PRIDE

Pride in Lubbock, Texas

LubbockPRIDE is set to host its seventh annual Lubbock LGBT Pride Festival from noon to 10 p.m. Saturday at Maxey Park at 30th Street and Nashville Avenue. There will be 56 vendors selling goods, as well as handing out educational information and resources. There will also be food, live music, games, a kid’s art center, entertainment and a finale drag show to finish the night.

LIFESTYLES

Pride in Austin.

While most of the world celebrates LGBT pride in June, Austin celebrates it in August. The Austin Gay and Lesbian Pride Foundation (AGLPF) hosts Austin PRIDE for a week in August, culminating in a huge parade and celebration, which falls on Aug. 26 this year. Here’s a full rundown of official PRIDE and PRIDE-adjacent events this week.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Southern Decadence, the “Gay Mardi Gras” kicks off on Labor Day in New Orleans.

Southern Decadence, the gigantic annual LGBT gathering sometimes called “Gay Mardi Gras,” is expected to fill up the French Quarter as usual from Aug. 31 to Labor Day (Sept. 4). Jeffrey Palmquist, a former Southern Decadence grand marshal, said no one’s quite sure how many people attend the weekend of partying and parading, “but 250,000 wouldn’t be out of the ballpark.”

LIFESTYLES

180,000 rainbow balls transforms Montreal’s gayborhood.

For the past six summers, pink balls have been strung up like strands of pearls over a segment of Montreal’s Sainte Catherine Street East, home to the city’s Gay Village. The street is closed to cars from May to September and the space is used to host outdoor cafes and concerts. This year, as the Gay Village planned its 35th anniversary celebration, and the city geared up to host its first-ever Pride festival (which kicked off earlier this month), it made sense to turn the balls technicolor.

PRIDE

Jersey City Pride expected to be the biggest yet.

On Saturday, August 26th, 2017, Gayborhood Jersey City & Human Pride Productions will host the 17th Annual Jersey City LGBT Pride Festival at Newark Pedestrian Plaza in Downtown Jersey City. One of the largest festivals in Northern New Jersey, LGBT Pride serves to highlight the significance of diversity in the community through a variety of fun, celebratory, and informative events.

ENTERTAINMENT

It’s 20 years for the Lakeside Pride Band.

According to Lakeside Pride Music Ensembles co-founder Mary Wallace, “If music is your thing, you’ve really got to do it, or else you’re miserable.” Lakeside Pride celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2017. The organization boasts about 210 members and consists of several units: the Freedom Band, which marches in local parades; the symphonic band, which usually mounts two concert performances annually; a jazz band; and several smaller ensembles. The organization unveiled a new logo in conjunction with the milestone, according to Board Chair Bradley Fritz.

PRIDE

Worcester is painting the town “rainbow” for Pride.

When Worcester pride kicks off next month, downtown crosswalks are getting a makeover ahead of the parade and festival. This year, Worcester Pride is not only painting a rainbow flag on a downtown crosswalk, but also the transgender flag and a new rainbow flag with added colors. It’s the first time the group has painted a crosswalk during its pride celebration, something done in other cities, like Boston.