FULL SCHEDULE
Sat Sep 24th 1-4pm: “We Are Here” UIUC Queer BIPOC Block Party - FREE (donations accepted)
Join the UIUC Counseling Center and Cultural Houses to kick Pride Fest off right with a Queer BIPOC Block Party. Food, music, community, and FUN - and it’s all FREE!!!!! Don’t miss out! Save the date in your calendar now and plan to cruise down to W Nevada St between Goodwin and Matthews anytime between 1 and 4pm on Saturday, September 24th |
Sun Sep 25th 4pm: Screening of “Paris is Burning” - FREE (donations accepted)
Join the McKinley Foundation to watch a screening of this classic must-watch. “Paris is Burning” is the quintessential documentary that chronicles the New York's drag scene in the 1980s, focusing on balls, voguing, and the ambitions and dreams of those who gave the era its warmth and vitality. If you’re a fan of “Pose” or “RuPaul’s Drag Race”, come watch the real story that inspired both of these modern hits. |
Mon Sep 26th 4-6pm: “You Belong Here” LGBTQIA+ Youth Art Show Opening Reception - FREE (donations accepted)
Anita Purves Nature Center (1505 N. Broadway Ave., Urbana) Calling Local Youth LGBTQIA+ Artists! Are you a middle- or high-school student who draws, paints, or takes photographs? Would you like to submit a piece of art for display at the Anita Purves Nature Center this fall? Support is available through the Art Coop and the UP Center to help you get art supplies! Contact [email protected] for more information. Deadline for submissions is September 19. This multimedia art show features a variety of local LGBTQIA+ youth artists from area middle schools and high schools. Art is a positive form of creative communication and self-expression, and a way for youth to share their unique and personal stories with others. We welcome you to experience their art, demonstrating that all people belong in nature and at the Urbana Park District. From September 26 – December 17, stop by anytime M-F 8am-5pm & Sat 9am-4pm. Admission is always free, and everyone is welcome. |
Tues Sep 27th 6-7pm: Responding to Resistance: Calling People In and Handling Difficult Conversations - FREE (donations accepted)
Spurlock Museum of World Cultures - 600 S Gregory St, Urbana, IL 61801, and streamed online to UP’s Facebook and Youtube pages. Our panel of diverse experts will discuss how to handle conversations with folks who are resistant to accept and support queer issues. From the perspectives of rurality, religion, and many years of counseling experience, our panel will provide attendees with a toolbox for handling tough conversations with those who aren't as supportive as you are! |
Tues Sep 27th 7-8:30pm: The Intersectionality of Reproductive Justice - FREE (donations accepted)
Spurlock Museum of World Cultures - 600 S Gregory St, Urbana, IL 61801, and streamed online to UP’s Facebook and Youtube pages. In light of the recent Supreme Court Dobbs v Jackson decision, this panel will address the ways in which Reproductive Justice touches all our lives, as well as how it impacts the most marginalized members of our community even more deeply. This far-reaching shift in public policy is already having devastating effects. Come hear from experts about the current state of affairs, how much worse it can and likely will get, and what can be done about it. |
Tues Sep 27th 9pm-12am: 18+ Queeraoke - FREE (donations accepted)
The Axe Bar 114 S Neil St, Champaign, IL 61820 Let’s queer-up karaoke night! Wear your rainbow gear, gather in love and celebration, and sing your heart out. It’s karaoke. You know the drill. Bring your friends, bring your tips for the bartenders and karaoke DJ, and let’s have some FUN! |
Wed Sep 28th 6-7pm: Addressing LGBTQ Violence and Discrimination in Education - FREE (donations accepted)
Spurlock Museum of World Cultures - 600 S Gregory St, Urbana, IL 61801, and streamed online to UP’s Facebook and Youtube pages Dr. Dorothy Espelage is an internationally recognized scholar whose career has been dedicated to understanding and preventing bullying and violence in schools. Her research prioritizes the health and wellbeing of LGBTQ youth. Join us as she and two of her graduate student mentees offer suggestions from the most up-to-date research regarding how to support LGBTQ people in schools, especially in light of recent discriminatory legislation across the nation. |
Wed Sep 28th 7-8pm: Two-Spirit Lives and Experiences - FREE (donations accepted)
Spurlock Museum of World Cultures - 600 S Gregory St, Urbana, IL 61801, and streamed online to UP’s Facebook and Youtube pages Two-Spirit is a term used within Indigenous communities, encompassing cultural, spiritual, sexual and gender identity. This panel will discuss the history of Two-Spirit identities and the experiences of being Two-Spirit in our world today. Additionally, we will also have conversations on how allies can better support Two-Spirit identifying individuals. |
Thurs Sep 29th 4:30-7pm: “To Survive on This Shore” Art Exhibition Opening - FREE (donations accepted)
For over five years, photographer Jess T. Dugan and social worker Vanessa Fabbre traveled throughout the United States creating To Survive on This Shore: Photographs and Interviews with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Older Adults. The featured individuals have a wide variety of life narratives spanning the last ninety years, offering an important historical record of transgender experience and activism in the United States. The resulting photographs and interviews provide a nuanced view into the struggles and joys of growing older as a transgender person and offer a poignant reflection on what it means to live authentically despite seemingly insurmountable odds. |
Thurs Sep 39th 7pm: Film Screening of Out in the Dark and Q&A with filmmaker Michael Mayer
About the film: Michael Mayer's “gripping feature debut”, Out in the Dark, tackles the complexities of gay life within the context of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. “An edgy tale of sociopolitical intrigue,” Out in the Dark had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, sold to more than 40 countries, played in over 130 film festivals and won 27 awards. Sparking debate on both gender and Middle Eastern politics, Out in the Dark was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award, honoring the film's representation of LGBT issues and its impact on mainstream culture. RSVP here: https://www.cujf.org/rsvp-out |
Fri Sep 30th - Sun Oct 2nd: Pride Fest Online Auction
Auction website: https://unitingpride.betterworld.org/auctions/2022-pride-fest-auction Help Uniting Pride raise some much needed funds by bidding on amazing items donated by local businesses and generous community members. You can get a deal, we can get some support - it’s a win-win! |
Fri Sep 30th 4-7pm: Youth & Family Pride Party - FREE, RSVP requested
University Y 1001 S Wright St, Champaign, IL 61820 Families and young people deserve a Pride Party all your own and so here it is! Join us as we celebrate Pride with art, music, some free yummy treats, and lots more fun stuff. Something for all ages, whether you’re a family with littles, pre-teens, or teenagers. Free book giveaway to attendees while supplies last, free stickers and flags, and a raffle to win some awesome prizes! RSVP by clicking the button below to join us for family-friendly PRIDE! |
Fri Sep 30th 7pm-2am: Show UP & Show OUT Pride Fest Party - $15 GA / $30 VIP
Canopy Club 708 S Goodwin, Urbana, IL 61801 We’re hosting a repeat of last year’s wildly successful Show UP & Show OUT Party but this time even bigger and better! Defy Gravity and Carnivale Debauche are back with their mind-blowingly-awesome burlesque but we’re adding a whole drag show on top of that with some of the very best performers in our area! And the whole thing will be hosted by Callie Luttman from Mix 94.5. Join us as we blow the roof off the Canopy Club! This is an 18+ event. GA tickets are $15 pre-order or $20 at the door, with a special VIP ticket for $30 pre-order and includes early entry (skip the line!), pre-show meet n greet with performers and Callie, and a reserved seating area. Click below to get your tickets now! |
Sat Oct 1st 9:30-10:30am CU PRIDE Nature Hike in Busey Woods - FREE
Meet outside the Anita Purves Nature Center (1505 N. Broadway Ave., Urbana) for this all ages (under 15 with adult) program. Celebrate CU Pride Fest, and share your pride and love of the outdoors by enjoying a guided hike! Relax in the sights, sounds and smells of nature as we explore Busey Woods. Everyone is welcome, but space is limited. Call 217-384-4062 by 5pm on Friday 9/30 to sign up. This hike will end at 10:30am so that participants can also attend the Pride Parade in Urbana at 11am! |
Sat Oct 1st 11am: CU Pride Parade - FREE
The 2022 CU Pride Parade will step off at 11am in Campustown and then make its way to downtown Urbana. Parade map to come so attendees can know where to get a good viewing spot. New this year: we’ll be judging parade entries and giving out awards at the Fair. So if you march in the parade and wanna win, better plan to impress with your group or float! |
Sat Oct 1st 12-4pm: CU Pride Fest Fair - FREE (donations accepted)
The Pride Fest Fair is back in downtown Urbana at the intersection of Race and Main streets. We’ll shut the area down and have entertainment, vendors, activities, art, community organizations sharing information, and more! This year we’re excited to have the One Community Together stage that was formerly a part of the Sweetcorn Festival. More information to come but the music will be amazing, you can be sure of that! If you’d like to sign up to march in the Parade or have a booth at the Fair, click HERE by the sign up deadline of Sept 15th. And then we’ll send out more information to participants closer to the event date. |
Sat Oct 1st 7:30pm-2am: Queer Homecoming Dance - $20
Rose Bowl Tavern 106 N Race St, Urbana, IL 61801 Get your powder blue tuxedos, pink taffeta dresses, and all your sparkles and sequins ready because on Saturday night we’re throwing a Queer Homecoming Dance! Yep, you read that right. A Queer Homecoming Dance, y’all. We’re gonna live out our high school fantasies - but if high school was affirming, we felt safe to be our truest and proudest selves, and we were with our chosen family, that is! Dance all night to our fave live music covers courtesy of New Souls and DJ Silkee, enter the Best Dressed Contest to determine who will be crowned Homecoming Royalty, and get your classic dance pose picture taken in our photo booth so you can remember this night forever. This is an 18+ event and tickets are $20 each. Space is limited so buy your tickets now or risk sitting at home alone on your couch while everyone else dances the night away! |
Sun Oct 2nd 10am-2pm: SERVED! Drag Brunch - $40+
Drag Brunch is back, baby! You know it, you love it, you don’t wanna miss it. More info to come on lineup but Just Sue always puts on a good show and this will be no exception. Click the button below to get your tix before they sell out. Options include GA seating and brunch, or VIP levels, or add on the bottomless mimosa pass. |
Sun Oct 2nd 3-5pm: Champaign Community Crawl - $30-$55
UP partners with the Champaign Center Partnership so downtown Champaign can show their Pride with an incredible Community Crawl. Buy a batch of vouchers to use at participating businesses to get some great Pride treats! $30 gets you 3 vouchers, $55 for a pack of 6. And then you can choose where you stop in and buy: shops for families and young people, bars for the 21+, or mix and match! With so many amazing local businesses partnering with us on this program, you can’t go wrong. You might even need to buy a few packs of vouchers! Proceeds are split between the businesses and Uniting Pride. Participating Locations: The Literary, Bentley’s, Fire Doll Studio, Blind Pig Brewery, Plant Mode, Esquire Lounge, Suzu’s Bakery and likely more to come! We’re only selling a limited amount of vouchers, so get yours before they sell out! |
Sun Oct 2nd 7:30pm: Melissa Etheridge: One Way Out Tour - $49.50+
Uniting Pride is thrilled to be partnering with The Virginia Theatre to offer this incredible 2022 CU Pride Fest GRAND FINALE EVENT! With plenty of awards and hit records to her name, Melissa Etheridge needs no introduction. But you can click on the button below to head to The Virginia Theatre’s website for more information, see all the ticket levels (including some incredible VIP options!) and snag those tickets before they sell out. What a way to close out Pride Fest with a bang! |