Pride Month 2023

BIG TICKET

See why we celebrate pride month in June and where to do so here in North Texas.

NIGHT & DAY

Downtown Arlington has a lot to offer this month, including a car show and Arlington Pride Fest on June 10 and much more.

See page 15

HIGHER PURPOSE

Everyone has a higher purpose. Find yours with Higher Purpose Emporium owner Ivy Garcia at the annual LGBTQ+ Pagan Pride Fair on June 11.

By Jennifer Bovee

From exhibits to sporting events and everything in between, there’s something special to do daily in Downtown Arlington, including these seven events. No wonder Mayor Ross has proclaimed June to be Downtown Arlington Month! For ideas about arts and culture, eats and drinks, living and working, shopping and playing, and how to get around during your visit, go to DownTownArlington.org.

be seen 10am-5pm daily thru Sun, Sept 24. Tickets are $20 at ArlingtonMuseum.org.

Saturday

JUNE 10

Fridays

As part of a "music-friendly community," Levitt Pavilion Arlington (100 W Abram St, 817-543-4308) hosts free concerts called Arlington Celebrates: Home Grown. Featured artists for June include Big Sam’s Funky Nation on 6/2, Dale Watson with Dusty Moats on 6/9, Sue Foley with Terraplane Rounders on 6/18, SqueezeBox Bandits with Shelby Bellender on 6/23, and Radney Foster with Gold Pine on 6/30. For more info, visit LevittPavilionArlington.org.

Presented by Chevrolet, the Downtown Arlington Classic Car Show is 11am-4pm Sat, June 10, at Vandergriff Town Center (200 N Mesquite St) and on surrounding streets. More than 150 cars from the early 1920s to the late 1970s will be showcased. You can register your car for $20 on Eventbrite.com, with proceeds going toward creating a Fire Station Museum. Along with the cars, you can enjoy food trucks, games, and vendors. This event is free to attend.

Saturday

JUNE 10

Saturday

JUNE 3

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour Collection at the Arlington Museum of Art (201 W Main St, 817-2754600) explores Swift as an evolving, boundary-pushing artist. The exhibition will feature original costumes, photographs, videos, and more representing several of her creative periods, or “eras.” The exhibit can

Arlington Pride 2023, presented by Frank Kent Cadillac and the HELP Center for LGBT Health & Wellness, is at the Levitt Pavilion (100 W Abram St, 817-543-4308) 6pm-11pm Sat, June 10. Featured performers from Ru Paul's Drag Race include Angeria Paris VanMichaels, Symone, and Kennedy Davenport, plus music by DJ Al Farb and a street fair full of vendors. Learn more at ArlingtonPride.org.

NOW

thru JUNE 13

The Let’s Get Small exhibit at Create Arlington (304 W Main St, 682-248-8424) offers a look into the world of miniature art (no larger than 8” in size)

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Levitt Pavilon has lots of shows, including free ones, this month.

N&D

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and showcases the incredible talent of the artists who create it. Visitors can expect to see everything from miniature sculptures and paintings to tiny installations and mixed-media pieces. There is no cost to attend.

want to find a tribute to Sir Elton. Arlington Music Hall (224 N Center St, 817-2264400) has just the thing. At 7:30pm, see The Elton Johns, an all-live music experience with a full band and string section. Fans of all ages and backgrounds can sing along to the amazing song catalog of one of the top-selling artists of all time. Tickets start at $20 on Eventbrite.com.

EVERY

Saturday NIGHT & DAY

JUNE 17

At 3pm, join the folks from Catalyst Creative Arts for a Plein Air Painting Session. (That's French for “outdoors.”) With some instruction, you will capture a downtown scene at Gene Allen Park (121 W Main St). Bring your own supplies, or rent them from Catalyst. This event is free, but advance registration is requested via Eventbrite.com.

Saturday

JUNE 24

With Elton John on his farewell tour and the last American stop in the rearview mirror, fans may

Downtown Arlington is where history lives and where locals play! Come discover the unexpected, from locally-brewed coffees and craft beers at the source, to patio hopping and award-winning dining destinations with Insta-worthy drinks and cuisine. Catch a show, see world-renowned art, and join us for festivals, concerts, and other popular annual events. It’s authentic. It’s creative. It’s home grown. And it’s thriving. For more information, visit Downtown Arlington.org.

PRESENTED BY DOWNTOWN ARLINGTON

Angeria Paris VanMichaels from RuPaul’s Drag Race will be at Arlington Pride Fest.

Local favorites SqueezeBox Bandits will be at Levitt Pavilion in late June.

Happy Pride Month

Why do we celebrate Pride in June? As an ally, I had some research to do to find out.

The Library of Congress says Pride Month commemorates the 1969 uprising at the Stonewall in Manhattan. After a series of unjust police raids, bar patrons fought back, and the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement began.

In North Texas, we have several events Pride events coming up this month. Here are just a few.

From 2pm to 4pm Sat, Party with the Queens is a free brunch drag show hosted by Crystal Whitney at La Chingona (2800 Bledsoe St, Ste 200, Fort Worth, 817-8709997). Featured performers include Angelique Davenport, Veronica Reyes, and Venus Vogue. Brunch menus and specials will be available until 4:30pm. RSVP via EventBrite.com to receive one 1-cent mimosa upon entry. For a VIP experience, book a table with bottle service by calling 972-989-4474.

Arlington, Dallas, and Fort Worth are each hosting a Pride Fest. Read about Arlington in this week’s Night & Day. Over in the Big D, the Dallas Pride Music Festival is 11am-9pm Sat-Sun at Fair Park (3601 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Dallas, 214764-7833) with headliner Allison Ponthier. Tickets are $10 at DallasPride.org.

As for the Fort, this year’s Trinity Pride Fest will be 6pm-10pm Sat, Jun 24, at Magnolia Green Park (1201 Lipscomb St, Fort Worth, @TrinityPrideFW). There will be an artisan vendor market by Wandering Roots, food available for purchase from assorted trucks, and live music by local queer artists and bands. Organizations that work directly with the LBGTQ+ community will be on hand as well. This event is free to attend.

Our friends in the Pagan community are also hosting a big event. The annual LBGTQ+ & Pagan Pride Fair is 3pm-9pm Sat, Jun 11, at Higher Purpose Emporium (505 W Northside Dr, Fort Worth, ShopHPE. com). There will be games, raffles, and vendors at this free happening, with a community afterparty to follow. “Bring your divination tools!” says shop owner Ivy Garcia. “Come enjoy some food and music with the community.”

By Jennifer Bovee

Love always wins. Courtesy Facebook

Pride

METROPOLIS

ers privately disclosed a mix of excitement and trepidation about this year’s fest, given the openly hostile rhetoric from local and state-level Republican leaders against the LGBTQ+ community.

County Judge Tim O’Hare recently targeted the Near Southside when he asked State Comptroller Glenn Hegar to investigate a March drag show at Tulips FTW, a Near Southside music venue. In the letter, O’Hare alleges the performers that evening “exposed themselves” to children in attendance even as the drag queens and audience members have publicly rebuked O’Hare’s allegations that the all-ages show featured sexually explicit performances.

BY EDWARD BROWN

Near Southsiders are planning for the biggest Pride month yet with dozens of bars and restaurants preparing to raise money for LGBTQ+ charities. Proceeds from select Bearded Lady cocktails, for example, will support The Trevor Project, a nonprofit that works to prevent suicide among queer youths.

Capping off the month’s festivities will be the annual Trinity Pride Fest — Saturday, June 24, at Magnolia Green Park (1201 Lipscomb St) — which will feature live music from queer musicians, plus food trucks, artisan vendors, and other activities.

Several Near Southside business own-

The night’s headliner, Salem Moon, wore several layers of clothing during her performance as a precaution against the types of right-wing misinformation that O’Hare is known for spreading. In his letter, O’Hare asks Hegar to investigate whether the venue is operating as a sexually oriented business, which would potentially malign the venue’s public reputation.

Responding to O’Hare’s Facebook post about the letter, one Denton mother pushed back on the county judge’s assertions.

“Have any of you been to a drag show?” the mother said. “Not one of these performers would show their junk to the audience. Do you have any idea of how many layers of bindings and spanks they have on?”

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Square Roots

If you’re confused about which companies with “Roots” in their name to boycott, here’s a refresher: Wandering Roots and Roots Coffeehouse are fine. Roots Market is the homophobic one.

Oh, there’s also a wedding venue called Roots Fort Worth, which doesn’t allow same-sex marriages on-site.

lives. To claim to be Biblically based and then reject someone because you disagree with their beliefs is almost funny in its misunderstanding of what it means to be Christlike. (For the uninitiated, that’s a popular term among Christians for the ideal standard to set for oneself.)

If the Roots Market folks want to reject a certain vendor, of course, they are legally allowed to — this is Texas, and Texas is inherently backward in its legal protections for marginalized communities.

Phew!

It’s almost exhausting

keeping track of all this open discrimination

After denying an application from an LGBTQ+ vendor recently, Roots Market’s owners released a statement on Facebook proclaiming that they wanted to respond to recent “attacks” against them — a classic line among conservatives and other hypocrites who once described so-called snowflakes as dramatic and reactionary. Roots managers went on to explain that they decided to not to work with the vendor because they are a Biblically focused brand founded on Christian values. How “love thy neighbor”

fits into them was conveniently glossed over when Roots said in their statement, “We have love and compassion for those who identify as LGBTQ+. And we firmly believe in God’s design for marriage and family.”

About a dozen protestors took to West Magnolia Avenue on Saturday outside the market, carrying Pride flags and signs saying, “Don’t shop here” and “Honk for equality.”

Turning away a vendor just before market day and telling her it was because you did not know she is queer seems like a strange

way to express love and compassion

It’s an interesting idea for an open-air market-hosting business to be Biblically based. As if there is a way to participate in capitalism that is specifically godly. Jesus was a famous anti-capitalist who advocated for redistribution of wealth and the wealthy giving away their possessions. Not that starving artists typically end up belonging to the 1%, but you get the point.

It’s also not the way Jesus would treat someone. Jesus opened his arms to everyone, regardless of their lifestyles or sex

But it’s laughable when businesses with judgmental policies turn around and complain about public backlash. If judgment is so upsetting, just wait until the afterlife, right?

Perhaps in the long term, this will all just feed into a martyr narrative for all the holy rollers at Roots Market. And they’ll probably love it.

This column reflects the opinions of the editorial board and not the Fort Worth Weekly To submit a column, please email Editor Anthony Mariani at Anthony@FWWeekly. com. He will gently edit it for clarity and concision.

We sat down with five local LGBTQ+ leaders to talk about the present, the future, and why our county judge is demonizing the Near Southside.

(From left to right) Shannon Osbakken, Rachel Gollay, and Samantha Jo Glenn believe the Near Southside plays a vital role in providing safe spaces for the LGBTQ+ community.

Agustin Gonzalez

There were a lot of honks for equality outside Roots Market on the Near Southside last weekend.

Courtesy Facebook

Tulips owner-founder Jason Suder declined to comment on this story.

O’Hare is part of a broader right-wing effort to demonize drag queens to further oppress non-straight non-Christians. The Texas House recently advanced Senate Bill 12, which creates criminal and civil penalties for venue owners who allow sexually oriented performances in the presence of a child. Many queer allies see Republicans as falsely equating strip clubs to theatrical performances like drag.

O’Hare’s political stunts have done little to dampen the commitment of business owners along West Magnolia Avenue and South Main Street on the Near Southside to provide safe and affirming environments for trans youth, gay patrons, and members of the queer community. Bearded Lady owner Shannon Osbakken said now is the time for local elected officials, business owners, and area stakeholders to recognize something that is clear to many: The Near Southside’s economic success and cultural vibrancy is largely due to its unapologetic embrace of the LGBTQ+ community and acceptance of folks from all walks of life.

“It’s no coincidence that our community is the most open-minded, liberal, and inclusive, and it is drawing people from all over the Metroplex,” Osbakken said. “Hopefully, that will be taken into consideration when businesses are being attacked.”

Mike Brennan, president of Near Southside Inc., the nonprofit tasked with revitalizing the district and organizing community events, said the community has long been diverse and accepting.

“At Near Southside Inc., we’ve seen firsthand how this inclusive community spirit is an important economic asset, helping to attract so many new residents and businesses,” he said.

To further dive into the history of the Near Southside’s queer-friendliness and ongoing commitment to present drag shows, music, and art that celebrates the lived gay experience, we gathered Samantha Jo Glenn (co-owner of Funky Picnic Brewery & Café), Rachel Gollay (singer-songwriter, queer activist), Jenna Hill-Higgs (Liberty Lounge owner, social activist), Osbakken, and Evan Michael Woods (Amphibian Stage marketing director) at Hill-Higgs’ Liberty Lounge for a roundtable discussion.

Describe your work advocating for LGBTQ+ rights and/or programming events that support the LGBTQ+ community.

Glenn (Funky Picnic): Our biggest events are our drag shows. We have drag brunch once a month and Drag After Dark, which is a late-night Friday show. We’re at two years of hosting drag shows. That’s one of our biggest programming events.

Gollay (musician, activist): I volunteer as a program leader with LBGTQ SAVES, which provides safe and brave spaces for youths ages 12 through 24. That’s been meaningful work, especially given the current legislative landscape in Texas. I’m about to start a job with a Jewish LGBTQ-focused nonprofit. I’ll be doing that as my day job focused on community engagement and mobilization.

Hill-Higgs (Liberty Lounge): The place you’re sitting in now has been a part of the continued on page 6

Fresh from the Gulf, these jumbo shrimp are great for appetizers or adding their signature flavor to a quick-cooking entrée. Have our handmade cocktail sauce on hand!

Evan Michael Woods: “If [Amphibian Stage] didn’t have the [Near Southside] community here, we’d be losing artists, headliners, and butts in seats.”

Agustin Gonzalez

Metro

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[queer] community for more than 50 years. It is necessary to create a space where you can come and be with your community. I was concerned for anyone who was lost or

alone. We use our bar to raise money for charities. I believe you need to give back. As a teenager, I lost a lot of men in my life who were uncles to me. We were going through the AIDS epidemic. We host [a queer history event] once a month. We discuss our gay history in Fort Worth, which is amazing. Now I’m on Trinity Pride’s board. Bars were historically the meeting places. That’s how I treat this place. We can weather this storm

and come out the other side — and sell a couple of cocktails in between.

Osbakken (Bearded Lady): We’ve had quite a few drag shows. In June, we’re decking everything out for Pride. We’re doing Pride brunches every weekend. I try to create a safe space for anyone to come work or come to visit. Probably more than half of our staff is part of that community. Basically, if you

are not supportive, you are not going to fit in with the restaurant. It’s something we prioritize there.

Woods (Amphibian Stage): At Amphibian Stage, we make a conscious effort to hire queer artists to be a part of the stories we tell onstage and make a conscious effort to highlight queer stories. We started a community

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Jenna Hill-Higgs: “I’m a firm believer that we meet hate with empathy and give them grace.”

Agustin Gonzalez Tulips FTW was packed in late March for a drag show that drew supporters as well as protestors.

Courtesy Facebook

nights program that are select performances of our mainstage show. [We offer] pre- and post-show opportunities so like-minded individuals [can] share their love of the performing arts. This summer, as part of that idea of championing queer stories, we are producing a queer riff on The Importance of Being Earnest that I am directing. We are excited to tell that story, especially at this time.

What role does the Near Southside play in providing a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community, and why is that important to you?

Glenn: I’m a cis straight white woman, so I’m not personally a part of the queer community. For me as a business owner, I try to create a space that is welcoming of everybody. I’ve taken feedback from the community, like adding trashcans in the men’s restroom. I’ve had people say, ‘As a man who used to have a period, I appreciate that.’ Our staff has represented all of the letters of LGBTQ. I’ve had an employee going through a transition whom we sat with. ‘I started hearing this new name and new pronouns,’ I told him. ‘Let me take the lead in changing this on your online profiles with the company and setting the tone with the staff.’ If we do have issues come up with protests or angry social media comments, I know I’m in a community that has the same viewpoints. We are all

in this together. That can mean continuing the fight rather than giving in to the haters.

Gollay: This area has so much queer history to it. The first gay bar I went to was Hot Shots, which became the Rainbow Lounge. We had a time. It is so important to have venues like that where the support for the

queer community is not conditional. That’s important now in the political climate we’re in, where you see big brands capitulate to people who are trying to terrorize us out of who we are. To know there are local businesses and communities supporting us in that way means that we are stronger together and able to weather these storms.

Hill-Higgs: I love this area. I can’t seem to leave it. I’m a firm believer that we meet hate with empathy and give them grace. It’s hard sometimes. It would be easy for us to meet that ugliness with grrrr. Doing what I get to do now fills my bucket. It goes back to that concern of not wanting anybody to be alone. The straight people who hang out at this bar are our allies. They see us as human, so our issues become real. When it comes down to a political vote, after they have had a drink with us, [it’s that much harder to vote against us]. It is powerful when you know you have a place where you belong.

Osbakken: I believe that in a mostly conservative city, our niche community is really the only space where anyone in the LGBTQ+ space can feel completely safe. Anyone who lives and works in this community will not put up with any hate, bigotry, or discrimination. By being vocal about it, we created a safe space. So many businesses have pride flags hanging up. It is important and creates a draw to our neighborhood.

Woods: As a queer person navigating this neighborhood and other parts of this city, even if overnight all the pride flags vanished and I couldn’t use that as a marker, I still generally feel that I don’t have to pick and choose or dodge parts of this neighborhood. We have this expectancy on how folks operate with the queer community. If that is not something you are not going to do, then you are not going to fit in. That’s how the Near Southside

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TIMELESS MELODIES TRINITY METRO

Bars and restaurants along West Magnolia Avenue like the Boiled Owl Tavern hang pride flags to signal that the queer community is respected and protected within those businesses’ walls.

CONNECT WITH ART THROUGH COCKTAILS, CONVERSATIONS, AND CREATIVITY.

Each month you’ll find something different—from performances, artist talks, and unique tours to art making, music, and films.

JUNE 8, 2023 | 5–8 P.M. | FREE

Portraits & People

Get inspired by photographers Christina Fernandez and Richard Avedon and learn more about the subjects of their portraits.

Second Thursdays at the Carter is generously supported by the Louella Martin Foundation.

Metro

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feels. It is that explicit queer component and all the businesses that are doing the work that make queer people feel welcome.

The Near Southside is an economic powerhouse within Tarrant County and a huge draw for visitors and locals alike. Do you see a connection between the district’s growth and the broader community’s commitment to supporting gender diversity?

Glenn: Visit Fort Worth does a good job of trying to bring more visitors and tourists to Fort Worth. All of those people aren’t going to be straight. It helps that [the queer community] can do a pretty easy search for a welcoming neighborhood, especially when they hear all of these stories about how Fort Worth is more conservative and all of the legislation being pushed in Texas. For us, our drag shows [at Funky Picnic] give us a packed house. If I can have a full house on a Saturday morning, that’s going to help my business. That will help the broader neighborhood. We employ around 30 people.

Gollay: For business owners who are motivated solely by profit and the bottom line, I don’t think that they are truly going to be the kinds of committed allies that we need. I think it needs to start with something more authentic, like these folks in the room right now who know this is just the right thing to do. And as a bonus, it does make business sense. It is better for the bottom line, but it starts by building community and solidarity in a real way. I also hope people with power and deep pockets are watching how this plays out. There are more of us united who want to support drag shows and LGBTQ-affirming spaces than don’t, and that includes lots of cis straight folks.

Hill-Higgs: I don’t know if it was the best business plan, but I had three things I wanted to do when I opened Liberty Lounge. First, I want to give back to my community because I’m in a unique spot. This is the neighborhood that helped raise me. I’m grateful for everything I received. When I was an actor in my 20s, there were certain drag queens who would give me jobs when they did a show, and they would pay me when I wasn’t really doing a lot. They were trying to help me make my rent. When I opened Liberty Lounge, I knew I could never give back as much as I received. My partner has been in business around here from the beginning. He saw it when it was still desolate. I love the growth. The people who have businesses here have that commitment. We are given the power in the Near Southside to not only provide a drink and a show but to give them something back, that acceptance and joy. I hope that when people read this, they realize that every time things have come to a vote, we see less than 50% of people show up. Every voice matters. You have to vote. It’s one of the ways we get seen and heard. There are powers-that-be that don’t want queer spaces. I don’t understand why. We’re just humans who love each other.

Osbakken: I hope that [the success of the Near Southside] will create a more inclusive city. I definitely think that it has always been a draw for our city and will continue to be. I hope we continue being the safe place for everyone to come and that we are an economic powerhouse in the Metroplex.

Woods: I’ve been thinking about this in the context of our theater that is bringing quite a bit of stand-up comedians and theater artists from across the country. For the most part, everyone who has come from New York and California has had a great time. If we didn’t have the [Near Southside] community here, we’d be losing artists, headliners, and butts in seats. Culture equates to dollars. l

Salem Moon (right) greeted Sharen Harrera, founder and director of the LGBTQ SAVES nonprofit that provides safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth, at a late-March drag show at Tulips FTW.

Courtesy Facebook

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