Aurora Pride will celebrate its second year with the Aurora Pride Parade at noon Sunday, June 9 in downtown Aurora. New this year, pride activities will occur throughout the weekend, and will kick off with First Fridays June 7.
First Fridays, a monthly evening of art, music, and more in downtown Aurora, offers a variety of open venues to explore starting at 5 p.m.. Pride-themed activities or art events will be at Santori Public Library, The ArtBar at Two Brothers Roundhouse, Arcana Studios, Wyckwood House, Christian Science Reading Room, SciTech Hands on Museum, and Aurora Fastprint. June 7, and a new First Fridays Food Truck Food Court will feature a handful of food vendors in Lot B across from City Hall from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.. Visit www.auroradowntown.org for a full lineup.
First Fridays pride event listings:
• Santori Public Library, 101 S. River Street.
The Library will be host to “Proud Visions: Images from June 17, 2018 Aurora’s Inaugural Pride Parade,” which feature pieces by photographers Nathan Villotti, Robb Winder, and Indivisible Aurora, as well as several snapshots submitted by members of the community. 6 p.m. to 9 p.m..
• The ArtBar at Two Brothers Roundhouse, 205 N. Broadway.
Fiery dragons and fierce queens alike will adore ArtBar: Drag Queens and Dragons. The LGBT Portraits show will honor cool folks in the community. 7 p.m. to midnight.
• Arcana Studios, 5 1/2 W. Downer Place. Unapologetically Me: A night of music, poetry, and comedy.
A pride variety show featuring music from touring artist Kevin Kaufman of the band Real Movement and Indie Acoustic Artist Aly Jayne, provocative queer poetry from Ferris James, and comedy from fiber artist, writer, and overall clown Renée Millette. A wall of free queer love letters and poems curated by Annie Baldwin will be on display for attendees to take and enjoy. 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.
• Wyckwood House, 14 W. Downer Place, Suite 16.
Aurora Downtown pride photo booth with photographer Jason Arthur. 6 p.m. to 8 p.m..
• Aurora Fastprint, 54 E. Galena Boulevard. Print, Pride, and Pints: Customer appreciation and Aurora Pride open house with photo booth and Wheatley Design pop up shop. 3:30 p.m. to 8 p.m..
• Christian Science Reading Room, 34 S. Stolp Avenue. Celebrate Love. 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday, June 8
• Riverfront Playhouse. 11 S. Water Street. Teen Writers and Artist Project (T-WAAP)
Riverfront Playhouse. Hip Hop, poetry, spoken word, storytelling. Free admission and open to the public. 2 p.m. to 4 p.m..
• Waubonsee Community College. 18 S River Street.
Stonewall: The First and Next 50 – A moderated panel discussion on the LGBTQ+ movement in the 50 years since the Stonewall Uprising and hopes for the next 50 years. Free admission and open to the public. 5 p.m. to 7 p.m..
• Ballydoyle Irish Pub, 28 E. New York Street.
OUTspoken – The award winning LGBTQ+ storytelling group from Chicago comes to the suburbs for the first time with stories, musings and comedy. Free admission and open to the adult public. 8 to 10 p.m.
Sunday, June 9
Aurora Pride Parade will step off at Broadway and Benton Street in downtown Aurora. Noon.
For more information on the parade, visit, www.aurorapride.org.
For more information on First Fridays, visit www.auroradowntown.org.
—Aurora Downtown