WEDNESDAY 6/25
Take a Bite of Pride
(FOOD) This is it. It’s the last few days of Pride Month, but this weekend is a doozy, with dance parties and concerts and parades and drag shows happening all over the city every day for the rest of June. You’re gonna have to carbo-load to get through it all! Thankfully, dozens of local bakeries, bars, and restaurants have packed their menus with LGBTQ-themed treats. A few standouts include: Italian rainbow cookie cannolis at Kelly’s Cannoli, malted milkshake cake at Little Jaye, agua de jamaica tres leches cake at Tres Lecheria, the Purple Reign cocktail with Botanist Gin and butterfly pea flower tea at Shuckers, rainbow cake at Flora Bakehouse, and, the one I’m personally most intrigued by as far as flavors go, the Louder cake at Paper Cake Shop, which consists of chocolate sponge cake, strawberry jam, cereal milk ganache and frosting, candied Trix, and cereal milk gelee. A dollar from every slice sold goes to TWOC Solidarity Network. (Various locations, see a list of LGBTQ-owned restaurants here) MEGAN SELING
THURSDAY 6/26
(MUSIC) Filled with fuzzy guitars and poignant piano, Perfume Genius’ latest album, Glory, expands and contracts with a flow of emotions. Mike Hadreas, the queer icon and former Seattle resident behind the project, features the talents of his partner, Alan Wyffels, and producer Blake Mills on his seventh full-length. I’m looking forward to seeing this album performed live because, in my head, people dance to it like the girl in Sia’s “Chandelier” video. Get there early, the show opens with Gothic-inspired rock artist Storefront Church, who’s a friend of Phoebe Bridgers. (Showbox, 8 pm, all ages) SHANNON LUBETICH
FRIDAY 6/27
(PRIDE) Quileute drag artist Hailey Tayathy co-founded the Indigiqueer Festival in 2022 because they felt that “a gay-friendly city named for a Suquamish and Duwamish Chief deserved the big Indigenous Pride event it didn’t have.” Taking place at Pier 62 against the backdrop of the Salish Sea, this fest marks the start of Pride weekend with a stacked lineup of performers, including rocking drag queen Holli B. Sinclair, food from traditional Indigenous chef Natoncks Metsu, and a host of art vendors and community workshops. (Pier 62, 1–8 pm, free, all ages) SHANNON LUBETICH
SATURDAY 6/28
(PRIDE) Consider this your semi-regular reminder that there are only 37 surviving lesbian bars in the United States, so it’s a rare and special thing to be able to join in amongst the pride revelry at the Wildrose, one of the West Coast’s oldest establishments catering to dykes. Their three-day lineup of festivities this year, hosted by Shadae Simone, Briq House, and Amora Namor, includes appearances from DJs Velvet Whisper, Riz, and Yaddy. Plus, look forward to performances by Cherdonna Shinatra, Ruby Mimosa, and the Betsy Olson Band. Wildrose’s 2025 Pride celebration honors the late Shelley Brothers, who co-owned the bar for 22 years and “was a driving force behind what this Pride party has become.” (Wildrose, June 27–29, 21+) JULIANNE BELL
SUNDAY 6/29
(FILM) I have a soft spot for the goofy, tropey, splashy, colorful comedies of the early 2000s—think Austin Powers or Charlie’s Angels—but not many of them are explicitly queer. That’s why, after seeing the 2004 action comedy D.E.B.S. for the first time, I immediately wondered where the hell it had been my whole life. The premise is suitably ridiculous: The titular D.E.B.S. (Discipline, Energy, Beauty, Strength) are a group of college-aged women who have been secretly evaluated for their aptitude for espionage via the SAT and recruited into a prestigious training academy for spies. When the squad is assigned to surveil the deadly supervillain Lucy Diamond, promising spy-in-training Amy starts to fall for her. In case you’re not already sold, it also features a banger soundtrack, Devon Aoki with a fake French accent, and Holland Taylor as the school headmaster saying things like, “This isn’t Girl Scouts, it’s espionage!” Better yet, in collaboration with the Capitol Hill fiber arts coffee shop Stitch Cafe, SIFF will leave the lights on so that you can socialize and craft while watching. Bring along your current non-messy work-in-progress (knitting, crocheting, hand-sewing, weaving, and doodling all welcome), and stitch or sketch in bliss while swooning over the sapphic rivals-to-lovers romance. Consider it your cozy oasis if you’re feeling overwhelmed by the crowds, music, and flying candy from the Pride Parade marching down Fourth Avenue. (SIFF Cinema Uptown, noon, all ages) JULIANNE BELL
MONDAY 6/30
‘Pride: The Ric Weiland Collection’
(VISUAL ART) If you didn’t know already, Ric Weiland was a software developer and programmer who was hired as the second employee for a little company called Microsoft. Given his early involvement at the tech giant, Weiland was able to retire at the young age of 35 to dedicate his life to philanthropy and LGBTQ advocacy. Sadly, Weiland died at just 53, but his legacy lives on through the $65 million he left to queer rights organizations (such as the Pride Foundation). The MOHAI will honor Pride Month with a small-scale exhibit of photographs, letters, ephemera, and artifacts from Weiland’s estate that reflect his enduring fight for equality. While you’re there, be sure to check out the Collections Spotlight: Denim, which showcases artifacts from the MOHAI collection that tell the history of your ol’ blue jeans. (Museum of History & Industry, through Oct 5, all ages) AUDREY VANN
TUESDAY 7/1
Nina Katchadourian: ‘Origin Stories’
(VISUAL ART) In Origin Stories, artist Nina Katchadourian unpacks the quirks, rituals, and memories that shaped her creative world, from family summers in Finland to shipwreck obsessions and childhood games gone existential. Installed across the National Nordic Museum, the show blends humor, nostalgia, and tender strangeness. (For instance, there’s a bronze sculpture of a stick-cow in the mix, as well as a six-channel video about her parents’ accents.) Go forth for a reminder that personal history is messy, mythic, and often hiding in plain sight. (National Nordic Museum, through Oct 26, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO
Prizefight!
Win tickets to rad upcoming events!*
Low Cut Connie
July 1, Neumos
Contest Ends June 27 at 10 am
Tash Sultana
June 28, Chateau Ste Michelle
Contest Ends June 27 at 10 am
Odalalee Queer Pier Pride
June 29, Pier 62
Contest ends June 27 at 10 am
*Entering PRIZE FIGHT contests by submitting your email address signs you up to receive the Stranger Suggests newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Hard pass on what a contingency of 5 white women think about Pride festivities.