![what dates are gay pride orlando 2017 what dates are gay pride orlando 2017](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5ldYNH2pb88/maxresdefault.jpg)
history until the 2016 mass shooting at Orlando's gay nightclub Pulse. The memorial honors those lost in the UpStairs Lounge flash fire of 1973, believed to be the largest killing of LGBTQ people in U.S. PrideFest is a time of celebration, but every year Identity sets aside time for mourning.
![what dates are gay pride orlando 2017 what dates are gay pride orlando 2017](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/rs-246445-NBA-Gay-Pride-Parade-WNBA-LGBT-2016.jpg)
Contestants from all around Alaska will be there for a night of stepping out and showing off with the Imperial Court of All Alaska.
![what dates are gay pride orlando 2017 what dates are gay pride orlando 2017](https://i1.wp.com/www.occidentaldissent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/rainbow-confederate.png)
$20 in advance, $25 at the door.Įxtravagance is what it's all about at the annual Mr/Ms/Miss/Mister Gay Alaska Pageant. Hear stories of coming out, resistance and emotional ups and downs. Storytellers from the '70s, '80s, '90s and today will share the trials and triumphs of the LGBT community. This year's theme, FabulousForty, features four stories from different decades. (Loren Holmes / Alaska Dispatch News) Saturday, June 17īeyond the Closet is an annual Pride storytelling session. Katelyn Jones, left, and Waverli Rainey sport homemade tutus, even making one for their pug Loki, during the Alaska Pride parade in downtown Anchorage on Saturday, June 25, 2016. "It allows us to express ourselves in the most visible, public and organized way within our community," Wilson said. Pride, said Wilson, allows LGBT Alaskans to show the world that they are not only proud of where they've come from, but where they're headed in the future. "This year's show takes you through and tells you what each generation had to go through in their 20s coming out and what it meant to them," Wilson said. This year's edition, "Beyond the Closet III: FabulousForty" will host eight storytellers sharing their experiences as LGBT community members in the '70s, '80s, '90s and today.
#WHAT DATES ARE GAY PRIDE ORLANDO 2017 SERIES#
Wilson called the storytelling series a "huge addition" to Pride Week. Beyond the Closet, another PrideFest favorite, will return for its third year. Many events, such as the kickoff barbecue at The Raven and lube wrestling, have become PrideFest institutions. But here in Anchorage, events hosted by Alaska Pride will take place all over the city between June 17-June 24. Most Pride festivals in the Lower 48 only take place on the weekend, Wilson said. PrideFest has some signature events, including a parade, festival on the park, film series, storytelling session and drag queen bingo. Wilson started out as a volunteer coordinator for PrideFest in 2012, but eventually ended up getting more involved by managing PrideFest vendors before becoming the chair of the Pride festival in 2015. Inc., the state's biggest LGBTQ community nonprofit. Originally organized by the Imperial Court of All Alaska, the festival is now headed by Identity. For us to have grown as big and as large as we have, to have so much community, is beyond what we could've imagined." "This year really points to the fact that our community is no longer in the closet celebrating. "Businesses and corporations are now acknowledging their staff and individuals are LGBT," said Alaska Pride chair Shelby Wilson. Forty years later, it has grown into a weeklong celebration of the LGBTQ community. PrideFest started as a small parade through downtown Anchorage. Alexis Hardy, left, and Elizabeth Lang help hold up a 50-foot rainbow flag during the Alaska Pride parade in downtown Anchorage on Saturday, June 25, 2016.