Being indoors can quash your travel plans, but it need not result in an end to your queer-filled celebrations. This Pride Month, take the digital route to celebrate sexualities in all its forms with these virtual pride events that you can attend from your home. By Bayar Jain
1. Club Quarantine
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Dubbed as the hottest new queer club of today’s time, Club Quarantine – or Club Q – is an underground nightclub which hosts a Zoom party every night. Started by four Chicago-based friends, this party lures more than 400 people from all kinds of sexualities today. The schedule for the wild nights is released on the club’s Instagram account, along with the passcodes to log in to the internet party. Artists of the gay community also join in on the fun for live performances, after which the proceeds collected from reservation sales are donated to charities.
2. New York City Pride Parade
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Marking 50 years of pride marches, this event will be hosted by Ashlee Marie Preston, the first transgender person to run for state office in California. Accompanying Preston will be Michael Smith, a transgender actor who has appeared in Homeland and The L Word. Scheduled to take place on June 26, the virtual parade will stream on their Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook accounts.
3. Global Pride
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This worldwide event will be bringing global queer communities and organisations under one virtual roof to celebrate queer love. The party will include 24-hours of live virtual events such as musical performances, inspiring speeches from leaders, and messages from human rights activists. Of the many big names performing during this event on June 27, one is Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil, India’s first openly gay prince.
4. Can’t Cancel Pride
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This twin-purpose event aims to celebrate pride a little differently this year. Taking off from the perseverant attitude of the gay community – hence the event name Can’t Cancel Pride – the online event will bring inspirational voices of the LGBTQIA+ community together to benefit six diverse queer organisations. In doing so, they hope to create a positive change within the community through intersectional messages of spirit and strength. The live stream of the event – slated for June 25 – will be available on the iHeartRadio Instagram and Facebook pages.
5. The Sims Pride Parade
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The Sims virtual sphere – a strategic life simulation video game – is organising its first-ever pride event this year. Considered a safe space for people around the world, this gaming website will incorporate pride-themed plum bobs – ordinarily a green crystal to identify the character selected in the game – along with a compilation of Sims Pride looks submitted by players all over the world. To facilitate this ‘Pride-look’, the game has introduced Pride regalia, as well as new MAC makeup looks. Kickstarting on June 15, players can submit their queer avatars till June 29, post which a virtual pride parade of these looks will be live-streamed on The Sims Twitch channel the following day.
Related: Do You Know Why The Month Of June Is Celebrated As Pride Month, Globally?