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Most of the country celebrates Pride in June. Portland does it in July—think of it as a booster pack. Party planners, theater producers, musicians and other entertainers lift the spirits of Portland’s queer community to season highs with discos, drag shows, sports games and, of course, the downtown parade and Waterfront Park festival. Here are just a few of the ways to show your pride and uplift the queer community this Pride season. There’s safety in numbers, and more fun to be had together.
Jay Colby’s weekly Drag Brunch at Bar Cala is one of Portland’s favorites, where top drag talent entertain diners enjoying the Alberta neighborhood cocktail lounge’s mouthwatering Mexican brunch menu. Bar Cala, 2703 NE Alberta St., instagram.com/brunchportland. 11 am Sunday, July 12, 19 and 26. $28.52. All ages, 13+ recommended.
Baddie’s Night celebrates your baddest behavior this Pride season! This party, which invites queer and trans people of color to the dance floor’s center, includes a costume contest and half-off discount for anyone dressed as a SpongeBob SquarePants character. CC Slaughters, 219 NW Davis St., 503-248-9135, instagram.com/qtpdxevents. 11 pm Saturday, July 11. $10. 21+.
The Portland Lesbian Choir sings at the Portland Pickles’ Pride Night. The home team takes on the Gresham Greywolves, while sports fans of all persuasions can entertain one another with a dizzy bat race, a “pickle swing” contest, and a “Dave’s Hot Chicken” race. Will the unsettlingly sexy rubber chicken mascot from Drake’s fast food chain chase the gays around the field? You’ll just have to see it in person. Walker Stadium at Lents Park, 4727 SE 92nd Ave., portlandpicklesbaseball.com. 7:05 pm Thursday, July 16. $12–$32; $99 for a picnic table for six.
Burlesque and RuPaul’s Drag Race superstar Sasha Colby kicks off Star Theater’s Pride Weekend festivities with a cast of local drag talent, including Kharisma, Rio Diehl, Jayla Rose, Boujee Cherry, Fay Ludes, Puanani Possé and Cali “The Stalli” Colby. Star Theater, 13 NW 6th Ave., 866-777-8932, startheaterportland.com. 8 pm Thursday, July 16. $36.54–$72.59. 21+.
Singer-songwriter and rapper Uffie, who’s a big deal in France, headlines the quarterly queer dance party Betty’s Pride weekend party. White Owl Social Club, 1305 SE 8th Ave., instagram.com/betty_pdx. 8 pm Friday, July 17. $12.51–$33.85. 21+.
The leather fetish dance party TUFF makes its Portland debut, bringing with it the legendary London DJ ensemble Horse Meat Disco, turning the Crystal Ballroom into a fetish dungeon. 1332 W Burnside St., crystalballroompdx.com. 9 pm Saturday, July 18. $32–$87.50. 21+.
Portland rapper ILoveMakonnen, best known for his 2014 hit “Tuesday,” headlines both nights of Pride in Demand: Queer Portland Takeover, a two-night festival packed with music, drag and queer comedy. Star Theater, 13 NW 6th Ave., 866-777-8932, startheaterportland.com. 9 pm Friday and Saturday, July 17 and 18. $31.99–$134.39. 21+.
If you like your drag queen brunches as bougie as possible, Portland drag treasure Poison Waters has you covered. The Ritz-Carlton’s grand ballroom welcomes drag performers back for another Pride brunch, this year featuring Waters and a cast that includes local artists Angel Darko, Jay Colby, Kharisma and Drag Race legend Alexis Mateo. Plated entree, brunch spread, and two cocktails (one mimosa, one Jell-O–based) are included with admission. The Ritz-Carlton, Portland, 900 SW Washington St., 971-900-4500, ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/pdxrz-the-ritz-carlton-portland/experiences. Noon Saturday, July 18. $125–$150. 21+.
The Ankeny Alley Pride Party is a satellite party for the downtown Pride Festival and Parade. Businesses along the Old Town corridor turn up the party energy for the city’s queer community and allies with entertainment and food (the building blocks of all good parties). Ankeny Alley, 221 SW Ankeny St. 1–6 pm Saturday and Sunday, July 18 and 19. Free.
Long-running local cabaret revue BOYeurism kicks the doors off their hinges for its annual Pride show. Living drag legend Ms. Lawanda Jackson returns to Portland this year, familiar to anyone who attended the opening of Darcelle XV Plaza. Jackson has performed in drag for nearly 50 years, and though she lives in Las Vegas now, Portland’s where it all began. Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 NE Alberta St., 503-719-6055, albertarosetheatre.com. 8 pm Saturday, July 18. $42–$63.75. 18+.
Bearracuda, the bare-as-you-dare dance party for bears and the people who love them, returns for its annual Pride rager. Nova PDX, 722 E Burnside St., bearracuda.com. 9 pm Saturday, July 18. $39–$234. 21+.
The queer pop-up strip club Purple Rain turns the new Buckman neighborhood queer bar Peacock PDX (the former site of Crush Bar) into an all-gender pole-dancing palace. Peacock PDX, 1400 SE Morrison St., 503-946-8929, instagram.com/the_gay_barn. 9 pm Saturday, July 18. $15–$25. 21+.
The annual weekend-long Portland Pride Festival and Parade (which, as you all remember, moved to July in 2023 to avoid scheduling conflicts around Juneteenth, Father’s Day and Native American powwows) returns as one of Oregon’s largest annual cultural festivals. Drag Race star DeJa Skye, YouTube sensation Lushious Massacr and drag king extraordinaire Tenderoni headline this year’s festival, which hits max power on Sunday as the parade wraps up. Tom McCall Waterfront Park, 98 SW Naito Parkway, portlandpride.org. Noon–8 pm Saturday, July 18. Parade begins 11 am in the North Park Blocks, festival continues 11:30 am–6 pm Sunday, July 19. $10 suggested donation.
The queer daytime disco Twirl’s Pride edition moves from Kenton to inner Southeast Portland this month as a convenient across-the-river landing pad from downtown’s Pride Festival. Redd on Salmon, 831 SE Salmon St., instagram.com/twirl.pdx. 3–10 pm Sunday, July 19. $18. 21+.
If there were ever a summer to come out as a sports gay, this is it. The Portland Fire takes on the Dallas Wings for a WNBA Pride Night celebration. Moda Center, 1 N Center Court St., fire.wnba.com. 7 pm Wednesday, July 22. $28–$162+.
The Portland Timbers’ Pride Night packs Providence Park not only with rainbows, but the chance at a sweet custom scarf by graphic designer El Tran to center Trans Pride at a time when it’s most needed. Providence Park, 1844 SW Morrison St., 503-553-5400, timbers.com. 7:30 pm Saturday, July 25. $51–$183+.
