LGBTQ+

Portland Pride Guide 2025

Our annual roundup of LGBTQ+ parades, pageants, concerts, drag shows, and festivals.

06/11/2025 By Portland Monthly Staff

Queer Bars

Portland’s Best LGBTQ+ Bars, Clubs, and Parties

Historic gay bars, iconic drag revues, and roving lesbian dance parties, these are the top spots to celebrate Pride in Portland.

06/09/2025 By Andrew Jankowski and Portland Monthly Staff

Month Ahead

What to Do in Oregon in June

Goonies Weekend takes Astoria, the rodeo ropes Sisters, and a Sasquatch fest stomps through Glide.

05/28/2025 By Rebecca Jacobson and Portland Monthly Staff

Love Letters

An Illustrated Ode to Dyke Hoops

The queer-friendly pickup games are still serious—but about building inclusive community.

05/05/2025 Illustrations by Shay Mirk By Shay Mirk and Brooke Jackson-Glidden

Get Out

What to Do in Oregon in March

Get schooled on cacao terroir, dissect an owl pellet, watch whales on their way to Alaska, and amble under a canopy of cherry blossoms.

02/26/2025 By Rebecca Jacobson

Food News

Portland’s Oldest East-Side LGBTQ+ Bar Will Close

After 23 years of service, Crush Bar is closing after its final New Year's Eve party.

12/02/2024 By Alex Frane

LGBTQ+

Correcting the Transgender History of Westward Expansion

An exhibit at the Oregon Historical Society places trans identity at the heart of the American mythos.

11/26/2024 By Matthew Trueherz

Getting Steamy

Portland’s Gay Bathhouse Scene Hasn’t Dried Up Yet

The city has lost almost all of its gay bathhouses, but the LGBTQ+ community still finds solace in the sauna.

10/28/2024 By Byron Beck Illustrations by Derek Abella

When’s Pride Again?

Your Local Drag Queen Is Booked and Busy

Portland can’t decide between June and July Pride celebrations. Silhouette is getting her money either way.

07/15/2024 By Thom Hilton

Q&A

Ex-Hasidic Queer Comedian Robby Hoffman Was ‘Totally Normal’ Growing Up

“But when you put me in regular society, suddenly it’s like, ‘Why would you say such a thing?’”

06/20/2024 By Matthew Trueherz

Pride

Pride Parades and Events 2023: Portland Upgrades to 2 Months of Celebrations

The big parade moves to July, but June is still packed with Pride events, from the Portland Gay Men's Chorus Disney Show to the Queer Wine Fest.

06/08/2023 By Margaret Seiler

Light a Fire 2022: Leveling the Field

Brown Girl Rise Makes a Safe Space for BIPOC Youth

The Portland nonprofit centers joy, fun, and radical sisterhood for girls and nonbinary kids.

12/30/2022 By Isabel Lemus Kristensen

Light a Fire 2022: Lifetime Achievement

Civil Rights Advocate Valerie Whittlesey Is Someone Who Says Yes

From her time as a civil rights volunteer in Arkansas to campaigning against anti-gay Measure 9 in Oregon, Whittlesey has worked for equality for decades.

12/30/2022 By Fiona McCann

Life and Death

Transgender and Nonbinary People Misgendered on Death Certificates

A new study identifies barriers to accurately reflecting a person’s gender identity after death—and proposes some common sense solutions.

10/06/2022 By Isabel Lemus Kristensen

Pop Culture Deep Dive

A List of Things Less Gay Than Beyoncé’s Renaissance

The superstar’s seventh album is a glittering tribute to queer dance music through the ages, making it a hell of a lot gayer than, say, a bachelorette party at Darcelle's (all love).

08/01/2022 By Conner Reed

Pride

Catching Up with Two of Portland’s Reigning Queer DJs

DJs Sappho and Silversound on Portland's queer nightlife and their most reliable pump-up tracks.

06/15/2022 By Shannon Daehnke

Pride

The Queen’s Head and Rebel Rebel Are Keeping Old Town Queer

The new bars are ready to restore Old Town to its former queer glory.

06/08/2022 By Thom Hilton Photography by Thom Hilton

Pride

What Does the Future Look Like for Darcelle’s?

Checking in on the future of Old Town's standby drag club

06/08/2022 By Conner Reed

Pride

All-Ages Pride Events for Families and the Under-21 Crowd

Gay Skate at Oaks Park, the big party at Waterfront Park, and more!

06/08/2022 By Conner Reed Illustrations by Dorothy Siemens

Food News

My People’s Market Returns this Weekend

Plus, an homage to strawberries, check out a queer wine festival next weekend, and Yonder will reopen as Hissyfit

06/03/2022 By Katherine Chew Hamilton