City of Pittsburgh 2023 Official LGBTQIA+ Pride Proclamation

Pittsburgh’s LGBTQIA+ Commission worked with Pittsburgh City Council and Mayor Ed Gainey’s office to draft the official City Proclamation recognizing LGBTQIA+ Pride in the City of Pittsburgh. A copy of this will be on display at Eons in Shadyside and a larger poster sized version in the lobby of the City County Building. WHEREAS, LGBTQ […]

Pride Anxiety

Pride Anxiety

Today is Pride. We had plans to go with a friend to see the parade and walk around the festival. Then the thoughts crept into my mind. Last night, I was fretting about the hill we’d have to walk up from our car to the festival. What if I couldn’t climb the hill? What if […]

How do you queer outreach?

I’ve been a bit busy this month with the #ManchesterCatTrap project so I didn’t participate in any Pride activities, until the end when I had the opportunity to say something. So I did. First was the chance to write an essay for PublicSource ‘Right kind of gay, wrong kind of queer’: Navigating LGBTQ discrimination in Pennsylvania […]

Little Pridefests Everywhere

The world has changed, as it inevitably does, and we are challenged with moving into a “new normal” rather than clinging to delusions about yesteryear. No, I’m not talking about COVID-19. I’m talking about Pridefest in Pittsburgh. Once upon a time, activist and wise man Jim Fischerkeller shared with me his belief that Pride moves […]

My Pride Queer Comfort Box

Pittsburgh Foster Kitten

It is hard to do some shopping when you have nowhere to go, noone to see, and nothing to do. Boo hoo. I’m pulling myself out of week 8 of terrible mental health symptoms. I am going to buy myself some comfort as a bit of resiliency against the remnants of this mixed state. So […]

Rural Pennsylvania Group Hosts First Local LGBTQ Pride Gathering in Elk County

Elk County LGBT Pride

This is how it works – or it should work. A group of local folks create a safe space to celebrate and affirm their LGBTQ neighbors. In this case, a 40-year-old pansexual mother of two set up a visibility event in a park in St. Mary’s, Pennsylvania. People came, made connections, joined the Facebook group. […]

Central Pennsylvania Pridefest aka Our Trip to Harrisburg for #AMPLIFY

Central PA Pridefest 2016

This past weekend, Ledcat and I took a road trip to the capital city to experience their pridefest. Overall, we found the festival to be pretty nice – the location is a riverfront park along a long winding, shady path. There were A LOT of vendors, most hyper local and engaged. The entertainment was at […]

#AMPLIFY LGBTQ Families, 29 Parents Share Their Experiences

Blogging for LGBTQ Families Day

For the past 18 months, I have been collecting Q&A responses from LGBTQ folks with ties to Western Pennsylvania. The project is called #AMPLIFY and we plan to continue seeking Q&A contributions through the end of 2017. Participants are 18+, identify as part of the LGBTQ community and have ties to Western Pennsylvania. We ask […]

RevDrRay, 49, Believes LGBTQ Folks Deserve Strong & Powerful ‘Spiritual’ Life #AMPLIFY

Pittsburgh Gay Black Man

I just want to say that it is possible to have a strong and powerful “spiritual” life; we do not deserve the often used bible or faith based abuses dished out and far too often accepted by the masses. Name: RevDrRay Age: 49 County of Residence: formerly Allegheny County, now Washington DC metro area Preferred Pronouns: masculine How do […]

Persad Presents ‘Origins of Pride’ Lecture on Sunday

Nexus Event! Not to be Missed… MARCH 6, 2016, 3-6 P.M. at Persad Center A program about LGBTQ History and the “Origins of Pride,” presented by Ted Hoover, staff at Persad Center. You may know that the Stonewall Riots sparked the birth of the modern LGBTQ  movement… but do you know who Barbara Gittings was? […]