Portland Mercury's 2024 Queer Issue

July 4-6

Portland Craft Beer Festival is a celebration of the greatest Beervana in America!

L ocal Artist, Craft Vendors & Food Trucks

Elizabeth Caruthers Park 3508 S Moody Ave.

Thursday July 4th

Family Day (All Ages Welcome) 12pm - 10pm

Friday July 5th 21 + Only 12pm - 10pm

Saturday July 6th 21 + Only 12pm - 10pm

$35 Online & $50 @ the Door

Editorial

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Wm. Steven Humphrey

NEWS EDITOR

Courtney Vaughn

NEWS REPORTER

Taylor Griggs

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

Suzette Smith

EverOut Calendar

MANAGING EDITOR

Janey Wong

FOOD & DRINK EDITOR

Julianne Bell

MUSIC CALENDAR EDITOR

Audrey Vann

ARTS CALENDAR EDITOR

Lindsay Costello

DATA MANAGER

Shannon Lubetich

Art & Production

ART DIRECTOR

Corianton Hale

ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR

Anthony Keo

PRODUCTION

David Caplan, Feedback Graphics

Advertising

REGIONAL SALES DIRECTOR

James Deeley

SALES OPERATIONS MANAGER

Evanne Hall

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Anna Nelson

Katie Peifer

Events & Media

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Tracey Cataldo

MARKETING & PROMOTIONS DIRECTOR

Caroline Dodge

PRODUCTION & MARKETING COORDINATOR

Taffy Marler

DIRECTOR OF VIDEO PRODUCTION

Shane Wahlund PODCASTS

Nancy Hartunian

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

Christian Parroco

EMAIL MARKETING SPECIALIST

Tonya Ray

Technology & Development

VP OF PRODUCT

Anthony Hecht

LEAD DEVELOPERS

Michael Crowl

Nick Nelson

IT MANAGER

Grant Hendrix

Bold Type Tickets

CLIENT SOLUTIONS MANAGER

Diana Schwartz

CUSTOMER SOLUTIONS MANAGER

Kevin Shurtluff

PROJECT MANAGER / CLIENT SOLUTIONS REPRESENTATIVE

Campy Draper

CUSTOMER SOLUTIONS REPRESENTATIVE

Katya Schexnaydre

Circulation

CIRCULATION MANAGER

Kevin Shurtluff

DISTRIBUTION

Matt Stanger distribution@portlandmercury.com

Business

COMPTROLLER

Katie Lake

President & Publisher

Robert Crocker

The Mercury’s 2024 Queer Guide

Every Pride is exciting. Every Pride has something new. Yes, there are constants: hotties in short shorts.

But even that rubric is evolving: hotties bursting from body norms, coveralls hemmed to high heaven.

Last year, Pride Northwest—the nonprofit that plans Portland’s Pride Parade and the accompanying waterfront festivities—moved the city’s summertime celebrations of queerness from June to July. The years before that saw even greater disruptions as queer communities measured pandemic safety, celebrated remotely, and / or resisted a renewed tide of haters set on slashing our rights.

In this guide’s local history of queer nightlife, Silverado’s bar manager Trevor Wion notes that “the younger generation… have so many places they can go.” Plenty of bars in Portland plan queer nights, drag brunches, and pride celebrations. Rainbow signs in windows are legion.

Perhaps related to that, this Pride has a bajillion parties—many more than we’ve seen in recent years. The further we get from mandated lockdowns, the more community

gatherings are coming back. Folks are finding each other and working together.

We also find ourselves in the second year of Portland’s new two-month Pride model, where we start celebrating in June and finally (FINALLY) promenade come July. That does leave more room for parties, giving us a feeling of an Endless Queer Summer—the theme of this year’s guide.

If you are holding this guide in your adorable, angelic hands, that’s also something new. This is the Mercury’s first Queer Guide in print since 2019. Every year, we were blown away by the support local businesses showed for our web collections. This year they made this paper a 60-pager.

Inside, you’ll find stories about queer bike ride organizers, Portland queer nightlife— past and present—a new family-friendly queer lounge opening this summer, a wine bar the gays adopted, and there are pages and pages of Pride parties to peruse.

Let the Endless Queer Summer begin!

Suzette Smith Portland Mercury

THE TRASH REPORT

BY ELINOR JONES FEATURING...

THE HOTTEST, TRASHIEST, GAY GOSSIP IN TOWN!

He llooooooooooo, everybody! We here at the Trash Report are thrilled to be bringing you this Very Special column for the Mercury ’s PRIDE issue. While we usually cover all kinds of gossip and intrigue, this edition is limited to LGBTQs IN THE NEWS! I hope you’re hungry… for trash.

Target: Canonically Gay!

Target stores throughout the country are declining to put out Pride merch this year due to a bunch of loud homophobes getting triggered by… rainbows? Inclusivity? Their own repressed sexualities, probably? I’m not really sure what Target thinks they’re getting away with by pulling the Pride-specific merchandise and leaving the whole rest of the store, which is like 90 percent gay already. A big box store can’t offer such a wide variety of muscle tees, reusable water bottles, clothes for pets, and candles without at least being questioning.

Speaking of capitalism and its iron grip on the Culture, the website Pride.com compiled a report on how much RuPaul’s Drag Race participants spent in their quest to become the next drag superstar, with some (Heidi N Closet, Kahanna Montrese) shelling out a whopping $40,000 on clothes, wigs, and more while preparing for the show. At the same time, Trixie Mattel —arguably the most famous queen to emerge from the franchise—only spent about $600 for her own season. You know what they say: Money can’t buy class, but it can buy great wigs, so you simply have to decide what kind of queen you want to be and budget accordingly. (This will look great on any decorative pillow, I guarantee it!) Do we celebrate drag becoming so mainstream that it’s become its own economy now, or lament that expecting aspiring stars to have tens of thousands of dollars at the ready is a requirement to gaining entry into the art form? And how

telling juicy drama for us! I hope they spill all the tea, or… blood of Christ, or whatever those freaks in the Vatican drink. Ignoring the deeply upsetting views on homosexuality (and women’s bodily autonomy, and a bunch of other stuff), isn’t it actually kind of funny that this level of homophobia comes from a guy whose entire vibe is gowns and ornate hats?

inclusive is it, really, if poor people can’t participate? I don’t know! Of course, I buy drug store mascara and still wear clothes I bought in college, and my boobs came free with my body; I have no idea what a queen puts in her cart to hit $40,000.

Pop Girlies: Gay!

Sultry-voiced pop star Billie Eilish just put out her third album while also leaning fully into her queer identity, telling Rolling Stone, “I realized I wanted my face in a vagina.” That’s a big step! I hope that promoting her album and talking about eating pussy doesn’t take too much time away from actually eating pussy. That said, I’ve got an issue with her first single, “Lunch,” in which she sings “I could eat that girl for lunch.” In American culture, lunch tends to be the lightest meal of the day! What gives, Billie? You could eat a girl like what—a salad? Like a freakin’ cup of soup and half a sandwich?

Safe to say, I am anxiously awaiting her next single, “Dinner Buffet, and I’m Wearing Soft Pants.” Now THAT will be a meal.

Trash Break

It wouldn’t be a Trash Report without at least a little bit of garbage, so let’s turn to our problematic fave, Pope Francis. Word got out that he recently used an Italian slur for gay men, which isn’t shocking for an organization such as the Catholic Church. However, it does have potential to be a harbinger of fun: He uttered the slur in what was meant to be a closed-door meeting with bishops, and the fact that at least one of them is getting loose-lipped with the press is fore-

In other absolutely reeking hot garbage, a trans girl from McDaniel High School was booed after winning a statewide track event in Eugene last month. What could honestly be going on in someone’s life to feel so personally victimized by a very fast teenager? Is this Looney Tunes? Was she all “meep meep” and then made you chase her off the side of the cliff, at which point you looked down and fell into a ravine? I literally cannot imagine another possible way where any other person is in any way negatively impacted by her victory. “But the other girls she ran against!” say the dummies. “They should have won!” Oh yeah? What if instead of the gold medal in a state high school championship they won something even more valuable, which is learning that running is way too hard and walking is easier and still gets ya there?

History: Gay, gay, gay!

Last month marked 20 years since Massachusetts became the first state to allow samesex couples to marry. The traditional gift for 20th wedding anniversaries is china, presumably because at this point in a marriage, if you’re gonna throw shit at each other, you’ve already done it… so now you can have nice plates? I don’t know. In honor of the milestone, the city of Boston is offering tours of gay history. Without having been on the tour myself, I can only guess what kind of information is revealed. I’ve always figured that the

founding fathers were absolute freaks—keep in mind, most of them were like 20 years old and drunk all the time—it would be cool to have information to back this up! If you’re in Boston, check it out, and tag us on Instagram so we can get a proper sense of how quaint and picturesque all the places where Henry David Thoreau had crushes on dudes were. I went to Boston once and I remember there being historical plaques fucking everywhere; I like the idea that some of them say (or should say!) “here’s where Henry David Thoreau made out with another guy, probably.”

Politics: One word: GAY.

Tiger King star, convicted felon, and presidential hopeful Joe Exotic recently sat down with Newsweek (in jail, where he’s serving 19 years for selling tigers, and for trying to get Carole Baskin killed) to share his views on hot button topics like guns, abortion, and underwear. On abortion, he said “I will go along with one abortion;” on guns, he said “I’m not going to let you have a machine gun.” Most importantly, on underwear, Exotic said “The Pride parades with people in G-strings and such is not OK with me while little kids are in the crowd.” But Joe’s gonna be in jail for a long time, so do whatever you want!

That takes us to the end of this Very Special Column. Please know that in researching this piece, I have been googling “gay news” for weeks, so my targeted ads have reached new levels of glittery rainbow horniness; I would like to thank the LGBTQ community for the joy you have brought me, specifically. But also, thank you for reading, for sharing, for living, for loving, and for doing what you do to make Portland wonderful. ■

JUSTIN SULLIVAN

RODIN ECKENROTH

SANTA ROSE COUNTY JAIL

HORACIO VILLALOBOS

HENRY THOREAU HULTON ARCHIVE

The Long Road to Justice

As the American legal landscape for LGBTQ+ residents

In 2023 Oregon House Bill 2002 was hailed as transformative, crucial legislation for protecting the rights of women and LGBTQ+ residents.

The reproductive health care bill protects doctors from prosecution, ensures a patient’s right to abortion at any age without requiring parental notification, and requires insurers to cover gender-affirming care, including surgeries, among other provisions.

But now, as trust in the Supreme Court is waning, and the US gears up for a pivotal election this November, some of the same organizations who pushed to get HB 2002 passed by the legislature say the work isn’t over.

Oregon is considered one of the most supportive states for queer and transgender people. The Human Rights Campaign ranks it among 21 states with “a broad range of protections to ensure equality for LGBTQ+ people, including comprehensive non-discrimination laws, safer school policies, and healthcare access for transgender people.”

With a lesbian governor, a plethora of Pride celebrations each summer, and mandated insurance coverage for gender-affirming health care, Oregon has become a safe haven for residents fleeing homophobic and transphobic laws in other states.

But activists say—in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned—the same movement that’s coming after abortion is also coming after transgender rights and health care.

Oregon’s Democrat senators note that during the 2023 legislative session, seven anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced. Moreover,

a wave of recent legislation in other states tar geting transgender youth and drag queens has local civil rights groups on high alert.

Kelly Simon is the legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Oregon. Simon says Oregon’s protections “aren’t robust in the way they need to be to fully protect people in the current legal landscape.”

Much of that could be fixed by codifying or clearly defining terms in existing laws, to make sure they protect everyone.

“In Oregon we have an equal rights amendment that prohibits the denial or abridgement of rights based on sex,” Simon says.

“But that definition should clarify that sex includes gender identity, pregnancy outcomes, and sexual orientation.”

Simon says the most impactful thing Oregon can do to insulate itself from regressive or draconian federal laws is enshrine LGBTQ+ rights in its state constitution. But even that needs work.

access to gender affirming care, that have come before the courts.

“Right now, the kind of questions before the courts are: Does denying health care or the right to participate in school programs for certain people violate certain state laws, or federal laws, or do they violate the constitution?”

Beyond the complex system of laws that varies from state to state, advocates say Oregon’s affirmation of queer rights needs to go beyond what’s on paper.

“Something we talk about is the difference between legal equality and lived equality,” says Blair Stenvick, communications manager for Basic Rights Oregon.

Beyond the complex system of laws that varies from state to state, advocates say Oregon’s affirmation of queer rights needs to go beyond what’s on paper.

“Oregon’s constitution still has, in its definition of marriage, that marriage is between a man and a woman,” she notes.

While gay marriage isn’t likely to be challenged or overturned at the federal level, the ACLU is monitoring other basic rights, like

“I think at the state level, relative to all other 50 states, we’re doing quite well, but every community is different. Even in the most affirming and welcoming communities, there are still pockets of backlash.”

Basic Rights Oregon works to secure critical legislative policies that protect and benefit LGBTQ+ Oregonians. Lately, much of the organization’s focus has been on trans, non-binary, and queer youth.

“We know that a lot of anti-LGBTQIA+ as well as racist policies work their way up from the local level, particularly with school

boards,” Stenvick says. “Last year, for the first time, we got a lot more actively involved in school board races—particularly in swing districts across the state. We realized that no matter how much work we do at the state level, if kids don’t have school board members who also support their right to exist and feel safe and affirmed at school, that state legislation can only do so much.”

Oregon drew national attention in 2021 when the board of education for Newberg School District voted to ban displays of Black Lives Matter and Pride flags. The board rescinded the vote shortly afterward, following backlash, but the same district again came under fire when a teacher was disciplined for showing up to school in blackface.

More recently, a slate of Republican lawmakers in Oregon called for a change in state policy regulating athletic competitions, to prevent transgender girls from competing in the female divisions of school sports matches.

But even as the legal landscape for LGBTQ+ Americans becomes more hostile across the United States, advocates say there’s still reason to celebrate.

Stenvick points to cultural changes that make it easier for trans and queer people to be visible and live authentically—a stark contrast from 15 years ago.

“I think the thing that gives me hope when looking at the national landscape is there wouldn’t be this backlash if we hadn’t already made big progress,” Stenvick says. “You can make life very hard for trans people, but we’re still going to exist and we’re still going to be trans.” ■

In 2007, Oregonians fought for marriage equality. Today, as the right gains ground, the battles continue.

CRAIG MITCHELLDYER

In Other Queer News

BY SUZETTE SMITH AND MELISSA LOCKER

SCOOP ON SCANDALS EAST

Much in keeping with the bar’s title, Scandals has found itself the subject of rumor this spring, after architect Iain MacKenzie tweeted out a liquor license application for a “Scandals East” on NE Alberta. It wasn’t until June that David Fones would confirm for the Mercury his plans to open a family-friendly LGBTQIA+ lounge with food, a full bar, and a large outdoor patio space in the big orange house that occupies the corner of Alberta and NE 9th.

Fones says he’s wanted to open a family-focused queer space for a while, and purchased the Scandals East building in 2018. It was once a convent for the church across the street, but has since been occupied by office spaces, a wellness clinic, and an açaí cafe that specializes in juices and superfoods, Carioca Bowls.

Everyone is staying on; Scandals East will operate out of the same ground floor space as the cafe and serve similar fare: vegan and plant-based entrees that come with optional protein add-ons.

Sharing space with Carioca Bowls means the decor won’t change much—it’ll still be a superfruit spot in the morning. “If anything, we’ll add a little bit of our flavor,” Fones said. “The cafe already has a sizable outdoor area. I love the space; it’s got a lot of plants.”

Right now, Scandals East is waiting on liquor license approval; Fones hopes to open this summer and says that once the OLCC gives the go ahead, the Scandals team can move in quickly.

The most important build-out is the vibe. Fones has worked to make the downtown Scandals a straight-friendly, over-21, gay bar with big windows that let in light. “When I was coming out, gay bars had black windows,” he explained. “They were dark inside and people were embarrassed—you’d look both ways going in.”

He hopes Scandals East can continue the downtown location’s “Gay Cheers” feeling, but in an all-ages space. SS

FUND THIS DARCELLE DOC

Here’s a fun Portland fact for you to trot out the next time you’re stumped for small talk: the late Walter Cole and Kathleen Hanna are related.

If you’re new ‘round these parts and need a bit of explanation: Hanna is an OG riot grrrl, the singer in both Bikini Kill and Julie Ruin, and the author of Rebel Girl. She is second cousins with Cole, who was perhaps better known as Darcelle XV, a Portland icon and the current Guinness Book World Record holder for Oldest Performing Drag Queen. Cole was donning eyelashes and sequins and reigning over Old Town from the stage at the eponymous club for decades until his death at the age of 92, in March 2023.

“I’m totally royalty,” Hanna, says with a laugh, about her famous relative. Hanna, who grew up in Portland long enough to attend Lincoln High School, is now planning to pay homage to Cole. “I’m making a documentary about him currently,” she explained

in a phone interview. “I am just trying to get the final funding for it.”

While that Venn diagram of Portland notoriety is exciting for those of us who live here, the name Darcelle XV doesn’t necessarily conjure up a vision of sequins and snark elsewhere. “It’s so funny, because people outside of Portland don’t understand,” says Hanna. “And part of the reason why I want to make this documentary is because it’s like he’s the mayor. He was like the mayor for 50 years.” The documentary is still very much in the development phase, but count us in for buying tickets. ML

EDWARD ASH-MILBY

DRAG CLOWN AT THE BIENNALE

International exhibition the Venice Biennale is one of the most prestigious places to present contemporary visual art in the world, and artist Jeffrey Gibson currently represents the US with the space in which to place me Gibson’s work fills the US pavilion with dazzling, fluorescent patterns, text that speaks to the history of forced displacement, perpetrated upon Indigenous communities by colonialist settlers, and a massive sculpture of red pedestals that vistors can climb on.

The inclusion of Portland’s premiere drag clown Carla Rossi , during the Biennale’s opening festivities, added yet another layer. Costumed as video game character Lara Croft, Carla moved around the pedestal with eerie, circular motions reminiscent of idle character animations. The performance worked within Gibson’s piece, and also cleverly continued themes found in art made by Carla Rossi’s creator Anthony Hudson, who we often see enmeshing pop culture touchstones with Indigenous artist clapback to great effect.

“I was thinking particularly of the recent frenzy, on the part of museums, to *finally* close down exhibits and return more of our ancestors and belongings, as part of the updated regulations for the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,” Hudson / Rossi later explained to the Mercury. Croft’s fictional identity, as a monied British archeologist, proved a prescient foil. “But also I just really love Tomb Raider,” Hudson / Rossi continued, “and I couldn’t stop myself from spinning the two together. Nor could I help myself from falling [off the sculpture] to my death, but in the end, that was perfectly Lara too.” SS ■

Q Marks the Spot

For two decades the Q Center has been a safe haven for the LGBTQ+ community—and they have even bigger dreams for the future.

BY ABE ASHER

Even though it’s currently only open by appointment at its longtime home on North Mississippi, the Q Center’s building, shuttered for two years during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, is full of life.

The LGBTQ+ community center, which is celebrating its 20th year of existence, hosts a wide array of support groups for queer community members and a walk-in, grocery shopping-style food pantry for people struggling with food scarcity. It has also begun hosting self-defense classes and running a fund to support transgender Black and Indigenous people.

But big changes are on the horizon. Chaz Vitale, the board chair of the organization, said the Q Center’s Board is currently reworking the structure of the organization—with an eye towards moving out of its rented home on Mississippi and acquiring a building of its own.

“The Q Center has been a meeting space with tenants who are renting out spaces within it that are also non-profits serving the community, and the feedback we’ve gotten as board members from the community at large has been about a dream of more programming, more events, more ways to gather—and the capacity for the building doesn’t really support that,” Vitale said.

The Q Center wants to create a collaboration between a core group of LGBTQ+ non-profits and give them a hand in shaping the organization’s future, centering communities of color and attempting to make its space more accessible to working class people and people with disabilities.

“We’ve reached out to a number of people and are in initial talks about who we might get to partner with, but there’s so much positive momentum,” Vitale said. “It feels very much like an idea that’s long overdue.”

The current plan is for the Q Center to remain in its current building through September of next year, and use the intervening time to solidify its core group of member organizations, fundraise, and secure a new location that may be bigger, have more parking options, and give the organization more financial security.

It’s an exciting prospect for the Q Center, which opened its doors at a time when there were very few LGBTQ+ spaces in Portland.

Angela Carter, a naturopathic doctor who co-founded the Equi Center as a clinic within the Q Center in 2016, said that while queer community members used to gather at businesses like the Three Friends Coffee House or the feminist community center In Other Words, nothing like the Q Center existed.

“I was super excited, mostly because I knew they were offering a lot of services to queer youth—and that was really crucial,” Carter said. “In Portland we didn’t have any centralized place for queer and trans commu-

nity to gather. Historically, it’s been the bars.”

In the years since the Q Center’s founding and move to North Portland, the local landscape for LGBTQ+ people has changed dramatically. Carter said that, in some ways, Portland now is a “post-queer” city, one in which queer visibility is no longer a major site of political struggle.

But even as the LGBTQ+ community has made strides in Portland and across Oregon, the political situation for queer people in states across the country has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. According to the Human Rights Campaign, 39 percent of transgender youth currently live in one of the 25 states that have passed bans on gender-affirming care.

That assault on trans youth and trans people more broadly has led to a wave of migration into states with legal protections and more welcoming environments, including Oregon—which, according to a recent study from UCLA, has a higher percentage of LGBTQ+ individuals than any other state in the nation.

The influx of new migrants, who Carter referred to as “refugees,” has only highlighted the importance of community gathering spaces like the Q Center.

“We’ve seen a huge influx of people who are coming—just showing up. They don’t have resources, they don’t have connections, they don’t know anyone, they don’t have a place to land,” Carter said. “We really need a concerted support network for the people who are coming to help them get housing, to help them find out how they can get health-

care, to just support them.”

Vitale noted that the visibility of a place like the Q Center may be particularly important in a city like Portland that does not have a clearly defined queer neighborhood—a positive thing in that much of the city is relatively safe, but a complicating factor for new arrivals who want to connect with resources and community members.

The accessibility of housing for new arrivals, especially people who have moved to the area without employment lined up, is a primary concern.

“We’ve seen a huge influx of people who are coming—just showing up. They don’t have resources, they don’t have connections, they don’t know anyone, they don’t have a place to land.”

providers who offer healthcare for trans people, and while the state covers much of that care under the Oregon Health Plan, the Portland area does not have nearly enough providers to meet the growing demand.

“The wait [for care] has gone from being six months to a year, to being a year-anda-half to two years long,” Vitale said.

– Angela Carter

“It’s so expensive to live here,” Carter said. “When I first moved here, I was paying $300 for a room in a house—and that’s just unimaginable at this point.”

It’s not just permanent housing that is challenging to find. Carter also noted that the city currently has a dearth of safe shelter options for trans residents, meaning even finding a stop-gap housing solution can be challenging.

The influx of new arrivals has also stretched the healthcare system. Even though the Portland area has a number of

The wait for people attempting to access healthcare illustrates a broader challenge: as accepting as Oregon is, as many legal protections as it has, it is not yet a place where many queer people can easily access the supports they need to live and thrive—even though, given what is happening in so many other states, it needs to be.

In that environment, places like the Q Center may become even more vital.

“Ideally, what is a community center? It’s a place that people can go and find resources, connect with community, meet people like them, get support in the areas they need support in, and… build something that actually works for us,” Vitale said. “What Q Center is trying to do right now is definitely a step in that direction.” ■

Big changes are on the horizon for one of Portland’s longest-operating queer community centers.

As Sidney Adjetey laid on an exam table at Harborview Medical Center with his T-shirt hiked up, research clinician Phoebe Bryson-Cahn examined injection sites on either side of his belly button. In April, University of Washington researchers at the UW Positive Research clinic injected Adjetey with about a teaspoon of a new and experimental long-acting HIV treatment as part of a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. They’re monitoring him to learn how long this medication lasts in his body and whether it could effectively suppress the HIV if the virus had been present.

The Future of HIV Treatment Is Injectable

Promising drugs could expand treatment–if we get out of our own way.

BY VIVIAN MCCALL

Adjetey doesn’t have HIV, nor do any of the 12 participants in Phase I of this proofof-concept clinical drug trial. At this early stage, researchers are evaluating dosing and safety because the drug has never been used on humans before. They’ll determine efficacy in Phase II, but that could be years away.

Injectables are a thrilling trend in the field of HIV, with drugs such as Lenacapavir and Cabenuva already available on the market. Unfortunately, the rollout has been slower than physicians hoped, and barriers like the expense of these drugs keep them out of reach for many.

This new shot combines three commonly used oral medications into one lipid-bonded nanoparticle the researchers call a “nanolozenge.” A shot of the nanolozenges could theoretically keep HIV in check for a month or longer, replacing 30 to 90 daily pills.

Dr. Rodney Ho, the principal UW researcher who developed the drug and co-founded UW’s Targeted, Long-acting and Combination

Antiretroviral Therapy Program, called it an “impossible marriage” of fat- and water-soluble drugs that took years to figure out.

with their shape, though, because they don’t just dissolve. Instead, they journey through the lymphatic system like a city bus, stopping at nodes to drop off a specific concentration of antiretroviral drugs.

This approach targets the virus far more efficiently than daily pills, which bathe our GI tract in medication and contribute to wear and tear. Scientists have successfully developed nanoparticle drugs to treat illnesses such as leukemia, but this experiment represents a new strategy for treating HIV.

What we can’t seem to figure out is the human element: poverty, homelessness, individual behavior…

Named for its oblong shape and diminutive size (roughly a million times smaller than a chicken egg), the lozenges are injected beneath the skin into a fatty area like the belly. Then they travel to the lymph nodes via the bloodstream. The lozenge analogy ends

The study’s leader, Dr. Rachel Bender Ignacio, said the researchers aim to formulate and bring to market a similar drug with three other compounds–tenofovir disoproxil, lamivudine, and dolutegravir, aka TLD, the most common frontline treatment of HIV in the world. She said that an injectable version of this drug cocktail could change the lives of the 19 million people already on TLD worldwide, which works out to almost half the number of people with HIV on Earth.

Though we may see cheaper drugs in the near future there are a number of good reasons to create alternatives to pills. Some people with HIV struggle to get pills and to take the ones they’ve got. Unstable housing

situations or addiction can stymie access, and some people may be too sick to swallow. Some agricultural and migrant workers can’t access a continuous stream of medication, and pharmacies may have trouble stocking them. A daily pill can be a painful reminder that you have HIV, and traveling with pills is a hassle, comes with stigma, and can be dangerous. Also, pill fatigue is real, and some people just forget.

Over time, skipping daily meds can be fatal. In February, study participant Adjetey’s half-sister in Ghana died from a bout of typhoid fever related to her HIV infection. Not taking viral suppressant medication weakened her immune system, and the fever killed her in two days. They weren’t close, but participating in the study gives him the opportunity to honor her memory, he said.

Even if UW’s new approach works, Dr. Bender Ignacio said the fight against HIV/ AIDS will never end. Viruses mutate, and HIV is particularly “leaky,” many times craftier and mutable than the flu or COVID-19. That said, from a biomedical standpoint doctors can easily treat HIV with current tools. Patients take two or three pills to prevent “breakthroughs.”

Think of a medieval city with multiple defensive walls. If one falls, more remain. The walls are sturdy and in many ways sufficient.

What we can’t seem to figure out is the human element: poverty, homelessness, individual behavior, geographical barriers, our convoluted medical system, etc. A miracle in the lab won’t undo systemic problems. Nine

million of the 39 million people with HIV are not virologically suppressed. In the US, a third of people with HIV don’t have the medications they need, and they are often our society’s most vulnerable people.

Dr. Monica Gandhi, who teaches medicine at University of California - San Francisco and who directs San Francisco’s “Ward 86” HIV clinic, said HIV treatment reached a point of stagnation six years ago after the advent of Biktarvy, a complete, once daily HIV regimen that included an integrase-inhibitor, which targets an enzyme HIV uses to replicate. It should be easy to take one pill, but it isn’t for everyone, and that’s why long-acting treatments are all clinicians like Dr. Gandhi can talk about now.

She works with HIV-positive people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco. When Cabenuva first entered the market, clinicians hesitated to prescribe it to patients who took pills inconsistently. Doctors worried these patients would miss injection appointments and expose the HIV virus in their bodies to trailing levels of the medication, pushing the virus toward drug-resistant mutations.

But Dr. Gandhi’s patients showed up, and experiencing viral suppression for the first time motivated them to return. The clinic did not have to chase people down like they thought they might. Dr. Gandhi explained that because people with the highest viral loads are more likely to transmit HIV, treating them with the best drugs we have available should be a priority if we hope to end the epidemic. Now 290 people, or 10% of her clinic, are on long-acting medications.

The director of King County’s sexual health clinic Dr. Matthew Golden, said their unpublished randomized control trial also showed that injectables worked better than pills for patients facing homelessness, poverty, and drug-addiction. Golden said that incentives for study participants likely helped, and if we were smart, our public health system would offer benefits for regular treatment, too.

If UW’s drug ever hits the market, that goal could be even easier to achieve. UW’s shot has the potential to be cheaper and more widely available than any injectable we have now. If or when that happens depends on what researchers find in the lab and whether funders come along, cash in hand. Science is expensive. ■

Injectables to save the day! Eventually. Maybe.

CODY SHIPMAN

A Gay, Old Time A quick history of queer spaces in portland.

BY JOE STRECKERT

The Silverado is obviously and stridently a gay bar. Rainbow tassels line the kitchen, attractive men in snug underwear sling drinks, and posters of shirtless guys adorn the walls. Also, after 9 pm male strippers perform in the Silverado’s basement.

The Silverado was established over four decades ago and today is one of Portland’s lon-

gest-standing gay bars. It’s now in its third or fourth location, depending on how you count.

“It started as Flossie’s, which was up on Burnside where the Fred Meyer is now,” says Trevor Wion, the Silverado’s bar manager of nearly 25 years. He says that Flossie’s was “the same as what we are now, which is a very queer bar, but much quieter. I don’t think they started having dancers until ’87.”

According to Wion, sometime in the early ’90s the owner of Flossie’s surprised everyone by announcing that the bar was suddenly moving to what is now Harvey Milk Street.

“Everyone picked something up. There was a procession of bar stools, records, and bottles of liquor. Everyone just carried everything, and that’s when they opened up down at Stark Street.”

“They had a party every night. It was the place to be,” says Kevin Cook, AKA Poison Waters. Cook hosted a regular afternoon and evening event at the Silverado for several years, called The Church of the Poisoned Mind. Since opening, the Silverado has moved two additional times. In 2008 it moved from Harvey Milk to SW 3rd Avenue, and in 2018 it relocated to its current Old Town location on NW Couch.

Cook noted that every iteration of the Silverado had its own personality.

“The first one was old-school raw and gritty,” he says. “The next location was cool... It was two spaces with a little courtyard pass-through.”

That “pass-through” divided the club into two distinct sections: One that was more of a conventional bar, and another section with dancers. That division persists at the Silverado’s current location, with a bar upstairs and dancers in the basement.

When asked if there are any particular differences between running a male strip club versus a more conventional strip club, Wion says no. He has pretty much all the same business concerns as other venues. Then he pauses and adds, “there is a lot of male energy.”

The Silverado is a legacy establishment, and part of a long history of queer spaces in Portland. It’s impossible to identify which establishments were queer in the city’s early days, but they were almost certainly not as obvious about it as the Silverado.

KEEPING IT ON THE DOWN-LOW

The earliest queer spaces in Portland didn’t make queerness part of their identity or brand. They were simply places where queer people happened to gather. In the early 20th century “there were a couple of restaurants and office spaces,” says Cayla McGrath, secretary of the Oregon Queer History Collective. “How do we define a queer space? It can be kind of murky as to what ‘counts,’ especially in times when being out in public can result in harm.”

McGrath notes that such places included Lownsdale Square, a popular meeting place for gay men for much of the 20th century. “Public parks aren’t necessarily advertising themselves as a big gay spot,” says McGrath,

Silverado’s float at the 2023 Pride Parade

Lowensdale Square in 1906

SUZETTE SMITH

“But you could go there and find other people.”

She also notes that private homes, clubs, and spaces out of the public eye were gathering places long before gay bars and dance clubs opened their doors, adding that information on those places isn’t easy to track down.

“It can be hard to find a lot of [information about] the more private venues, but we know that private venues are important as gathering spaces,” says McGrath. “We don’t know about all of the closed doors that have queer history hidden behind them.”

McGrath cites the Music Hall on SW 10th and Stark as an early example of a venue with some public-facing queerness.

there’s a lot of significance to Portland’s first leather bar opening in the ’60s…. There’s a point in the ’70s where a bar called Roman’s Riptide first advertised itself as a gay bar. It’s been demolished, but it was over on Harvey Milk. I think it’s a parking lot now.”

After those initial gay bars opened in Portland, openly queer spaces blossomed in the city. But McGrath notes that these spaces included much more than just bars. Restaurants like Old Wives’ Tales and the Mountain Moving Cafe were prominent queer spaces not centered on alcohol. She also mentions organizations like a softball league on Hayden Island which was not explicitly queer, but included many queer participants.

“It was a venue that hosted night shows, and part of their bookings were drag,” says McGrath. “It wasn’t advertised as a queer space. People knew from the entertainment what was going on.”

In the late 1940s, the Music Hall attracted the attention of a reformist mayor and chief of police who attempted to crack down on queer people. “There are police reports noting that there were lesbians from San Francisco hanging out there,” says McGrath.

Despite the best efforts of moralizing city leaders, gay bars and other explicitly queer spaces started appearing in the middle decades of the 20th century.

“During the ’60s and ’70s, the gay liberation movement helped spur a lot of what ‘counts’ as a modern gay bar,” says McGrath. “There’s the Other Inn which opened in 1964, and was a leather bar. Leather isn’t always queer, but

The Silverado and queer bars like it are still very much around, but Wion has noticed something of a shift in the last few years. Spaces that are explicitly queer are no longer the only options for people who want to be out in public.

“I think it might be lost on younger generations going out to queer establishments that it’s more socially acceptable now to take your partner out to a straight club, and you’re not going to get beat up,” he says. “Which is great! I love that. I think it’s beautiful that places are opening up. What I’m noticing is that the younger generation feel no ties about going to gay establishments. They have so many places they can go, they don’t have to think about them.”

When asked if gay bars are on the decline, McGrath says: “I guess it goes back to what counts as a gay bar. These spaces are really important, and we’re losing them…. Nationally, I think you can say they’re on the decline, especially in today’s political climate.. But there are so many other kinds of places. Bars aren’t the only places to go to anymore. Bars have to keep reinventing to be attractive to a wide range of communities, and queer communities are constantly changing.”

“There is quite a bit of queer nightlife,” says Cook. “It’s just not in specifically queer spaces. A lot of restaurants or clubs will have a queer night or a gay night or a drag night, even though they’re not necessarily queer the whole week through.”

Cook doesn’t think that’s a bad thing.

“As a Black gay man who dresses in drag, my wish is that I’m welcomed in a space,” he says. “We open up our space to you, you open up your space to us.” ■

CELEBRATE PRIDE AT LEACH BOTANICAL GARDEN

Drag artists at the Music Hall in 1950.

THE OREGON JOURNAL

THE FOUNTAIN

Where to Find a Queer-Owned Bar or Restaurant Near You

Fourteen spots to try during Pride Summer—and Beyond!

BY JULIANNE BELL

Happy Pride Summer! It’s a great time to think about how you can put some of your hard-earned dollars toward supporting local LGBTQ-owned businesses, while you’re out and about this summer and all year long. And so? We’ve rounded up some of our favorite LGBTQowned bars, restaurants, and cafes in Portland.

Back2Earth

(3536 NE MLK Jr)

This lively gay bar, owned by Eagle Portland proprietor Dan Henderson, features bar grub like burgers, cheese dip with ciabatta, and fried gyoza, not to mention drinks like espresso martinis and watermelon mojitos.

Chelo (5425 NE 30th)

Chef Luna Contreras’s fonda inside the collaborative restaurant space Lil’ Dame serves whimsical “vegetable-driven multifaceted Mexican fare” inspired by street food, with locally sourced dishes like pork

belly quesadillas, wild steelhead tacos, and almond tres leches cake.

Clarklewis (1001 SE Water)

Chef Bruce Carey took over this pioneering farm-to-table restaurant in 2007. You’ll find dishes like wood-fired pizza and house-made pasta on the menu, made with a selection of local produce that changes with the seasons.

Community Wine Bar (614 SW Dakota)

This wine bar from RAM Cellars founder Vivianne Kennedy and Gonzales Wine

Co. owner Cristina Gonzales caters to underrepresented demographics in the wine world by offering programming such as wine tastings in Spanish and pop-ups selling products from BIPOC and LGBTQ+ business owners.

Farmhouse Kitchen (121 NW 9th, 3354 SE Hawthorne)

Kasem Saengsawang’s modern San Francisco-based Thai restaurant focuses on the bold flavors of northern Thailand, with dishes like Hat Yai fried chicken and blue rice chicken.

Friendship Kitchen (2333 NE Glisan), Friendship Kitchen: Saigon 2 Singapore (2764 NW Thurman), Stem Wine Bar & Stem Cafe (3920 N Mississippi)

Wife-and-wife team Trang Nguyen Tan and Wei-En Tan run the warm, welcoming Vietnamese restaurant Friendship Kitchen and its Northwest sister location Friendship Kitchen: Saigon 2 Singapore. The spots serve dishes like lobster cream cheese puffs, shaken beef, pho, and chicken skewers, in addition to playful cocktails. The duo also owns Stem Wine Bar, which recently launched cafe service during the day.

Kann (548 SE Ash)

Top Chef star Gregory Gourdet’s celebrated wood-fired Haitian restaurant Kann— which was named Best New Restaurant at the 2023 James Beard Awards—serves delightful dishes like akra (crispy taro root fritters), coffee-rubbed and smoked beef ribs, and twice-cooked griyo (Haitian fried pork). The restaurant also features the downstairs pan-Caribbean bar called Sousòl (Haitian Creole for “basement”). Gourdet has been vocal about his sobriety, and both the bar and restaurant offer plentiful zero-proof options in addition to cocktails, beer, and Oregon wine.

Meals 4 Heels (831 SE Salmon)

Local chef Nikeisah Newton started a food delivery service for sex workers called Meals 4 Heels in 2019, inspired by her former dancer girlfriend’s need for nourishing food after her late-night shifts. Then, while waiting for strip clubs to reopen in 2021, Newton launched her own brick-and-mortar inside the Powerhouse Cafe space. The healthy bowlstyle dishes have names inspired by her customer base, like “I Like to Cha Cha” (“green” brown rice, citrus slaw, black olives, mild salsa, cheddar, and cotija, topped with avocado, crushed Juanita’s

Left: Chef-owner Jenny Nguyen, right: Sissy Bar’s wall of Dollys.

DOROTHY WANG

tortilla chips, salsa lizano, pickled red onions, and cilantro) and the “Verbal Tipper” (lemon pepper couscous, Italian pickled vegetables, marinated artichokes, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, crumbled cotija cheese, crispy quinoa, and a balsamic drizzle).

Mis Tacones (1670 NE Killingsworth)

After moving to Portland, Los Angeles transplants Carlos Reynoso and Polo Abram Bañuelos began making vegan tacos inspired by California street food. Their pop-up-turned-restaurant Mis Tacones serves up plant-based tacos, tortas, papas nachos, and Cali burritos, with hand-pressed tortillas and plenty of panache. Inspired by the Oakland restaurant Gay4U Vegan Eats, Reynoso and Bañuelos also offer free food to trans people of color upon request.

Mosaic Taphouse (7955 N Lombard)

The craft beer scene can often feel like an exclusive club for straight white guys, but married couple Jarek and Laurence Oliver are setting out to change that with their new LGBTQ-friendly taproom Mosaic Taphouse, which opened in St. Johns last November. The bar features a menu of Vietnamese fusion small plates by Chem Gio alongside West Coast-style IPAs, lagers, pilsners, sours, porters, stouts, and other distinct libations.

Sissy Bar (1416 SE Morrison)

This LGBTQ+ “video lounge” from Derek Palmer and Truman Cox serves classic cocktails alongside a Colombian food

menu. TVs around the space play music videos for plenty of campy pop culture fun.

Speed-O Cappuccino (1015 SE Stark)

Flipping the script on the classic “bikini barista” format, this cheeky Barbie-pink espresso stand founded by sex workers

Dahlia Hanson and Joseph Miller employs a staff of nonbinary people and trans and cisgender men, or as they put it, “himbos, thembos, and flirts.” Besides coffee drinks, you can expect to find vegan food like chia pudding and fruity dessert tamales.

The Sports Bra (2512 NE Broadway)

Chef-owner Jenny Nguyen opened this women-focused sports bar and restaurant with a name inspired by a long-standing joke between her and her friends. The establishment shows women’s sports—including Portland Thorns games and ATA Football matches—on the TVs and highlights offerings from women-owned businesses on its menu, such as booze from Freeland Spirits, beef from Carman Ranch, and produce from Vibrant Valley Farm. Nguyen’s menu of classic pub grub features family recipes like “Mom’s baby back ribs” and “Aunt Tina’s Vietna-wings.”

Tin Shed Garden Cafe (1438 NE Alberta)

Christie Griffin and Janette Kaden run this homey eco-friendly and dog-friendly cafe, which serves everything from breakfast burritos to biscuits and gravy and has been featured on the Food Network and in the New York Times ■

Speed-O Cappuccino co-founder Joseph Miller.

Back2Earth is located in a retail strip along a major road, but she is so cute inside.

SUZETTE SMITH

SUZETTE SMITH

Cocktail-Coded

Northeast Portland neighborhood wine bar Bonne Chance built a queer clientele on allyship and Malört.

BY ANDREW JANKOWSKI

PHOTOS BY SEAN BASCOM

What makes a gay bar? Is it that little Progress Pride flag in the window? If that were the case, nearly every bar in Portland would feel queer-coded. No, what makes a gay bar is not simply the presence of Pride flags or the promise of Madonna songs in rotation. It’s the people: the customers, the regulars, and also the owners who set out to prioritize the LGBTQ+ community and their needs.

So, is the Alberta Street bar Bonne Chance a gay bar? According to co-owners James and Mark Ehrman, brothers who both identify as straight, it depends who you ask.

“The other day we said, ‘I don’t know, I guess we’re kind of a gay bar,’” James related to the Mercury, chattily. “Our friend Sean said, ‘Are you stupid? Look who’s here!’” Amongst

the bar patrons there were at least three gay couples. More friends, Javier and Isaac, entered the conversation, asking what everyone was talking about, and James caught them up: “Oh, nothing. We just got called stupid by someone we thought was a friend!”

To which Javier and Isaac said, “Look around. Just because you’re stupid doesn’t mean you can’t be successful.’”

“It’s like we’re a pan bar, like pansexual,” Mark added to the tale. “We’ve got everything.”

Bonne Chance opened in August 2021, replacing wine bar Ciao Vitto. Mark, the younger Ehrman brother, had worked at Ciao Vito since he first moved to Portland, in 2015. James had worked as a sommelier in San Francisco, Napa Valley, New York, and Los Angeles, so when his brother began

to sense Ciao Vito’s owner, Vito DiLullo, wanted out of the restaurant business, he and Mark began planning Bonne Chance.

“COVID’s definitely changed this street a lot,” Mark said. “There used to be a lot more nighttime activity, but it’s coming back. I like to call it the Alberta Renaissance.”

The bar’s wine list includes a generous offering of regional wines, guaranteed to appease the most finicky oenophiles, along with a healthy assemblage of imported and domestic whiskeys, herbaceous liqueurs, and inventive cocktails for guests who can’t tell riesling from rioja.

According to James, the bar’s drink menu has become a reflection of their customers’ tastes, as they adapted to serve what people were asking about. “We have things that I wouldn’t want to drink,” he said. “So if what

you want is a well-made wine from a cool producer that I personally don’t want to drink, it’s still on the list. If that makes you happy, I’m happy.”

Jeppson’s Malört is one such liqueur Bonne Chance stocks solely for the customers.

“Malört is disgusting to me,” James said. “But if someone wants to pay for it and drink it, we have Malört”.

The menu doesn’t run cheap, but the Ehrmans’ price points are on par with other craft cocktail bars on Alberta. The $24 appetizer steak might prove hard to share for its perfect seasoning. The $15 house burger and fries taste like what could happen if fast food stayed warm and fresh longer than five minutes.

“It’s spinach, does it have to be $18?” James

Clockwise from top: Owners James (left) and Mark (right) Ehrman, James Ehrman keeping things organized, decorations along the walls at Bonne Chance.

WEDNESDAY, 6/12

CO-OP 2 CO-OP RIDE Equal Exchange organized ride to People’s Co-op, with an afterparty at Workers Tap. Alberta Coop 1500 NE AlbertaMeet in the parking lot / Jake Williams jwilliams@equalexchange.coop / Meet at 5pm, ride at 5:45

FLOWERPOWER SKATE RIDE ♥

Skate and bike friendly event. All wheels welcome. 6-7 miles. Alberta Park NE Killingsworth & NE 22nd Meet near the play structure

NakedHearts:PDX (TJ) Meet at 6:30pm, ride at 7

GET LOST Time for the double dutch #14 edition of the Get Lost Ridewonder where the dice will take us?

Gorges Beer Co. 2705 SE Ankeny / Scott Batchelar & Bike Fun Library / Meet at 6pm

ICE CREAM BIKE BUS ♥ Join a special after-school Ice Cream Bike Bus to 50 Licks on Clinton. Everyone will get a free scoop. Glencoe, Richmond, Creston, Sunnyside, & Abernethy Elementary Schools - Meet behind the school, near the basketball courts / Rob G. glencoebikebus@ gmail.com @glencoebikebus / Meet at school dismissal (2:15, 3pm)

WTFNB+ FIX-A-FLAT CLINIC

Watch a demo and get hands-on practice changing a flat. We’ll have wheels, tools, & patch kits for you to use. Plus snax! The Street Trust HUB at Lloyd Center 1259 Lloyd Center We can be tricky to find - check our how to find us page: thestreettrust.org/ about-us/find-us / Madi Carlson, The Street Trust madi@thestreettrust.org / Meet at 6:30pm

THURSDAY, 6/13

BLEEPS & BLOOPS! The acoustic bicycle adventure returns! Join our swarm of sound. Strap on your noise-machine or borrow one of ours. Control Voltage, 3742 N Mississippi / Mykle & Gordon mykle-bloop@mykle. com / Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:30

DING DING RIDE! ♥ Ride your bike, ding your bell. That’s it! Ride leaves at 6:15pm and goes for 3 minutes. Ladd Circle Park 1988 SE Mulberry / Dudeluna @dudeluna / Ride at 6:15pm sharp

ROSE RIDE ♥ Ride with us to stop and smell the roses in gardens on the eastside of Portland. Penninsula Park 700 N Rosa Parks Way - Meet by the gazebo / Ada @aye__calypso / Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:30

TAYLOR SWIFT RIDE Get your best Eras Tour outfit ready and join us for a flat, easy, and musical ride that you will remember All Too Well. Colonel Summers Park SE 17th & SE Taylor - Meet at the picnic tables on the Taylor St. side / The Tortured Cyclists Department @taylorswiftride / Meet at 6:30pm, ride at 7:15

WORLD WITHOUT CARS Cruise peacefully around Portland’s streets with not many cars in sight. We’ll head for a co ee once tra c kicks in. Plaid Pantry 2110 SE Powell Sky / Meet at 4am

Is a Loop

Family Friendly

21+ Adults Only

The tradition of Pedalpalooza’s summer bicycle events has expanded to a three month-long community-led festival of bike fun! Join Bike Summer this June, July, and August for over 800 bicycle rides led by over 600 volunteers. Here are all the rides we could fit to print as of kick-off! More rides are added every day. Double check the ride information. Assume details may have changed. Before you head out the door, check the event listing one more time to make sure the ride is on and you understand all you can about the ride.

FRIDAY, 6/14

BICI CUMBIA Riding to cumbias through SE. Ending at Pato Feliz Mobile for food. Dance party afterwards. Ladd Circle Park 1988 SE Mulberry / Seb @seb_the_soundguy / Meet at 5:30pm, ride at 6 BonB SELLWOOD BRIDGE ♥ Wave your breakfast flag! Join us on the Sellwood Bridge for a Flag Day Breakfast on the Bridges! North side, west bump. Sellwood Bridge On the north side of the Sellwood Bridge, at the western bumpout. / Breakfast on the Bridges bonb@lists. riseup.net / Meet at 7ish

FUNKY SAFARI RIDE 21+ What a treat to drop into Bianca’s dance rides. These are very special and dear. Get groovy baby. Lloyd Center 1265 Lloyd Ctr - Meet by Marshalls / NakedHearts:PDX (Bianca) / Meet at 7pm PDX COOL STUFF Have you ever wondered about all the Interesting, quirky, and fun things in Portland? Then this is the ride for you! Tanner Springs Park NW 11th & NW NorthrupMeet along the Western bench on 11th / Scott Batchelar / Meet at 5:30pm, ride at 6

TRASH POP RIDE 21+ Calling all you Kitty Purries, TSwizzles, Animal$, and soldiers of the Britney Army!!!!

Come ride, bop, and dance! Colonel Summers Park SE 20th & SE Belmont

- Meet next to the community garden DJ Cupcake Extravaganza & Bria Bee / Meet at 6:30pm, ride at 6:45

SATURDAY, 6/15

15.4.2 CRIBBAGE RIDE Bikes! Cribbage! Fun! Irving Park 707 NE Fremont - Meet by the bathrooms, at the top of the dog park area / Haley / Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:15 BABIES ON BIKES ♥ Join other parents who bike with babies for a bike ride around NE Portland ending at a playground. Irving Park 707 NE Fremont - Meet by the bathrooms at the top of the hill / Amelia H. / Meet at 2pm, ride at 2:15

BLACK LIBERATION RIDE ♥ 9th

Annual community bike ride for Black & Brown Portlanders, in observance of Juneteenth. Come together, take up space, and celebrate in solidarity by riding around Portland. No drop, and open to all rider levels. Irving Park 707 NE Fremont - Meet near the dog park / Laryea & Prince / Meet at 10am, ride at 10:30

DAFT PUNK RIDE Jam out to some Daft Punk deep cuts and then join up with the LCD Soundsystem ride. We’ll ride together to a final end spot where we will all lose ourselves to dance. Kenilworth Park SE Holgate & SE 34th Top of the hill overlooking the tennis courts / Logan V. bikefunpdx@ gmail.com / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:30

DRINKS IN WEIRD PLACES 21+ Join us for another not-bar crawl to unexpected watering holes. Grandpa’s Cafe 3832 N Interstate / Bootsie (Canoe Chiropractor) & Tim (Attending PA) / Meet at noon, ride at 12:45

LCD SOUNDSYSTEM RIDE Oh baby will it be a fun time. Deeper cuts and grooves to start, then we meet up with the Daft Punk ride for big hits. Irving Park 707 NE Fremont Top of the hill. / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:30

LOVE OUR PETS ♥ Grab your pets and let’s ride. Lovejoy Fountain SW Montgomery & SW 4th At the fountain by the benches / Scott Batchelar, Todd Edwards, Ole Latte Co ee / Meet at 1:30pm, ride at 2

MARINE DRIVE DRY TRIATHLON Multi-sport race, fundraiser for Columbia Riverkeeper. Run/bike/ skate—p ick all or some. Registration required. Costs money. MarineDriveDryTriathlon.com Marine Drive M ulti-Use Path 4325 NE Marine Drive - Meet at M. James Gleason Memorial Boat Launch parking / Meaghan Russell MarineDriveDryTri@ gmail.com / Meet at 7:30-ish

JUNETEENTH ♥ MILWAUKIE

Celebrate and learn about Black history in Milwaukie. Ride ends at the Juneteenth celebration at Ball Michel Park. Ball-Michel Park SE Stanley & SE Willlow / Maitri & Camden 503.228.8389 / Meet at 9:45am, ride at 10

PARTY THE DISTANCE 21+ A 31mile ride carefully planned to have all the fun and excitement of a party ride while still taking you somewhere new. Vera Katz statue, Eastbank Esplanade SE Water & SE Hawthorne / J & A / Meet at 4pm, ride at 4:30

TV HWY ALTERNATIVES

BEAVERTON TO HILLSBORO 21+ BEAVERTON Explore two routes which traverse lighter-traveled streets, and take advantage of separated bike infrastructure. Tualatin Hills Nature Park 15655 SW Millikan Way - Meet in the parking area near the covered walkway / Tim / Meet at 10am, ride at 10:30

UNICYCLE HOCKEY Bring a unicycle to play or just watch unicycle hockey! We might even ask you to play footed goalie. Bring food and drink. Alberta Park 1905 NE Killingsworth Bike Polo Courts / Philip “Onion” / Meet at 2pm

SUNDAY, 6/16

CITY CANDIDATES RIDE Join City council candidates and PDX leaders on a ride through all 4 city districts and learn about their campaigns! Kʰunamokwst Park 5200 NE Alberta - At BIKELOUD Table / BIKELOUD / Meet at 2pm

KIDS TO SUNDAY PARKWAYS ♥

Kids and family ride with Kidical Mass PDX to Northeast Cully Sunday Parkways open streets event. Irving Park 3149 NE 9th At the playground / Kidical Mass PDX kidicalmasspdx@ gmail.com / Meet at 11:40am, ride at 11:55 sharp

KIEL’S B-DAY RIDE It’s my birthday, let’s ride the NE Sunday Parkways together. Kʰunamokwst Park 5200 NE Alberta - Meet at the playground / Captain Kiel / Meet at noon, ride at 12:30

LIBRALLEY CAT Spend this Father’s Day on two wheels chasing Portland’s tiny libraries in the great alley cat tradition. Laurelthirst Public House 2958 NE Glisan / Kiah

(Celebrity Chef) & Tim (Special Guest) / Meet at 1pm, ride at 1:30 sharp

MAGIC FANTASY & FAE RIDE 21+

Please dress as anything fantasy related, see roses, enjoy a bar stop, lot of fun! Peninsula Park 700 N Rosa Parks Way / Casey McGuire / Meet at 1pm, ride at 2

MENTAL HEALTH RIDE 21+

We provide a safe space for riders to talk about their experience with body autonomy. Mental health normalization ride. Clinton City Park 5576 SE Division / NakedHearts:PDX (Moorland) / Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:30-ish

NE CULLY SUNDAY PARKWAYS ♥

Start anywhere on the 6.2 mile route and bike, walk, or roll as you explore the neighborhood greenways and parks. There will be vendor marketplaces, community booths, free activities, and live entertainment. Fernhill Park, Wellington Pa rk, Kʰunamokwst Park, & Roseway Parkway / PBOT portlandsundayparkways@portlandoregon.gov @portlandsundayparkways / 11am to 4pm

VEGAN POTLUCK RIDE Bring vegan food/drink to share, dishes, and utensils. Ride to Oregon Park with a store stop. Grant Park NE 33rd & NE Brazee Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden / Vegan Bike Club veganbikeclubpdx@gmail.com / Meet at 4pm-ish, ride at 4:30pm-ish

MONDAY, 6/17

E-BIKE RIDE Nomad Cycles invites you and your electric bike to our regular e-bike ride. Ride with ease, together. Arrowood NE 59th & NE

Sandy The outdoor seating area / Sarah V. / Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:30-ish

GETTING LOST IN SW WESTSIDE

To navigate southwest by bike, just know how far up or down to go on which hill. Easy pace, no drop. Fulton Park SW 1st & SW Miles / Eric Wilhelm / Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:30

ROCKY BUTTE PICNIC RIDE Sunset picnic at the top of Rocky Butte. Bring your blanket, food to share, and let’s climb that hill again. Irving Park 707 NE Fremont - Meet at the top of the hill / Logan V. / Meet at 6:15pm, ride at 6:30 sharp

TUESDAY, 6/18

BINGO RIDE Bike and play Bingo. Bring a no-cost and vegan-friendly item for the prize table if you can, but join either way. Laurelhurst Park SE César E. Chávez & SE Stark - Meet at the tables north of the pond / Vegan Bike Club / Meet at 5:45pm, ride at 6:30ish

INN BETWEEN RIDE #1 21 + Bars named “inn,” or in an inn, via inbetween spaces. SE/Central City, ~12 mi. Bring $ for drinks/food. Holman’s (aka Hello Inn) 15 SE 28th Look for us on the patio / Josh innbetweenride@ joshuahetrick.info 724.815.0434 / Meet at 5:30pm, ride at 6

WEDNESDAY, 6/19

6TH ANNUAL CAT RIDE Kitties unite! Bring your cat or dress like a cat. This will be a fairly relaxed ride. Colonel Summers Park SE 20th & SE Taylor / Amy / Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:30

HARDSTYLE RIDE BEAVERTON

Bringing the club to a group ride. Celebrate the love of Hardstyle in Beaverton. Several dance stops planned. Beaverton City Park SW 5th & SW Hall By the fountain / Tink / Meet at 8:30pm

NAKED WAXING GIBBOUS MOON

Protesting car dominance, and having a good time Coe Circle 3900 NE Glisan / P’Pedal, Virtuous Kernel & Past Tire / Meet at 8:30pm, ride at 9

THURSDAY, 6/20

EFFIGY RIDE A revolutionary, cohesive, ritual to part with your past and invite future, radical possibilities. Peninsula Park 700 N Rosa Parks Way On the south side by Ainsworth/the Rose Garden / Lil Mama Bone Crusher

503.758.3903 / Meet at 7pm

LOVE LIES BLEEDING RIDE 21 +

Think tanning oil, cigarettes, bugs, 80’s gym attire, mega muscles, queers, and sweaty bodies. Prism Moves 18 N Shaver - Meet in the parking lot o N Williams / Rae, Ro & DD / Meet at 5:30pm, ride at 6

MIDNIGHT BREAKFAST RIDE Late night pancakes. Pajamas encouraged. Overlook Park 1599 N Fremont / Martine / Meet at 8:45pm, ride at 9

SKELETON SCAVENGER HUNT

Have you ever noticed Portland’s obsession with skeleton decor? If not, let’s fix that. Tacovore 3707 NE Fremont - Meet on Alameda Street near the skull / A Milian Adventures / Meet at 6:30pm, ride at 7

SOLSTICE RIDE 21+

Sunset - Sunrise. Welcome in summer by riding all night on the shortest night of the year People’s Food Co-op 3029 SE 21st / Mr. Friday / Meet at 7:30pm, ride at 8

SOLSTICE SKATE BIKE RIDE ♥

Skate and bike friendly ride. Celebrate summer and friends while we roll around town. Laurelhurst Park SE César E. Chávez & SE Stark Near the pond / NakedHearts:PDX (TJ) / Meet at 6:30pm, ride at 7

FRIDAY,

6/21

FULL MOON NAKED RIDE The Juicy Ride. Fruit and veggie themed. Bring your fig leaves and grapes. Colonel Summers Park SE 20th & SE Belmont / Nakedhearts:PDX (Shaili) / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:45

GO SKATE DAY Break out your little wheels and come rollerskate, skateboard, even blade, or scoot with us around town. Salmon Street Springs SW Salmon & SW Naito Parkway / Saul T. Scrapper / Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:30

R2R WOODSTOCK -> KMHD RIDE ♥ Woodstock Park SE 47th & SE Steele NW - Corner of the park, by the Woodstock Park sign / onewheelskyward onewheelskyward@gmail.com / Meet at 3:30pm, ride at 4:05

KMHD RIDE ♥ Do you love jazz? Do you love KMHD? Do you love... riding bikes? Then this is the ride for you! Ladd Circle Park 1988 SE Mulberry / Meg, Nicole & KMHD / Meet at 4:30pm, ride at 5

LB - COOL STREETS Light up your bike and join us as we ride the streets that are not straight. Grant Park NE 33rd & NE Brazee - Meet at the Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden / Scott Batchelar / Meet at 8:30pm, ride at 9:15

SKA BIKE RIDE Let’s listen to ska music and ride our bikes around. Ladd Circle Park 1988 SE Mulberry / Nick / Meet at 7:30pm

SATURDAY, 6/22

19TH FIG LEIF NAKED RIDE Leif Erikson Trail on an August afternoon is fantastic. Leif Erikson Trail at NW Thurman - Meet 1/4 mile up the trail from the Thurman St. trailhead near the portapotties. / Past Tire, Chopper Kernel & P’Pedal / Meet at 2pm, ride at 2:30

ALL DAY NAKED RIDE Clothing optional ride to celebrate body freedom and protest too many highways, not enough bikeways. Irving Park NE 7th & NE Cook - Meet at the picnic tables / Past Tire, P’Pedal & Virtuous Kernal / Meet at 9am, ride at 9:30

ERASURE 80’S / 90’S DANCE The tones of the 80’s amped upto too 11 and party vibing hard. Love to hate, hate too love? Well forget all that, DANCE. Abernethy Elementary School 2421 SE Orange / NakedHearts:PDX (Moorland) / Meet at 7:30pm, ride at 8-ish EVENING NAKED RIDE Clothing optional ride to protest freeways, and decrepit bikeways. Coe Circle 3900 NE Glisan / Past Tire, P’Pedal, & Virtual Kernal / Meet at 9pm, ride at 9:30-ish

FROZEN YOGURT ♥ Celebrating 16 years of kid and family-friendly bike rides with frozen yogurt downtown. The Fields Park 1099 NW Overton Playground in the park at NW 11th & NW Overton / Kidical Mass PDX kidicalmasspdx@gmail.com / Meet at 2:15pm, ride at 2:30 sharp

LAURELHURST YARD SALE Ride around the Laurelhurst neighborhood to visit all the yard sales! We won’t be riding as a group-feel free to navigate on your own! Crema Co ee 2728 SE Ankeny / Dudeluna / Meet at 9am, ride anytime after 9 MORNING NAKED RIDE Clothing optional ride to support body freedom. Let’s protest highway construction and the lack of bikeway construction. Irving Park NE 7th Ave & NE Cook - Meet at the picnic tables / Past Tire, P’Pedal & Virtual Kernel / Meet at 9am, ride at 9:30 NE STREETCAR HISTORY ♥ Explore streetcar history and its impact on the city Lillis Albina Park N Russell & N Flint - Meet near the baseball bleachers / Don I. / Meet at 1:30pm, ride at 1:45

PETAL PEDAL SILVERTON A gourmet distance bike ride along scenic, quiet roads. Must register Costs money. The Oregon Garden 879 W Main / ORbike / Meet at 7am POPCARTPDX RIDE 21+ 1-2 hour shenanigan ride followed by dance party at end spot. Mt. Tabor Park SE 60th & SE Salmon - Meet betweeen the reservoirs / PopCartPDX @popcartpdx / Meet at 4pm ST. JOHNS NAKED RIDE Clothing optional ride to Coe Circle. Cathedral Park N Pittsburg & Willamette River - Meet at the cul de sac at the south end of Pittsburg Ave. / Past Tire & Virtual Kernel / Meet at 6:30pm, ride at 7 SUNNY NAKED RIDE Clothing optional ride to Leif Erikson Trail. Coe Circle 3900 NE Glisan / Past Tire & Vertical Kernal / Meet at 11:30am, ride at 12

TALKING HEADS RIDE 21+ Let’s take a ride to nowhere! Let’s get crosseyed and painless! Maybe you wanna get taken to the river? Ladd Circle Park 1988 SE Mulberry / River Phlows riverphlows73113@gmail.com / Meet at 7:30pm, ride at 8pm

THE BOOKSTORE BIKE RIDE Led by owner of a bookstore in Hood River (Artifacts Books). Ride to Revolutions Bookshop in St. Johns. Microcosm Bookstore 2752 N Williams / Tom Murray / Meet at noon

SUNDAY, 6/23

AF AF RIDE This ride is for alcoholfree, sober curious, or sober folx!

Please bring towels/NA drinks/games for the end location. Piccolo Park 2535 SE 28th / Amy A @amyinpdx / Meet at 3pm, ride at 3:30

BIKES AGAINST BIG AG Like bikes and hate factory farming? Well, this is the perfect bike ride for you!

Laurelhurst Park SE César E. Chávez & SE Stark Near the pond / Aimee Travis atravis@fwwatch.org / Meet at 10am, ride at 10:45

BIRDING BY BIKE Let’s ride bikes and look for birds! Mellow ~4-mile ride in SE Portland, mostly on Springwater trail. Errol Heights City Park 4807 SE Harney Dr / Becky / Meet at 10am GO TEAM VENTURE 21+ Come commemorate the death of Venturion and the art that is The Venture Brothers on a costumes-encouraged fan ride / Billy Quizboy goteamventure@exnext. com / Meet at 1pm, ride at 2

MAÑANITAS RIDE Music your mom wakes you up with on Sunday. Wear a mañanita/rauna. Ride to La Perlita co ee shop. Oregon Park NE Oregon & NE 30th - Meet at the benches / Seb @seb_the_soundguy / Meet at 8am, ride at 8:30am

MT. TABOR MAZE Learn about bike routes up Mt. Tabor. Mt.Tabor Park SE Lincoln & SE 64th - Meet at Lincoln St. entrance / Mark Linehan / Meet at 2pm, ride at 2:15

PUPPERPALOOZA Bring your pup as we roll around town on a socially paced ride exploring some of Portland’s dog-friendly spots. Peninsula Park 700 N Rosa Parks Way - Meet by the gazebo / Corvidae BC / Meet at 2pm, ride at 2:45

THE BOOKSTORE BIKE RIDE

Led by owner of a bookstore in Hood River (Artifacts Books). Ride to Wallace Books in Sellwood. Broadway Books 1714 NE Broadway / Tom Murray - Meet at noon

THE CONTRA DANCE RIDE

Contrapalooza is back! Join us for a night of lively folk dance with smiley humans. Buckman Elementary School 320 SE 16th / NakedHearts:PDX (Saul T Scrapper & Carissa Triwly Skirt) / Meet at 4:30pm, ride at 5

THE SMOL THINGZ RIDE

Come see some small art! Wilshire Park 4116 NE 33rd - Meet by the covered picnic table area / Jazbot / Meet at 5pm, ride at 6

TOUR OF ANKH - MORPORK

Appropriate attire and bananas encouraged for 1hr tour of Discworld’s greatest* city. *For a given value of great. The Mended Drum 304 SE 2nd On Roundworld, known as Wayfinder Beer / Sabrina Octarine sabrina. octarine@gmail.com / Meet at 2pm, ride at 2:30

UKULELE JAM RIDE Play and sing a few simple songs at various parks and public spaces in inner SE/NE Portland Colonel Summers Park SE Taylor & SE 17th - Meet at the south side of the park, between the basketball courts and the fountain/splash pad / Avery Hill / Meet at 3:30pm, ride at 4

TUESDAY, 6/25

BÉIGE-À-VU Engage with the beige! Look at the vu! Throw some neutral toned sparkle on this Tuesday! Be boring, be safe, be kind. Irving Park 707 NE Fremont - Meet between the nature patch and the basketball courts / Chris / Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:30

WEDNESDAY, 6/26

AS THE CROW FLIES We chase the birds. Sewallcrest Park SE 31st & Market - Meet at the courts / North (Birdman) & Tim (Birdboy) / Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:30 BY-THE-SLICE An homage to brave pizzaiolos who - against all oddscontinue bringing triangular slices of foldable melty magic to everyday working people during lunch time hours. Baby Doll Pizza 2835 SE Stark Outside by the picnic tables / Zack (Pizza Bikes) / Meet at 11am, ride at 11:15

THE CIVIC LOVE RIDE Celebrate Civic Love! Because we are all better o when we are ALL better o Terra Incognita Sculpture N Broadway & N Larabee - SW corner of intersection / Oregon Humanities / Meet at 6:15pm, ride at 6:30 sharp

THE PING PONG RIDE ♥

We will ride places to play ping pong. Gorges Beer Co. 2705 SE Ankeny / Carey Booth carey.l.booth@gmail.com / Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:30pm

THE SINGLES RIDE Come partake in mingle games. 4th year of this amazing fun ride. Gorges Beer Co. 2705 SE Ankeny / NakedHearts:PDX (Moe I.) / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:30

THURSDAY, 6/27

007 LIVE & LET RIDE ♥ James Bond old-school ride with costumes, theme tunes and fun. Female-led. Base of the Aerial Tram 3303 S Bond / Honey Bike-Ryder / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:30 sharp

90’S SINGLE’S RIDE A ’90s music ride to meet another special human in a fun, friendly, open environment. Threshold Brewing 403 SE 79th Montavilla / Les Moore / Meet at 6:30pm, ride at 7:30 HORSE RING RIDE Do you see the old metal rings embedded in many curbs around town? We will be riding bikes and attaching toy horses. Honey Butter Country Fair 6719 NE 18thOrder food and find the bikes / Vegan Bike Club / Meet at 3:30pm, ride at 4:30-ish

FRIDAY, 6/28

B onB RELAY A relay to all 4 current bridges with Breakfast on the Bridges. Jamison Square NW 10th & NW Johnson - Meet by the red sculpture / Scott Batchelar / Meet at 6:45am, ride at 7am

EVERYMONDAY MEDITATION MONDAYS RIDE

Start your week o with a grounding, guided meditation. We will ride to Woodlawn Park to meditate. Wilshire Park NE Skidmore & NE 33rd / Carla Bartow carlabartow83@gmail.com / Meet at 8am, ride at 8:10

FIRST & THIRD MONDAYS RIDE TO COME THRU

MARKET ♥ Ride to the Redd on Salmon to enjoy the farmers market and support Black & Indigenous farmers. Irving Park NE 7th & NE Fargo - At the tennis courts / Team Apuggalypse likwidsol1@gmail. com comethrupdx.org

EVERY TUESDAY HILL KILLERZ HILL KILLZ

Ride FIVE repeats on SE 52nd from Harney to Flavel - earn a shiny sticker. The Hill SE 52nd & SE Harney - We meet “in motion” anywhere on the hill / Maria bicyclekitty@gmail.com facebook.com/groups/ hillkillerz / Meet at 12:30pm

EVERY TUESDAY HILL KILLERZ SOCIAL RIDE

J oin an easy hilly romp around Johnson Creek ridge. We hate hillz! Top of the Hill SE 52nd & SE Flavel - Meet by the cowgirl mural at the NW corner / Maria bicyclekitty@gmail.com bicyclekitty.blogspot.com / Meet at 6:15pm, ride at 6:30 sharp

LOUD N LIT 21+ The loudest and most lit mobile dance party of the summer. Chervona, Chaach, Mienne, The Serious, and Return. Irving Park NE 7th & NE Fremont / Dutch & Sysfail sysfail.rpbc@gmail.com @loudnlitride / Meet at 8:30pm, ride at 10

SATURDAY, 6/29

BAILA ESTA CUMBIA 21+ Playing some Cumbias in SE, and taking the hill up to Mt. Tabor to catch a sunset. It is about a 3.5 mile ride but very steep. Party pace and no one will be left behind. Picollo Park 2535 SE 28th / Pablo & Rogelio / Meet at 7:30

BIKECHATA & SALSA

We will be hitting the streets of NE Portland to enjoy bachata and salsa music with stops along the way to learn and practice your dancing! Peninsula Park 700 N Rosa ParksMeet at the gazebo / Evan Snyder / Meet at 1pm

DANCE UGLY & DROOL One of the most loved and ridiculous fun rides we host. 3rd year of this extremely liberating ride. Buckman Elementary School 320 SE 16th / NakedHearts:PDX (Moorland) / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:30-ish

FLIP SIDE VEGAN MARKET

Ride to the Flip Side Vegan Market at Hail Snail and loop back to the start. ~6 miles one way, 12 roundtrip. Vera Katz Statue East Bank Esplanade, north of the fire station near SE Main / Vegan Bike Club veganbikeclubpdx@gmail.com / Meet at 12:30ish, ride at 12:45ish

HILLSBORO TO L.L. STUB HILLSBORO Bike camping trip to L.L. Stub Stewart State Park. $5 for overnight stay at the hiker biker site. RSVP. Hatfield - Government Center MAX Station End of the Blue Line / Amit Zinman info@amitzistudio com 503.660.7793 / Meet at noon, ride at 12:30

OAK GROVE FESTIVAL RIDE ♥

MILWAUKIE Ride along the Trolley Trail and stay for the festival. Milwaukie Bay Park 11211 SE Mcloughlin - Meet by the bathrooms near the boat ramp / Maitri / Meet at 10:30am, ride at 11

OREGON GORGE SUMMER RIDE 21+

THE DALLES This ride will be a beautiful one as we will pedal along the Columbia River to The Dalles by the Dance Academy. Columbia Gorge Discovery Center 5000 Discovery Dr / Ernesto Arenas / Meet at 10:30am, ride at 11:30

POLY PRIDE PICNIC RIDE Celebrate big love and community with a ride and creative experience picnic. Bring an activity/beverage/snack to share.

Peninsula Park 700 N Rosa Parks Way - Meet in the big field, near the pagoda / Naomi & Jackson / Meet at 4pm, ride at 4:30

SUNDAY, 6/30

HALF CENTURY RIDE* 21+ Note the asterisk! This ride is not a half century in distance, but in age! A mellow wander around Portland. Hotel Rose 50 SW Morrison - Meet across the street by the on ramp / Dudeluna @dudeluna / Meet at 10am, ride at 10:15

EVERY WEDNESDAY JUN 26 - JULY 31 BIKE TO THE WILLAMETTE ♥ Bike in your bathing suit, spin to swim at Duckworth Dock. Food, music, & family fun. Ankeny Rainbow Plaza 2705 SE Ankeny - Arrive as early as 3pm! / Joseph Bicycles joebicycles@gmail. com / Meet at 5:45pm, ride at 6:15

EVERY THURSDAY RIDE BIKES PRACTICE YOGA

Let’s ride bikes and practice yoga together! $10 suggested donation for teacher. No one turned away for lack of funds. Irving Park NE 7th & NE Fargo - At the tennis courts / Carla Bartow carlabartow83@gmail. com / Meet at Irving Park at 2:30pm, ride at 2:45; meet at Peninsula Park at 3:30, Woodlawn Park at 3:45

LAST SATURDAY OF THE MONTH PSU FARMERS

MARKET RIDE NW ♥ A fun and slow group ride to the farmers market. Rain or shine! Chapman Elementry NW Raleigh & NW 26th - Meet at north side / Strong Towns PDX jeremiah@gamayun.io strongtownspdx.org / Ride at 10:30am

EVERY SUNDAY KING FARMERS MARKET RIDE Community ride to the King Farmers Market to support local food systems while enjoying our neighborhood greenway network. Alberta Park NE 22nd & NE Ainsworth / Paul Buchanan & Carla Bartow / Meet at 9:30am, ride at 10

BIKING WITH TODDLERS ♥ Practice biking with a little passenger in a safe, supportive, and car-free environment. Rose City Park Elementary School 2334 NE 57th - Meet at the playground / Erin Costello erin.stello@ gmail.com / 3pm to 5pm-ish

BREAD & BUTTER RIDE Get your gluten AND your glutes on. A morning tour of some of Portland’s best sourdough bread bakeries. Franz Bakery NE 12th & NE Flanders - Meet under the bread sign in the cloud of smell / Vera Brosgol / Meet at 8am, ride at 8:30

INFLATABLE COSTUME RIDE ♥

It’s hella fun to ride a bicycle in an inflatable costume. So weird and so Portland. Amaze your friends! Scare your mom! Holladay Park 1200 NE Multnomah - Meet at center of the park / Joeseph Bicycles / Meet at 6:30pm, inflate at 6:56, ride at 7:07 or 7:17

PADDLECANOOZA A leisurely bike ride to Ross Island for snacks & lawn games. Did we say bike? We meant canoe. Bring your own canoe! Oaks Park Kayak Launch/Sellwood Riverfront Park 205 SE SpokaneMeet at the docks, or along the beach next to the docks depending on your watercraft / Ross Island Yacht Club / lady.mercer@gmail.com / Meet at noon, float at 12:45-ish

RIDE+COCOON = BELONGING Park hop and explore the cocoon, a sheer, stretchy fabric enclosure together in spontaneous inclusive community. Emerge transformed. Peninsula Park 700 N Rosa Parks - Meet at the gazebo / Sha Sha Sherry Bo Berry / Meet at 2:30pm, ride at 3pm

THE ALLEY RIDE Join us on a curated slow roll along some awesome alleys in N/NE Portland. Peninsula Park 700 N Rosa ParksMeet near the fountain / Erinne & Kirk Erinne.Larissa@gmail.com / Meet at 1:30pm, ride at 2ish

4Q CANDIDATE SPLASH D4 Join BIKELOUD, Human Access Project, and candidates on four converging rides from each district to Splash in the river! Willamette Park 837-999 S Idaho St, Portland, OR 97219 - Meet at the picnic shelter just south of the tennis courts / BIKELOUD and Human Access Project bikeloudpdx@gmail. com / Meet at 3:30pm, ride at 4:30

BACK TO THE FUTURE RIDE

The iconic movie celebrates its 39th Anniversary on this day. Bring your costumes and party right ride attitudes. Colonel Summers Park SE 20th & SE Belmont / NakedHearts:PDX (Moorland & guest) / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:55 sharp

THURSDAY, 7/4

THE AMAZING RACE GAME This is an alley cat race in pairs a la the TV show Amazing Race. Four challenges and a final pit stop. Bring a teammate. Grant Park NE 33rd & U.S. Grant PlMeet in the track / Renata / Meet at 1pm, ride at 1:30

WELSH NATIONAL BIKE RIDE

Come celebrate independence by being Welsh for an evening. Riding empty streets. Going to the fireworks. Wilshire Park 4116 NE 33rd / NakedHearts:PDX / Meet at 5pm

FRIDAY, 7/5

QUEEN & BOWIE RIDE Jeans and a white tank top for Freddie, Bowie in full Ziggy Stardust… getting your glam gear going in all glitter. Laurelhurst Park SE César E. Chávez & SE StarkMeet by the pond / NakedHearts:PDX (Moorland) / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:45ish

THE PHISH RIDE 21+ The 8th annual, 14th edition. Seawallcrest SE 31st & SE Market / Jef Black je lack1226@gmail.com / Meet at 7:30pm, ride at 8:30

SATURDAY, 7/6

CORKER APPRECIATION RIDE 21+

Are you a corker? Have you ever corked? Then this is the event for you! Stop by for some goodies and grab a sticker. Colonel Summers Park SE 20th & SE Taylor / Dudeluna / Meet at 4:30pm, ride at 5:30

THE MUSIC RIDE ♥ Listen to music, play music, and have fun. Peninsula Park 700 N Rosa Parks Way - Meet at the gazebo / Scott Batchelar / Meet at 1pm VEGAN POTLUCK RIDE Bring vegan food/drink to share, dishes, and utensils. Ride to Creston Park with store stop. Colonel Summers Park SE 19th & SE Belmont - Meet near the futsal/tennis courts / Vegan Bike Club veganbikeclubpdx@gmail.com / Meet at 4pm-ish, ride at 4:30pm-ish

WEIRD PORTLAND RIDE Dress weird, be weird, and visit weird spots with Weird Portland United. Ends at a small businesses pop-up. Bill Naito Legacy Fountain 2 SW Naito Pkwy - Meet at the fountain where the Saturday Market happens / Logan V. bikefunpdx@gmail.com / Meet at 5pm, ride at 5:30

TUESDAY, 7/9

LLOYD ECO PEDAL TOUR Explore how the Lloyd EcoDistrict is being transformed into one of the most sustainable neighborhoods in North America. Holladay Park 1200 NE Multnomah - Meeting the middle of the park / Lloyd EcoDistrict - Joshua Baker joshua@ecolloyd.org / Meet at 5:30pm, ride at 5:40 RIDE & WRITE 2 PRISONERS Ride then write letters to show solidarity with incarcerated LGBTQ+ people in Oregon. Colonel Summers Park SE Taylor & SE 17th / Black & Pink PDX blackandpinkpdx@gmail.com @blackandpinkpdx / Meet at 6:30pm, ride at 7

WEDNESDAY, 7/10

BEN FOLDS FIVE RIDE 21+ Join a group of BF5 and bike enthusiasts to celebrate one of the greatest piano rock trios to have ever piano rocked. Ladd Circle Park 1988 SE Mulberry / Nicole D’Amato / Meet at 6:30pm, ride at 7 sharp

MONDAY, 7/1

ONE-OFF RIDE Ride streets one block over (-ish) from common bikeways for another bike network hiding in plain sight. Clinton St. Plaza SE 25th & SE Clinton - Meet at west end / Josh / oneo ride@ joshuahetrick.info 724.815.0434 / Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:30

SPROCKET PODCAST RIDE

Join former and current hosts Brock, Aaron, Guthrie, Armando, Joan, and Emily for a ride around town. Life hacks! Oregon Park NE Oregon St & 30th / Sprocket Podcast Hosts / Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:30

TUESDAY, 7/2

SHADY PALOOZA Shady Pines Radio is leading its first ever ride, featuring LIVE MUSIC in NE parks. Fernhill Park 6010 NE 37th - Meet in between the tennis courts and the playground on the west side of the park / Shady Pines Radio / Meet at 6:15pm, ride at 7

WEDNESDAY, 7/3

4Q CANDIDATE SPLASH D1

Join BIKELOUD, Human Access Project, and candidates on four converging rides from each district to Splash in the river! Floyd Light City Park 10800 SE WashingtonMeet near West end of park path / BIKELOUD & Human Access Project bikeloudpdx@gmail.com / Meet at 3:30pm, ride at 4:30

4Q CANDIDATE SPLASH D2

Join BIKELOUD, Human Access Project, and candidates on four converging rides from each district to Splash in the river! Peninsula Park 700 N Rosa Parks Way - Meet at the gazebo / BIKELOUD and Human Access Project bikeloudpdx@gmail. com / Meet at 3:30pm, ride at 4:30

4Q CANDIDATE SPLASH D3

Join BIKELOUD, Human Access Project, and candidates on four converging rides from each district to Splash in the river! Essex Park 7730 SE Center - Meet in the center of the park path by the mural / BIKELOUD and Human Access Project bikeloudpdx@ gmail.com / Meet at 3:30pm, ride at 4:30

DBB BIKE PROM Dress in your finest bike-prom outfit, dance the night away, challenge a friend at lube wrestling. Colonel Summers Park SE Taylor & SE 17th / Dead Baby Bike Club @deadbabybikes_pdx / Meet at 9pm

HATSUNE MIKU RIDE Bring your best vocaloid costumes/outfits and jam out to the best vocaloid classics. East Bank Esplanade - Meet at the base of the Steel Bridge / Blake Tupman / Meet at 8:30pm

PASTA COSTUME RIDE ♥ Come in a macaroni cape, a ziti crown, and a rigatoni skirt. Bring a sauce for group spaghetti lunch in Sellwood Park! Washington High School 1300 SE Stark Tables in front of Martha’s Cafe / Em Rome / Meet at noon, ride at 12:30

WTFNB+ BEAVERTON RIDE

BEAVERTON 10-mile loop featuring trails/parks/food carts. Co-starring quiet streets + busy bike lanes + MUPs + a dirt cut-thru. Beaverton Farmers Market SW 4th & SW Washington By the bike racks next to the play structure / Madi Carlson, The Street Trust madi@thestreettrust.org / Meet at 11am, ride at 11:30

SUNDAY, 7/7

BULLFROG HUNTING 21+

BEAVERTON Teaching ethical capture, disposal, and recipes for the invasive American Bullfrog. Beaverton Transit Center Across SW Lombard on the walking path / Stephen O. / Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:30

CARGO-PALOOZA A ride for cargo bikes and the cargo curious. This ride is all about games... namely... cargo polo! Splendid Cycles 407 SE Ivon / Zack (Pizza Bikes) / Meet at 5pm

SWIM ACROSS PORTLAND ♥ Ride, swim, repeat! We’ll go to a public pool, a secret swimming hole, then a public beach. Water Avenue Co ee 1028 SE Water #145 / Maria bicyclekitty@gmail.com / Meet at 10:30am, ride at 11am sharp

THE CALIFORNIA RIDE Casual ride past palm trees, playing songs about California, and ending in Hollywood. Laurelhurst Park SE César E. Chávez & SE Stark / NakedHearts:PDX (David K.) / Meet at 5pm, ride at 5:30

BIKE THE LEVEES Learn more about Portland’s system of flood control infrastructure with a ride and free dinner! RSVP necessary. Aloft in Cascade Station 9920 NE Cascades Parkway / Amanda Gallegos amanda. gallegos@columbiaslough.org / Meet at 5:15pm, ride at 6 FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS ♥ Ride around listening to the wonderful music of New Zealand’s biggest folk band, playing games, and engaging in stilted banter. Gorges Beer Co. 2705 SE Ankeny / NakedHearts:PDX (Moorland) / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:30 NARUTO RIDE 21+ Tales of a Gutsy Cyclist—Calling all Genin, Chunin, Jonin, and Rogues, let’s ride! Dattebayo!!! Peninsula Park 700 N Rosa Parks Way at fountain / Becca & Meg / Meet at 6:30pm, ride at 7 THURSDAY, 7/11

BIKE PLAY This year’s original play/ride follows a cyclist that gets sucked into a game world. Can they defeat the Game of Bike? Wilshire Park 4116 NE 33rd / Bike Play noelleeaton@gmail.com @bikeplay / Meet at 6:30pm, ride at 7 THE 7-ELEVEN RIDE Guess what? It’s Free Slurpee Day! Ladd Circle Park 1988 SE Mulberry / Austin & Stephen / Meet at 5:30pm, ride at 6 THE FLEETWOOD MAC RIDE You’ve heard the Rumours, it’s not a Mirage, join us as we Tango in the Night. Say You Will join this old-school ride? Sellwood Park SE 7th & SE Miller - Meet on the field / Oh Diane Sara Rhiannon / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:30pm sharp

FRIDAY, 7/12

BIKE PLAY see Thurs., July 11 listing

DIE HARD, 80’S ACTION Celebration of 80’s action movies with a pounding playlist full of mullets and car chases. Ridiculous games and costumes Laurelhurst Park SE César E. Chávez & SE Stark - Meet by the pond / NakedHearts:PDX (Moorland &

460 SE 113th - Meet near

track / Sara Matijascic / Meet at 5pm MORE

asked facetiously—their Salad Verte is $9. “It’s baby spinach, it’s the veal of spinach,” Mark replied snappily.

The menu changes with the seasons and the brothers’ own creative spontaneity, but maintains standards like: a burger, steak, a cheese plate, a salad, a fancy popcorn. “And Mozzarella sticks are a must have!” James and Mark declared emphatically.

Mark loaded my cantaloupe sorbet with frozen blueberries at no extra charge during one of my early, undercover visits, and also offered to make off-menu dinner specials on other trips, like seafood gumbo. There’s no promise what they’ll offer you, but should the Ehrmans offer you a drink or dinner special, you should take it. Their taste level is as remarkable as their commitment to customer service.

Bonne Chance is a dark, cozy lounge centered around an open kitchen and warm wood bar. A mirrored rhino trophy bust catches the brightest light in the room, glittering like a disco ball. Guests can sit at the counter and watch their food cook, or find a booth to bunker down. It’s possible to reserve tables and bar seats, which comes in handy on pop-up nights.

In 2022, James was hospitalized after an accident and used a wheelchair during his recovery. It inspired the brothers to book Bonne Chance’s open concept kitchen with chefs and food carts, bringing the bar’s high-low philosophy to life. Neighborhood resident Tim Phillips started a dinner series called Melanin Mondays where he served Asian-influenced comfort food like vegetable curry, grilled Caesar salads, and pan-fried, soy sauce-tinged

barbeque ribs. Phillips’ family and friends packed in to support during Melanin Mondays’ eight month run.

“He’s also born and raised in this neighborhood, so having this connection with Tim made us more locally involved,” James said.

Nights with Belle Époque pizza and Japanese hot dog connoisseur Pochi’s foie grastopped franks continue to grace the restaurant’s social media calendar, here and there.

Working with a Thai restaurant popup Yui led to the menu’s ginger khon-dii: a coconut milk-based, kaffir lime-infused vodka cocktail that wows with a flow of bittersweet citrus, adjustable spice heat level from ginger and a chili pepper garnish, and a smooth, creamy finish. It was a highlight on the imaginative cocktail menu, along with the sweet and savory fernet, cardamom, and banana-based Bi-Curious George.

Whether they originally intended for Bonne Chance to be a dedicated gay bar, the Ehrman brothers want it to be a place that their queer relatives and friends feel welcome. As queer allies, they understand the responsibility of hanging a Pride flag in their window.

“That rainbow flag does mean something to people when they see it,” James said.

Bonne Chance hosted their first Pride party in 2023, and their second annual Northeast Portland Pride block party is Sat July 20, 3 pm-1 am, promising DJs, Drag performers, and a bubble machine. Over email, the brothers added: “It’s on National Caviar Day, so we are also doing something with that as well.”

Bonne Chance, 2209 NE Alberta, bonnechancepdx.com ■

Melvin Seals, Steve Kimock, Jason Crosby, Johnny Kimock, Tom Guarna & Lamar Williams Jr.

A table of regulars cheers for the camera.

The Bi-Curious George

Queer Eye for the Pedalpalooza Ride

Portland leads the way in welcoming riders

Despite the campy spandex uniform worn by those truly dedicated to the sport, cycling still has a reputation for having a certain straight guy “bro” quality that can make it intim idating for non-men and queer folks to get involved. But in Portland, that “bro-iness” is on the way out.

In recent years, leaders in the local bike scene have made a concerted effort to make the community more inclusive. That’s re flected in the Pedalpalooza ride calendar, where you can find an abundance of queerled and pride-themed bike events to partic ipate in all summer long.

Already this summer, there have been several rides explicitly meant for Portland’s queer community—the annual “Pride Ride’’ was on June 3, and the “Slut Pedal,” a ride centering queer and BIPOC sex workers, took place the day before—but there are plenty more to come. And those involved in Portland’s blossoming queer cycling com munity say it doesn’t stop at Pedalpalooza rides: There’s work to do all year long to make sure the local bike scene is welcoming to everyone, especially people who have been left out in the past.

Máximo Castro is a prolific bike ride orga nizer in Portland—he’s leading at least seven rides this summer—and an advocate for a more queer-inclusive local bike scene. Castro is involved with RideSafePDX, a group that holds bike rides every Thursday, meant to be explicitly welcoming to Portland’s queer community. He told the thinks Portland’s bike scene is a “complex landscape when it comes to inclusivity.”

port… whether it’s finding a safe person to ride with or an extra bathroom stop or

Pedalpalooza calendar.

“There are groups actively working to make cycling more inclusive and to help raise the voices of those who are typically unheard and unseen,” Castro said, pointing to examples including Chingonas Outside , BikePOC PNW Portland All Wheels Welcome NakedHearts:PDX. “Believe it or not, these groups continue to receive dis crimination while riding, sometimes simply for just existing, and the reali ty is that there is a continued unequal representation in the cycling commu nity. Having various groups allows for individuals to find a ride group where they feel safe and—more importantly— have a voice.”

Moorland Moss, who leads Naked Hearts:PDX, told the Mercury think all of their rides are “queer-friend ly”—which means it’s “known to have a conscientious leader who cares about the community and holds a safe space.” Moss, who is non-binary, said they believe “the safety and comfort [of riders] is paramount,” and go out of their way to ensure everyone has a good time on their rides.

and the more we can do to make them comfortable, the more we are loving ourselves and everyone else.”

For people who want to learn how to be their own bike mechanics in an explicitly queer-friendly space, the Bike Farm—a volunteer-run collective “dedicated to every aspect of bicycle education”—holds an “Alphabet Night” for LGBTQ+ people twice a month, on the first and third Tuesdays.

“Cycling is well known to be a bit of a boys’ club, which makes starting out intimidating when you don’t fit into that demographic. Knowing that there was a shift that was specifically welcoming to marginalized genders and sexualities helped get me in the door of Bike Farm and to begin learning to work on my own bike,” said Shay, an Alphabet Night participant and volunteer. “Alphabet Night lowered the barrier to entry and provided a safe space where my beginner self could feel less worried about being talked down to or ignored because of my perceived gender.”

Another Alphabet Night participant, Archie, said learning about bike mechanics in a “space where one is the more unfamiliar identity” can be distracting for learning—“especially skills that have not not been seen as common for you to learn from your assigned gender.”

Many of the people working to make Portland’s bike scene more queer-friendly are also involved in the effort to make the local cycling community—a traditionally very white space—more inclusive to BIPOC Portlanders. Two groups that regularly hold rides for people of color in Portland are Chingonas Outside—an “outdoor collective centering BIPOC of marginalized genders and sexual identities”—and BikePOC PNW. Their rides can also be found on their Instagram pages and the Pedalpalooza calendar.

“I’d always want to be aware of [the needs] of any riders who need extra sup -

All of NakedHearts:PDX’s rides can be found on their Instagram page and on the

“Connection and understanding is invaluable,” Archie said. “Non-‘Alphabeters’ often don’t realize how their perception can be exclusive.”

A few other rides to highlight: The Rainbow Ride on July 1, a pride-themed ride that ends with a dance party with vogue dance performances, and the Britney Spears / environmental education ride on July 12, led by a group of LGBTQ+ folks who will combine pop music with helpful information about hazardous waste management (maybe the most Portland ride ever). Later in the summer, Black and Pink PDX—a queer and trans based prison abolition group—will host the Letters to Incarcerated 2SLGBTQI+ Friends Ride on August 23, and on August 25, you can catch an end-ofsummer, LGBTQ+ singles’ ride Pedalpalooza, AKA Bike Summer, is probably the most exciting time of the year for people who love to ride their bikes in Portland—and it’s becoming more and more aligned with Portland’s summer-long Pride extravaganza. Stay tuned to the Pedalpalooza calendar for information on the rides happening this summer. ■

Darcelle XV and Poison Waters flanked by the Gay Beards at the Pride Ride 2022.

TAYLOR GRIGGS

TAYLOR GRIGGS

The Unipiper at 2022’s Pride Ride.

HIDDEN PDX RIDE A ride to the cool, hidden treasures of Portland. Moore Alley SE Division & SE 36th Between SE 35th Place & SE 36th / Scott Batchelar / Meet at 6pm-ish

THE GOTH RIDE Goth, Industrial, Darkwave, Shoegaze. Lone Fire Cemetary 649 SE 26th - Meet at entrance / The Linus Pumpkin Guys linuspumpkin@outlook. com / Meet at 8pm, ride at 9pm

TOXIC: BRITNEY CLEANS UP Hot music + hot secrets about Portland’s trashiest sites. With a taste of your lips

I’m on a ride! Salmon Street Springs

SW Salmon & SW Naito / It’s Britney / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:15

WEEN RIDE 21+ Bring your chocalate and cheese, we be rollin’ to the sweet tunes of New Hope’s finest! Irving Park NE 7th & NE Fremont Top of the park / River Phlows riverphlows73113@gmail.com / Meet at 7:30pm, ride at 8-ish

SATURDAY, 7/13

BAD TENNIS GROUP RIDE Come join in while we laugh our nets o . We will ride to di erent tennis courts and play some bad tennis! Grant Park NE 33rd & Grant - Meet at tennis courts - north side of park / MM Jenkins jenkins.mm@gmail.com / Meet at 4pm

BICYCLE KITTY ALLEY 21+

Ride slowly or race quickly to gather clues to win small prizes or just for fun. Bring a pen and your hippocampus! Brentwood Park 6550 SE 60th Picnic tables on west side of park / Maria bicyclekitty@gmail.com / Meet at 2pm, ride at 2:30

BIKE PLAY see Thurs., July 11 listing

BREAKING AWAY MOVIE RIDE

A heartfelt and hilarious coming-ofage movie (with bikes)! Irving Park 707 NE Fremont / Ben Rosen @benhrosen / Meet at 5pm, ride at 5:30pm

DAZED & CONFUSED RIDE 21+

Alright, alright, alright! Dress up and jam down on this ride to the party at the moon tower. School’s out forever! Oregon Park NE Oregon & NE 30thMeet at the picnic tables / Hot Won’t Quit / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:30pm

FULL ACCESS WITH BCMS #2 ♥

Second ride sponsored by Bridge City Montessori School, which brings socially accessible events to the Deaf community. Bridge City Montessori School 4530 SE 67th - Meet in the large driveway lot in front of the school / Chris Balduc chris.balduc@ gmail.com 805.236.0237 / Meet at noon, ride at 12:30

MR. WORLDRIDE 21+ A celebration of all things Pitbull. We’re riding to Florida Room. Colonel Summers Park 1772 SE Taylor - By the splash pad / AG @liberal_arts_trash / Meet at 7pm

NATIONAL SKINNY DIP RIDE 21+

Be naked as you please in a safe, queer-led space with conscious leadership Clinton City Park 5576 SE Division / NakedHearts:PDX (El Máximo) / Meet at 5pm

NIEVES DE JULIO BIKE RIDE 21+

Ride to a curated playlist of corridos. Think Chalino Sanchez, Carlos y Jose, & El Potro de Sinaloa. Sabin Hydro Park 1907 NE Skidmore / Pablo & Rogelio / Meet at 8pm, ride at 9pm

SPLISH, SPLASH! ♥ Yearly Splish Splash ride through NW Pearl and Downtown fountains. Jamison Square NW Johnson & NW 11th - Meet by the red sculpture / Scott Batchelar / Meet at 1pm

SUNDAY, 7/14

BIKE PLAY see Thurs., July 11 listing

KIDICAL MASS SELLWOOD ♥

Kid-paced ride. We will ride to Sellwood Park Playground. Westmoreland Park 7530 SE 22nd Nature playground in the park / Kidical Mass PDX kidicalmasspdx@gmail.com / Meet at 2:15pm, ride at 2:30

MONDAY, 7/15

BRIDGES & PIE SOCIAL Chill

social ride, 15-ish miles. All bikes welcome, come as you are. Just Bob 2403 NE Alberta / Sebastien @sebsgotthefunk / Meet at 10:30am, ride at 11

ODOTGTFOPDX SOUTH Oregon Department of Transportation Got Their Freeways On South Portland / Marquam Bridge Removal ride. Red Balloon Sculpture S Bond & Tilikum Crossing / Eric Wilhelm / Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:30

SOCIETE DES RAMBLENEURS

10 mile mixed surface, chill-paced ride east of 205. Will end at spot to watch sunset. Gateway Discovery Park 10520 NE Halsey - Meet in NE corner near Halsey/106th / Urban Adventure League urbanadventureleague@ gmail.com / Meet at 5:30pm, ride at 6

TUESDAY, 7/16

A VERY MERRY NIC CAGE MAS’ A celebration of Nic Cage ness…. Colonel Summers Park SE 20th & SE Belmont / NakedHearts:PDX (Kristie & Moorland) / Meet at 7pm

INN BETWEEN RIDE #2 21+

Bars named “inn,” or in an inn, via in-between spaces. NE/East Portland, ~15 mi; not a loop. Bring $ for drinks/ food. McMenamins Kennedy School 5736 NE 33rd - Meet at courtyard or out front on NE 33rd / Josh innbetweenride@joshuahetrick.info 724.815.0434 / Meet at 5:30pm, ride at 6

WEDNESDAY, 7/17

MIDWESTERNERS RIDE Come early and bring an item for the potluck, wear your best swag representing your Midwest roots, and get ready for Bingo and Corn Hole. Irving Park NE 9th & NE Siskiyou - Meet near the splash pad on the south end of the park / Megan / Meet at 6pm

PINK PONY CLUB 21+

Chappell Roan, Remi Wolf, and other fun summery tunes. Dressing up encouraged! New ride leader Colonel Summers Park SE 20th & SE Belmont By the tennis courts / NakedHearts:PDX (Amythest) / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:30

URBAN SHADE EQUITY RIDE ♥ Want to join the climate justice movement with joy? We’ll ride to Ladds noticing di erences in tree canopy. Lents Park 4808 SE 92nd / Tyler Gilmore (he/him) tyler@350pdx. org /Meet at 5:45pm

WESTSIDE RAVE RIDE 21+

BEAVERTON Let’s get rowdy and blast Rave music in our wildest outfits and show o our dance moves. Several dance stops. Beaverton City Park SW 5th & SW Hall By the fountain / Tink / Meet at 9pm, ride at 9:30-ish

THURSDAY, 7/18

6TH ANNUAL TEAL RIDE The love for teal is real! It’s a little green... it’s a little blue. It’s perfect. Laurelhurst Park SE César E. Chávez & SE Stark - Meet at SE Ankeny Entrance near Floral Pl by the restrooms, north of the lake / Teal Squad / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:30

BIKE PLAY see Thurs., July 11 listing BLEEPS & BLOOPS! The acoustic bicycle adventure returns! Join our swarm of sound! Strap on your noisemachine or borrow one of ours. Start point will be announced week of the event. / Mykle & Gordon mykle-bloop@ mykle.com / Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:30

DOUBLE TROUBLE 21+ A social 5.8mi ride to every bar with “double” in its name. Tandems, twinning outfits, entendres highly encouraged! Double Barrel Tavern 2002 SE Division - Meet at outdoor seating / Alan Kwok / Meet at 5:15pm, ride at 5:30 FRIDAY, 7/19

BIKE PLAY see Thurs., July 11 listing BOOMBIKE CONCERT RIDE Humanpowered mobile performance venue fills summer streetscapes with mobile live music and after party with bands. Piccolo Park 2715 SE Clinton / Mike Cobb @boombikepdx / Meet at 5:30pm, ride at 6

FROADIN ROUND HILLSBORO 21+

HILLSBORO Find patches of dirt, gravel, and a little single-track hidden around. This is a no-drop ride with a fun run-around pace. Hatfield Government Center MAX Station

Gather around the building at the north end of the station / Tim / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:15

LB - NORTH BY NORTHEAST Light up your bike, ride around, and be prepared for adventure. Blumenauer Bridge NE 7th & NE Lloyd - Meet at the North entrance to the bridge / Scott Batchelar / Meet at 8pm, ride at 8:30

LB - NORTH PORTLAND Light up your bike and ride around. Peninsula Park 700 N Rosa Parks Way - Meet at the pagoda / Scott Batchelar / Meet at 8:30pm, ride at 9:15

NAKED WAXING MOON RIDE

We’ll ride around Portland celebrating the waxing gibbous moon and protesting car dominance. A fun ride, bring costumes, body paint, etc. Coe Circle 3900 NE Glisan / P’Pedal, Virtous Kernel & Past Tire / Meet at 8:30pm, ride at 9

STILL WOOZY APPRECIATION

Jam out to Portland’s own Still Woozy. Casual ride pace Holgate MAX Station Park & Ride 9669 SE Holgate / Christine S. / Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:20

SUPERHERO RIDE! ♥ Don your capes and masks and get ready to pedal, play, and be superheroes together. Superhero Fitness 345 SE Yamhill / Makaela Montgomery superherofitnesspdx@gmail.com / Meet at 5:30pm, ride at 6

SYNTH WAVE RIDE Think ’80s movie. Driving down the Cali coast. Sleeves rolled up. Ferrari Tesstarossa. Vibing hard. Laurelhurst Park SE César E. Chávez & SE Stark - Meet by the pond / NakedHearts:PDX (Moorland) / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:30

SATURDAY,

7/20

BIKE PLAY see Thurs., July 11 listing

CF CYCLE FOR LIFE St. Paul Join us as we pedal 65, 35, or 10 miles for a cure for Cystic Fibrosis. Must be 16+ to ride. Registration required. $75 fee. http://fightcf.c .org/oregoncycle Lady Hill Winery 8400 Champoeg Rd. NE / Joe Boyd jboyd@c .org 503.226.3435 / Meet at 7am, ride at 9

CHAPPELL ROAN RIDE Irving Park NE 9th & NE Fremont Top of the hill Grac & Co / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:30

MILWAUKIE KNOW YOUR PARK ♥

MILWAUKIE Learn about and explore parks in Milwaukie. Lawn games in one of the parks. Bring your bag lunch. Milwaukie Bay Park 11211 SE Mcloughlin - Meet by the bathrooms near the boat ramp / Maitri & Jay / Meet at 9:45am, ride at 10

SAILOR MOON RIDE Calling all Pretty Guardians who fight for Love and Justice! Join and celebrate whatever Sailor Moon means to you. Stumptown Otaku 133 SW 2nd / Renata / Meet at 5:30pm, ride at 6

SPACEY SKATE/BIKE RIDE ♥

To the stars! Space exploration ride for Moon Day. Skate and bike ride. Space diva attire encouraged. Colonel Summers Park SE 20th & SE Belmont By the picnic tables / NakedHearts:PDX (TJ) / Meet at 3:30pm, ride at 4

VH1 DIVAS LIVE! RIDE Ain’t no mountain high enough to keep us from dance biking to beloved divas jams from ’98 and beyond! Colonel Summers Park SE 20th & SE Belmont / Nakedhearts:PDX (Ivy & Nadia) / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:30

ZOO BOMB’S CHARIOT WARS

ZooBomb’s Mini Bike Winter Chariot Wars Snow Bird Edition! We are old, and February is cold! Teams of two or more will battle eachother on pedal powered chariots. Colonel Summers Park SE 20th & SE Belmont Behind the tennis courts / Zane / Meet at 11am

SUNDAY,

7/21

BANNERS & BANGALOONS ♥

Wear your funnest, frilliest outfits. Bring your biggest banners and flags. Sunnyside Park SE 34th and SE Taylor / Scott Batchelar / Meet at 1pm

FULL MOON NAKED RIDE 21+

Based on the musical episode from Bu y and the vampire slayer. The atmosphere will be magical. Colonel Summers Park SE 20th & SE Belmont / NakedHearts:PDX (Jayne V.) / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:45

SUNSET/MOONRISE RIDE 5ish mile ride to see sunset then moonrise. Bring lights, layers, & snack/beverage. Frazer Park NE 52nd & NE HassaloMeet on the 52nd side of park / Pizza Bandit urbanadventureleague@gmail. com / Meet at 7:30pm, ride at 8

NAKED ZOMBIE RIDE 21+

THE YELLOW BIKE RIDE ♥

Yellow bikes! Yellow Clothes! Yellow Fun! The Fields Park 1099 NW Overton / Bradley Bondy bradleybondy@gmail. com / Meet at 11am, ride at 11:30

VEGAN TOUR Bike tour to 10 all-vegan establishments. Co ee, cheese, ice cream, bakery, chocolate, grocery, etc. Bring $ and water. Co ee Beer 4142 SE 42nd - Meet outside on SE 42nd or SE Boise / Vegan Bike Club veganbikeclubpdx@gmail.com / Meet at 10:30ish, ride at 11ish WTFNB+ BIKE CAMP CLINIC Learn all about bike camping gear, area campgrounds, routes, and more. Free packing checklists and resource flyers. Mount Scott Park SE Knight & SE 73rd We’ll be at a picnic table on the south side of the park. / Madi Carlson, The Street Trust madi@ thestreettrust.org / Meet at 11am

MONDAY, 7/22

ROCKY BUTTE PICNIC RIDE Sunset picnic at the top of Rocky Butte. Bring your blanket, food to share, and let’s climb that hill again. Irving Park 707 NE Fremont - Meet at the top of the hill / Logan V. / Meet at 6:15pm, ride at 6:30 sharp

TUESDAY, 7/23

SPACE JAM RIDE Everybody get up, it’s time to jam now! Bring your basketball and rock your best Toon Squad look! Creston Elementary 4701 SE Bush- Meet at the basketball courts within the school’s courtyard area / Beetlebird Lady / Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:30

THE VIDEO GAME RIDE Amazing music from a treasure trove of artistic expression and excellently curated theme. Colonel Summers Park SE Belmont & SE 20th By the tennis courts / NakedHearts:PDX (Dan) / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:30

WEDNESDAY, 7/24

ARCHITECTURE TOUR Explore inner NE and SE and learn about notable buildings along Neighborhood Greenways. Laurelhurst Park 3598 SE Ankeny - Meet at Ankeny entrance Erin Bailie @architecturetourspdx / Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:15 sharp

BIKE CAMP COOKOUT Hang out with other folks while making dinner on camping stoves. We’ll be in East Picnic Area south of tennis courts. Mt. Tabor Park SE 69th & SE Yamhill We’ll be at the picnic area on the east side of Tabor, just south of the tennis courts / Urban Adventure League urbanadventureleague@gmail.com / Meet at 6:30pm

THE SINGLES RIDE Come partake in mingle games. 4th year of this amazing fun ride. Gorges Beer Co. 2705 SE Ankeny / NakedHearts:PDX (Moe I.) / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:30

THURSDAY, 7/25

HOT DOG RIDE Celebrate hot dogs by biking past hot dog serving establishments. Ends with a fire or grill out. Irving Park 707 NE Fremont / Annie abronez@gmail.com @__ FriendlyAlien / Meet at 6:30pm, ride at 6:45 sharp

KILTED RIDE 21+ 10th Annual ride. Wear your kilt, then travel to bars. StumpTown Kilts’ Shop 2303 NE Alberta / Todd Michael Altstadt todd@ stumptownkilts.com / Meet at 5pm

FRIDAY, 7/26

50 FOR MY 50TH 50 miles of Technically Singletrack in N, NE and SE Portland. Council Crest Park 1120 SW Council Crest Dr In the center, at the top / Brian McGloin mcgloin@mac. com / Meet at 9am, ride at 9:30

ABBA RIDE (BIKING QUEEN) 21+ You can dance, you can jive, and have the biking time of your life on this ride celebrating disco, friendship, and ABBA. Oregon Park NE Oregon & NE 30th / Fran & Emily / Meet at 6:30pm, ride at 7ish

APOCALYPSE RIDE 21+ Dress for the end of the world! Fallout, Mad Max, Turbo Kid, etc. Opera House 211 SE Caruthers- Meet at the end of Caruthers near the Opera House / Doomed Derailleur / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:45

Naked Zombies flash mobbing! The most body image liberating ride there is. Laurelhurst Park SE César E. Chávez & SE Oak / Nakedhearts:PDX (Moorland) / Meet at 6:45pm, ride at 7:30 sharp

SATURDAY, 7/27

80s MIXTAPE RIDE Totally tubular! Playlist is crowdsourced ahead of time (request form opens a week prior). Eastbank Esplanade 211 SE Caruthers South end Esplanade by Hampton Opera Biketown racks / Pamela Schpamela pamelaschpamela@ gmail.com / Meet at 7pm

ART IN THE BIKELANE Dress up with us for a playful ride celebrating Portland’s thermoplastic bikelane art. South Plaza of the Blumenauer Bridge NE 7th & NE Flanders / Whitney lady. mercer@gmail.com / Meet at 2pm, ride at 2:30

BEYONCÉ OR BUST Celebrate the 2 year anniversary of Beyoncé’s album Renaissance and the rest of her discography! Ladd Circle Park 1988 SE Mulberry - Meet in the middle / Holden @h.reg / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:15

BICI CUMBIA Blast cumbias around NE. We’ll have mazapan and takis. Send leader song suggestions. Holladay Park 1200 NE MultnomahMeet in the center at the fountains / Seb @seb_the_soundguy / Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:30

BIKE BACK THE NIGHT Join our bike ride to unite cyclists, support abuse survivors, and enjoy a fundraising ra e and end point talks. Colonel Summers Park SE Taylor & SE 17th Near the fountains / Call to Safety - Pink Tag Bags hello@pinktagbags. com / Meet at 11am, ride at 11:30

FLIP SIDE VEGAN MARKET Ride to Flip Side Vegan Market at Hail Snail and loop back to the start. ~6 miles one way, 12 roundtrip. Vera Katz Statue East Bank Esplanade, north of the fire station near SE Main / Vegan Bike Club veganbikeclubpdx@gmail.com / Meet at 10:45am-ish, ride at 11-ish

PRINCE PURPLE RAIN RIDE Look for people with bikes, music, and most likely wearing purple. Slow-paced 8-9 mile ride. Oregon Park NE Oregon & NE 30th / The Linus Pumpkin Guys linuspumpkin@outlook.com / Meet at 8pm, ride at 9

RACC - RIDE AROUND CLARK ♥ VANCOUVER,WA Ride Around Clark County. Registration required. Costs money. www.vbc-usa.com Bike Clark County 1604 Main St / Vancouver Bike Club / Meet at 6am

UNDER THE SEA Think so-fishticated ocean creatures, eel-laborate decorations or costumes, and all the ocean jams. Salmon Street Springs SW Salmon & SW Naito Gather at the fountain / Ryan Mottau / Meet at 2:30pm, ride at 3

SUNDAY, 7/28

CLIMATE ADAPTATION RIDE

A ride to discuss adapting to a future where we can thrive, no matter what climate change throws at us! Salmon Street Springs SW Salmon & SW Naito Parkway - Meet south of the fountain / Emily K. / Meet at 2pm, ride at 2:30

HABLAMOS ESPAÑOL RIDE Join us for a vibrant journey through Spanish-speaking hits on our themed bike ride and practice your Spanish! Peninsula Park 700 N Rosa Parks Way / BiciBuds @elmaximoqueer / Meet at 11:30am, ride at noon

RIDE+COCOON = CONNECTION Park hop and explore the cocoon, a sheer, stretchy fabric enclosure, together in spontaneous inclusive community. Emerge transformed. Laurelhurst Park SE César E. Chávez & SE Stark - Meet near the restrooms / Sha Sha Sherry Bo Berry / Meet at 2:30pm, ride at 3pm THE CONTRA DANCE RIDE see Sunday, June 23 listing

TUESDAY, 7/30

THE LOVE LETTERS RIDE Bring a pen and paper to compose love letters to special souls, loves, family, pets, yourself, or whoever. Laurelhurst Park SE César E. Chávez & SE Stark Main grassy area by the duck pond / Billie Doo / Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:30

https://bit.ly/shift2bikes

WEDNESDAY, 7/31

FUNK TO THE FUNKY DANCE

Get down hard to the funk. Feel the funk and let go of the funk and dance Gorges Beer Co. 2705 SE Ankeny / NakedHearts:PDX (Moorland) / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:30

MIDWEEK GORGE RIDE/CAMP GRESHAM Ride 20-50 miles into the Columbia Gorge, camping option. Register for details. $10-15 per person. midweekgorge2024.eventbrite.com Near a Blue Line MAX station, register to get start point / Urban Adventure League urbanadventureleague@ gmail.com / Meet at 9:30am

THURSDAY, 8/1

MESHUGGAH RIDE 21+ The most

IMMUTABLE, HEAVIEST ride of the summer! Ladd Circle Park 1988 SE Mulberry / Kyle / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:30 sharp

FRIDAY, 8/2

JAMES BALDWIN RIDE Celebrate this profoundly brave and compassionate human and writer. Readings, interpretations, and a performance Central Library 801 SW 10th / Revphil revphil@gmail.com / Meet at 5:30pm

LEATHER & LATEX RIDE 21+ 3rd Annual Ride. Colonel Summers Park SE Belmont & SE 20th - Meet by the fountain / Lady-on-Fire & Fancytown_ Fox / Meet at 7:30pm, ride at 8 MURAL DE BOTJOY A joyous tour of Botjoy murals around town. Pod 28 SE 28th & SE Ankeny - Meet in the food cart pod / Scott Batchelar / Meet at 4:30pm THE DARK WAVE SYNTH RIDE Dance stops to Industrial Wave/Goth and New Wave music. Ending in a Vampires Ball. Laurelhurst Park SE César E. Chávez & SE Stark - Meet by the pond / NakedHearts:PDX (Moorland) / Meet at 7am, ride at 7:30

SATURDAY, 8/3

DEAD FREEWAYS RIDE 10 mile tour of freeways built, removed, and never built. Beverages and conversation at the endpoint near SE Foster. Wallace Park NW Raleigh & NW 25th - Meet by (or in) covered structure / Urban Adventure League urbanadventureleague@gmail.com / Meet at 10am, ride at 10:30

KIDICAL MASS FOUNTAINS ♥ Kid-paced ride. Play in 4 fountains in a loop around downtown. Jamison Square 810 NW 11th At the fountain / Kidical Mass PDX kidicalmasspdx@ gmail.com / Meet at 1:15pm, ride at 1:30

ONE HIT WONDERS RIDE Sing your heart out to the tunes that made one-hit wonders famous while riding! Wilshire Park NE Mason & NE Skidmore / BiciBuds @elmaximoqueer / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:45

STATIONERY STORE RIDE It’s like record store day, but for stationery stores. Ride between stationery stores, and chat with other paper nerds. Paper Epiphanies SE 25th & SE Clinton / AnomaLily @anomalily / Meet at 12:30pm, ride at 1:15 sharp

STRANGER THINGS RIDE The creepy world of Stranger Things mirrored in Portland! Costumes optional . Wilshire Park NE 33rd Ave and NE Mason St - West end of the park, behind the baseball backstop / Lyle Kopnicky lyle@qseep.net / Meet at 3pm, ride at 3:30

SUNDAY, 8/4

PUNCTUAL PEDALPALOOZA

Celebrate punctuality and sticking to schedules while we tour some of N Portland’s Public Time-Keeping Devices. Columbia Park 4503 N Lombard - Near tennis courts / A Milian Adventures / Meet at 1pm, ride at 1:30 sharp

MELLOW MONDAYS EVERY MONDAY A ride for chilling with friends and welcoming new people to our community. We will have different ride leaders now and then but we all foster our community of joy and acceptance starting from a place of trust and safety. Every week has a new theme! Some themes include: Woodland Folk, Sacred Female Voices, BardCore, English Bingo, John Carpenter, Jazz, & Gothic Movies. Abernethy Elementary School 2421 SE Orange / NakedHearts:PDX @nakedhearts.pdx / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:30

TAPAS TUESDAY EVERY TUESDAY Join other bike-minded folks for good wine, great tapas, and Spaniard vibes. Not a ride. Bar Botellon 606 NE Davis / Joseph Bicycles joebicycles@gmail.com barbotellon. com/tapas / Meet at 4pm

FOSTER NIGHT RIDE EVERY OTHER TUESDAY

A fun ride with a party pace. Please bring lights, locks, and a spare tubes for this ride is an adventure. Eat, drink and be merry. The Portland Mercado 7238 SE Foster - Next to the Barrio / Radrich radrivh@gmail.com / Meet at 7:30pm, ride at 7:59 sharp BIKE HAPPY HOUR EVERY WEDNESDAY Join other bike-minded folks for cheap drinks, great food, and “immaculate vibes.” $2 o all drinks (non-alcoholic and co ee, too) at Gorges Beer Co., Ankeny Tap & Table, and Crema PDX Co ee & Bakery. Just show up and hang out. That’s it! Not a ride. Gorges Beer Co. 2705 SE Ankeny - On the Patio (cold weather location across street at Ankeny Tap & Table) / Jonathan Maus BikePortland maus.jonathan@gmail.com bikeportland. org / From 3 to 6pm ish

WESTSIDE WEDNESDAY RIDE EVERY OTHER

WEDNESDAY 21+ BEAVERTON Faster paced and more adventurous group ride with a no drop mentality. Beaverton Transit Center 4050 SW Lombard - Across from the MAX station / Cycle Cats PDX rollinsjenni@ yahoo.com @westsidewednesdayride / Meet at 7:30pm, ride at 8

RIDE SAFE THURSDAYS EVERY THURSDAY Ride with friends in a welcoming environment. Queer-led safer space, all wheels welcome. Always a loop and no-drop ride. Masks required on the First Thursday of every month. Check online calendar for themes. Start location varies in Summer / Ride Safe PDX nmediati@ gmail.com / Meet at 6:30, ride at 7-ish

SECRET ROLLER DISCO EVERY THURSDAY A pop-up roller disco adventure that invites participants on all types of wheels to explore Portland Metro Area. Djs, lights, art, crafts, costumes and community. Check website for the weekly flyer which announces location and themes each week. - We meet at schools, streets, plazas, parking garages, abandoned stores, ice rinks, basements and warehouses. / Francesca Berrin francesca232@gmail.com secretrollerdisco.org / From 7pm to 9

CRASH ANALYSIS SECOND THURSDAYS OF EVERY MONTH BikeLoudPDX monthly Hack Night takes to the steets for Bike Summer. Visit locations from the Bike Crash Report, take measurements/pics, file in 311/823-safe. S Moody Broken Elevator Piazza S Moody & S Gibbs - Meet in the shade of the broken elevator, across the street from the tram & bike valet / BikeLoudPDX ewilhelm@pobox.com bikeloudpdx.org / Meet at 6pm

NATIONAL BOOK LOVERS DAY

WEDNESDAY, 8/14

SHIFT BOARD MEETING TYPICALLY THURSDAYS

Online meeting for the people who create the shift2bikes community calendar which we use for Bike Summer. Email for Zoom link. Not a ride. / Shift board@ shift2bikes.org Shift2Bikes.org / Meet at 5:30pm

KOMPAS COFFEE CLUB EVERY FRIDAY A touch point for our community members to hang out, drink co ee, and ride bikes together. Social paced cafe ride. Upper Left Roasters 1204 SE Clay / Kompas kompas. rgn@gmail.com @kompas.rgn / Meet at 7am, ride at 7:45

Join these events all year! See ALL the rides online! bit.ly/shift2bikes & Download the NEW app! http://bikefun.bike

RIDE-THRU DRIVE-THRU Head to drive-thru businesses on our bikes. Franks A Lot 2845 E Burnside / Josh ridethrudrivethruride@joshuahetrick. info 724.815.0434 / Meet at 1:30pm, ride at 2

RIDING AWAY: THE DIVORCE 21+

This themed bike ride o ers a safe space to reflect, connect, and embrace the road ahead for divorced folks & friends! Oregon Park NE Oregon & SE 30th / BiciBuds / Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:30

THE FOCCIA BREAD RIDE

Bake your bread, make your red sauce, bring Chianti, and delve into the Italian atmosphere Bianca brings. 1265 Lloyd Ctr - Meet by Marshalls / NakedHearts:PDX (Bianca) / Meet at 4pm

TUESDAY, 8/6

REIGN OF TACO RIDE 2.0 Eat all the tacos, all over town. Self-organize & start/end where you like. Tracking website: tacoapp.verynice.party Portland Metropolitan Area (and/or surroundings) Start or end where you like / Tacogistics Team / Meet at 11am

WEDNESDAY, 8/7

BOOK LOVERS BIKE RIDE

An evening celebrating bikes, books, and community Colonel Summers Park SE 17th & SE Taylor / Street Books / Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:30

GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE An evening ride through Old Town to explore unique examples of Gothic Architecture. Lownsdale Square 1024 SW 4th / Erin Bailie / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:15 sharp

LORD OF THE RINGS RIDE To the Mt. Tabor Caldera and back again.

Sewallcrest Park SE 31st & SE MarketGather where 32nd St. meets the park / Viv / Meet at 6:30pm, ride at 6:30 THE BRIT/ENGLISH/UK RIDE English games and snacks. New wave, goth and pop music from the tiny island. Gorges Beer Co. 2705 SE Ankeny / NakedHearts:PDX (Moorland) / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:30

THURSDAY, 8/8

3RD ANNUAL 808 RIDE

The ride for everything Hawaiian/ Hawai i. Woodstock Park SE Steele / Chocklitsauce / Meet at 5pm

BLEEPS & BLOOPS! The acoustic bicycle adventure returns! Join our swarm of sound! Strap on your noisemachine or borrow one of ours. Start point will be announced week of the event. / Mykle & Gordon mykle-bloop@ mykle.com / Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:30

FRIDAY, 8/9

CATHERINE O’HARA RIDE 21+

Celebrate iconic Canadian comedian Catherine O’Hara on this evening party ride through SE. Costumes strongly encouraged. Oregon Park NE Oregon & NE 30th - Meet near the center of the park / The Appreciation Society @the.appreciationsociety / Meet at 6:30pm, ride at 7

Ride through Portland’s literary landscape to visit independent bookstores, make new friends, and get bookish swag. Laurelhurst Park SE César E. Chávez & SE Stark / Rebecca Rook hello@byrebeccarook.com / Meet at 5:15pm, ride at 5:30

SMOKEY BEAR BIRTHDAY ♥

Wear your Smokey Bear gear. All welcome Laurelhurst Park SE César E. Chávez & SE Stark Between the bathrooms and the pond / Sherri P. Wxsherri@gmail.com / Meet at 6:30pm, ride at 7

THE BEATLES RIDE A voyage through the magical music of 4 cheeky lads from the NW of England. Clinton City Park 5576 SE Division / NakedHearts:PDX (Moorland) / Meet at 7pm

SATURDAY, 8/10

FULL ACCESS WITH BCMS #3 ♥

Third ride sponsored by Bridge City Montessori School, bringing socially accessible events to the Deaf community Bridge City Montessori School 4531 SE 67th - Meet in the large driveway lot in front of the school / Chris Balduc chris.balduc@gmail.com 805.236.0237 / Meet at noon, ride at 12:30

LIGHT BRIGADE FAMILIES ♥

Light up your bikey steeds and ride around the waterfront. Salmon Street Springs SW Salmon & SW Naito Parkway / Scott Batchelar / Meet at 7:30pm, ride at 8:15

THE SLOW RIDE ♥ This is the time to ride your big wheel, tricycle, clown bike, or small to medium sized unicycle. Small children, cats, dogs and other animals are encouraged to participate. OMSI Plaza SE Water & Eastbank Esplanade - Meet in the plaza by the entrance / Scott Batchelar / Meet at 1pm, ride at 1:30

TREK TO TWO BRIDGE LOOP 21+

Meet for co ee and donuts, ride the two bridges over the Columbia River 12-14mph pace. Trek Slabtown 1560 NW 21st - Inside the store / Maria bicyclekitty@gmail.com / Meet at 10:30am

SUNDAY, 8/11

WESTERN WONDERLAND

BEAVERTON 30-mile Beaverton loop, mostly paved trails. Adventure with us! Merlo Rd/SW 158th Ave MAX Station SW 158th & SW Merlo - Meet on the north side of the tracks, west side of the platform / Lyle Kopnicky lyle@qseep.net / Meet at noon, ride at 12:15

TUESDAY, 8/13

VEGAN POTLUCK RIDE Bring vegan food/drink to share, dishes, and utensils. Ride to Laurelhurst Park with store stop. Ladd Circle Park SE 16th & SE Harrison - Meet in the park middle of Ladd’s Addition / Vegan Bike Club veganbikeclubpdx@gmail.com / Meet at 4pm-ish, ride at 4:30pm-ish

LIZARD RIDE ♥ It’s World Lizard Day! We’ll be riding bikes, making beaded lizards, and sharing fun and dorky lizard facts! Colonel Summers Park SE Taylor & SE 17th / Kristie aka LZRDMOM / Meet at 7pm

THURSDAY, 8/15

EAST PDX BIKE INFRASTRUCTURE

Check out past, present, and future of East PDX bike infrastructure. Ride led by city council candidate. Gateway Discovery Park 10520 NE Halsey Park Plaza - corner of NE 106th and Halsey / Timur Ender enderineastportland@gmail.com / Meet at 5:15pm, ride at 5:30

ROCKY BUTTE PICNIC RIDE

Sunset picnic at the top of Rocky Butte. Bring your blanket, food to share, and let’s climb that hill again. Irving Park 707 NE Fremont - Meet at the top of the hill / Logan V. / Meet at 6:15pm, ride at 6:30 sharp

FRIDAY, 8/16

BUREAU OF SILLY BIKES ♥

Grab your bikes and let’s be totally silly Abernethy Elementary School 2421 SE Orange - Meet underneath the cover / Scott Batchelar / Meet at 5:30pm, ride at 6

DANCE UGLY & DROOL One of the most loved and ridiculous fun rides we host. 3rd year of this extremely liberating ride. Buckman Elementary School 320 SE 16th / NakedHearts:PDX (Moorland) / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:30-ish

GRAVEL WITCH RIDE 21+ Gravel ride for all skill levels. Come shred with Team Tangerine or take it chill with Team Peaches. No one is left behind! Vera Katz Statue East Bank Esplanade / Anna / Meet at 7am

SATURDAY, 8/17

BICI CUMBIA We’ll be blasting cumbias and dancing afterwards. Send leader song suggestions. Oregon Park NE Oregon & NE 30th - Meet at the benches / Seb @seb_the_ soundguy / Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:30pm

BIKES & FILM CAMERAS CLUB

10mi ride to St. Johns where we’ll stop and take photos on film cameras. Overlook Park 1599 N Fremont - Meet near the stone picnic structure / Bikes & Film Cameras Club urbanadventureleague@ gmail.com / Meet at 10am, ride at 10:30

FIELD DAY RIDE 21+ Hop you on your bike, grab your three-legged race buddy, and limber up for sack racing. Clinton City Park 5576 SE Division / Smash & Jerome - Meet at noon

MILWAUKIE RIDE ♥ MILWAUKIE Explore and celebrate local businesses in Milwaukie Milwaukie Floral & Garden 3306 SE Lake / Maitri & Will / Meet at 9:45am, ride at 10

FRIDAY NIGHT RIDE AT LADDS EVERY FRIDAY

Casual pace with some extra zip. 10-20ish mile rides with store/park/art stops. Not necessarily a “no drop” ride, especially in the fall/winter/spring. Ladd Circle Park 1988 SE Mulberry - In/around circle….. if raining meet at covered area of Abernethy Elementary School / Aw Awichler@gmail.com / Meet at 7ish, ride at 8ish

MIDNIGHT MYSTERY RIDE SECOND FRIDAY OF EVERY MONTH Meet at a di erent location every month and follow the leader to a mystery destination. This June’s ride meets at Red Fox on Albina. See website every month for details. Start location varies every month / Team Midnight midnightmysteryridepdx@gmail.com midnightmysteryride.wordpress.com / At midnight, we ride!

BREAKFAST ON THE BRIDGES GENERALLY THE LAST FRIDAY OF EVERY MONTH Free co ee and goodies to people biking, walking, scooting and boarding across Portland’s bridges. Blumenauer North side, Flanders: East side, Steel: East side of the lower deck; Tilikum: West side under the 99 red balloons statue / Dr. Doughnut bonb@lists.riseup.net www.shift2bikes.org/ pages/bonb / 7am to 9ish

THE OPERA RIDE The most serene ride conjoined with making mischief at insane levels. Beauty and Chaos!

Ladd Circle Park 1988 SE Mulberry / NakedHearts:PDX (Moorland) / Meet at 7:30pm, ride at 8

WAXING MOON NAKED RIDE

Clothing optional ride protesting car dominance, and having a good time. We’ll roll through all five quadrants of Portland, & maybe go for a swim in the river. Coe Circle 3900 NE Glisan / Past Tire, Chopper Kernel & P’Pedal / Meet at 8pm, ride at 8:30

SUNDAY, 8/18

FULL MOON NAKED RIDE The witches hour. Tarot and astrology maybe even some herbs and cacao. A special and magical naked ride. Colonel Summers Park SE 20th & SE Belmont / NakedHearts:PDX (Jayne & Shaili) / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:45

TANDEM RIDE Ride your tandem for a jaunt around town and see which duo is most coordinated with a series of partner challenges. Ladd Circle Park 1988 SE Mulberry / Mr. Pants, Fancy & Mr. Sie, Boot / Meet at 2pm

MONDAY, 8/19

SUNSET/MOONRISE RIDE 5ish mile ride to see sunset then moonrise. Bring lights, layers, & snack/beverage. Mt. Hood Ave. MAX Station 9401 NE Cascades Pkwy. - Meet on the east side of the station, nearer to Target. Note that Google Maps will show Target as the location, the station is just west of there / Pizza Bandit urbanadventureleague@gmail.com / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:30 SW INFRA ¯\_$$$_/¯ Westside Bikeway designs from 20 years ago are being cast in concrete as the anticlimax of 30 years of advocacy, $26M/mile/decade. Multnomah Arts Center 7688 SW Capitol Hwy. - Meet at Northwest corner of the building / Eric Wilhelm / Meet at 5:30pm, ride at 5:45

TUESDAY, 8/20

R2R INN BETWEEN RIDE #3 21+

GRESHAM Ride to the ride for Inn

Between Ride #3 — helpful if arriving via transit! Gresham Transit Center NE Kelly & NE 8th / Josh innbetweenride@ joshuahetrick.info 724.815.0434 /Meet at 5pm, ride at 5:10

INN BETWEEN RIDE #3 21+ GRESHAM Bars named “inn,” or in an inn, via in-between spaces. Gresham/ East PDX, ~12 mi. Bring $ for drinks/ food. Cedarville Inn 3659 W Powell Loop. - Look for us on the patio out back / Josh innbetweenride@ joshuahetrick.info 724.815.0434 / Meet at 5:30pm, ride at 6

DEAD BABY BIKE CLUB ADULTS ONLY FIRST SATURDAY OF EVERY MONTH Freak bike friendly, downhill route. Apex Bar 1216 SE Division / Dead Baby Bike Club val.patton@gmail.com @ deadbabybikes_pdx / Meet at 7:30pm, ride at 9

BIKE POLO EVERY SUNDAY Think horse polo + hockey + bikes. Primarily played on singlespeed freewheel bikes, not fixed gear. You can borrow one to try it out! Pickup games are on rotation throughout the day with mixed skill levels. Alberta Park NE Killingsworth & NE 22nd / Portland Bike Polo sbrady89@gmail.com rileypolo.com / Meet at noon

CORVIDAE BC SECOND SUNDAY OF EVERY MONTH Each month is led by a di erent Corvidae member. We try to focus our rides on greenways, group etiquette and silliness. No drop ride Peninsula Park 700 N Rosa Parks - Meet at the fountain or gazebo (weatherdependent) / Corvidae BC corvidaebc@gmail.com @ corvidaebc / Meet at 2pm, ride at 2:45

OVERLOOK NHOOD RIDE SECOND SUNDAY OF EVERY MONTH Co ee and conversation, then ride around Overlook neighborhood discussing transportation-related issues and ideas for folks walking, biking, and taking transit. Stacks Co eehouse 1831 N Killingsworth, Unit A / Nic Cota nic.cota@gmail.com overlookneighborhood.org / Meet at 9:30am, ride at 10:15 PSU FARMERS MARKET RIDE ♥ EVERY SATURDAY

An all-ages/all-abilities, conversational-pace, meditative ride from SE PDX to the PSU Farmers Market to help support local farmers, bakers and makers of all kinds while building community in a relaxed, informal setting. Rain or shine! SE Clinton & SE 41st / Hami Ramani & others @hamiramani Hamiramani@gmail. com / Meet at 10am, or 10:30 at Tilikum Bridge

PUT A BIRD ON IT Portland loves tattoos and this ride leader figured a tattoo showcase ride would be a hit! Buckman Field Park NE 15th & NE Davis - Inside Buckman Field Park, area near Voodoo Donuts / BiciBuds @elmaximoqueer / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:30

WEDNESDAY, 8/21

ICE CREAM BIKE BUS ♥ Let’s celebrate the start of the school year, and Bike Buses, with a ride to ice cream. Glencoe, Richmond, Creston, Sunnyside, & Abernethy Elementary Schools - Meet behind the school, near the basketball courts / Rob G. glencoebikebus@gmail.com @glencoebikebus / Meet at 4pm, ride at 4:15

MUSIC/JAM FRIENDS RIDE 21+

Looking for music friends? Need a new band member? Everyone is welcome, any genre, any style. Bring a speaker. Irving Park 3147 NE 9th Water fountain by the south side tennis courts / Kyle / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:30 sharp

P.E. GAMES RIDE A ride around town with stops for active games and worthless prizes. Gorges Beer Co. 2705 SE Ankeny / PEP Club crullercrawl @gmail.com / Meet at 5:30pm

FRIDAY, 8/23

GREEN CHILE RIDE Join us for an enchanted green chile tour of close-in Southeast. Meat Cheese Bread & Grand Fir Brewery SE Stark & SE 14th / Carson Smith & Dillon West @pdxgreenchileride / Meet at 2pm

NAKED ZOMBIE RIDE 21+

Naked Zombies flash mobbing! The most body image liberating ride there is. Laurelhurst Park SE César E. Chávez & SE Oak / Nakedhearts:PDX (Moorland) / Meet at 6:45pm, ride at 7:30 sharp

SATURDAY, 8/24

A24 JOY RIDE Celebrate and wear inspired outfits from any of A24’s movies on August 24th. Laurelhurst Theatre 2735 E Burnside - Meet at the parking lot west of the theatre / Wren / Meet at 7:15pm

EDM RIDE Recorded DJ sets of current dance party music from worldwide music festivals. Hampton Opera CenterMeet on the Esplanade. / Chocklitsauce / Meet at 7pm, ride at 8

FLIP SIDE VEGAN MARKET Ride to Flip Side Vegan Market at Hail Snail and loop back to the start. ~6 miles one way, 12 roundtrip. Vera Katz Statue East Bank Esplanade, north of the fire station near SE Main / Vegan Bike Club veganbikeclubpdx@gmail. com / Meet at 10:45am-ish, ride at 11-ish

RAINBOW RIDE ♥ Hey she’s, they’s and gays! Pull up for the 4th Annual Rainbow Ride. Put on your rainbow fits and roll deep with us. Colonel Summers Park SE Belmont & SE 20th / Sumi / Meet at 6:30pm

THE MISSED CONNECTIONS RIDE 21+ Drop that single speed and pick up that tandem because this ride is all about making up for missed connections. Ladd Circle Park 1988 SE Mulberry / Austin / Meet at 5pm, ride at 5:30

SUNDAY, 8/25

DOE>COE>DOE W/ JOE & MOE Meet @ Doe for donuts, ice cream, and beverages. Ride Doe to Coe (Circle) & back to Doe w/ Joe and Moe. Doe Donuts 4110 NE Sandy Blvd - Meet in the courtyard / Katie MC / Meet at 11am, ride at 11:30 THE CONTRA DANCE RIDE see Sunday, June 23 listing WHAT IS POKÉMON RIDE Dress as Pokémon, trade Pokémon objects, and talk about Pokémon. Laurelhurst Park SE César E. Chávez & SE Stark. Near the bathroom / Ash & Pikachu aka Pokémonel / Meet at 5pm, ride at 5:30

TUESDAY, 8/27

OLD SCHOOL HIP HOP RIDE East Coast, West Coast, together we ride. Irving Park 707 NE Fremont / NakedHearts:PDX (Josh D.) / Meet at 7pm WEDNESDAY, 8/28

80’S RETRO BOOMBOX RIDE Jam to the sounds of Prince, New Order, INXS, Madonna, Michael Jackson, B-52’s and other Classic 80’s Beats as we ride. Irving Park NE 9th & NE Fremont / Beautiful Portland / Meet at 7pm, ride at 7:30pm ADOPTEES OF COLOR RIDE This ride is for BIPOC adoptees to connect, share space, and enjoy riding bikes together! 4-6 miles, no drop, party pace. Laurelhurst Park SE César E. Chávez & SE Stark - Meet near Picnic Area B / Katy Giombolini, Lisa MacLellan, Mai Li O’Keefe maili@ bipocadoptees.org / Meet at 6pm, ride at 6:30pm

FRIDAY, 8/30

BIANCA’S TECHNO RAVE 21+

Bianca brings intensity and high dance vibes. Lloyd Center 1265 Lloyd Ctr - Meet by Marshalls / NakedHearts:PDX (Bianca) / Meet at 7pm

SATURDAY, 8/31

OLD CUNT ( RY) KARAOKE 21+

If you’re a fan of country music b e fore 1990, get ready to kick up those heels! Colonel Summers Park - Meet up by splash pads o Taylor St. / Pamela pamelaschpamela@gmail / Meet at 7pm

Cinematic Golden Age of the Lesbian Dirtbag

Celebrate Pride with lesbian cinema! Without crying, for once!

BY HR SMITH

Historical moments in queerness arrive in many forms. One of them arrived this spring, when movie audiences watched a roided-out lady bodybuilder smash a scumbag’s face into a coffee table before she and her long-suffering girlfriend put his corpse into the trunk of his muscle car, drove to a very symbolic crevasse at the edge of town, pushed it off the edge, and threw a molotov cocktail in after it.

“Finally!” my partner wrote to me after seeing Love Lies Bleeding at a packed, overthe-top jubilant late night screening, “our gays are doing the burying!” It did feel good, when I saw it for myself. Not in a “You go girl! Violence is the answer!” way. It was more like a deep, liquid sense of

relief. This was not a film about true love, tolerance, or #lovewins. This was just a movie, shamelessly out to entertain, turn on, or (at the very least) gross out.

For the last few decades, in the post-Celluloid Closet era, it has been easier to see films with openly lesbian protagonists. Progress! But the progress arrived with a rigid formula! Cinematic lesbians existed in a heavily-costumed past or an extremely-straight present, where no one in their world but them had ever had a queer feeling. They stared at each other with inchoate longing while the wind blew their hair into their eyes. Their love was pure, and it stayed that way because they invariably died or were separated by evil straights before they got the chance to have more than two sex scenes. They moved

through a calculated mix of wide landscape shots / close-ups of bare boobies designed to lock in art-house distribution.

Not all these films were bad. But there were a lot of them, and the genre has proved surprisingly durable. Just when you think it’s over, “two farmers’ wives find themselves irrevocably drawn to each other” in The World to Come (2021), and we have yet another corpse in a petticoat.

But a new era is upon us. There’s a new generation of movies: sleazy, cheesy, and alive with cinematic tricks swiped from genre film. In the last two years we’ve seen Love Lies Bleeding (grindhouse), Bottoms (sex comedy), Eileen ( noir) , Drive-Away Dolls (sex comedy + mobsters), and Bodies Bodies Bodies (horror). That might not seem

like a lot until you remember that most years only one or two w4w films ever break out of the festival circuit.

Dirtbag is a many-splendored concept, but it is, at its essence, about being big enough to hold mess. A protagonist in a dirtbag film might fall hard, but they do not die for love. The films move too fast to moralize—characters lie, cheat, steal, kill, blow things up, are NOT NICE, jerk off next to a half-eaten TV dinner and the camera just keeps moving. Is it good for the culture? It is the culture. Whatever their outward artistic representation, the kaleidoscope of queer lives have always encompassed mess. Long may lesbian dirtbag cinema reign. And, in celebration of Pride, here’s a brief guide to a few of the classics, past and present.

Flexing those queer muscles in Love Lies Bleeding.

Old Market Pub & Brewery since 1994!

6959 SW Multnomah Blvd

@drinkbeerhere • (503) 244-2337 www.drinkbeerhere.com

Love Lies Bleeding (2024)

Rose Glass, the film’s director and co-writer, says that the origin of this film was just the idea of a “strong female character.” How strong could a female character get? What if you added muscles? And more muscles? What if a female character met another female character, and the second offered to shoot steroids directly into the first’s left butt cheek? Two of Glass’s major influences in developing this film were Mulholland Drive and Showgirls, and this film improves greatly on both.

Suggested Usage: Projected on the wall during your Pride party, to be obsessively mined as inspiration for future drag numbers.

Bottoms (2023)

A gift to anyone who saw Better off Dead, Heathers, and / or Fight Club and wished they had more jokes about bell hooks and third-wave feminism.

Suggested Usage: Best consumed while nursing a hangover, sipping electrolyte drink, trying to come to terms with your actions of the last 48 hours.

Eileen (2023)

Ever watched Carol and thought, “I wish for another one of these, but more nasty and with less sex?” This tight, mean, perfectly-acted little noir is for you, and probably not for anyone else.

Suggested Usage: Your media studies paper on the inherent queerness of noir motifs.

Kajillionaire (2020)

Miranda July was like “I’m going to make a movie about an LHB dirtbag starring Evan Rachel Wood, and no one can stop me.”

Suggested Usage: Movie night with every lesbian you know who wore XXL clothing

throughout their entire adolescence while they figured out what it meant to have a body.

Angelina Jolie in the first 30 minutes of Gia (1998)

Angelina Jolie in the first 30 minutes of Foxfire (1996) Angelina Jolie’s late-’90s run as that dirtbag dreamgirl who gays everyone in their vicinity remains unparalleled. First thirty minutes only, since the movies themselves are awful. Suggested Usage: Explaining the lingering cultural obsession with a Special Envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to anyone born after 1990.

Bound (1996)

This film is about an hour and thirty minutes of conventional mobster noir and about fifteen minutes of lesbian, but those fifteen minutes are so incredibly queer that nothing could match it for decades.

Suggested Usage: Fast-forward until you see Corky (Gina Gershon) whenever you need to get amped up for those home repair projects you’ve been putting off.

Desert Fury (1947)

Once described as “the gayest movie ever produced in Hollywood’s golden era” this 1947 potboiler has so much queer innuendo that it doesn’t even bother trying to have a coherent plot. The mother and daughter (who look to be the same age, and who kiss each other right on the mouth) are a triumph of lesbian dirtbaggery sneaking past the Hays Code and out into the culture.

Suggested Usage: Put on your best approximation of Edith Head drag, and watch with your gayest friends. ■

Katy O’Brian and Kristen Stewart go full dirtbag in Love Lies Bleeding.

COURTESY A24

Find Queer Comedy Tonight!

Our roundup of the best queer (and queer adjacent) comedy shows in town.

BY WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY

Portland’s comedy scene is, hands down, one of the best in the nation, and that includes a tsunami of LGBTQ+ comedians and queer based (and adjacent) comedy shows. Folks… there are so many! Here’s a roundup of some of the best—and most inventive—queer comedy nights in the Portland area, for whenever you need a laugh!

Be Gay, Do Crime

One of the funniest (and most educational!) comedy shows in town, Be Gay, Do Crime features a storytelling format in which comedians share stories about their fave queer “rebel” icons throughout history. Host Jenna Britann says the show grew out

of “a desire to connect to our trailblazing LGBTQ+ ancestors that came before us— many of whom are neglected or straightwashed in our history books.” Co-hosted by Joe John Sanchez III, Be Gay, Do Crime is instructional, goofy, and thoughtful, with an extra dash of fun provided by audi -

ence members who share their own past “crimes” for the riffing pleasure of guest comedians (who have included Mx. Dahlia Belle and Armaaan Singh)—and yep, there are prizes to be had as well!

Schilling Cider House, 930 SE 10th, fourth Sunday of the month, 7 pm, $5

The Bechdel Set

Here’s one of those delightful “queer adjacent” shows that’s both hilarious and unapologetically feminist. It takes its name from the Bechdel Test, a litmus test to measure the representation of women in film, fiction, and in this case? Comedy. Local powerhouse performers such as Arlo Weierhauser, Adam Pasi, Kirsten Kuppenbender, Julia Corral, and Neeraj Srinivasan perform sets that are judged by the audience for their ability to pass the Bechdel Test—so in short, a lot of laughs, and occasionally squirmy fun, hosted by the very funny Jenna Britann and Quinne Salameh.

Haymaker, 1233 N Killingsworth, second Tuesday of the month, 8 pm, $5-10 suggested donation or GAYAF (Give As You’re Able, Friend!)

Defiant Joy

Hosted by the very busy Joe John Sanchez III, Defiant Joy is billed as an “anything-goes comedy showcase that includes storytelling, characters, clowning, live music, and surprise guests” with an all-queer lineup (such as Riley McCarthy, Kirsten Kuppenbender, and Lee H Tillman) as well as the occasional “designated ally.” It’s a great introduction to the local queer comedy scene!

McMenamins Al’s Den, 303 SW 12th, third Sunday of the month, 7 pm, $10-15

Exquisite Nonsense

If you like a lot of queer variety in your life, then you’ll almost certainly enjoy the exquisite nonsense of the newest comedy show on the scene, Exquisite Nonsense. Launched in

FAITH DANIELS

Portland comedian Aimee Sinclair onstage at Defiant Joy.

Midsummer

February 2024, host Joe John Sanchez III brings you this hilarious queer adjacent variety show, where you might see anything and everything, including drag performers, storytellers, stand-up, clowns, improvisers, and any of the various weirdos who populate the wonderful world of Portland comedy. Sanchez says that audience members can always expect the show to be “kind of gay and very weird.” Sounds exquisite enough to us!

Funhouse Lounge, 2432 SE 11th, first Sunday of the month, 7 pm, $10 or GAYAF (Give As You’re Able, Friend!)

Fluid Comedy

Hosted by queer powerhouse duo Joe John Sanchez III and Jenna Britann, Fluid Comedy is a welcoming, safe pocket of hilarity for queers and audiences who love to laugh. But don’t arrive with any expectations, because this show features varying themes and formats every month (which threaten to launch into totally different directions at any moment—such as “Who Died and Made You King?” in which comics perform as their drag king alter-egos). According to co-host Britann, you can look forward to “creative, thematic hooks, experimental comedy formats, and a commitment to sharing diverse and alternative voices in the comedy and drag scenes.”

Underbar, 1701 1/2 Broadway, Vancouver, WA, third Sunday of the month, 6 pm, $5-20 suggested or GAYAF (Give As You’re Able, Friend!)

Hear You Loud & Queer

Throwing the spotlight on your fave LGBTQIA+ comedians of the Pacific Northwest, hosts Mack and Ally J Ward welcome you to Hear You Loud & Queer (HYL&Q) which, according to Ward, is an “energetic

show that celebrates authentic queer experiences with curated playlists, great fashion, and audience participation.” Featuring banger lineups that have in the past included Mx. Dahlia Belle, Andy Iwancio. Ronnie Macaroni, Joe John Sanchez III, Bailey Pope, Carlos Kareem Windham, Arlo Weierhauser, Imani, Moises Da Silva, Riley McCarthy, and lots more, HYL&Q is a hilarious way for those wanting to experience pure queer joy in person. (And if you want to see up ‘n’ coming talent—or try getting up on stage yourself— check out the HYL&Q monthly open mic.)

Portland Pickles Public House, 3932 N Mississippi, second Wednesday of the month, 7 pm, $0-$10; Schilling Cider House, 930 SE 10th, third Thursday of the month, 7 pm, free; Open Mics (sign up on Instagram @hearyouloudandqueer), Schilling Cider House, 930 SE 10th, first Thursday of the month, 7 pm, free; Mutantis Cult Brewery, 6719 NE 18th, third Sunday of the month, 5 pm, free

Lez Stand Up

Considered one of the first (and still best) Portland queer comedy shows, Lez Stand Up kicked off in 2011, and has been entertaining the city with their lez-tastic joy ever since. After taking a pandemic break, Lez Stand Up (along with hosts Kirsten Kuppenbender and Arlo Weierhauser) came roaring back, now regularly selling out shows at the Siren Theater and providing a safe place for audiences who have historically been the butt of cis jokes. While you’ll always see the top level of Portland talent here, don’t be surprised to also catch national comedians (such as Irene Tu, Brittani Nichols, Fortune Feimster, and more) dropping by as well.

Siren Theater, 3913 N Mississippi, every six to eight weeks, 8 pm, $15

Left to right: Mack and Ally J Ward of Hear You Loud & Queer

MACK ALLYJWARD

Magic Tea Party

This monthly queer-based Dungeons & Dragons comedy show (!) is produced by Dungeon Master Juliet Mylan, and has a truckload of funny regulars, including Jenna Britann, Riley McCarthy, Cosmo Reynolds, and Quinne Salameh, playing oddball D&D characters. Magic Tea Party promises nerd-a-licious theater games, improv, lots of comedy, and a litany of the bad decisions that are consistently derived from playing (you guessed it) D&D.

Back Door Theater, 4319 SE Hawthorne, third Sunday of the month, 7:30 pm, GAYAF (Give As You’re Able, Friend!)

Not That Late Show

Rachael Young, Lizzy Rees, and Victoria Spelman—who span the queer spectrum— are your hosts for a madcap, sometimes charmingly crude evening of talk show fun, titled Not That Late Show (NTLS). Like its late night predecessors, NTLS specializes in funny monologues, comedians (as well as improvised guests), live music, pre-taped commercial sketches, and lots of surprises. As host Young puts it, “It’s a flirty, weird, fun time. We also have chili dogs!” Umm… where do we sign up?

New Well Studio, 6501 N Interstate, last Friday of the month, 9 pm, $12-$20

ROY G. BIV’s Queer Comedy Show Coming up on its second anniversary, ROY G. BIV’s Queer Comedy Show has established itself as one of the wildest, most raucous laugh-fests on the scene. Hosts Delaney

Malone and Kale Loughlin welcome comedians spanning the LGBTQ+ community as well as special guest performers seen on Comedy Central, Disney+, Netflix, and more for both stand-up and sketch comedy. Word to the wise: Snap up those tix, because this standing room-only show sells out on the regular!

Crush Bar, 1400 SE Morrison, fourth Saturday of the month, 8 pm, $15

This Ends Tonight

If you’re of the opinion that this world needs more gay talk shows, you’re in luck! This Ends Tonight (TET) is the late night talk show of your queer dreams, hosted by former Mercury Genius of Comedy Riley McCarthy along with sidekick Clancy Kramer, backed by house band Body Academics, and directed by Violet Eileen. While definitely a classic-style chat fest, TET is also a meta, semi-scripted backstage comedy about producing a live talk show… or as host McCarthy puts it, “Imagine a mashup of The Larry Sanders Show Pee-wee’s Playhouse, and Mon-

day Night Raw, with a dash of Gregg Araki and Stephen Sondheim for taste.” Plus local and national guest stars, along with comedy and drag? Yes, yes, a thousand times, YES.

Back Door Theater, 4319 SE Hawthorne, first Saturday of the month, GAYAF (Give As You’re Able, Friend!)

You Oughta Know

While not billed as an exclusively queer show, host Aimee Sinclair is queer, the guests are primarily queer, and so is the audience… soooo… that’s queer enough for us! You Oughta Know features comedians going off about things they love, and trying to convince the audience they should love it, too. An accompanying panel of laff-makers regularly chime in with their own comments, questions, and quips, resulting in a freewheeling show filled with surprises, while giving off— as a recent guest put it— “horny lecture hall vibes.” Check out their new digs at Kickstand Comedy, and don’t miss their upcoming special Pride performance on July 19 with special guests Carlos Kareem Windham, Mack, Jenna Britann, and Juno Men!

Kickstand Comedy, 1006 SE Hawthorne, @knowshowpdx on Instagram for show dates, $5-$10

AND YET EVEN MORE QUEER COMEDY YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT

Closet Cases

A queer storytelling showcase hosted by Juliet Mylan, featuring lots of sweet, heart-

warming, and hilariously personal stories from your pals in the LGBTQ+ community.

Back Door Theater, 4319 SE Hawthorne, first Sunday of the month, 7:30 pm, GAYAF (Give As You’re Able, Friend!)

LGBTQIA+ Improv Jam!

A monthly get-together for the LGBTQIA+ community only (but they love their allies) to play, perform improv, and socialize.

Curious Comedy Theater Annex, 5225 NE MLK Jr., second Sunday of the month, 3 pm, free, all ages

Nu-Glitter Comedy Open Mic

Hosted by Joyce Nance, this sparkly open mic welcomes everyone to perform their best material on stage, but queer, women, and bipoc folk are especially encouraged. Plus, each show features at least one established guest comedian. Sign up at 6 pm to reserve your spot.

Crush Bar, 1400 SE Morrison, second and fourth Wednesdays of the month, 6:30 pm, free

Queer A.F. Comedy

Hosted by Aleaah Liebenau and Mack Magee, Queer A.F. Comedy brings Portland’s finest queer comedic and musical talent together on one stage every month with a rotating theme, which in the past has included such topics as “the ’90s,” “kinks,” and “clowns.”

Covert Cafe, 803 SE 82nd, first Saturday of the month, 8:30 pm, free ■

JASON LEE

Photo by Jennifer Alyse

Meet Your Portland Drag Queen: Mona Chrome

Gary Barnes sees drag as a way to combine their passions for painting, costume design, and dance—all at once!

BY ANDREW JANKOWSKI

RuPaul’s Drag Race has had so many seasons and spinoffs that an entire generation doesn’t remember a time before RuPaul sent scores of drag superstars sashaying away. Portland drag artist Gary Barnes, who performs as Mona Chrome, is a member of that generation.

Barnes caught the drag bug watching Drag Race’s eighth season, which crowned the comedian Bob the Drag Queen. A Clackamas High School student at the time, with a passion for the arts, Barnes soon dreamed up their alien superstar alter ego, Mona Chrome. Then and now, Barnes is a painter, illustrator, costume designer, and avid dancer.

“I went ‘Oh, this is a combination of all the things I like to do artistically, all into one,’” they told the Mercury.

Wanting to name themself after a pun, Barnes struck upon Mona Chrome—not only for the allusion to color theory, but also as a reference to the Mona Lisa . None of Chrome’s costumes were ever monochromatic, and now she’s built up a wardrobe colorful enough to, as she puts it, “look like a walking crayon box.”

“I serve a cunty look, and I strut around, whip my hair everywhere, vogue a little bit. That’s the main essence of a Mona number,” Barnes said, explaining that they draw inspiration for their over-the-top personal style from cartoon villains, like the mercenary Shego from Disney’s Kim Possible

In 2018, Chrome debuted on stage at Darcelle XV Showplace’s all-ages revue, “To Catch a Rising Star,” after a former Darcelle’s cast member encouraged them to apply. And in 2019, Barnes took voguing classes from Daniel Gíron, AKA Papi Ada, father of Portland ballroom house, the House of Ada, who many will remember from HBO Max’s show Legendary Chrome belongs to the kiki House of Moschino, who she represents when walking ball competition categories like runway and best dressed.

“[Both drag and ballroom] are perfor -

mance arts,” Barnes said, “but with drag, I more so show off my specific persona, and for balls there’s usually a theme. I like seeing what I can do with the theme and the time allotted—and seeing what everyone else does, competitively showing off their creative brains. There’s this big aspect of family and community in ballroom—and there is in drag, but I think there’s a big difference in how ballroom approaches community and family versus drag.”

Most drag shows in Portland take place in 21 and over bars, so Chrome was a little Girl, Interrupted when the pandemic hit, having just turned legal drinking age a few months before. However, she decided to wait things out at home (declining the pivot to video route) and returned to performance as bars opened again.

Now, Chrome is booked and busy all across town, but can most often be seen at CC Slaughters, performing in regular drag shows Black Magic and Trans-Uhh-Licious, which guarantee stage space for Black, trans, and nonbinary drag performers. “There’s always good energy at those shows,” Barnes said. “We all get along and throw jokes and jabs at each other.”

Over their six year career, Barnes has only seen Chrome’s style grow more extra, in her detailing and stage presence. Chrome’s biggest shows thus far have been in the Dragfort pavilion at Boise’s Treefort Festival, and during the world record-breaking 48-hour Drag-A-Thon last summer at Darcelle’s. Both were unnerving: Barnes wasn’t sure what to expect with Idaho’s socially conservative culture, and she wasn’t used to performing after the bars closed, during her 2-4 am Drag-A-Thon shift. She was a hit at both. Barnes says they owe their success to following their artistic instincts, and checking in with more seasoned friends, like performers Jocelyn Knobs, one-half NelSon, Boujee Cherry, and Wanda Aqua Flora. “I just stuck to my guns and didn’t really worry if anyone else was doing what I was doing or if it was different enough,” Barnes said. “I just did it because I liked it, and it worked out.” ■

SUZETTE SMITH

All Pride All the Time

There’s something happening every weekend, as we count down to Portland Pride!

BY ANDREW JANKOWSKI

Pride is in July again this year, but the queer fun lasts all summer long (and beyond). That’s why our roundup of summer queer events gives you plenty of dance parties, drag shows, and more, as we count down to Pride Weekend.

BLOCK PARTY

Scandals Patio Parties

Scandals, which we will soon have to qualify with “downtown” [see pg. 13], has embraced the eternal queer summer vibe, planning three weekend block parties: one in June for Pride month, one in July for Portland Pride, and one at the end of August to close out the season. Celebrate 18 years of Scandals’ street fairs—always epic, they shut off SW Harvey Milk to car traffic and fill the whole street with daytime revelers.

Scandals, 1125 SW Harvey Milk, June 14-16, July 19-21, Aug 30-Sept 1, 21+

DANCE/DRAG

Black to Drag

DJs Mawmie and Dissolve pump the beats for a Juneteenth celebration honoring Black drag artists. Local queens Kimber Shade and Coco Jem Holiday host headliner (and RuPaul’s Drag Race alumna) A’Keria Chanel Davenport, with support from Mona Chrome, Wonderful, Viper, Oliver Clothesoff, Lala Benet, Cody James, and Cruz Daniels. BIPOC are eligible for a $10 discount with the code BLACKLIVESMATTER.

The Get Down. 615 SE Alder, Sat June 15, 8 pm, $25-$45, 21+

DANCE PARTY LumberTea

The boys and bears of Lumbertwink kick this summer off with a Father’s Day tea dance on Jackie’s picturesque rooftop patio. The Southeast Sandy sports bar will be packed with sweaty, hairy guys in various states of flannel moving to tunes spun by DJs Orso and Sappho. Maybe your dad’s cool enough to chill with bears, or maybe you and your daddy issues want to hug it out with burly men. It’s all good.

Jackie’s, 930 SE Sandy, Sun June 16, 3 pm, $12-$40, 21+

THEATER

Risk/Reward Festival’s 2nd Annual Drag Workshop

Learn the finer points of drag performance from Portland artists! Comedy queen Svetlana Trantastic instructs the Saturday workshop; theatrical collaborators Pansy Agenda (Sonnei Verbana and Alex Hartman) oversee Sunday.

PICA, 15 NE Hancock, June 22-23, 4 pm, $5$100, tickets through Risk/Reward, Sat is 18+; Sun is all ages

Scandals Patio Parties

SUZETTE SMITH

MUNRO ROST

DRAG

Melange

Destiney Smokez and Dahlia Kash’s monthly variety show, Melange, guarantees stage space for Black drag artists and other performers of color in a city where revues still tend to skew white. The variety show format allows talented queers to show off what they’ve got.

Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton, Sun June 23, 6 pm, $15, tickets available at the Clinton Street Theater box office, all ages

FILM

D.E.B.S. (2004)

Anthony Hudson’s “Thank God It’s Queer” film series for the Hollywood Theatre showcases movies that belong in the queer classics canon. Sometimes they’re summer blockbusters, but we really love it when they’re slept-on but beloved classics like D.E.B.S. Lauded as a “perfect lesbian spy film” by my editor, D.E.B.S. follows four teenage girls (Meagan Good, Jill Ritchie, Devon Aoki, and Sara Foster) recruited into a secret organization (Discipline, Energy, Beauty, Strength). One of the DEBS falls for her fugitive prey (Jordana Brewster), and the lipgloss tension twists through the roof.

Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy, Thurs June 27, 7 pm, $12, tickets through Hollywood Theatre, all ages

DRAG Darcelle XV Showplace

Don’t be embarrassed if you’ve lived in Portland for years and never made it down to Darcelle’s. There’s no time like the present to visit the record-holding historic venue. Darcelle’s spirit lives on in the house cast, all seasoned queens with years of experience and polished stage presence. Each brings something a little different, making no two shows exactly alike.

Darcelle XV Showplace, 203 NW 3rd, Fri June 28, 8 pm, $28, tickets available through darcellexv.com or 503-222-5338, 21+

BINGO

Peachy Springs

Everyone’s favorite vintage glam drag host Peachy Springs invites you to another night of verbally abusive and bingo. (You’re welcome.) If you miss this one, fear not. Peachy holds bingo court often and with verve. Still, how could we write an event calendar without Peachy or her sweet, signature braying laugh?

Mayfly Taproom, 8350 N Fenwick, Sat June 29, 6 pm, $5/card, 21+

DRAG

Obitchuary

Luna Tik Hex and Chakra Stone’s morbidly fun monthly drag show always features a rotating cast of creepy and spooky artists whose numbers skew gothic, metal, and overall bizarre.

Crush, 1400 SE Morrison, Sat July 6, $5-$10, tickets available at Crush’s box office, 21+

DANCE Dyke Nite

Event producer Ann Pyne’s twice-monthly drag and dance party opens the floor up for sapphics and their lovers and friends. DJs Stas THEE Boss, Troubled Youth, and Casual Aztec keep the floor hot all night long.

Back2Earth, 3536 NE MLK, Sat July 20, 9 pm, $5, 21+

MUSIC

Karma Rivera

It’s been a hot minute since we’ve heard from queer rapper Karma Rivera. To make up for it, Rivera is hosting a Pride Weekend concert to promote her new single, “Been Awhile.” We love the way Rivera can immediately crank a party to 11 with her energy, and for this bill she’s brought along Bay Area performer TECA and Seattle DJs La Mala Noche and Cumbianeraaam as backup.

Lollipop Shoppe, 736 SE Grand, Sat July 20, 8 pm, $15-$20, tickets available through Lollipop Shoppe, 21+

DANCE/DRAG Dollapalooza

Katya’s two night, multi-site drag rave promises scores of performers from across the PNW and at least three (undisclosed at the time we went to press) Drag Race alum. We’re talkin’ full shows, mini shows, pop-up numbers—how else can Portland’s favorite horsegirl and event producer plan to keep the energy up? The fun starts with brunch at Barrel Room on Saturday before the party moves to a secret location and then maybe another secret location(?). It was ALSO a little TBD when we went to press, but you can at least plan your outfit. Saturday is “big gay rodeo;” Sunday is “neon futures.”

Barrel Room, 120 NW Couch, Secret Location TBA, July 20-21, 8 pm, $20 - $150, 21+

DANCE/DRAG

Latin Flavor

At Kaina Martinez’s Latin LGBTQ+ Pride dance party you’ll hear cumbia, salsa, reggaeton, merengue, bandas, and bachata bumping across the walls of a transformed Barrel Room. That alone is a reason to go, but if we told you Puerto Rican queen Dixie Bee was opening for Colombian pop star Karol G—I think you understand now why this is on our Pride Picks list.

Barrel Room, 120 NW Couch, Sun July 21, 8 pm, $16-$50, tickets through latingaypride. com , 21+ ■

JUJUAN HENDRICKSON

EverOut’s 2024 Pride Event Calendar

BY JULIANNE BELL, LINDSAY COSTELLO, SHANNON LUBETICH, JANEY WONG, AUDREY VANN

Community

Oaks Park Pride

Oaks Park celebrates the Portland queer community with a day of discounted rides, limited-edition treats, pride-themed carnival game prizes, special performances, and more. Did I mention free cake and balloons? You can stop by a vendor fair, play a few rounds of mini-golf, and even try out your moves on wheels at a special Pride edition of the popular Gay Skate at the roller rink. Amusement parks already trigger great joy for me, I can’t wait to go to one filled with queer folx and covered in rainbows. Oaks Amusement Park (Sun June 30) SL

Pride Beaverton 2024

The seventh annual edition of Pride Beaverton is channeling cosmic energy with the theme “We are all made of stars.” The festivities kick off at 11 am with a parade through downtown Beaverton, but the fun will continue all day. Sir Cupcake’s Queer Circus, drag musician Saint Syndrome, and ‘80s girl wave tribute band Blonde Neon are slated to bring their superstar energy to the stage. Plus, a vendor fair will showcase pride gear and other goods from local artisans. Beaverton City Park (Sun June 30) JW

Rainbow Ride!

Inclusivity is the word at this Pedalpalooza ride that invites LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, allies, and accomplices of all ages, abilities, and riding levels to show their pride on two wheels. Deck yourself and/or your ride out in vibrant rainbow colors, and head to the starting point at Colonel Summers Park for an approximate five-mile, flat route. The colorful contingent will end up at the Cart Blocks, where a party with three DJs and vogue dance performances by the Legendary House of Ada will go ‘til late o’clock. Colonel Summers Park (Mon July 1) JW

Pride Night Market

Most people know local nonprofit Pride Northwest as the group that puts on the pride parade, but this year they’re also partnering with Hotel Zags to host an evening market—everyone loves a night market! All are welcome to check out wares from LGBTQIA2S+ vendors (carrying everything from vintage threads to handcrafted goodies), get groovy

on the dance floor, and enjoy a variety of snacks and drinks. Recommended mood: unleashing your inner fabulousness. The Hotel Zags (Fri July 12)

Pedalpalooza: Chappell Roan Ride

Sure, this Pedalpalooza bike ride isn’t explicitly pride-themed, but I mean...come on. Self-proclaimed Midwest princess Chappell Roan drops solid selections of synthy, teen-dream-filled, “lipstickstained queer anthems” (Flood Magazine), and her upbeat party vibes (and crazy-ass outfits) mean you can totally get away with dressing as a sequined mermaid as you cruise the streets for your next crush. If “hot pink cowgirl” isn’t your speed, may I recommend the Love Lies Bleeding ride (BYO tanning oil, cigarettes, and sweaty bod) on June 20 or the Erasure ‘80s/’90s dance ride (BYO neon polyester) on June 22? Irving Park (Sat July 20)

Portland Trans Pride March

With the theme “Agitate and Celebrate,” this year’s Trans Pride rally and march promises to do plenty of both. Take the time to honor the trans folx who have paved the way while recognizing the work ahead to achieve a world in which all are free to be who they are. The event is organized by Greater Portland Trans Unity whose website header shouts the message, “anti-capitalist, anti-fascist, anti-racist, anti-cop, and pro fucking trans.” Sounds like a revolution worth joining! In a country that’s increasingly passing laws restricting the rights of trans folx, it’s more important than ever to be visible as we come together and celebrate trans lives. North Park Blocks (Sat July 20) SL

Pride at the Museum

Portland Dyke March 2024

Celebrating 30 years of raising visibility for dyke culture, the Portland Dyke March showcases “dykes of all persuasions,” including “trans and nonbinary dykes, dykes of color, bi and pan dykes, lesbians, disabled and deaf dykes, kink dykes, and dykes with children.” Break out the magic markers and make your rowdiest signs, then head over to Tom McCall Waterfront Park to take to the streets with raucous cheers and protest chants. Tom McCall Waterfront Park (Sat July 20) SL

Portland Pride Waterfront Festival

The pride of Portland and Queens of All Queens Jinkx Monsoon will treat us plebs to their musical stylings as the headliner at this year’s Pride Waterfront Festival—it may be summer, but it’s monsoon season, baybee! Pride Northwest, the nonprofit behind Portland’s flagship Pride event, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year and has declared a “Feast and Love” theme for the occasion. Consider a $10 donation, which goes toward Pride Northwest’s year-round programming, or splurge

Who doesn’t love bright colors and flashing lights? As part of Pride at the Museum, you can play with 20,000 LEDs to freeze your shadow, paint with light, and bounce laser beams. Speaking of lasers—the planetarium will have light shows synced to the music of Lady Gaga, Queen, and Beyoncé. Science-oriented queers can check out demonstrations on flying robots, big data, renewable energy, and explore the museum’s featured exhibit, Tyrannosaurs - Meet the Family. Local queen Poison Waters will host drag queen story time in the kid-oriented Science Playground and emcee a drag show later in the evening. Cap things off with a little shopping: Always Here Book Store will be on hand with queer books for all ages, and Gay Crochet Co has some of the cutest handmade products I’ve ever seen (pride flag octopuses?!?). OMSI (Fri June 21) SL

on a VIP pass to unlock extras like exclusive meetand-greets, lounge access, and more. Tom McCall Waterfront Park (July 20–21) JW

Portland Pride Parade

Sure, the Pride Parade may include corporate companies and their rainbow-washing ways, but that doesn’t mean you should sit it out. This raucous expression of queer joy also features dozens of community groups that support the LGBTQIA2S+ community year-round. Plan ahead, as tens of thousands of people will flood into downtown for the biggest parade in the state—once it’s over, head to the Portland Pride Waterfront Festival to keep the party going. Downtown (Sun July 21) JW

OAKS PARK OMSI

COURTESY OF PORTLAND DYKE MARCH

Pride 2024 Film Series

Portland officially celebrates Pride in July, but a little pregaming never hurt anyone. Go on ahead and celebrate gay stuff (and gender/sexuality in all its gloriously fluid forms) with this month-long screening series; it’s also a pointed “fuck you” to the flagrantly fascistic who would try to censor our media choices. Clinton Street Theater’s month of Pride films includes some of my favorites, like Paul Verhoeven’s young-and-hungry eleganza Showgirls and gaggy wasteland The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Desert Hearts will screen on June 18, a film that elicited a concise review from EverOut food and drink editor Julianne Bell: “I am very gay.” Clinton Street Theater (June 1–21) LC

Sea Sickening Boat pRide

Time to pop some Dramamine and get in loser—it’s time to get sea sickening, not seasick! The Portland Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and Poison Waters will be your cruise directors for the afternoon as local drag royalty Saint Syndrome, Inanna Miss, and Valerie DeVille; DJ QueerCub; and ‘80s cover band Ursabomb take you on the Pride ride of your life. Portland Spirit Salmon Springs Dock (Sun July 21) JW

Live Music/ Parties & Nightlife

FLAME

Vintage Vinyl Dance

Party

presents: Queer Country Junction

In honor of Pride Month, mid-century vinyl specialist DJ Action Slacks revives her defunct dance night “Queer Country Junction” for one night only, shining a light on pioneering queer voices in American roots music. Stomp your boots to a classic mix of country, Americana, and rockabilly tunes from the ‘50s-’80s (think Lavender Country, Wilma Burgess, and k.d. Lang) in your best, sparkliest Western wear. Now can I get a “yee-haw?!” The World Famous Kenton Club (Sat June 15) AV

Pride Amplified

If you like to be in bed before midnight, skip the late-night pride dance parties for this low-key tribute concert. Band After Midnight will bring the infectious tunes, harmonies, and colorful fashions of ABBA to the stage alongside Depeche Mode cover band Hiding From Love and queer ‘80s dance band Ursabomb. Plus, there will be refreshing brews and food trucks to keep you fueled. Best part? It’ll be over by 11 pm. 503 Distilling (Sat June 15) AV

A Goon’s Moon in June: A PrePride Goon’s Swoon Party

I’m honestly shocked that there are not more Pride events that coincide with this month’s full moon. I mean, the moon is arguably the most world-renowned gay icon. Dance in the luminous glow of Lady Lunar at this selenic dance party that embraces “the freedom to be sexy, goofy, and wildly expressive.” No matter which expression of pride you feel the strongest gravitational pull toward, this party will have it all: drag performers, go-go dancers, DJs (DJ Dissolve, MAWMIE, and Summerofmitch), and delicious food. Secret Location TBA (Fri June 21) AV

Gay Prom

Prom makes more sense for adults than it does for high schoolers. For one, most of us have shed our teenage insecurities and are more willing to take fashion risks and take up space on the dance floor. Plus, we likely have love in our lives worth celebrating—whether that be romantic or platonic.

And, we’re old enough to drink alcohol, which naturally makes a party more tolerable. Give yourself the prom experience you deserve at this queer prom aiming to “support and celebrate [the] evergrowing community of acceptance and diversity.” Come dressed to impress in something glamorous, bold, or just something that makes you feel, as the promoters put it, “fabulous and free.” The Aura Nightclub & Lounge (Sat June 22) AV

Our Corner of the Sky: Pride on Broadway

Are you ready to get gay?! The Portland Gay Men’s Chorus can help—as one of the longest-running gay men’s choruses in the country, they’ll be feeling extra-festive for Pride season. Our Corner of the Sky: Pride on Broadway worships at the shrine of musical theater—you’ll hear numbers from Carousel, Anything Goes, Wicked, Dear Evan Hansen, Newsies, Into the Woods, Six, Pippin, and many other productions. The show’s eclectic program “celebrates and affirms our right to lives of authenticity and joy,” so you’ll leave feeling all warm and fuzzy, too. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (Sat June 22) LC

Wild Queer

Take a walk on the wild side at this queer dance party and fundraiser supporting local nonprofit Wild Diversity in their mission to connect Black, Indigenous, POC, and LGBTQ+ communities to nature through outdoor adventures and education. All community members and allies are invited to bust a move as DJs Sltwtr, ALoSo, and Black Daria control the decks. This year’s theme is inspired by the style of Sex Education’s Eric Effiong—that means vibrant colors, pattern clashing, and ’80s-style garb. Revolution Hall (Sat July 13) AV

Zodiac Rainbow Ball

Where are my Virgo baddies at?! If you’re familiar with your Big Three, I wouldn’t miss Rebound’s monthly ball this time around–they’ll kick off Portland Pride weekend with a Zodiac-themed kiki. (Categories include “cunt vs. cunt,” “realness,” and “vogue performance.”) “Your zodiac is your house for this ball,” the event announcement explains. I assume this means you should dress with your sun sign in mind—each sign has been assigned a color for monochromatic looks. Am I slightly let down, yet not surprised, that Virgos have been assigned brown?! Yes!! But whatever, we’re gonna slay anyway. The Get Down (Fri July 19) LC

Gaylabration Presents: ASCENSION

Gear up for “the biggest dance party of Portland Pride weekend.” DJs Roland Belmares, Dance Mom, and Chelsea Starr will play bouncy beats until the wee hours of the morning along with performances from LED hula hoopers Revol Artists. All profits will be donated to Pride Northwest, Cascade Aids Project, and New Avenues for Youth. Crystal Ballroom (Sat July 20) AV

Switch Pride: Ariel Zetina, Emoji Heap, and othrwrld

Blossoming out of the extinct Portland bar Killingsworth Dynasty (RIP), this periodic queer dance party has entered a new era at their new home of Holocene. Diane Rott and Witch Prince will host this annual pride party featuring house, techno, and Belizean punta beats from Chicago-based selector Ariel Zetina. She will be joined by local DJs Emoji Heap and othrwrld. Holocene (Sat July 20) AV

Food & Drink

Kindness Farm Pride Party

Get dolled up in your most cottagecore ensemble to frolic amongst your fellow queers in the idyllic pastoral setting of Kindness Farm, a community farm led by queer, immigrant, and refugee volunteers. The festivities will include a tea tent with blends made with herbs grown on the farm, outdoor games like cornhole and giant Jenga, picnic table painting, flower printing, farm tours, dancing, and freebies (including kombucha, CBD soda, and snacks). You’re also welcome to help participate in building a pride altar—bring candles and offerings. Kindness Farm (Sat June 15) JB

Drag Brunch at Freeland Spirits

Dig into brunch and imbibe boozy beverages while the fabulous queens Boujee Cherry, Kharisma, Jocelyn Knobs, and Jayla Rose stun with their jaw-dropping performances. We queer people love our multiple beverages, so it’s extra fitting that Freeland Spirits has concocted a fruity little rainbow-hued pride cocktail flight, featuring the passion fruit-flavored “Dancing Queen,” pineapple-flavored “Born This Way,” blueberry-flavored “Over the Rainbow,” and dragonfruit-flavored “Unicorn Gimlet.” A percentage of proceeds from the event and from flight purchases will go to Basic Rights Oregon, the state’s leading LGBTQ2SIA+ advocacy group. Freeland Spirits (Sat June 15) JB

The 2nd Annual Pride Color Throw

Wear an all-white ensemble and prepare to be pelted with vibrant, colorful powder at this joyful all-ages Pride event hosted by Portland Beer Week and Threshold Brewing. Just exchange your suggested donation to Pride Northwest for some color packets, and enjoy the explosion of color spilling out over Threshold’s outdoor street plaza. The event is followed by a parade around the Montavilla neighborhood, so you can strut around and show off your new rainbow raiment for all to see. Threshold Brewing & Blending (Sat June 22) JB

The Flip Side Vegan Pride Market

A group of scrappy vegan vendors will sell their wares at this queer POC-organized event. This month’s festivities feature over 30 booths, face painting, antics from Haha the Clown, ink from Liv of Awake N Woke Tattoo, and more. While you’re there, grab a gooey “cinnasnail” from Hail Snail and a crisp beverage from Arbor Beer Lodge. The nonprofit Green Acres Farm Sanctuary will also be present to talk about their work caring for rescued animals. Arbor Beer Lodge & Brewery (Sat June 29) JB

Queer Wine Fest 2024

The LGBTQ+ community doesn’t often get its due in the wine world, and that’s where this annual wine festival comes in. The picturesque Willamette Valley winery Remy Wines will host 15 queer-owned wineries from across the country at this al fresco

COURTESY OF PORTLAND GAY MEN’S CHORUS

COURTESY OF MGM

Thank God It’s Queer: Rope with Matinee Baby

Glamorous drag clown Carla Rossi will set the freaky scene for Thank God It’s Queer’s Pride Month screening of Hitchcock’s ‘48 murder tale Rope. The film follows two “dapper psychopaths” (me and who?) as they strangle a guy, stuff his body in an antique chest, and proceed to host a dinner party. Naturally, they start acting weird about it, and dramatics ensue. (In the cunty words of Hitchcock himself, “Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.”) The screening will be paired with Portland-born filmmaker Thom Hilton’s Matinee Baby, a new short centering two Clinton Street Theater employees and a cast of their “increasingly wacky, genre-tinged suitors.” Hollywood Theatre (Mon July 15) LC

tasting and Pride celebration, featuring food from Renegade Catering, live music from the local New Wave duo Camp Crush, ice cream from Salt & Straw, and an art show with a lineup of queer artists curated by designer and illustrator Zab Shavrick. Remy Wines Tasting Room (Sun June 30) JB

BuzzCutt’s First Annual Summer Fest: PDX’s AlcoholFree Pride Party

Just because you’re abstaining from alcohol doesn’t mean you have to resign yourself to a tame existence (unless that’s what you want, in which case, more power to you!). This event from the team behind the app BuzzCutt, which helps you find bars, restaurants, markets, and grocery stores serving non-alcoholic options, proves that you can have all of the revelry with none of the booze. Festivities will include your choice of three free canned non-alcoholic beverages, tastings, food available for purchase, tunes from DJ Jess the Ripper, a photobooth, raffles, and even a Jell-O wrestling tournament. Going zero-proof has never been so fun. For Bitter For Worse (Sat Jul 20) JB

Arts & Performance

Love Lies Bleeding // Dress Up Night

In sophomore director Rose Glass’ queer melodrama Love Lies Bleeding, Kristen Stewart plays Lou, a chain-smoking dirtbag dyke and gym manager who splits her time between unclogging

toilets, fending off the unwanted advances of her overzealous admirer Daisy (Anna Baryshnikov), worrying about her sister Beth (Jena Malone), reheating frozen dinners in a drab apartment, and masturbating on a faded couch in full view of her cat. When she meets ambitious muscle mommy Jackie (Katy O’Brian), who’s passing through town on her way to a bodybuilding competition in Las Vegas, the star-crossed sapphic lovers immediately fall into a spiral of toxic U-haul infatuation. Glass, who directed the 2019 psychological horror flick Saint Maud, brings a startlingly singular and stylish vision to life. She’s cited David Cronenberg’s Crash and Paul Verhoeven’s Showgirls as influences for Love Lies Bleeding, and the carnal obsession of those films shines through in her work. The result is a seedy, sexy, high-octane ride that holds its own amongst the erotic thriller canon. My advice? Give them daddy at this Father’s Day screening—sweatpants, mullets, and muscle tees are highly encouraged. Tomorrow Theater (Sun June 16) JB

History Pub - Defining Moments: LGBTQ+ Stories from Past to Present

Paul Iarrobino, storyteller, Our Bold Voices founding director, and author of the fresh anthology Defining Moments: Essential Queer Stories, will head to the stage to share “pivotal moments of struggle...and journeys toward self-acceptance and empowerment from the intergenerational LGBTQ+ community.”

Iarrobino’s just-released anthology spotlights LGBTQ+ perspectives from varying age groups; panelists at this talk will include book contributors Stacey Rice, Heidi Bruins Green, Jamison Green, and Joshua Thomas. Show up for the feel-good vibes, and stick around for the panel’s emphasis on the resilience of queer folks across generations. McMenamins Kennedy School (Mon June 24) LC ■

FEAST

&

PORTLAND PRIDE

WATERFRONT FESTIVAL AND PARADE CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF PRIDE NORTHWEST JULY 20-21, 2024 FOR MORE INFORMATION WWW PORTLANDPRIDE

NANCY MANKIN

Savage Love

BY DAN SAVAGE

Quickies

1. Is pegging only for butts or can vaginas get pegged too?

I’m not a pegging purist. When the term originated in my column — when my readers selected “pegging” as the name for a woman fucking a man in the ass with a strap-on dildo — it was gendered; pegging was something a woman did to a man. But now people use “pegging” to mean someone any gender fucking someone of any gender in the ass with a strap-on dildo, an evolution I fully support. But I do think having a term that specifically refers to a particular and popular kind of ass fucking is a good thing. Nevertheless, meaning follows use, and I am not the boss of the English language. “Language is, by its nature, majority-rule,” as Tamar Haspel noted over at The Atlantic this week, “[and] a word’s meaning changes when enough people use it in its new, changed way.” So, if people start using pegging to refer to any kind of penetrative sex that involves a dildo and a dildo harness, I won’t be mounting a legal challenge.

shared that plan with you in advance. But if the sex was good every other time, I think you should give them another go. If you expect to be the center of attention during every threesome, you should share that expectation with them — but in all honesty,

I don’t think that’s a realistic expectation. A one-off threesome with a couple? You’re the very special guest star and you should be the center of attention. A relationship with a couple that involves lots of threesomes?

of the housework, if you’re practicing good personal hygiene, if you’re making sure your wife comes when you have sex, and if you’re going down on her. The implication: you must not be doing these things because otherwise you would be getting regular blowjobs. But there are men out there who do everything right — their fair share of the housework, they shower and brush their teeth, they get their wives off, they eat their wives’ pussies — and they never get blown. They may have married

ed by his dad and his dad’s best friend when he was ten? And has your boyfriend only recently managed — with the help of his therapist — to block the mental images that were ruining sex for him and him for sex? If any of the above or something close is true, your boyfriend might have a good reason to check in with his therapist before having his first threesome with his new boyfriend. But he could’ve and should’ve checked in without telling you about it.

Everyone gets to be the center of attention once in a while.

2. Best sex position for celebrating the NY verdict?

Not sure — but it should be something you can’t get away with doing even once, let alone 34 times.

3. I’m a unicorn to a hot married couple that lives a few hours away. I came up for her birthday and a fun party. For the first time, the sex was off. The wife and I had our usual hot time, but the husband seemed to ignore me and focused only on his wife. I left feeling rejected. I called and said it’s ok if he wants to fuck his wife, but why was I there then? He apologized and assured me he’s still attracted to me and wants me to come back. Should I go back?

Maybe the husband felt his wife should be the center of attention on her birthday… or maybe you were the center of attention the last ten times, and his wife asked to be the center of attention on her birthday. Either way, if the husband had a plan to focus things on the wife for a change, he should’ve

4. After four years together, I found out that my boyfriend cheated on me. I became suspicious because he didn’t want to have sex any more, and he spent most of his time on his phone. At first, I learned he kissed a coworker after I found the shadow of a hickey on his neck. He used a car-sharing service to get home, and I asked to see where he got the car, and it was the street where this woman lives. He insisted it only happened twice. Now I know it has happened fifteen times in nine months. I love him dearly, and I can’t live without him. What am I supposed to do? How can I believe it was just two kisses? Can I ever trust him again?

If you can’t live without him, you’ll have to put up with this shit. If you can’t put up with this shit, learn to live without him.

5. Married 24 years, haven’t had a BJ in fifteen years.

That sucks.

P.S. Since I’m an advice columnist and you’re a straight married man — men couldn’t marry other men 24 years ago — I’m supposed to ask if you’re doing your fair share

women who never liked sucking cock, or they may have married women who loved sucking cock at first, but sucking cock somehow doesn’t work for them in the context of an established relationship.

P.S. If you want a BJ, ask for one. If she won’t give you a BJ, ask for permission to get a BJ elsewhere. If she won’t give you a BJ or let you get a BJ elsewhere, do what you need to do to stay married and stay sane.

P.P.S. Not calling it a “BJ” might help.

6. Best soap for cleaning a smelly cock?

Any soap will do — seriously, cocks don’t smell bad because men are using the wrong soaps.

7. My boyfriend said he wants to ask his therapist “for their approval” before we can have a threesome. Is it a no-go?

Does your boyfriend have a long history of compulsive sexual behavior? Did he need years of therapy before one-on-one sex with someone he actually cared about was a possibility for him? Did your boyfriend’s ex-husband leave him for someone they had a threesome with? Did he require years of therapy to get over the divorce? Did your boyfriend walk in on his mom getting double penetrat-

8. Sex has become boring and routine. Best advice for spicing it up?

Location, location, location — meaning, if you’re having sex with the same person in the same place over and over again, you might wanna fuck that person somewhere you’ve never fucked that person before, e.g., at the office, on the roof, in the ass. If you’re having sex with lots of different people in lots of different places and you’re bored, you may need to take a break.

9. I can take really big sex toys, but men’s dicks are painful. Why?

Men come attached to dicks — typically — which makes dicks somewhat unpredictable. Toys, by way of contrast, are very predictable; toys don’t make any sudden moves, toys stay where you put them, and toys don’t have their own ideas about the depth, angle, or pace of penetration. If you’re someone who experiences even mild anxiety around penetration, playing with a typical dick — one that came attached to a man — may be causing you to tense up, and tension is the enemy of painless penetration.

10. Cis female here who has sex with trans women with [eggplant emoji] who also sleep with people with [eggplant emoji, eggplant emoji, eggplant emoji]. Should I be on PrEP?

Yes.

11. What’s the most erotic thing you’ve watched IRL in a room? Pass. n

DESPERATE

Check out https://savage.love/ and listen to the Lovecast at https://savage.love/lovecast

JOE NEWTON

V Find and circle each of the words from the list below. Words may appear forwards or backwards, horizontally, vertically or diagonally in the grid. “Find

ACROSS

1 Opts for 6 Country that doesn’t have any homosexuals, according to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (suuuure, Mahmoud)

10 Fastener used with a bolt

13 First name of Ice Cube, or his eldest son 14 Brooklyn NBA team 15 U2 song I danced with my boyfriend to at graduation in 1997

16 “Mr. Sondheim, make that tempura”

18 Pre-A.D. letters, nonreligiously

19 “___ do”

20 Sexuality of Abraham ___ (Wikipedia page)

22 CPR expert

23 Wears a blue hanky in the right pocket, says “friend of Dorothy,” etc.

25 Novelty song that was a #1 hit for Rick Dees in 1976

28 Lyric 29 Prevent, as a crisis 30 Vote into office 31 “Mr. Geffen, decorate that house” 34 Had a nice meal 35 Quickly 36 Info of interest to travelers stuck in a long TSA line 37 Tundra, e.g. (not the truck)

41 Has sex in (or on) for the first time

43 “___ Never Been to Me” (Charlene ballad)

44 Heroine in Verdi’s “Il Trovatore”

45 Give the wrong idea 48 Melber of MSNBC

49

JOCKSTRAP BAREBACK PANSEXUAL GENDERQUEER SCISSORING DEADNAME

FIERCE GAYDAR FEMME SHADE AUNTIE BUTCH QUEEN DADDY BOTTOM

TRANS BEAR BUSSY TWINK DRAG BIPOC OTTER FURRY DILDO READ

POPPERS INTERSEX VIBRATOR UNICORN FLAWLESS BISEXUAL HARNESS GAYMER SWITCH LEATHER LIPSTICK SAPPHIC FLUIDITY TOMBOY ASEXUAL LEZ PUPS DILF SLAY ENBY DYKE ACE GAY TEA KINK 25