Lifestyle

Your 2020 Virtual Pride Event Guide

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Gay bars, drag shows, concerts, performances, galleries — and, of course, Pride marches. These are among the places and spaces that have long fostered camaraderie and community among L.G.B.T.Q. people. Connections so often centered on in-person events, particularly in urban areas.

But this year is not like most years, not by any stretch.

In the era of the coronavirus, traveling and gathering are not options for many. But that should not hinder the spirit and mission of Pride: to remind community members and allies that they are not alone, but part of a greater push for equality, and to elevate the voices and causes central to L.G.B.T.Q. people and other marginalized groups. And with the uprisings in response to the deaths of George Floyd and other black people by the police, Pride is taking on a greater significance.

“It’s more important than ever that every L.G.B.T.Q. person in our community — many who are also people of color — raise their voices in protest,” Cathy Renna, the interim communications director for the National LGBTQ Task Force who is helping to organize Global Pride and NYC Pride, recently told me. The gay rights movement was sparked by an uprising, after all, one that is recognized every June. “Protest has always been a part of Pride,” she said.

And while it is disappointing not to be able to gather, as we have done for the last five decades, Ms. Renna said, the internet has been used by the community to forge connections for decades. “This is an opportunity for individuals who would never have the chance to attend a Pride march — say, in New York or Chicago or San Francisco — to be able to be part of it.

“You can be an isolated kid in the small rural town in Mississippi or you could be in Eastern Europe or you can be in a country where it’s illegal to be L.G.B.T.Q.,” she said. “All you need is an internet connection.”

So charge up those computers, tablets and smartphones: This is your digital online digest for Pride month events.

(All times are Eastern, and all events are subject to change.)

Participants include Joseph R. Biden Jr., the presumptive Democratic nominee for U.S. president; Speaker Nancy Pelosi; Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister; Leo Varadkar, the Irish prime minister; Carlos Alvarado Quesada, president of Costa Rica, where same-sex marriage was legalized in May; Erna Solberg, prime minister of Norway; Xavier Bettel, prime minister of Luxembourg; Crown Princess Mary of Denmark; and Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil of India.

The entertainers Laverne Cox, Adam Lambert, Kesha, Rita Ora, the Pussycat Dolls, Dixie Chicks, Olivia Newton-John, Pabllo Vittar, Courtney Act and many others will also take part.

Hundreds of Pride organizations from around the world contributed to the stream, including most of the ones on this list.

Where: The Global Pride website, Todrick Hall’s YouTube channel and the iHeartRadio YouTube channel.

For those of us in the New York area, a June without the Pride march cuts deep, especially because this year is the 50th anniversary of the first Pride march in 1970. But just think how many more people will be able to tune in than would have been able to visit New York. (Silver lining, you know?) The grand marshals for the Special Pride Broadcast Event are Dan Levy (“Schitt’s Creek”); the Ali Forney Center, dedicated to homeless L.G.B.T.Q. youth; Yanzi Peng, the executive director of LGBT Rights Advocacy China; and Victoria Cruz, an American activist and retired domestic violence counselor. Janelle Monáe, Deborah Cox, Billy Porter, Luísa Sonza and more will perform. And Wilson Cruz, Miss Richfield 1981, Margaret Cho and others will make appearances.

NYC Pride will also hold a virtual rally on June 26 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. It will be hosted by Ashlee Marie Preston, the first transgender person to openly run for state office in California, and Brian Michael Smith, a transgender actor who has starred in “Homeland,” “Queen Sugar” and “The L Word: Generation Q.” Speakers include Ceyenne Doroshow, Annie Segarra, Edafe Okporo and Leandro E. Rodriguez Ramos.

For more, tune in to the Black Queer Town Hall — 6:30 to 8 p.m. from June 19 through 21 — to support and raise funds for black queer organizations and L.G.B.T.Q. performers.

Where: The Pride Broadcast will air on WABC and stream on the WABC website, as well as on the station’s free news and connected TV apps. The virtual rally will be streamed on the NYC Pride Facebook and YouTube pages. And the Black Queer Town Hall will stream on the NYC Pride and GLAAD Facebook pages.

San Francisco is bringing one of the nation’s largest gatherings of the L.G.B.T.Q. community and allies completely online. Taking place June 27 and 28, the city’s festivities will include a 13-hour suite of live and prerecorded musical performances, greetings from elected officials and reflections on 50 years of Pride. Additional events still to come include Frameline44 Pride Showcase (June 25 through 28), the Trans March 2020 (June 26), Openhouse’s LGBTQ Senior Prom (June 26); Illuminate the Pink Triangle (June 27); and “Fifty Years of SF Pride,” a CBS televised special (June 28).

Where: SF Pride’s primary event will be available on the SF Pride website. “Fifty Years of SF Pride” will be broadcast on KPIX and KBCW in the Bay Area and streamed on the KPIX website. For information on how to tune in to the other events, see this calendar.

Los Angeles’s first virtual Pride parade will air as a 90-minute prime-time special on ABC7, which will also broadcast the event online. Through historical vignettes and in-depth interviews, the special will highlight local unsung heroes, queer culture and community activists. Guests include Alex Newell, Amara La Negra, Bob the Drag Queen, Carson Kressley, Erika Jayne, Hayley Kiyoko, Jake Borelli, Lance Bass, Lee Daniels, Leslie Jordan, Megan Hilty, Mj Rodriguez, Neve Campbell, Sandra Bernhard, Shea Diamond, The Pussycat Dolls, Trixie Mattel and more. Ellen Leyva and Brandi Hitt, of ABC7 Eyewitness News, will host alongside special guests Raven-Symoné and Karl Schmid.

Where: On ABC7 for those in the Los Angeles area, and the ABC7 website.

The Northalsted Business Alliance is bringing Boystown — a neighborhood that is home to one of the largest L.G.B.T.Q. communities in the Midwest — to the world with the Chicago Pride Fest livestream and chat, celebrating the love, life and diversity of Chicago’s community. LeAnn Rimes, Mr. Grand, Boy Band Review, Catfight, The Vixen and others will perform; Ruff N’ Stuff will host.

Where: The Pride Fest Chicago website and Twitch channel.

At the same time that Denver’s Pride parade would have started down Colfax Avenue in the heart of the city, the Denver Virtual Pride Parade will begin online. And instead of floats, there will be so-called parade units: digital shorts from community groups and members, corporate and commercial supporters and sponsors, and drag queens and kings.

Where: On the Denver Pride Facebook page, and the Center on Colfax Instagram and YouTube pages. Denver7 will stream the event, and an edited version will be televised on Denver7 at 5 p.m.

Boston Pride postponed most virtual events to stand with the Black Lives Matter movement, but a few will go on. On June 13, at noon, you can tune in the city’s Pride Virtual Festival, during which community organizations and others who traditionally would have had booths at the Pride Festival will be set up in a portal to interact with members of the public. You can also show your pride by decorating and photographing your home, cars, neighborhoods and (especially) your pets. Share these photos on Instagram stories from June 12 through June 14 by tagging @bostonpride, or use the hashtag #wickedproud on Facebook and Twitter. On June 19 and 20, take part in the celebration of dance called Dancing Queerly, which will feature dance lessons, an evening of dance and much more.

Where: Tune in for the Pride Virtual Festival on the Boston Pride website. Register for the dance events here for June 19 and here for June 20.

Even though revelers will not be crowding Dublin’s O’Connell Street this year, organizers hope that people from all over the world will crowd its digital offerings. Dublin Pride said it was the largest fund-raising event of the year for many of the nation’s L.G.B.T.Q. community organizations and charities. Digital Dublin Pride Festival will include an interactive virtual parade at 9 a.m. and a concert at 2 p.m. on June 28, as well as virtual walking tours, talk and exhibitions throughout the month. The parade will be a mix of submissions from L.G.B.T.Q. community organizations and partners, as well as recorded and live submissions from the public.

Where: The Dublin Pride website, and its Facebook and YouTube pages.

While Pride in London is not hosting an official virtual substitute for its annual march, it is taking its 2020 theme, #YouMeUsWe, online with a call to action: 30,000 acts of “allyship” — “one for every person who would have marched in the parade,” reads a statement on its website. Acts include donating to the L.G.B.T.Q. community, being there for the community and celebrating the community.

Other events being held by British organizations to mark Pride month include:

Unity Pride — from Unite UK, an online L.G.B.T.Q. publication — aims to unite the community across the globe and celebrate pride in these with two days of musical performances, discussions and panels, including Celebrating Queer Creatives and Queer Sex Education.

Where: Find all event information, dates, times and ticket prices (if applicable) on the Unite UK website.

Attitude Magazine, a British gay-lifestyle publication, will host its inaugural Pride at Home festival across nine days and two weekends to benefit the Attitude Magazine Foundation for L.G.B.T.Q. causes. Events include D.J. sets from Fat Tony and Jodie Harsh; Henry Holland’s Drag Brunch, with Gigi Goode and Baga Chipz; and live musical and comedy performances.

Where: Find all information about events, dates and times on Attitude’s website and social media accounts, including Facebook and Instagram.

This event from Bi Pride UK (which last year said it held the biggest bi gathering in history), which kicks off at 1 p.m., will be a virtual celebration of bi voices and will include discussions, panels and entertainment, including an after-party with a live D.J.

Where: The Bi Pride UK Twitch channel.

Essex Pride, an annual bash since 2003, will livestream its Uploaded event starting at 11 a.m. The event will featuring special guests, performances, interviews, and a look back at Essex Pride’s past and the history of the Pride movement.

Where: The Essex Pride YouTube channel.

In the mood for something star-studded? You got it. Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter are holding their second annual Pride Summit virtually to celebrate the influence of the L.G.B.T.Q. community across music, media and entertainment. Participants include Billy Porter, Lena Waithe, Carson Kressley, Cyndi Lauper, Abby McEnany, Lilly Wachowski, Boy George, Hayley Kiyoko, Indigo Girls, Mary Lambert, Noah Cyrus, Todrick Hall and Wilson Cruz. The daylong event, which starts at 12:30 p.m., will include conversations about being out in entertainment and the importance of representation in music, television, film and more.

For those wanting to get dolled up, they are also throwing in a virtual Pride Prom, with performances from queer artists, an interactive D.J. set and a drag contest to find this year’s Pride Queen. Virtual attendees of the Pride Prom can tune in early to get tutorials from industry professionals on hair, makeup and fashion.

Where: Pride Summit and Pride Prom will stream on the Billboard Events website.

Pride Inside — a collaboration among Amnesty International UK, Black Pride UK, Stonewall UK, ParaPride — is a digital celebration bringing together L.G.B.T.Q. artists, musicians, comedians, D.J.s and activists for performances, talks and workshops. Its aim is to raise awareness about how some studies have found that the pandemic may disproportionately affect L.G.B.T.Q. people. .

Where: The Pride Inside website, and Amnesty International UK, UK Black Pride, Stonewall UK and ParaPride will stream selected events on their own platforms.

Out Leadership, one of the world’s oldest and largest global coalitions working for L.G.B.T.Q. equality, has been hosting the monthlong global Pride series Proudly Resilient — with more than 70 speakers, including L.G.B.T.Q. pioneers, thought leaders, business leaders and advocates.

Upcoming events include conversations with Kate Kendell, former executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights; Amit Paley, chief executive of the Trevor Project; and Jim Obergefell, who will talk about the fifth anniversary of the Obergefell v. Hodges case.

Where: Check out the full speaker lineup and schedule, and how to attend, here.

#WorkPride is a global online conference held by myGwork that comprises events for professionals, graduates, employers and more. The conference’s mission is to ensure the L.G.B.T.Q. business community is visible and celebrated, particularly during the pandemic. Among other topics, sessions will focus on inclusiveness, employee resource groups and networks, and well-being and support.

Where: Events are free and will be held on Zoom. Register on the myGwork website.

source: nytimes.com