Karli Evans
Audio By Carbonatix
While most of the city is winding down from Miami Music Week, the LGBTQ community is booking Airbnbs on the beach, ordering pasties, picking out the best heels, and gathering in preparation for Miami Beach Pride.
Allies, families, and everyone in between
Last year, more than 145,000 people attended, and an even larger crowd is expected this year. Headliner Emily Estefan will be featured in Saturday’s festivities, and mixers, drag shows, and various venues will celebrate the city’s rainbow community.
These are the best events during Miami Beach Pride, honoring sexual freedom and the right to love whomever you want in the company of allies and a diverse community.
Pride Lights the Night. For its third year, the annual Pride Lights the Night will honor Pulse nightclub shooting victims with the help of survivor Josean Garcia. He will flip the switch and light up the Herzog & de Meuron-designed parking garage at 1111 Lincoln Rd. Pride Lights the Night encourages the decoration of buildings in Miami in rainbow colors, graphics, or flags to show support for and solidarity with the LGBTQ community. 7 p.m. Monday, April 1, at 1111 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach; visitmiamibeachpride.com. Admission is free.
Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce Spotlight Megamixer Networker. The Oasis Patio at the Shelborne South Beach will transform into the Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (MDGLCC) networking mixer. There will be about 200 members, guests, and visitors. Tunes will come courtesy of DJ Jesimixx, and guests can indulge in small bites and an open bar by Bacardi. All attendees will have a chance to win prizes provided by MDGLCC members, including VIP tickets to Miami Beach Pride and a chance to be on the chamber’s float in the Pride Parade on Ocean Drive April 7. 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, April 2, at Shelborne South Beach, 1801 Collins Ave. Miami Beach; visitmiamibeachpride.com. Tickets
The Business of Pride: A Panel Discussion. WeWork in South Beach will host the Business of Pride, a chat about the importance of creating safe, respectful, and inclusive practices for the LGBTQ community. The event will feature guests such as Steven N. Adkins, president and CEO of the Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce; and Robin Schwartz, managing director of the Aqua Foundation for Women. 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 3, at WeWork, 350 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach. Admission is free with RSVP via miamibusinessofpridepanel2019.splashthat.com.
Pride Night at PAMM. Pérez Art Museum welcomes the LGBTQ community for Pride Night, a Miami Beach Pride celebration, on its bay-view terrace. Expect a night of live music, drink specials, and drag shows by Miss Toto, King Femme, Missy Meyakie LePaige, and Kat Wilderness. Also on the agenda are the bass duo
Basement Miami Beach Pride.
Fling: Women’s Pride Weekend Miami Beach. Hundreds of women will gather for three days in South Beach during Miami Beach Gay Pride. The weekend will include mixers, dance parties, and pool parties. All events are 21-and-over and rain-or-shine. Fling is presented by Pandora, a lesbian event production company from South Beach that produces other major women’s happenings such as Girls in Wonderland in Orlando, the Women’s White Party, and the official women’s events of Sobe Pride, as well as local weekly and monthly themed parties from South to Central Florida. Friday, April 5, through Sunday, April 7 at various venues. Ticket prices range from free to $20 via eventbrite.com.
Najja Moon and Octavia Yearwood of This Girls Lunchbox.
Curtis Childs
This Girls Lunchbox. A female queer collective in South Florida, This Girls Lunchbox is on a mission to provide an “exclusive space for all queer creative women to convene, connect, and build.” During Pride, they will host their monthly member get-together, which will also be open to nonmembers as well. The event will feature sounds by DJ
Not Your Standard Pride, With (F)empower and Rify Royalty. (F)empower is an artist collective and movement to empower femmes in South Florida. The collective consists of women artists, creatives, and badass people who identify as femme. The group is hosting a free DJ party featuring sounds by Oscar Nñ of Papi Juice, Loka of (F)empower, Min2 of Discwoman, and others. 2 p.m. to sunset Sunday, April 7, at the Standard, 40 Island Ave., Miami Beach; standardhotels.com. Admission is free with RSVP via standardpride.splashthat.com.
Karli Evans
Miami Beach Pride Parade. It’s Miami Beach Pride’s grand dame, a festival of color and love along Ocean Drive. Capping a week of exciting and inspiring events, this year’s Pride Parade will fill the street beginning at noon as floats and performers wow the crowd. The party will continue into the night, with Icona Pop and Emily Estefan headlining the event. Noon Sunday, April 7, on Ocean Drive, Miami Beach; miamibeachpride.com. Admission is free.
Tim Chapman Collection / HistoryMiami Museum
“Queer Miami: A History of LGBTQ Communities.” Pride’s mostly about the parties, but the community can’t forget those who paved the way and fought to make Miami a more inclusive and diverse city. HistoryMiami’s “Queer Miami” exhibit recognizes the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall rebellion and chronicles “Miami’s queer past, reflecting multiple forms and expressions of gender and sexual diversity.” On display are artifacts, photographs, and archival footage of events in Miami’s LGBTQ history. The exhibit also includes stories of “Miami’s queer communities who, despite discrimination, isolation, and violence, carved out spaces for themselves in southern Florida.” Through September 1 at HistoryMiami, 101 W. Flagler St., Miami; historymiami.org. Admission costs $8 for students and $10 for adults.
