DJ Kidd Madonny is gonna get you dirty dancing, and Fleshjack will be making giveaway rounds. Oilcan's hosts the official Pride Men's Party. Xposed: Austin PRIDE Week Men's Party Calling all otters, bears, twinks, and the rest of the gay boy spectrum. Pink Friday! Pride Kickoff Party Let yer queer freak flag fly high and bright with Girlfriend and CUC's Pride Kickoff Party to put the blush back in those cheeks! Make it pink! 10pm. Not to mention Pride-themed cocktails, giveaways galore, and grrrlz! 9pm. Austin Urban PRIDE #TheTakeOverLGBT is getting into the (urban) Pride spirit with their larger-than-life (lady) lineup! Mama Duke, Chakeetah B, Staci Russell, and more. Girl PRIDE ATX: Austin PRIDE Week Official Women's Party Hold on to yer mermaid tails, ladiez and gentlewomen, cuz Austin's Lesbutante & the Boss have teamed up with Pride to throw the Official Women's Party! We hear a Real L Word lez and H-town's DJ Athenz will be dancing up a unicorn storm. Fridayīearracuda Austin Gay Pride: Upgraded by GROWLr Wanna kick off yer Pride with hundreds of hairy dudes? Yer in luck cuz Bearracuda is in town and bringing DJs Matt Consola (SF) and C-Rail to the party. Channel yer Ke$ha and sparkle with the Guerrilla Queers queering up Rain. GQB is back just in time for Pride and they're putting the glitter back into the glitz. Guerrilla Queer Bar: Where the Gays Go Throw some glitter, make it rain. First United Methodist Church, 1201 Lavaca. Pride Interfaith Celebration: Together in Love Pride Interfaith once again hosts their annual Pride celebration with speakers from the Latinx and Muslim communities, performances by the Celebration choir, and a shindig to follow. As Tamara Hoover, co-owner of Cheer Up Charlies, put it: "Nothing gets weird 'til you get queer." Happy Pride, y'all. On a slightly more personal note, Gay Place would like to give an extra-big thanks to Liz Baloutine and Seedlings Gardening for joining forces with their truck and trailer, Texas Rollergirls Rec-League and TXRD for teaming up with us, and my fabulous friends for pitching in. This week, my Gay Place hope is that, despite the differences and subsets of Austin's beautiful LGBTQIAxyz residents, we can come together as one fabulous/glittery/sexy/sweaty/dirty/proud community and take care of one another. And we damn well will not regret – or hide – our queerness. But with Orlando and Pulse nightclub still fresh on our minds, Pride's meaning digs in a little deeper this year. It's a day for the community to come out and shine brighter than even RiRi's diamonds.
Many in the q-mmunity joke that, for queers, Pride is the equivalent of Christmas or New Year's. Austin Pride Week has arrived! Come Saturday thousands of queers will descend on Fiesta Gardens and flood Congress and Fourth Street with more rainbows than a Lisa Frank coloring book.