The Summer Meet-up Of Your Queer Dreams: Celebrate Pride with Autostraddle!

Are you really into glitter? Do you find yourself throwing batons in your sleep? Do you enjoy a combination of alcohol, sunlight, mardi gras beads, and potentially crowds so large you might suffocate? Have you ever dreamt of going to your city’s local LGBT pride events with a full posse of amazing-looking, kindhearted queers ready at any point to have more fun than you’ve ever had before?

If you answered “yes” or even sheepishly muttered “maybe” to yourself in the last few minutes you spent sorting out your emotions during that series of sentences, I’ve got good news for you! This June, Autostraddle is on a mission to make your pride month the Best Pride Ever, complete with the posse of queers and — let’s be honest — probably doubly so on the glitter. And we’re doing it by offering you wild and beautiful souls the chance to meet and greet in real life all month long. That’s right. June hath now been declared Autostraddle Pride Month, and y’all will be celebrating together until the very last parade has left a trail of frisbees and flyers in your neighborhood.

2014-pride-meet-ups

However, in order to satiate this amazing dream of yours, you need to be the meetup you wish to see in the world. In other words, we need you — yes, you crazy and quixotic reader /commenter / vague passerby  — to volunteer to make it happen! And soon! If you’d like to host an Autostraddle Pride Meetup, we need to know by Sunday, June 8. The good news is, it’s as easy as 1-2-3! (I make no promises about ABC.)

Here’s your game plan, brave meet-up minx: First, you choose the time and place for your meetup, which can be during, before, after, or completely unrelated to the Official Pride Happenings in your current geographic region. Then, you go ahead and decide on or create an RSVP mechanism — be it an email, an Eventbrite, a Facebook event, or a day-of flagging system based on everyone wearing a You Do You shirt in public — and fully commit to it. Lastly, email the following information to carmen at autostraddle dot com and chelsey at autostraddle dot com, who will add it to our soon-to-come megapost chock full of Autostraddle Meet-Up goodness.

Host Name
City
Date
Activity
Location
Time
Special Instructions
Facebook Event URL [be sure to make your event public!]

Hosting a meet-up is super fun and can be as easy or complex as you’d like — you could host a clothing swap, rent a hall and throw a dance party, or just invite people over to watch Spice World and eat rainbow ice cream. Follow your heart. Trust me: if you plan it, they will come.

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Carmen

Carmen spent six years at Autostraddle, ultimately serving as Straddleverse Director, Feminism Editor and Social Media Co-Director. She is now the Consulting Digital Editor at Ms. and writes regularly for DAME, the Women’s Media Center, the National Women’s History Museum and other prominent feminist platforms; her work has also been published in print and online by outlets like BuzzFeed, Bitch, Bust, CityLab, ElixHER, Feministing, Feminist Formations, GirlBoss, GrokNation, MEL, Mic and SIGNS, and she is a co-founder of Argot Magazine. You can find Carmen on Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr or in the drive-thru line at the nearest In-N-Out.

Carmen has written 919 articles for us.

164 Comments

  2. I don’t think I would want to take on the task of hosting, but I know quite a few people who would love to have a meet up in Minneapolis!

  3. If there are enough boston queers here that wish to meet up the friday before boston pride at diesel that would be awesome. I have 6 queers that will be staying in my condo so I already have a posse to start with.

    • There are buckets of Boston queers! The dyke march is Friday, you might want to organize around that. Post in the Boston AS fb group. Not talented enough to provide a link from my phone.

    • I’ll be at Dyke March with a small group of friends, so maybe we’ll run into each other!

    • Dang I forgot about dyke March. The boston autostraddle group sadly will not open on my mobile :(. I am down to set up a meeting pre dyke march.

      • Ok so I set up a boston straddle meet up on Facebook. The event is public and called “Boston Autostraddler Meet Up”.

    • I love diesel and want more queer friends in Boston so this is perfect! And going to the dyke march afterward sounds great!

    • I was wanting to try to organize something around a Boston Breakers game, but I’m not sure how well that would go down (heh) since obviously not all Boston queers are also sports queers.

    • I’d definitely be interested! Would also be interested in the Boston Breakers idea downthread if it’s not too pricey. I’m not a “sports queer” but I do like watching soccer, male or female. : D

      (Hey, we could do a meet-up around the World Cup, too, maybe?)

      • The cheapest Breakers single game tickets are $15, although they will do group pricing for 20+ groups. (I’m not their ticket sales person I swear.) Could be as simple as a tailgate + game. Unfortunately they only have 2 home games in June, the 11th and 19th, and neither is a weekend game. Maybe the 19th? It’s a Thursday, at 7PM.

        Also World Cup watching is a swell idea. I’d meet up for that in a heartbeat.

    • I submitted a meet up for straddlers to meet up pre dyke march at diesel in Cambridge. Dyke march is at 6pm friday the 13th. So I was thinking 2:30-3ish meet up would work. The cafe is in davis square off the davis redline stop. My A-camping roomie Ashley berube will be there along with some other assorted queers.

  5. I would love to meetup if there is anyone in the Southern Oregon area. I’m in Ashland, so if there is anyone one else around it would be fantastic to do something.

  6. Well it’s a bit late for some of in SoCal, as Long Beach was the other week and L.A. is this week. At least there is hope for a San Diego, or even Inland Empire Straddler meet up for their pride events?

    • There isn’t too much of an IE Pride, as far as I know. Could there be an IE impromptu pride?

    • I’ll be around on sunday; if you see a stranger in a bright blue floral print jumpsuit yelling your name from the sidelines as GLAAD goes by, that’s me probably!

  10. Anyone want to do a thing in Mid/Southern Missouri?? Heck Northern Arkansas will do in a pinch. Columbia, Springfield . . . ?

    • My wife and I will be in Columbia on Friday the 6th around lunch time. We live between St. Louis and Cape Girardeau so a bit east. A mid Missouri meet up would be fun!

    • I’m in the Bay Area and I am totally down to help someone organize this! Maybe in a park in SF?

  14. Carmen! I’M SO GLAD THIS IS HAPPENING! (If you had a hand in this plan for more i.r.l. meetups, or whoever had a hand in this: thank you!) I’m still working on a piece full of feelings re: city meetups which I’ll send you asap :)

    NOW WHO’S READY TO PRIDE IT UP, CINCINNATI

    • yay yay yay!! claire, please take the lead on cinci! YOUR CITY NEEDS YOU.

      also, i love you forever

      • Oh don’t even worry, Cincy Straddlers just happen to be having an OITNB marathon and also a birthday roller derby party this weekend, camping next weekend, and visiting Colombus Pride the following… not to mention we are having an intense intellectual/ feelings-filled discussion via facebook group at the moment, so there’s that. We have so much community and pride and swag we kind of can’t handle ourselves. Anyway I’ll be sending you a facebook event for this in the next day or two.

        And I love you forever and ever right back <3

  15. Toronto???? I’m already looking into attending events for World Pride this month but I would love love love to actually hang out with other Straddlers

    • I’ll be in Toronto for World Pride! Just the second weekend. Would love to meet up with folks but have no suggestions of where/how, as I’ve only spent like 24 hours in the city before.

    • I’m pretty sure I’m coming to toronto for world pride. I’d totally join a meetup if there is one!

    • I live a bit north of Toronto and I would love to make some AS friends from around here/ check out World Pride events with people!! :D

    • I’d love to have a meetup here! Too gayby and suburban to know where to host something like that, hahah. I think I’ll focus on surviving my first Pride (!), so I’m not up for planning it myself, but mad props to anyone who thinks they can put it together.

    • Hopefully I’ll be in Toronto for World Pride, I’d love to do a meetup!!!!! I definitely can’t host though, I have no idea where anything in Toronto is at all :/

  16. LA. Ill be in WeHo sunday running a 5k whilst battling my colds. Yay. Im not crazy about hosting but if an LA one happens im going to really try to make it

  17. Could we maybe start planning these meetups a week or two earlier next year? SLC’s is this actual weekend, ie over by the time the deadline rolls through, and apparently we aren’t the only ones. I think this happened with Pride stuff last year – by the time AS started talking about it, a bunch were imminent-to-finished.

    • we realize this and we’re sorry! my own pride is happening this weekend – i feel you. the good news is, the ENTIRE MONTH OF JUNE is pride month, and you don’t have to play by the rules. you should celebrate your queer selves together at some other point this month – everyone will be JUST as wonderful then!

  19. Sooooo… No one in the deep south Bible Belt, huh?!?!? That’s cool I’ll take it… Atlanta???

  22. Oh gosh, will anyone even be in Hamilton, Ontario to try to set something up or is everyone just going to be in Toronto all month??

      • I’m in Daytona Beach. I figured I’d be the only one in Daytona area, but maybe there would be people in Orlando, Jacksonville, or even Tampa. A couple hour drive isn’t so bad.

        • I imagine there must be people in Orlando, and it seems relatively central – perhaps we could make something happen there?

          I’m not experienced at organizing this things but because I”m a giant cheeseball my first thought was renting out a bowling alley for glo-bowl or something :P Mostly because it’s all-ages usually, fairly cheap, and allows both socializing and being socially awkward and quiet if that’s how you do !

    • I would totally agree to cosmic bowling! I hate bowling, but will attend if the reason is good enough.

      But I like Orlando, it is very central and I know a good few people there actually. Used to go to UCF and I have a good few queer identified friends there. I am totally down to get something started there for a meet-up. Of course, gay days at Disney is this weekend though. It would be perfect timing, but waaaay too last minute.

      • Sweet! I’m in Jacksonville all the time! My gf lives there. There’s a lot of fun things to do there!

    • When are Twin Falls and Boise doing things? I live in Pocatello and we’re doing our Pride stuff on the 28th.

      • Boise’s is on the 21st, and idk if anything is happening in twin. Idk if I could even get to Boise, but I’d try if there would be straddlers there. Pocatello would be even harder for me to get to.

    • I’d be up for it! I’m going to Trans Pride and maybe Dyke March if I don’t get too tired.

    • i just moved to the portland area so i’m not sure about hosting, but i’d love to do something with other folks! (spice world and ice cream honestly sounds like the best thing ever)

  27. BALMER? HON???? HON???????????????

    (i ask because i have no idea where anyone ever would want to hang out, ever. blehhh)

    • YES! I just moved here and I have never been to a pride before! Ever since I became an adult I’ve been out of the country so YAY LET’S GO! It’s next weekend, right? The DC one is this weekend but the Greek and Italian festivals are this weekend here, and I really want to check those out, so…

      Also the Honfest is at the same time and I’ve never been to that, either, and how am I supposed to divide up my time?!

      • Count me in! Bmore pride is really chill. People will be tailgating and drinking in the parking lots before the parade. My wife and I will be there… but she will abandon me around 2pm to go to work :/

        • Yay!

          Also, I’ve only been in Baltimore for a month so I think if we’re gonna meet up, one of you is going to need to pick the place. I’m vaguely aware Baltimore has streets and places in it, so… Or I can just pick somewhere random and you can tell me that’s a ridiculous place.

          My husband might come (he’s not LGBTQ but he’s never been to a pride, either), unless we meet up and you guys wanna keep it all ladies. He’ll survive.

    • The parade is on Charles St. We’re probably gonna get there early and hang out in one of the parking lots before the parade.

        • Definitely worth the trip up! Perhaps it would be better to have an AS meetup at the parade/festival (or sometime that week at least)? Or maybe one can happen in June anyway because why not?

          • Yes, why not?! I wish we had more than one Pride every year. Just one doesn’t quite seem enough. At very least we should def. do an AS meet up at the parade festivities in Sept.

        • Well, we could always have an unofficial event at the place I work at/live near Vergennes. It’s a hotel resort, but there’s a restaurant/bar that’s open to the public, and the property in general is basically open to anyone and it’s beautiful and sits on Lake Champlain. But it’s sorta out-of-the-way, so maybe a public meetup at one of the beaches or Battery Park or a bar (or all 3!) in Grrlington would be better since there’s a much greater chance of people being in that area (my work is more central to VT in general, though). I looked through all the people who commented on the city guide for Grrlington but most of them are inactive so idk how many people would come but I guess that’s not that important?

          • I think we might be the only people here in VT. So, I don’t know how many other AS people we’ll get. I hear Grrlington has a large LGBT community though, so that might be good. I’m about 40 min. drive south of where you work (I think we’re on the same page. I was lusting after a bartending job being advertised there this summer. No experience though.) I bet we could easily get people there by posting a meetup.

        • Yeah, I don’t know why I didn’t just say the name because it’s pretty much the only hotel resort in the area. So I’ll give some thought to how to organize a meetup here at Basin Harbor, if it’s possible. But I’d also totally be okay with making it up to Grrlington since I love the beaches there during the summer and it’s totally super queer and wonderful (and wouldn’t take any planning beyond setting a time for “everyone” to show up).

          Something else I hadn’t considered: There’s a bunch of upstate New York straddlers according to, well, the fact that there’s a group for it! And this is totally not THAT far from there (2.5 hours from Albany). Maybe some of them would want to see a beautiful little slice of Vermont. Also, Pride in Albany is on the 14th, so maybe I should post in there to see if anyone is organizing anything in that area. Because that is also a nice drive. And seems like a waaaaaay more realistic prospect for an AS meetup.

          • I like how you put everyone in quotation marks. :)
            I would love to go to Albany to meet up with the others but it might be a wee bit far for me. I might be able to swing it. I hope I can, that would be really cool!

        • Aaaaaand I just realized there was already a comment thread about the NY area literally like 3 comments up. GOOD JOB ME!

        • Well if I can go, then we can almost certainly carpool if meeting a random stranger to go meet random strangers isn’t the strangest/most meta thing ever.

  30. I’m in NYC for another week and a half staying in Brooklyn. I couldn’t host it but I’d love to participate if anyone else will host??

    • I’m in NYC for another 2 weeks and house sitting in the Heights! We should meet somewhere in the middle!

      • House sitting is the best!

        Brooklyn Bridge Park is a great meet-up locale in the Heights if you two want to meet up and in the daytime and check out Smorgasburg on Sundays (the 15th?)

        Another option is to hit up the Ample Hills ice cream stand in the park on a Saturday (like the 14th), head over to Park Slope for BK Pride in time for the evening parade, and hit The Bell House for the Pride Dance party. If any or all of these things sound fun, let me know! [email protected]. We’ll rally some other BK Straddlers. =)

    • Ooh! Another Wisconsinite! Unfortunately I live in Madison and also don’t know anyone to go to Milwaukee with :(

  33. Am I the only Straddler that is from the Montréal area? :)
    Here, Pride is in August but we can glitz it up in June, too. Every month can be gay month! :D

    • i’m not in Montreal right now but i’m coming back beginning of August if you’d like to go to Pride in August too :P

    • I’m in Ottawa, which isn’t *too* far away. Let me know if you ever make it over here!

      Our Pride is in August as well, about 2 weeks after yours. Never really understood that…

  36. Hey Halifax!

    Our Pride won’t be until July, but the queer film festival OUTeast starts up next Thursday with an Ellen Page Appreciation Day. There will be a free screening of Whip It at the Oval with a roller skating party featuring our city’s roller derby team, the Anchor City Rollers!

    I’ll send in the event info :)

  38. Plans for Hamburg, Germany are under discussion in the fb group “we straddle europe”. If there’s anyone else interested, come and help choose a date!

    Also, anyone in Warsaw, Poland? I’ll be visiting for a week at the end of june!

    • I’m living in Frankfurt right now, but am always down for an excuse to visit a new city! Just requested to join the group…

  39. DC folks! WITT is hosting a Pride happy hour at Local 16 TOMORROW from 8pm-10pm. More info https://www.facebook.com/events/1423561801246012?utm_source=Gay+Best+Weekend+Bets&utm_campaign=e26a64059c-GAY_BWB_6_5_20146_5_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_33d8fd7eb4-e26a64059c-289368989

    A bunch of us will be headed to Booty Rex at Black Cat afterwards – feel free to message me if you’re interested in joining. http://www.blackcatdc.com/shows/she-rex.html

    Be sure to check out the WITT booth at the Pride festival!

  40. Houston? This is going to be my first Pride out and I want to celebrate with some kickass ladies!

  41. Japan people! I’m trying to put together something here in Osaka. Only thing is I just moved here so I’m not sure what is the best location. Please feel free to offer any suggestion here :)

  44. L.A. Pride is too soon (as in, like, legitimately right now through Sunday) for me to be able to get my life together in time to host something on the actual weekend, but I’d be happy to host a belated Los Angeles meetup later on this month!

  46. Indianapolis anyone? Pride’s next weekend! I’ll host, any interest in doing something friday eve?

  47. Indianapolis anyone? Pride’s next weekend! I’ll host, how about doing something friday eve?

  48. I’m visiting Dublin right now, is anyone planning on doing anything this week or next weekend? Would love to meet up with other queers!

  49. So, I don’t know, does anyone here live in the Davenport/Rock Island area? (If not I think I shall trek to Chicago.)

    • Woo! Woo! Right here!

      I’m actually from Lexington, but I prefer Louisville for pride. I’ll start an event page for it and we can decide what type of meet up to have?

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