What you need to know about Pride events in Texas this month
BIG, LONG AND PROUD | Dallas DJ Ryan Tiffin will spin at Arlington’s Pride party Saturday.
Longview holds 1st Pride event
GLBT Pride Festival in Longview takes place in Heritage Plaza in Downtown Longview on Saturday.
Music, refreshments and local organizations and business from Longview, Tyler and the Shreveport area will have booths. DJ Cody Jack provides the music. A drag show that evening features the ladies from RMC drag cast starts at 7:30 p.m. and there will be a doggie drag show.
Heritage Plaza, Longview. June 21 from 5–9 p.m.
Big Long & Proud dance party in Arlington
Los Angeles DJ Manny Lehman headlines the Big Long & Proud Dance, Party billed as the biggest dance party to ever hit Tarrant County. Local DJ Ryan Tiffin is the opener. The event is part of Tarrant County’s HIV Community Mobilization Program.
1010 Collins Entertainment & Event Center, 1010 N. Collins St., Arlington. June 21.
9 p.m.–2 a.m.
Stonewall Denton Pride
In lieu of its regular meeting, Stonewall Democrats of Denton hosts its June LGBTQ Pride Month event. Denton Mayor Pro Tem Jim Engelbrecht plans to attend to proclaim LGBTQ Pride Month in the city of Denton. They will show the documentary Stonewall Uprising to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the Stonewall Inn rebellion.
Trinity Presbyterian Church, 2200 N. Bell Ave., Denton. June 20 at 7:30 p.m.
Houston Pride
Houston Pride, the largest Pride celebration in Texas — attended by more than 400,000 people each year — takes place June 28. The state’s largest city always celebrates on the fourth Sunday and this year that falls on the 45th anniversary of Stonewall. Houston has been celebrating for the last 36 years.
Unlike our perfectly delightful summers in North Texas, Houston is so damn hot and humid, the parade is held at night, preceded by its afternoon Pride festival.
Festival at Westheimer Road and Yoakum Blvd. June 28, 1–7 p.m. Parade, 8:15–11 p.m. PrideHouston.org.
The official after-party takes place at South Beach, 810 Pacific St., Houston. Until 3 a.m.
Queerbomb’s Pride events
Queerbomb Dallas is getting ready for June Pride. On Sunday, gather to wave queer wands at the crafting painting cutting drying hanging crying drinking eating laughing loving over hefty amounts of cardboard glitter and glue for the Procession signs and banners.
The group will gather in the backyard of Chris Box’s The Beauty Box Salon, 4209 Herschel Ave. Bring a potluck food item. June 28 is the Main Event. Gather at Julius Schepps Park, on Henry Street in Deep Ellum at 7 p.m. for the Speaker’s Corner. The rally begins at 8 p.m. with DJ Collin Bass and emcee Meg Hargis.
The procession steps off at 9 p.m. and proceeds into Deep Ellum down Commerce Street to Hall and then onto Main Street ending at The Quixotic World where The Queerbomb Ball takes place. Austin DJ Boyfriend spins for the event that continues until 2 a.m. and is free.
San Antonio Pride
June’s not quite hot enough for any Texas Pride celebration, so San Antonio waits until July.
San Antonio Pride takes place July 5 in Crockett Park, 1300 N. Main Ave. The festival takes place 11 a.m.–7 p.m. and the parade kicks off at 9 p.m. Before the parade, a one-mile Rainbow Dash takes place at 8:15 p.m. and a high heel dash at 8:30 p.m. Shangela, Tom Goss and Christopher Anton are the entertainment headliners.
For more information, visit PrideSanAntonio.org.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition June 20, 2014.
