By Barrett White
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! We’re a week into Pride Month, and while cities across the globe prepare for their festivals and parades, Pride Houston is looking back on the last 40 years, gearing up for their Ruby Anniversary.
In June 1977, thousands marched on Houston City Hall in a demonstration against Anita Bryant’s appearance at the Hyatt Regency down the street. The following year, Houston’s Pride celebration, born from this protest, officially began. As bourgeoning as the city itself, the annual event has grown to over 700,000 attendees as of 2017.
Forty years later, Pride Houston is aiming to make 2018 a major blowout to commemorate the occasion. This celebration of love, queer identity, and expression has undergone several major overhauls recently, including the 2015 move from the Montrose district to City Hall downtown—the site of the original protest—and a change in leadership two years later. Lorin Roberts, the current president and CEO of Pride Houston, took on the role in late September 2017. By January, the team had hit the ground running to expand official Pride-affiliated events inside and outside of the main festival and parade.
Pride Houston’s #DearPride campaign, a social media avenue for telling the stories of the LGBTQ community, launched earlier in the month and uses the hashtag to gather voices of triumph, tribulation, activism, and love. Submissions will appear as part of the social media campaign and on the #DearPride page on Pride Houston’s website.
Pride Houston will launch “10 Days of Pride” beginning June 14, with more official Pride events than ever before. No matter your taste, there’s a Pride event for you—whether you see yourself by the water at Clé’s Vegas-style pool or two-stepping at Neon Boots.
Kicking off the festivities will be the Grand Marshal Reception, held at Hamburger Mary’s on June 14. Pride Houston will honor all former Grand Marshals, as well as this year’s honorary Grand Marshals—Bob Briddick, Julie Mabry, and Josephine Tittsworth. That same evening, following the Grand Marshal Reception, popular singing competition series Pride Superstar will crown its winner at Rich’s. The winner will have to out-sing their competition for a shot at a cash prize, time in a recording studio, and a spotlight at the Pride celebration.
The events of the following days beautifully capture the diversity of our community. Beat Houston’s summer heat with the Salvation Pool Party on June 15 at Clé, featuring three DJ sets and performances by local drag queens Pearl and Shea Coulee. The following night, head west to Neon Boots for Pride in the Country, complete with a country and western dance competition and mechanical bull contest.
June 20 provides a day-and-night juxtaposition with Rock the Runway, followed by an after-party with Fear the Queer. Rock the Runway, a queer runway show, will feature some of the city’s top models in summer casual wear, lingerie, and more. Fear the Queer, known for their outlandishly raunchy and delicious performances that push the boundaries of drag and art, will host the afterparty.
Two of Pride Houston’s most popular events, Unleashed and Eden, are on June 21 and 22, respectively. Unleashed, the sexy leather party hosted by Eagle Houston, is back in true grungy New York style. Then, prepare for a night of mixing, mingling, and dancing at Pearl Bar for Eden, the annual celebration of queer women. A titillating burlesque performance and silent auction are planned, and though Eden is free, a $10 donation is suggested at the door.
Houston’s colossal Pride festival will take place on June 23, with vendors opening their booths at noon. The daytime festival will include local LGBT shops and businesses, as well as representatives from many of Houston’s Fortune 500 companies. The Family Fun Zone will return for the children attending Pride, and live entertainment is set to perform from the steps of City Hall. After sunset, Houston’s unique nighttime parade will kick off, dazzling the thousands lining the city streets and peering from parking garages overhead.
To close out 10 Days of Pride, L.O.C. Nation will host Brunch & Beatz on Sunday afternoon at the Montrose Center, a food-centered celebration of queer folk of color with DJ Rocabye and MC Krazzy Kris. Pride Weekend wouldn’t be complete without a proper send-off, so join us at Rich’s for the official Pride Weekend Closing Party, a two-level dance party.
Pride Houston doesn’t get a break at the close of Pride Weekend, though. Throughout the upcoming year, the organization will continue to promote diversity, inclusion, and acceptance. Pride Houston will continue the FACE Awards, an annual celebration of local visionaries and activists, and plans to expand its giving campaigns, including the preservation of the Pride Crosswalk as lower Westheimer undergoes a thorough renovation, as well as the return of the Pride scholarship program.
Forty years later, Pride Houston is booming and better than ever, promoting queer southern voices and placing the city’s celebration among the largest in the country. Join us this Pride Month by sharing your stories and showing the world what Pride means to you.
Do you have a Pride story to tell? Take to social media and use the hashtag #DearPride.
What: Pride Houston 2018
When: June 14-24, 2018
Details: pridehouston.org/celebration
