LGBTQ
Over 70 people gathered outside the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center near Lake Merritt Wednesday to celebrate the first anniversary of the creation of the Lakeshore LGBTQ Cultural District — bringing a moment of joy to many who felt discouraged by last week’s election of Donald Trump as president. Last November, the city declared an official LGBTQ+ Cultural District in the heart of Oakland, between Grand Avenue and El Embarcadero to the south, Lakeshore Avenue to the east, and Boulevard Way…
Oakland’s eighth annual Pride Parade began Sunday with a roar — the rev of motorcycles as parade leaders Dykes on Bikes rode up Broadway. Thousands of people attended the parade, waving flags, cheering and dancing. The 83 community groups, government affiliates and corporate sponsors in the lineup bore their own messages, played music ranging from ABBA to the Jonas Brothers, and invited attendees to join in the celebration. “Feeling invited is just a sacred part of the queer community —…
About three dozen people gathered at the Lake Merritt amphitheater on a chilly Friday night to remember the five people who were killed last weekend in a mass shooting at a queer nightclub in Colorado Springs. During the three-hour vigil, people, mostly wearing black, listened to music — some hugging, others crying, and many laughing together, as they tried to care for one another in the wake of continued brutality against queer people in the United States. “Being queer and…
A small group of zine artists gathered in front of the Crisis Club Gallery in Oakland on Saturday afternoon and rifled through the dozens of zines splayed across a white foldout table, looking to trade their own creations with other zinesters. The zine swap was a pre-festival event in celebration of the Bay Area Queer Zine Fest, which began Sunday. The weeklong Zine Fest is returning for its fifth festival with a mixture of in-person and remote events until Saturday….
Anjali Rimi is unapologetic about stepping into the light. And as the co-founder of Parivar Bay Area — a transgender-led, transgender-centering South Asian organization — she makes space for others to join her. On Saturday evening, Parivar hosted a joyous and informative Diwali celebration at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center. Rooted in India but widely celebrated in the diaspora around the world, Diwali symbolizes the victory of light over darkness. Diwali’s significance was not lost on the audience of about 80,…
The Queer Healing Art Center buzzed with excitement on Saturday as artists prepared their bright white canvases, paintbrushes, and acrylic paint for an Art Battle. This was the Queer Healing Art Center’s one year anniversary of hosting Art Battles — live competitions where artists paint blank canvases while surrounded by an audience. “As soon as the paintbrush hits the canvas, everyone is electrified,” said Kin Folkz né Monica Anderson, the center’s co-founder and executive director of the Queer Healing Art…