Pride Week kicks off in Anchorage with a Pride art exhibit, a big Pink Dot for love in Town Square, the film Role/Play, the annual Mr/Ms/Miss Gay Alaska pageant (with a new title this year), the LGBT Memorial Service, a free BBQ, and Drag Camp! to teach us how it’s done: those events and more, plus a preview of what’s coming up next week.

For further details on these events, follow the links below or go to our Alaska LGBTQ events page and click on the event you’re interested in on the calendar. There you’ll find the details, including date, time, location, cost, and links to where you can get further information.

By the way, individual (non-subscription) tickets for the two k.d. lang concerts in Anchorage this September go on sale today, Friday June 17, HERE. Tickets for her Fairbanks concert – yes, she’s playing in Fairbanks too! – go on sale August 1st.

This weekend

Anchorage

• Pride Exhibit at Out North opens on Friday at 5:30pm, with Pride-themed art made by local artists and food from Middle Way Cafe.

• Integrity, the Episcopal GLBT advocacy group at St. Mary’s, meets for a potluck, fellowship and worship on the third Friday of every month, all are welcome.

• Identity will have a booth at the Downtown Market and Festival on both Saturday and Sunday, selling Pride Fest t-shirts, rainbow stuff and raffle tickets, and answering all of your questions about Pride Fest.

• Pink Dot: Supporting the Freedom to Love is an international event inspired by the people of Singapore. Show up at Town Square on Saturday in pink clothes to show your support and join Alaska’s big pink dot!
• Role/Play movie, on Saturday at Out North, watch a totally gay film to celebrate Pride, love, pop culture, and the complexity of life.
• ICOAA 2011-2012 MGA Pageant, on Saturday for the stepdown of the current Mr. Gay Alaska Tim Minnick and Miss Gay Alaska Destiny Diamonds, and the crowning of new Mr., Mister, Ms. and Miss Gay Alaska.
• Annual LGBT Pride Memorial Service at Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery, on Sunday at 11 am, honoring those who have gone before us.
• Drag Camp! for everyone – all ages, all genders – with four instructors teaching the essentials of drag makeup, hair, posture and performance for fabulous and fun drag. It’s on Sunday at noon and it’s free, but bring your own foundation, wig and lashes.
• Pride Kick-Off BBQ at The Raven on Sunday at 4pm, a free annual event.

• Anchorage loves drag, and we’ve got the weekends to prove it with Mad Myrna’s Friday Night Diva Variety Show on — guess what — Friday night; and Kodiak Bar & Grill’s Lip Gloss Review on Saturday night. The Crazy Horse’s Illusions Show at an earlier time slot, on Saturday nights: check our calendar or the Facebook event page for details.

• A Pride Month Display will be exhibited all day during the month of June in the southeast lobby of the Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse at 222 West 7th Ave, Anchorage (see map). The exhibit is sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Fairbanks

• PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) meets on the third Sunday of each month, and they’re gearing up for the summer events: marching in the Golden Days Parade, a Pride Picnic after the parade, and a booth at the Tanana Valley Fair.

Juneau

• SEAGLA Friday Social at the Goldbelt Hotel. (Juneau’s Pride events are in July, in case you were wondering.)

Coming up next week

• Regular weekly events during the week include Gay, Joyous, and Free AA at Anchorage’s Gay and Lesbian Community Center (Monday); Anchorage Front Runners weekly walk/run (Tuesday); and the Mat-Su LGBT Community Group at Vagabond Blues in Palmer (Wednesday).

• Next week and weekend in Anchorage: Pride Week in Anchorage continues with all kinds of great events, including Drag Queen Bingo at Snow City Cafe, Lube Wrestling at the Raven, Monday night Pride movies at Bear Tooth, Kristara Live and in the Raw at Myrna’s, and on Saturday, June 25: the Pride Parade and Festival on the Parkstrip! Visit Alaska Pride for the complete schedule.

• Next weekend in Juneau: SEAGLA Friday Social at the Goldbelt Hotel.

Is your event not on our calendar? No matter where you are in the state, if you’re running an event of interest to the LGBTQ community, we’d be glad to put it on our calendar. Learn how to get the news to us by reading all about our new & improved Bent Alaska events calendar.