekend' that were definitely this past weekend and some of the websites I looked at had what certainly looks like screengrabs of the official site originally posting the dates as June. The whole '2 Portlands thing' does catch tourists unawares when it comes to events, that's not going to confuse me as the street names, pictures and logos are very different, and also the organization name is Pride Northwest for that reason.
Apparently it's been moved to get it off of Juneteenth weekend, which is probably a good thing. A lot of the churches and community centers that host Juneteenth stuff are very close to Waterfront and also historic gay bars. Last year I saw large groups of buzzed white people assume everything in the area for there are Pride. I saw one block party literally get overrun by clueless white people within ten minutes as some of the daytime Pride stuff closed.
Also, not being right after Rose Fest might mean it's actually navigable as opposed to a mud pit.
Guess jury is still out on whether I go to Portland Pride this year. I could maybe get a VIP pass to not have to deal with the lines. I can walk a long time but standing for an hour on concrete in full sun getting blasted by anti-LGTBQ+ protester's sound systems so loudly people can't even talk is not a good time, but also those passes are $75... fuck.
* I've heard for years that there is also a 'trans community picnic' on Pride weekend and this year I am in the know enough to actually have an event link. This is literally the first time I've known ahead of time how to attend instead of just hearing about it after. I could go, but they are still doing full 2020 'stay in your pod' Covid level precautions. So, I'd be pod-less, going alone and approaching people would be against the event rules. I might go anyway just in case it's that way in theory but not in practice, but I gotta say that does not sound like a good time.
* But also in July Darcelle's Showplace is hosting a Drag-A-Thon
For two full days, Portland’s beloved drag venue Darcelle XV Showplace will host one of the largest drag events in the world: Drag-A-Thon. From 4 p.m. on July 10 until 4 p.m on July 12, drag artists will take the stage in an official Guinness World Records attempt to break the record for the longest drag stage show.
There are three possible explanations for me thinking it was still in June. 1- me being a flake. 2- Confusing the two Portlands. 3- The same organizers who forgot to publicly post that there were any Pride events in 2020 until the night before strikes again.
While it's possible I did see the July dates somewhere and assume it was a typo, I am leaning heavily towards 3, especially since some bars were doing events for 'Portland Pride weekend' that were definitely this past weekend and some of the websites I looked at had what certainly looks like screengrabs of the official site originally posting the dates as June. The whole '2 Portlands thing' does catch tourists unawares when it comes to events, that's not going to confuse me as the street names, pictures and logos are very different, and also the organization name is Pride Northwest for that reason.
Apparently it's been moved to get it off of Juneteenth weekend, which is probably a good thing. A lot of the churches and community centers that host Juneteenth stuff are very close to Waterfront and also historic gay bars. Last year I saw large groups of buzzed white people assume everything in the area for there are Pride. I saw one block party literally get overrun by clueless white people within ten minutes as some of the daytime Pride stuff closed.
Also, not being right after Rose Fest might mean it's actually navigable as opposed to a mud pit.
Guess jury is still out on whether I go to Portland Pride this year. I could maybe get a VIP pass to not have to deal with the lines. I can walk a long time but standing for an hour on concrete in full sun getting blasted by anti-LGTBQ+ protester's sound systems so loudly people can't even talk is not a good time, but also those passes are $75... fuck.
* I've heard for years that there is also a 'trans community picnic' on Pride weekend and this year I am in the know enough to actually have an event link. This is literally the first time I've known ahead of time how to attend instead of just hearing about it after. I could go, but they are still doing full 2020 'stay in your pod' Covid level precautions. So, I'd be pod-less, going alone and approaching people would be against the event rules. I might go anyway just in case it's that way in theory but not in practice, but I gotta say that does not sound like a good time.
* But also in July Darcelle's Showplace is hosting a Drag-A-Thon
For two full days, Portland’s beloved drag venue Darcelle XV Showplace will host one of the largest drag events in the world: Drag-A-Thon. From 4 p.m. on July 10 until 4 p.m on July 12, drag artists will take the stage in an official Guinness World Records attempt to break the record for the longest drag stage show.
no subject
Date: 2023-06-20 12:13 am (UTC)From:I couldn't stand for hours either, but I cannot imagine spending $75 to get into Pride; that just seems too damn much. of course, my memories of attending are based on the 80s/early 90s, and I'm sure many things are done much differently now
no subject
Date: 2023-06-20 01:34 am (UTC)From:I wasn't here for 80s and 90s Prides. I can tell you last year it was a lot of life insurance booths and sign up for grocery store loyalty cards and stuff like that. I got some very nice stickers from Columbia Sportswear. Nike had a selfie booth. There was also the main stage but the ground in front of it was too muddy for people to dance for the DJ. There were a few cool booths, but it was more like stuff that felt scam adjacent.
The more I talk about it the worse idea it seems.
In the 00s it was more community orientated but also very focused on being a hookup event.
no subject
Date: 2023-06-21 06:50 am (UTC)From:Having a picnic where you can't talk to anyone else seems... counterproductive. Though maybe it would be worthwhile anyway, depending on how strictly those rules are followed.
no subject
Date: 2023-06-21 08:10 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2023-06-22 05:45 am (UTC)From: