The month of Pride is bursting with spectacular digital queer events celebrating LGBT+ creativity through fabulous story times and phenomenal festivals.
Looking ahead to June, Pride festivities are making the move into online spaces with a heap of thrilling initiatives, including art sessions and stunning concert shows. Alongside these events, artists and groups will be hosting wonderful creative activities to highlight and uplifting the community.
The spirit of togetherness that defines Pride has been brought into online community-driven events with unique twists and jaw dropping performances. So although people cannot celebrate this historic occasion in person due to the lockdown, these initiatives help towards keeping everyone connected.
Diving into June, here are some of the best digital queer events coming up:
Waterford Virtual Pride
Though Waterford’s Parade has been postponed till next year, there are some great virtual festivities to join in on and start Pride month in style. From May 29 to 31, people are invited to get involved in a range of events such as webinars, community storytelling, yoga, and dance. All events are free.
The chairperson of Pride of the Déise, Cam Lyttle, spoke about Pride’s change to an online space, “We feel honoured to be able to platform our community online, and share the vibrancy of Waterford and its LGBT+ community with a wider audience.”
For information on the jam packed programme, you can follow this link.
Comedy Central’s ‘Dragony Aunts’ Live!
The Dragony Aunts are here to bring that much needed uplifting content and dish out some wonderful advice. The legendary Cork drag queen Candy Warhol and Crystal Rasmussen will be beaming into your sitting rooms for a very special live edition of the hit Comedy Central show Dragony Aunts. A portion of the proceeds for this brilliant digital queer event will be going towards Dalston Superstore Hardship Fund, helping support freelance artists who have lost their main source of income due to COVID-19.
On the event page, it declares, “Are you struggling? Have you lost your way? We’re the Dragony Aunts gonna save the day!”
Expect heaps of celebrity guests and heartwarming moments. Tickets are priced at £5/€6 suggested ticket price but a donate what you can option is available for the unemployed/or if you can give more. For more information, check out the event page at this link.
GCN’s In and Out Digital Festival Week 8
What a roller coaster ride of fascinating talks and cooking extravaganzas these last few weeks of the In And Out Festival have been. And going into week eight, we are still going strong with even more exciting surprises. Bringing together a live Sissy That Pod show, a mindfulness workshop from The Dublin Devils football team’s very own Eddie, and Dr Mary McAuliffe in conversation with the activists and filmmakers Ger Moane and Sonya Mulligan, there are loads of live Facebook streams to join in on.
For more information on all these wonderful events, check out GCN’s social platforms and have a blast from the comfort of your home.
The Fresh Fruit Festival 2020
This digital queer event is definitely one to keep an eye on as it showcases up and coming LGBT+ creative talent. The festival encompasses different mediums of art and brings new voices to the fore.
As part of the LGBT Developmental Readings Series, four queer women will interview their mothers and reenact their thoughts in a piece titled Momologues. The synopsis reads, “What does it mean to be a parent of a queer child when you yourself are not queer? What are the ways moms foster confidence and fortitude in an identity that varies from their own?”
The festival will run for three Sundays in June and though they are free, reservations are required. You can find out more information by following the link.
Online Laughter Club
LGBTQ Girls: Health and Fitness club are holding a wonderful online laughter yoga session every Tuesday in June. This sounds like a great way to help with stress and have a fun time. Though the event is free, for those who can, it is suggested to offer a £5 donation to No Means No Worldwide.
For more information, head on over to the event page.
Digital Dublin Pride Festival
Please see our latest update on our plans for Dublin LGBTQ+ Pride 2020.
Pride Parade 2020 cancellation and launch of our New Digital Dublin Pride Parade and Festival. https://t.co/xhBw1T9PIi #DublinPride #InThisTogether #StayHome #StaySafe #LGBT #Ireland pic.twitter.com/gNSStOjt75— Dublin LGBTQ+ Pride (@DublinPride) April 29, 2020
The first ever Digital Dublin Pride Festival will definitely be one of the most unmissable queer digital events happening in June. Bursting with unique ideas to bring the community together in celebration, this occasion is set to be legendary.
On the Dublin Pride website, the team announced, “Buildings will still light up for Pride, flags will be flying high across the city and our community will still be there to support each other. Pride isn’t cancelled, we’re just bringing it home.”
For more information on the programme, check out this link.
Heels at Home: Live
https://twitter.com/Holy_TEurope/status/1265338288023449601
On 7 June, phenomenal drag artists will be strutting their stuff with a new twist on the Heels of Hell tour. Hosted by the incredibly talented Adore Delano and Victoria Secret, this online event promises to be the gag of the century. The lineup is bursting with exceptional artists who are going to bring their all for this one of a kind event.
If you would be interested in checking out the Heels at Home: live show, you can snatch up your tickets here.
BBC’s Glastonbury Celebration
The BBC has announced its broadcast plans for the weekend when this year's Glastonbury Festival would have been, with a host of classic sets being made available across TV, radio & online, including Adele, Beyoncé,… https://t.co/gkIOtlDDfs
— Emily Eavis (@emilyeavis) May 26, 2020
Relive the showstopping performances from Glastonbury’s past with this great broadcast on BBC Two, BBC Four, and BBC iPlayer. Including over 60 performances, the look back on the festival’s wonderful past lineups will get everyone in the mood for a dance. Showing sets from Beyoncé and David Bowie’s iconic headline slots from 2011 and 2000, there is something for everyone.
In a statement, Glastonbury’s Emily Eavis shared, “There are so many memorable sets being played across the BBC over what would have been our 50th anniversary weekend.”
Drag Storytime
On Sat, 13 June, from 13:00 – 16:00, join the always stunning Avoca Reaction, Marian Mary, Ben Panthera, and Coco Chanel No 5 in this magical Drag Storytime online event. They will be reading the fantastic books Dracula Spectacular, And Tango Makes Three, Neon Leon, Together We Can, and The Girl With Two Dads.
This is a free event, however you can register for a spot here.
Online Speed Dating
Looking for love in lockdown? Well this might be a great opportunity to find the one and make connections in a fun way. Date in a Dash, in partnership with London Pride, are holding virtual dating events throughout June.
From June 5 to 26, you can be whisked away to a date room for a four-minute long date and find that spark during these strange times. For more information, check out the event page over at London Pride.
Bi-Fi Festival
On June 20, the Bi-Fi Festival will be making its way online with a virtual extravaganza. Live streamed on Twitch, it will feature discussions around the topics of mental health in lockdown and how to stay creative. With a line up packed with drag artists, comedians, activists and spoken word artists, this looks to be a great celebration.
Bi Pride UK wrote, “We are absolutely thrilled to announce that on 20th June we will be hosting a virtual bi pride event: Bi-Fi Festival! Stream from home to enjoy discussion panels and great entertainment.”
© 2020 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
Support GCN
GCN has been a vital, free-of-charge information service for Ireland’s LGBTQ+ community since 1988.
During this global COVID pandemic, we like many other organisations have been impacted greatly in the way we can do business and produce. This means a temporary pause to our print publication and live events and so now more than ever we need your help to continue providing this community resource digitally.
GCN is a registered charity with a not-for-profit business model and we need your support. If you value having an independent LGBTQ+ media in Ireland, you can help from as little as €1.99 per month. Support Ireland’s free, independent LGBTQ+ media.
comments. Please sign in to comment.