Pride Season is upon us and Vancouver is ready to take on the summer festivities with their events. There is something for everyone this year with tons of parties, cruises and t-dances to go around. What’s also great is that there are a few extra faces in the city this week with the 2011 North American Outgames coinciding with Vancouver Pride. Fun for all! There are so many events it’s hard to tell you about all of them, but what I will do is highlight Pride Weekend for you to give you some insight on where you should be, when.

Get your Vancouver Pride experience started off right with the Caya Davie Street Dance Party, Powered by Telus. This street party takes over Davie Street village from Burrard all the way down to Bute. That’s two full blocks of party times. There is live music, DJs, street vendors and more. You can grab your tickets at Little Sisters, any Caya location and the Vancouver Pride office. Party goes from 7pm until midnight.

Other events on Friday night include Man Up: Pride Edition, a drag king showcase at Cobalt. You can hit up the Tom of Finland Leather Party at Numbers or get cozy with the bears at Bearracuda. For the women out there, check out Sweet Fridays Pride Kick Off Party at Canvas Lounge in Gastown.

Saturday is busy day so make sure you get a good breakfast and a cup of coffee in. You can start off with the Pride Run & Walk benefiting the Dr. Peter Aids Centre. To cool off from the summer heat, check out TFD’s Rapture: Heatwave hosted by Manila Luzon and Cassandra with DJs Nick Bertossi and Landon James, all taking place at the Westin Grand Hotel Pool Deck. Then, get ready to celebrate closing of the Outgames at the Plaza of Nations with the help of Dragonette and 90′s pop icons Ace of Base. Arrive early for some pre-show entertainment courtesy of The Diversity Project. The evening finishes off with a few options. You can check out Rapture: Dominate, a leathre and military themed party at the Commodore Ballroom on Granville Street and B You at Celebrities Nightclub. If you’re looking for a more laid back kind of evening, you can hit up Gay Monologues at St. Paul’s Anglican Church or head to Junction for The Absolutely Dragulous Show: Pride Edition.

Sunday is the day to let all your colors fly with the Pride Parade. Heading down Robson, taking a turn on Denman and heading to Sunset Beach park, the parade promises to be quite the spectacle with 150 parade entries and over 640,000 spectators. Being one of western-Canada’s biggest pride events, this parade is a must-see. After the parade, head to the Sunset Beach Festival for tons of free live entertainment starting at 11 and going strong until 6pm. If you’re ready to get your anthem on then check out The Anthem Party featuring DJ Abel, DJ Eddie Martinez, Wynter Gordon, Mantra and myself. The party starts at 3 and goes until 11. Wrap up the night with Rapture: Victory featuring performances by Shokra, Peter Breeze and special guest, Drag Race 3 winner Raja. Music provided by Micky Friedmann and the Freemasons. To live outside the big parties, you can check out The Joan-E Show: Vol. 1 Pride Edition. Joan-E brings her annual pride shenanigans to a new venue, The Junction Pub.

For more event details, maps and more, check out the official Vancouver Pride website.

Blog Widget by LinkWithin