July 15, 2020
How to Celebrate Pride Month in Ann Arbor, Michigan
June is here and you know what that means—it’s Pride Month! This month, which was created to honor the historic Stonewall Riots of 1969, is a time dedicated to celebrating and supporting the LGBTQ+ community. Whether you identify as LGBTQ+ or are an ally, everyone can join in the celebration of love.
In honor of Pride Month and all it stands for, we’ve come up with a few great ways you and yours can celebrate the occasion in Ann Arbor—from partying at a small community event to supporting local LGBTQIA+ organizations.
Celebrate Pride in downtown Ypsilanti
Celebrating its fifth year in 2021, Ypsi Pride is usually a block party of epic proportions on Ypsilanti’s South Washington Street. This year, due to COVID-19, instead of one large event, they’ll be throwing some smaller parties on different nights. On June 11th, it’s “Youth and Family Night.” June 18th will be “Vendor Highlight Night” and June 25th will be “Community Care Night”—all of which will be live-streamed online as well. Follow Ypsi Pride on Facebook for all the information!
Get ready for Ann Arbor Pride
While Ypsi Pride is this month, we have to wait a few more months until Ann Arbor Pride comes along! As always, this anticipated event will be held in August, hosted by the Jim Toy Community Center. While we still have a while to go, you can follow the event on Facebook to help you get excited and register for this virtual event that will kick off on August 7th at 10 a.m.
While a big part of Pride Month is dedicated to celebration, another huge part of pride is community outreach and education. People all over the world are encouraged to educate themselves on LGBTQIA+ issues, donate to local and national organizations helping support the queer community, and registering to vote. If you’re looking for some places to donate this month, you can help support the Jim Toy Community Center, a local charitable organization serving the LGBTQ community of Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and the rest of Washtenaw County. Michigan is also home to Transgender Michigan, Equality Michigan, LGBT Detroit, the Ruth Ellis Center and many more—all working to support displaced LGBTQ youth, providing LGBTQ education and/or promoting pro-LGBTQ laws and policies. Nationally, you can also donate to the Center for Black Equity which promotes Black LGBTQ+ equality as well as The Trevor Project, which focuses on crisis interventions for LGBTQ+ youth under the age of 25.
Attend a Boylesque event
Boylesque is a local drag troupe based out of Ypsilanti, offering fabulous shows that provide entertainment while also raising money for local non-profit organizations. Around town, you can find them hosting drag bingo nights, kid-friendly drag shows and storytimes, weddings, bar mitzvahs, divorce parties, birthday parties, bachelorette parties and much more! During Pride Month, we encourage you to register for one of their events, either virtual or in person. You can find their full June schedule here.
Go to Necto‘s weekly Pride Friday
Established in 2001, Necto is Ann Arbor’s premier destination for nightlife entertainment. They offer multiple special events every week, including a Goth-Industrial night called Factory Monday, a concert- and event-driven Mix Thursday, and the largest and longest established gay night in Michigan, Pride Friday. This party, which happens every single Friday night, has been running since 1984 featuring high-energy dance music, retro pop, UK dance and Top 40 music videos. The evening is also well known for its special events and guest artists, which have included the likes of Adore Delano, Bob the Drag Queen, Taryn Manning and more in the past. Click here to see what they have in store for Pride Month 2021.
Learn about Ann Arbor’s LGBTQ+ history
Ann Arbor has a prominent place in the queer community’s fight for civil rights in Michigan. While it had started with many other queer activists, it was Jim Toy who began the LGBT-movement we know today. In 1970, he became the first Michigan man to publicly come out as gay. Toy’s activism led to Ann Arbor’s city council being the first in the U.S. to issue a gay pride proclamation and to the University of Michigan establishing the nation’s first on-campus Human Sexuality Office. Since the 1970s, Ann Arbor has become a famously LGBTQ-friendly city, home to several queer-owned businesses, organizations, events and more. This month, we encourage you to learn more about Ann Arbor’s incredible LGBTQ+ history and how it led to A2 being one of the most LGBTQ-friendly cities in America. This article from MLive is a great place to start as is this post from Second Wave Media.
Diversify your home library
In 2018, Ann Arbor’s only specifically LGBTQ+ bookstore shuttered its doors. But while you can no longer explore the comforting shelves of The Common Bookstore, Ann Arbor is home to several other amazing bookstores, where you can purchase LGBTQ+ literature to help diversify your home library. Not only will it help educate you and your family on specific LGBT issues, but it will also help support some of Ann Arbor’s most queer-friendly local businesses!
Attend a country-wide virtual event
Even as we are emerging on the other side of COVID-19, large-scale events are still being postponed. If you’re looking for more than just a handful of small community events, we recommend heading online for some national virtual events! Cities across the country are hosting virtual events like 2021 Virtual Seattle Pride, NYC Pride 2021, Key West Pride and more. You’ll also be able to find online Pride baking and craft classes, trivia nights and more. Click here to explore some on Eventbrite!
Just like New York, San Fransisco and Los Angeles, Detroit has a long and storied LGBTQ history. So, if you really want to celebrate Pride this month in Southeast Michigan, make the 40-minute drive over to the city. Not only will you find iconic Pride events like Motor City Pride and Ferndale Pride, but you can also visit some historic gay bars, support tons of LGBT-owned businesses, explore famous LGBT-friendly neighborhoods like Ferndale and Pleasant Ridge, and so much more. For an entire LGBTQ Neighborhood Guide, check out VisitDetroit.com.
Love is love.
How are you planning to celebrate Pride in Ann Arbor this month? Chat with us in the comments!
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