Okay okay. Here at Culturephile, we didn’t do a lot of prep for 2011 Pride (unless seeing Cirque du Soleil counts). Hence, for the lowdown on Pride festivities, we suggest you go directly to Portland Pride’s website and hear info and updates right from the horse’s mouth. (Or maybe the unicorn’s?)

But WAIT! Before you go-go, you might enjoy PM’s queer-friendly archive. Read an interview with Margaret Cho; watch a Chris Coleman confessional. Meet a young couple who animate together, and a married pair who routinely “dig their own graves” to make a statement. Lesbian vampire theater. Drag brunch. And the most defensible excuse yet (besides Pride), to don an Annie wig and flounce around town.

In closing, can we share a new favorite thing? Here’s “teen heartthrob” Neil Patrick Harris at last weekend’s Tony Awards, singing an everyone-friendly number that pretends to dispel, but actually highlights, the vital role gayness plays in the arts:

We’re guessing that Portland Pride, like this number, will make room for singing, dancing, sailors, nuns—and maybe even the odd triple tear-away suit surprise.

For more about Portland arts events, visit PoMo’s Arts & Entertainment Calendar, stream content with an RSS feed, or sign up for our weekly On The Town Newsletter!