Capital City Pride in Iowa, plus six Illinois Pride fests from Galena to Carbondale, for second weekend of Pride Month
The second big weekend of Pride Season 2023 includes almost two dozen events, including big festivals in Des Moines, Ia., and at least seven Illinois communities.
Carbondale, Elk Grove, Galena, Geneva, Kewanee and Mount Carmel are all holding their big Pride events.
And you can find another dozen Pride-related things to do all across both states, ranging from film, to picnics, to concerts, crafts and more. Plus, take a look ahead at what’s coming next week and weekend.
Check out The Real Mainstream’s round-up of Weekend 2 for Pride Season 2023 in Illinois and Iowa.
Three benefits start tonight for Davenport couple displaced, injured by building collapse
DAVENPORT — If you’re looking to help out Lexus and Peach Berry, the couple that survived the Davenport Hotel collapse May 28, you have three benefits and two direct fundraisers to choose from.
The benefit shows start tonight at Mary’s on 2nd with a diverse show featuring drag, comedy, rap and live music. They continue next weekend at Newman’s Nightclub & Lounge with another drag show and a day-long EDM mini-festival.
You can also purchase T-shirts to benefit the couple directly, or donate to their GoFundMe account. Find all the links here.
Haven within a haven: Carbondale offers CARE to transgender people and other marginalized identities
CARBONDALE – Whether you’re LGBTQ, female-identifying, or a Person of Color, the Rainbow Cafe LGBTQ Center and a new group want you to know: you’re welcome here, especially if you don’t feel welcome where you are. The center is joining with the new Carbondale...
More News
Pride Season 2023 kicks off in Iowa, Illinois with seven festivals, 15 related events, two film series
It can be overwhelming, with almost 100 Pride season events happening this year throughout Illinois and Iowa alone.
We can help. This is the first of our weekly Pride season updates through June, summarizing the big Pride Fests coming up, the smaller Pride events also happening soon, and info on how to register for even more Pride stuff.
We’re starting with this weekend’s Pride Month kick-off, starting with Pride Fests in Dubuque, Ottumwa and Sioux City in Iowa; Elgin, Niles and Rockford in Illinois; and the Quad Cities in both states.
Mount Vernon strives for unity with first-ever official LGBTQ Pride event Saturday
MOUNT VERNON, IL — Alexia Stallons and her colleagues have been working to strengthen a sense of LGBTQ+ pride in Mount Vernon for two years. Saturday, they’ll invite the community to join them in a family-friendly picnic and celebration.
It’s the first official Pride gathering for this southern Illinois town of about 15,000. You’ll find about 50 vendors, games galore, music and more.
The event is coordinated by OUT Mt Vernon, which Stallons says is focused on creating more “outreach, understanding and togetherness.”
SUBSCRIBE
For delivery, e-Editions access, and exclusive offers!
Features
Iowa drag legend Ruby James Knight looks back on her path-paving 30-year career
WATERLOO — Ruby James Knight, an Iowa drag legend for 30 years, is “resting comfortably and in his final hours,” announced Kings and Queens Club owner John Hayes earlier today after rumors spread that the 72-year-old icon had passed.
Knight (Jim Raymond in real life) took time about two months ago, before his illness took another severe turn, to talk with The Real Mainstream about his career, and how he credits Ruby James Knight, her style and generosity, and her fellow queens, with transforming his life.
Enjoy as Ruby James Knight, whose name became nearly synonymous with Kings and Queens, takes a look back. You’ll also find a photo album featuring some of Knight’s favorite looks over the years.
Kamrah brings boundary-breaking belly-dancing to Carbondale’s Rainbow Variety Show
Kamrah is a trans-masculine belly-dancer from Chicago who defies stereotypes and will headline the Rainbow Variety Show in Carbondale tonight.
As someone who also studies microbiology and anatomy, and identifies as autistic and a “geek,” Kamrah also brings a new level to the term “intersectional.”
Read about Kamrah and other local performers who will take the Rainbow Variety Show stage tonight in Carbondale. The featured performers include author Rafael Frumkin, dancers Kimea Rhines and Darryl clark, vocalist and sound healer Pat York, and acoustic performers Shane Bruce, Jacqui, Elana Floyd-Kennett, Shane Bruce, and Curt Wilson.
The show raises money for the Rainbow Cafe LGBTQ Center and its work of LGBTQ support and social opportunities, HIV and AIDS testing, harm reduction, and more.
Opinion
Transgender pioneer Wichtendahl highlights hope while fighting Iowa’s anti-LGBTQ+ bills
Aime Wichtendahl, Iowa’s first-ever openly transgender elected official, has been at the forefront of all the protests and efforts to stop a flood of anti-LGBTQ+ bills.
The two-term Hiawatha City Council member was in Cedar Rapids when former Vice President Mike Pence swing through to spew anti-transgender rhetoric. She spoke before an Iowa House submittee, trying to convince its members to stop a bill that would ban gender-affirming care for minors.
And Wichtendahl, also the One Iowa Donna Red Wing Advocate of the Year 2021, gave a rousing speech before more than 1,000 Iowans at One Iowa’s Rally to Resist at the Iowa Capitol Sunday
“Our liberties we prize, our rights we shall maintain.” Those are the words on the Iowa state flag, that Wichtendahl hearkens in her column about the ongoing battle to stop Iowa Republicans from rolling back LGBTQ+ rights.
“The Way of Water” is stunning, important and helps redeem the original “Avatar”
Like many, Aime Wichtendahl was initially a skeptic about “The Way of Water,” James Cameron’s massive and much-anticipated sequel to the original “Avatar” film.
But after taking in the three-hour film, Wichtendahl is a fan of the new “Avatar 2” and gained a renewed appreciation of the original “Avatar” released in 2009.
“James Cameron is trying to help us learn. By tapping into the universal nostalgia we all feel – that once there was a time everything was perfect before someone screwed it up – he’s trying to tell us something. He’s trying to wake us up to how we’re impacting the world around us. ‘The Way of Water’ illustrates that despite our best efforts, humanity remains incapable of change.“
Read Wichtendahl’s review of this blockbuster film here.
“The Way of Water” is stunning, important and helps redeem the original “Avatar”
Like many, Aime Wichtendahl was initially a skeptic about “The Way of Water,” James Cameron’s massive and much-anticipated sequel to the original “Avatar” film.
But after taking in the three-hour film, Wichtendahl is a fan of the new “Avatar 2” and gained a renewed appreciation of the original “Avatar” released in 2009.
“James Cameron is trying to help us learn. By tapping into the universal nostalgia we all feel – that once there was a time everything was perfect before someone screwed it up – he’s trying to tell us something. He’s trying to wake us up to how we’re impacting the world around us. ‘The Way of Water’ illustrates that despite our best efforts, humanity remains incapable of change.“
Read Wichtendahl’s review of this blockbuster film here.