Pri 2023: LGBTQ people flock to Florida for Disney's Gay Days celebratn

Contents:

• LGBTQ PEOPLE FLOCK TO FLORIDA FOR DISNEY'S GAY DAYS CELEBRATN
• GAY LONDON, LGBTQ+ CLUBS AND EVENTS
• THE 8 TOP GAY CIS FOR 2023
• GAY DAYS ARE BACK: A TIME-HONORED TRADN RETURNS TO AMEMENT PARKS AROUND THE COUNTRY
• THE TTH ABOUT WHAT REALLY GO ON AT GAY DAYS AT DISNEYLAND
• WHEN IS NATNAL GAY DAY?
• OUT AT WRIGLEY CELEBRAT THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF S TRENDSETTG ‘GAY DAY’ SUNDAY
• JAGUARS’ KEV MAXEN IS FIRST MALE ACH TO E OUT AS GAY US MEN’S PRO SPORTS
• JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT COACH KEV MAXEN MAK HISTORY AFTER COMG OUT AS GAY

LGBTQ PEOPLE FLOCK TO FLORIDA FOR DISNEY'S GAY DAYS CELEBRATN

In tth, gay roo is a natnwi phenomenon, but Arizona is as good a place as any to squeeze to your tightt pair of Levi jeans and give the Cowboy liftyle a try. The 34th Annual Arizona Gay Roo happens Phoenix Febary; the World Gay Roo Fals happen October Sttsdale; and then there’s queer untry wtern bars Phoenix cludg Charlie’s, the Cash Nightclub and Lounge, and Lat-flavored nightclub Karamba (which hosts ocsnal wboy nights). A hangout for hippi, homos and honeymooners (check out the abundance of hotel spa su), this pretty Victorian town boasts LGBTQIA-owned bars, eateri, shops and even a gay rort.

But surely the fullt exprsn of gay Goln State bliss happens every time the sun beats down hard on Dolor Park San Francis and folks reprentg every letter of the queer alphabet ngregate on the so-lled “F Shelf” for an afternoon of idyll. So raise a glass to this New England gem at 168 York Street Cafe, a gay bar and rtrant loted the basement of a charmg brick townhoe and right around the rner om Yale Universy.

A Lilliputian gay area boasts queer-iendly rtrants and a uple of lively gay bars, then there’s Poodle Beach (lol), a patch of sand marked by a rabow flag and packed Speedo to Speedo summer. Gay Days at Disney, which happens every June Orlando, has grown to be a global gay event attractg tens of thoands of people, but a vis to Disney World l anytime of year.

GAY LONDON, LGBTQ+ CLUBS AND EVENTS

While the epicenter of gay life Geia is Atlanta, whose Midtown is home to the state’s most ncentrated LGBTQIA populatn, the llege town of Athens is where you should spend your next Peach Tree State gaytn. An opulent mp-osium of events cludg drag shows, mil performanc and danc, the Ball benefs lol AIDS chari, and shows that the quirky cy, which birthed high-profile queer artists like the B-52s and Michael Stipe of REM (Indigo Girls also rerd their first album here), has as much substance as do style for gay travelers. Elsewhere on the islands, there are sttered gay and gay-welg bars and clubs, but the bt place to hang out—and let all hang out—is at clothg optnal Ltle Beach at Makena State Park Mi.

There are a uple of gay bars town cludg Balny and Lucky Dog Tavern, but we say head over to Flyg M Coffeehoe, a batn fe (beans are roasted onse at a send lotn nearby Nampa), bakery and gift shop sce 1992. Giddy gay boys take to the ty dance floor on weekends, an olr crowd plops down durg the week, a rnupia of young queers smash themselv together a swell of sweaty ecstasy every send Friday (at a party lled FKA) and Fire feeds the muny for ee every Sunday.

The crowd is diverse, energetic and iendly as heck, the lp clus all kds of crazy baret and queer entertament and the gay namg even rri over to the drk menu. Although LGBTQ nightlife Derby Cy has sce moved to Bardstown Road, while tchg 40 wks at Vu or makg new iends at Vapor, nsir the three s of gay nightlife that happened on this very block. There’s Sipps, a gay-iendly bar that ma major headl when out bartenr Kara Coley posted an teractn on social media between herself and the mother of a gay son; Big Mike’s Speakeasy which hosted Sunday drag shows last time we checked; and even a clothg optnal beach on nearby Wt Ship Island.

THE 8 TOP GAY CIS FOR 2023

The scenery—and wboys—of Montana might evoke somethg out of Brokeback Mounta, but the realy of gay life here (you n still be fired for beg gay most unti) is far ls romantic. The cy don’t have a “gayborhood, ” per se, but rather s robt gay muny is well-woven to s taptry, the most worthy part of which for travelers is ftive Flixx Cabaret. Wh weekend performanc featurg both drag queens and drag kgs an eclectic range of edic, dramatic and even burlque-themed shows, Flixx will shatter the stereotype you probably have of gay life Nebraska.

GAY DAYS ARE BACK: A TIME-HONORED TRADN RETURNS TO AMEMENT PARKS AROUND THE COUNTRY

Las Vegas is probably immune to the cricism that ’s not queer enough and the cy do boast a few notable highlights, cludg the “F Loop, ” a clter of LGBTQIA bars east of the Strip; Temptatn Sundays, a gay pool party at the Luxor; and a nighttime Pri that happens annually October. But we thk s gayt hangout—this year at least—is the Park Theater, a state-of-the-art entertament venue attached to the new Park MGM (formerly the Monte Carlo).

As pric skyrocket Eastern seaboard gay mecs like Fire Island, P-Town and Rehoboth, ’s no surprise that penny-pchg queers have sought out better vatn bargas. Gay ground zero is the Emprs Hotel, a btlg plex close to the beach and boardwalk and boastg 101 gutrooms, a rtrant, tiki bar, large pool and all the biki and Speedo-clad queers you n image.

The olst LGBTQIA bar New Mexi’s largt cy, the Soch as ’s lolly known, opened as a non-prof social club for the gay muny 1971 and nearly 50 years later is still the cy’s Cheers for queers.

THE TTH ABOUT WHAT REALLY GO ON AT GAY DAYS AT DISNEYLAND

Whether you take a “Gay Pneers Tour” that explas the role of the LGBTQIA muny rehabilatg the district, or vis the Stonewall Columb muny center, whose advocy and health servic the proceeds of the celebratn helps fund, your expectatns will be shattered.

Don’t miss kschy roadsi attractns like the neon-l Pops 66 Soda Ranch, Waylan’s Ku-Ku Burger and the Blue Whale of Catoosa; but also the opportuny to hang wh Oklahomos after hours.

The former is favored among gay men while Colls (a part of bulic Svie Island) offers a fuller rabow portra of the muny (and is beloved by straights as well). Upper Kg Dign District is the cy’s most queer-iendly hood and clus gay bar Dudley’s, which pairs glamoro drag shows wh a rough-around-the-edg billiards room.

WHEN IS NATNAL GAY DAY?

This famoly historic cy also boasts numero queer landmarks, cludg Villa Marghera, where Gert Ste and Alice Toklas once spent Valente’s Day; the Candltick Murr Hoe, se of a sensatnal gay murr; and the Avery Rearch Center, which tails the relatnship between terracial uple Joseph Towl and Col Turnbull.

The cy’s Club David is notably the only gay club the state, so even if you e outsi of Pri Month, ’s the bt place to go to meet gay South Dakotans, who n give you even greater sight. In addn to annual events like Utah Pri Ftival, Damn The Heels LGBTQ film ftival and Elevatn Utah Gay Ski Week nearby Park Cy, there’s plenty of bar life to keep queers entertaed. A longtime (mostly male) clothg-optnal swimmg hole and hangout, 21 acr of the river were recently purchased by Rock River Prervatn, a nonprof created by a group of gay men, ensurg that will rema a place of queer idyll for s to e.

OUT AT WRIGLEY CELEBRAT THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF S TRENDSETTG ‘GAY DAY’ SUNDAY

The woodsy muny of Lost River, a town of only 2, 500 people about two hours wt of DC, has been touted both the New York Tim and Washgton Post as a low-key weekend getaway for both gay men and lbian women eager to flee the District for a few days.

The ath of the gay bar is premature, but is te that a lot of classics have shuttered their doors (like San Francis legend the Gangway, which closed early 2018), which is why we like to vis the oldi while we still n.

“We all still breathe the same air and drk the same water, ” he at the Fair started 2011 as an “unofficial gay day” at the San Diego County Fair that was loosely anized on Facebook. The flag, a symbol of the lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer muni, was stolen om the OC Fair & Event Center three days after was raised for the first time at the fairgrounds — promptg the Fair Board to study how to rpond to hate flag has sce been replaced.

JAGUARS’ KEV MAXEN IS FIRST MALE ACH TO E OUT AS GAY US MEN’S PRO SPORTS

Schled entertament clus an appearance by the Goln State Squar, an Orange County gay and lbian square dancg club, and a “Glam Show” featurg drag queens Katala De Isla, Aubrey Summers, Xoti Eroti, Jazlyn Slayer, Alassandra Dive and Tequila Halston. — Tens of thoands of LGBTQ people are flockg to central Florida this weekend to go on theme park ris, mgle wh stumed performers, dance at all-night parti and lounge poolsi at hotels durg Gay Days, a s-long though Gov.

And other civil rights anizatns to issue warngs the Sunshe State may no longer be safe — Gay Days anizers are still enuragg visors om around the world to e to one of Florida’s largt gay and lbian say a large turnout will send a msage that LGBTQ people are not gog away Florida, which is ntually one of the most popular stat for tourists to vis.

If the hoped-for 150, 000 or more visors e to the half-week of pool parti, drag bgo and thrill ris at Orlando’s theme parks and hotels, then “that’s the pot, ” said Joseph Clark, CEO of Gay Days Inc. ”It’s not lost on the anizers that the highlight of the weekend will be a Saturday meetup of LGBTQ visors at the Magic Kgdom at Walt Disney World, where the first Gay Days started as a sgle-day celebratn 1991. Currently, Disney is embroiled a legal fight wh DeSantis over the ernor and Republin lawmakers’ takeover of Disney World’s erng district — after Disney officials publicly opposed legislatn that crics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT COACH KEV MAXEN MAK HISTORY AFTER COMG OUT AS GAY

“It’s ls a csa and more like, ‘I’m not gog to spend my money where bad thgs are gog on, ’” Hayn Days has survived past challeng, cludg the early years when Disney posted signs at the Magic Kgdom’s entrance warng visors there was a large gatherg of gays and lbians and offerg pass to other parks for guts who might be offend. Over the last three s, though, the theme parks and rorts have thrown down the wele mats as Gay Days has bee a profable bounce between the sprg break and out-of-school summer crowds.

Durg Gay Days the 1990s, hundreds of anti-abortn activists wh Operatn Rcue protted outsi Walt Disney World, and the Southern Baptist Conventn ced the gatherg llg for a boytt of all thgs Disney.

Some Christian groups tried to buy air time durg Gay Days the late 1990s to prsure people to renounce their sexual orientatn, but mastream TV statns Orlando rejected the ads. Created by Adam Steward 2009 and celebrated on July 16, Internatnal Drag Day to give drag artists a chance to showse their creativy and ntributns to gay culture. Started 2010 by Canadian teenager Brtany McMillan, and promoted by GLAAD, was created rponse to a seri of bullyg-related suicis of gay stunts like Tyler Clementi.

The Gay Days Orlando Expo, loted the Gay Days Host Hotel, offers an exceptnal opportuny for Gay Days atten to view and sample goods and servic specifilly targetg our muny durg their vatn. It is also perfect for lols to e and enjoy this Expo as part of Orlando's annual Gay Days celebratn & Gay Day the Magic are many other great events happeng at the Gay Days Host Hotel that you n attend before or after you vis the Expo. The term – a phemism that dat back to the 1950s – was once ed to dite gay social events on daily cise le programs, whout explicly llg out members of the muny on board.

As travel on the high seas ntu to bounce back om the COVID-19 panmic, gay and lbian travelers should nsir settg sail on a fun-filled cise vatn as their next planng a cise, vatners should first nsir what their ial sailg looks like. Cisers should also thk about whether they'd like to travel aboard a gay-iendly mastream le, such as Celebry Cis or Virg Voyag, or opt for an all-gay, full-ship charter wh a third-party vatn pany. Of VACAYA's all-gay charters, he says, "For one magil week, our muny gets to be the majory and live life out loud the blissful utopia VACAYA creat on a gay cise.

This le gets the stamp of approval om prev LGBTQ cisers, who praise the ships' genr-ntral bathrooms, onboard shows wh rint drag queens and diverse Voyag offers gay-specific sailgs through travel pani like Atlantis Events, but s more mastream erari still offer a welg, clive atmosphere that attracts LGBTQ cisers year-round.

For s all-gay cis, Atlantis charters megaships om popular l like Royal Caribbean Internatnal and Norwegian Cise Le, so cisers will have a fully immersive board, travelers n enjoy all the perks the megaships have to offer (thk: pools, hot tubs, sports urts and plenty of dg choic), pl special events like drag performanc, motivatnal speakers, LGBTQ movi on mand each b and high-energy circu parti across the ship. "As an LGBTQ ciser, you're lookg for a ship wh lots of entertament, cludg dance parti and events, " says Mars Martez, founr of Men Who Bnch, a Black gay liftyle blog. Celebry Cis(Courty of Celebry Cis)Celebry Cis sets the scene for an excellent vatn for gay travelers, om s extravagant annual Pri parti to s daily LGBTQ programmg throughout the year.