Portland Pride Guide | 2025
Like so many of our wonderful small plates restaurants, Portland “does things a little differently” when it comes to celebrating Pride month. The big hoorah that is the Waterfront Pride Festival and Parade moved to July a few years back because of scheduling conflicts, including with the Rose Festival and Juneteenth celebrations. In doing so, the hope was to stretch the party across not one but two months. But in reality, the city has settled into a rhythm of celebrating Pride mostly in June, with the rest of the world, and then rallying for a big party and parade a few weeks later—more like drag brunch the next day than a single marathon menu. In any case, we recommend checking out at least two to four events from the menu below, though ordering the entire thing for the table is best.
Friends of Dorothy: A Queer Cabaret
7:30PM WED, JUNE 18 | THE RESER, $25
The Reser’s Pride programming centers around Legends of Drag, an archival exhibition of the local drag scene, focussed especially on the wigs, gowns, and everything that glitters of Darcelle XV and Poison Waters. Classes and storytelling events dot the month, and on June 18, Waters hosts Friends of Dorothy, a bonanza of dance, song, and, of course, drag.
The History of Black Drag in Portland
7PM THU, JUNE 19 | McMENAMINS KENNEDY SCHOOL, $28 (12 and under free)
Isaiah Esquire and Lawanda Jackson host this intersectional Pride and Juneteenth celebration. It’s part of the Race Talks series; a panel discussion will look back on the role of drag and specifically of Black performers in the Portland entertainment scene since the 1960s and will follow with a drag review from the hosts and more than a half dozen other queens.
Portland Gay Men’s Chorus
7PM SAT, JUNE 21 | ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL, $26+
Queer icons of pop music—which is to say, most if not all icons of pop music—make up the catalog for Icons, the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus’s annual pride concert. “[W]atch us turn the Arlene Schnitzer into Portland’s hottest club,” reads the press release.
Portland Gay Prides Pageant
5PM SUN, JUNE 22 | McMENAMINS CRYSTAL BALLROOM, $16+
By the end of this night, Portland will have its 2025–’26 Pride family, a group that will reign over July’s parade and festival and the year to come. Put on by Pride Northwest, the three-part pageant—theme look, formal wear, and talent—is inspired this year by the game Candy Land and, by way of the Skittles tagline “Taste the Rainbow,” the emblem of queer celebration that is the rainbow flag.
Queer Wine Fest
SUN, JUNE 29 | REMY WINES, $128 (sliding scale available)
Former McMinnville mayor Remy Drabkin’s namesake winery, Remy Wines, hosts this annual outdoor fest, “the gayest wine event in the country,” now in its fourth year. Nineteen queer-owned and/or -operated wineries from across the country including Bryn Mawr Vineyards, Elk Cove Vineyards, Fayetta Vineyard, Maloof, and of course Remy Wines pour tastes and raise money for events organizer Wine Country Pride.
Pride Beaverton
11AM–5PM SUN, JUNE 29 | BEAVERTON CITY PARK, FREE
In its eighth year, Beaverton’s Pride in the Park fest is championing a “Love is Louder” theme. The parade and vendor market kick off at 11am, and center stage performances start when the parade lands back at the park at noon.
Portland Pride Waterfront Festival and Parade
NOON–8PM SAT & 11:30AM–6PM SUN, JULY 19 & 20 | TOM McCALL WATERFRONT PARK, $10 suggested donation
While the marquee local Pride event might feel a bit sanitized compared with decades past (see: corporate sponsorship), it’s still a dang good time. The festival opens Saturday, with food vendors, a makers market, and a yet to be announced lineup of performers (Jinkx Monsoon headlined last year) organized this year around the theme “Dream Big.” Look for Dykes on Bikes to lead the parade Sunday, winding through downtown starting at 11am and ending at Gov. Tom McCall Waterfront Park for another day of partying.
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