BUSINESS

Barilla makes amends for past anti-LGBT comments.

The pasta company Barilla is opening a restaurant on the campus of the University of Southern California – and there hasn’t been a backlash from the LGBT community. Why not? The school finished work on its $700 million “USC Village,” a commercial area open to the public during the day. Many big retail chains are moving into the space, including Trader Joe’s, Target, and now Barilla.

DESTINATIONS

Catch these Pride events before the summer ends.

As the summer comes to an end, so does a time of nearly non-stop LGBT Pride events and parties around the world. Seriously, there’s been a few each weekend ever since June’s Pride Month. While revelers clean off the glitter after recent celebrations in Montreal, Manchester, and New Orleans, others ready for more festivities sine the party is never quite over when it comes to celebrating the community, the accomplishments made, and to simply have a good time.

A & E

Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus takes on gay addictions.

Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus kicks off its 2017-18 season with Hitting Rock Bottom: KnoW Hope, a cabaret show chronicling the trials and tribulations of addiction. 26 members of the chorus will each take to the stage to sing about the ups and downs of this issue.

LIFESTYLES

Provo Pride shocks many for just being visible.

It’s hard to say which group of football fans was more surprised to see a gay pride festival in Provo — the visitors from Wisconsin or the BYU faithful. But a lot of people driving by the Provo Pride Festival had, shall we say, quizzical looks on their faces. The thousands of people who passed through downtown Provo on their way to LaVell Edwards Stadium for the Cougars-Badgers game Saturday afternoon couldn’t miss Provo Pride 2017.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

In a change of politics, Serbian police now protect the LGBT community.

Serbian gay right activists marched with their first openly lesbian prime minister through the streets of Belgrade on Sunday, protected by police in riot gear as a helicopter flew low overhead. Senior government officials joined hundreds of revelers on the Belgrade Pride parade – an event campaigners said was a test of the conservative Balkan state’s rights record as it seeks to join the European Union.

BUSINESS

LGBT is good business for Illinois.

The streets of downtown Champaign were closed off for the 8th annual C-U Pride and Parade, but it’s more than just costumes and colors. The Illinois director of tourism says LGBTQ events are a major part of tourism in the state. The streets of Champaign were flooded with people, and the colors of the rainbow.