A colorful dragon at last year’s Pride Festival. Courtesy photo
FLAP NEWS
It’s June — LGBTQ+ Pride Month! Across the country, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer+ folks and their allies celebrate with events in cities large and small, and for some Americans, it is the only occasion where they can be out and proud in their community. Pride festivals and parades are a celebration of the progress the LGBTQ+ community has made, but also a time to recognize the distance we still have to go to achieve full equality.
Join your community to celebrate the second annual Los Alamos Pride Week and Festival from June 10–14!
Pride Week events
Community Potluck + Quinn Fontaine’s One-Man Show
Monday, June 10 • 5:30–9:00 p.m. • Unitarian Church
Celebrate with a community potluck sponsored by One Los Alamos, followed by a one-man show from comedian/artist/writer Quinn Fontaine, Santa Fe Pride King 2018. ($15 suggested donation for 7:00 p.m. show)
Los Alamos Historical Society: History Adventures
Tuesday, June 11 • 1st–3rd grade from 9:30–10:30 a.m., 4th–6th grade from 10:45–11:45 a.m. • Ashley Pond
The Historical Society brings in Ken Nebel for a free program for students about diversity and self identity through reading about Walt Whitman and his poetry and creating our own written word art.
Middle School Jazz Band + Hella Bella Performances
Tuesday, June 11 • Middle School Jazz Band 6:30 p.m., Hella Bella 7:30 p.m. • Ashley Pond
New Mexico’s favorite drag rock cover band has been riveting audiences since 2016 with performances that go from dance party to comedy to dramatic performance art and back again.
Family Story Time
Wednesday, June 12 • 10:10–10:40 a.m. • Mesa Public Library
Join us for Pride themed books, stories, and songs for ages 18 months to 4 years. It’s family story time, so we start with simple, easy stories for crawlers and transition into longer picture books for older kids.
LGBTQ+ Friendly Teen Book Give Away
Wednesday, June 12 • Morning • Los Alamos Teen Center
Teens! Join the Library at the Los Alamos Teen Center for a LGBTQ+ friendly book give away!
Interfaith Panel Discussion
Wednesday, June 12 • 6:00 p.m. • Trinity on the Hill Episcopal Church
This discussion with Los Alamos faith leaders seeks to confront barriers to faith and will challenge misconceptions and misuses of religious texts, with the goal of fully embracing the LGBTQ+ community.
Music and Literacy Skills for Toddlers
Thursday, June 13 • 10:30–11:00 a.m. • Mesa Public Library, 1st Floor
Join us for half an hour of Pride themed stories, songs, and play for toddlers who are developing their early literacy skills. Suggested for 2- and 3-year-olds.
Pride Festival
Friday, June 14 • 4:00–7:00 p.m. • Central Park Square Lawn
The theme of this family-friendly festival is “Be Your Own Hero.” The celebration, with emcee Quinn Fontaine, will be full of heroic activities and educational opportunities for all ages — including performance and creative outlets.
Pride Concert Friday, June 14 • 7:00–10:00 p.m. • Ashley Pond
Hill Stompers, our local community street band, and Shamarr Allen & The Underdawgs, the definition of New Orleans, and one of the best trumpeters out there, will continue the celebration with music and performance.
Pride Paint Night
Tuesday, June 25 • 4:00–6:00 p.m. • Pig + Fig Cafe
Relax and paint your pride with artist and instructor Susanne Harrison. ($30 fee + tax)
It’s official!
On Tuesday, May 28, the Los Alamos County Council made an official proclamation recognizing the second week of June as annual LBGTQ+ Pride Week. Several LGBTQ+ community members and allies were present to receive the proclamation; see a previous LA Reporter story for the full text.
Follow and listen for updates
Stay tuned to Friends of Los Alamos Pride’s Facebook page and the LA Pride website for more info and updates.
Listen to the KRSN 1490 AM morning show on Thursday, June 6, 8:40 a.m. for an interview with Quinn Fontaine; Monday, June 10, 8:30 a.m. for an interview with Hella Bella, and Tuesday, June 11, 7:30 a.m. for an interview with panelists from the interfaith discussion.
See the Pride Week flyer PDF — please print and post it, too!
Support LA Pride with a donation
Visit Friends of Los Alamos Pride’s GoFundMe page to donate — funds are still needed to pay performers, buy supplies for festival activities, and more to make this the best LA Pride yet.