Bloglander

Pride Week isn't here quite yet, but the festivities are already starting. Here are a few we recommend.

Hands Across Monroe

Only 72 hours after a gay couple was attacked while holding hands on the Hawthorne Bridge in Portland, news outlets reported that a flood of nearly 4,000 supporters went to the site to hold hands, showing their support for the couple and the larger LGBTQA community. On Sunday, June 5, from 7:30-8:30 pm, supporters are invited to hold hands and walk across the Monroe Street Bridge in Riverfront Park in solidarity with the community in Portland, and, as organizers say, “anyone who has ever feared holding the hand of the one they care for.”

Photo taken by Sarah Wimmer, who attended the Hands Across the Hawthorne event in Portland on May 29, 2011

Gay Spokane Pageant 

It’s time once again to crown Mr. and Ms. Gay Spokane for the coming year. They’re preparing for a year of helping others through their place in the Imperial Sovereign Court of Spokane, raising money for educational scholarships open to anyone in the community, but let them party first. On Saturday, June 4 at the Spotlight Lounge (321 W. Sprague) ISCS presents the 2011 Gay Spokane Pageant, where the new royalty will be crowned and everyone will rejoice. Tickets are $20 and open only to those over 21. Doors at 6 pm, pageant starts at 7 pm.

Celluloid Closet (film)

The way LGBT characters have been portrayed in motion pictures has been absurd, comical, deviant — and that’s when they’ve been present in films at all. This documentary chronicles the transformation of these portrayals over time and the politics behind them,via clips, footage and interviews with those involved in the film industry, including actors like Tom Hanks and Whoopie Goldberg. The free 7 pm screening at AClub on Tuesday, June 7, will also feature a secret “theatrical twist.” It’s all-ages until 10 pm, when the after-party kicks in with music from Small Town Nation.