Celebrate Pride in Seattle at one of the largest pride festivals in the Pacific Northwest
Queer/pride, a 3-day queer music and performance festival on Seattle’s Capitol Hill, will take place Friday, June 28 – Sunday, June 30, 2019 on 11th avenue between E. Pike and E. Pine streets. The outdoor street party will have a main stage, dance floors, bars and a new VIP experience.
This year’s queer/pride talent lineup includes drag artists from RuPaul’s Drag Race, nationally recognized DJs, musical acts and some of Seattle’s most talented queer performers. 3-day general admission and VIP passes are on sale online at queerpridefestival.com
Headlining queer/pride is Big Freedia. Known as the “Queen of Bounce,” Freedia is a New Orleans-based rapper and ambassador of Bounce music, a vibrant twist on hip-hop, characterized by call-and-response lyrics over rapid-fire beats. Freedia is often attributed with bringing Bounce out of New Orleans and into the mainstream music scene.
“We are excited to bring Big Freedia back to Seattle,” said Joey Burgess, owner of queer/bar. “Big Freedia’s authenticity and fierce talent have pushed people to reconsider their assumptions about music, queer culture and gender. She is an icon and role model for the LGBTQIA+ community, inspiring and empowering us to be proud of our true selves. Big Freedia embodies queer/bar’s inclusive values, and the honor of having her on the queer/pride festival stage speaks to our mission of creating a safe and fun gathering space for our diverse LGBTQIA+ community.”
Headlining queer/pride festival with Big Freedia is Grammy-award winning and internationally known singer, songwriter, dancer, actress and producer, Mýa. She recently celebrated 20 years in the music industry by releasing her 9th album, T.K.O. Mýa is also an activist and philanthropist and has raised money for numerous causes including breast cancer research, homeless LGBTQIA+ youth and Africare, an organization addressing health, economic development, women’s empowerment and youth engagement in Africa.
Drag performance has become an integral part of Pride celebrations across the globe and queer/pride festival is proud to present a stellar lineup of drag artists from Rupaul’s Drag Race including the iconic season 10 and season 11 contestant, Vanessa “Vanjie” Mateo, season 11 runner-up Brooke Lynn Hytes, season 11 top four contestants, Silky Ganache and A’keria Davenport, season 7 top three contestant, Pearl Liaison and additional season 11 contestants will also be performing throughout the 3-day festival. Joining the drag race queens is the resident queer/bar MX. cast.
Queer/pride will also feature some of Seattle’s hottest queer musical talent including Left at London, a transgender woman who connects with her audience through her pop writing sensibility and introspective lyricism and rapper, DoNormaal who has been wowing audiences with her hypnotic, powerful rhymes since her debut in 2015.
In addition to three days of performance and celebrating Pride, queer/pride will also bring awareness to national nonprofit organization, OutRight Action International. OutRight was chosen as the nonprofit partner beneficiary for the 2019 queer/pride festival because queer/bar wanted to partner with an organization working to improve the lives of LGBTIQ people across the globe.
OutRight Action International, formerly IGLHRC (the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Organization) fights for the safety, dignity, freedom and equality of LGBTIQ people around the world. OutRight monitors and documents human rights violations, supports grassroots activists on the frontlines and holds governments accountable. OutRight is also the only LGBTIQ organization that has a permanent presence to advocate at the United Nations Headquarters in New York for progress for LGBTIQ people.
Through this partnership, queer/bar will be donating a portion of the ticket sales proceeds from the 3-day queer/pride festival. OutRight will also have a presence at the festival, engaging attendees about the important work they do and bringing awareness to the issues facing many facets of the LGBTIQ community that cannot celebrate Pride.
“We are honored to have been chosen as the charity partner for the 2019 Queer/Pride Festival, hosted by queer/bar,” said Jessica Stern, Executive Director of OutRight Action International. “Pride celebrations have and continue to be the most visible element of the movement for the recognition of the right of LGBTIQ people to be who we are, love whom we choose, and live life free from discrimination and violence. We look forward to celebrating Pride with queer/bar in Seattle, and are grateful for their commitment to stand in solidarity with LGBTIQ people in places where celebrating Pride is an act of protest, in places where organizing Pride events threatens LGBTIQ people’s lives, and in places where they are not yet possible at all.”
“Pride is a time to celebrate,” said Joey Burgess, owner of queer/bar. “It is a visible manifestation of queer culture and community and also a reminder of our fight for dignity, respect and equal rights. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. We would not be able to stage such an open and visible celebration for the LGBTQIA+ community if it weren’t for the brave drag queens and activists that started a movement 50 years ago. OutRight Action International continues that fight for communities around the world who are not free to celebrate and be their authentic selves. I am proud to support and bring greater awareness to this vital organization.”
Queer/pride will kick off on Friday, June 28 with a welcome from Emmy-Award winning TV personality, style expert and fashion designer, Carson Kressley, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and Katie Hulquist, West Coast Director for OutRight Action International.
3-day general admission passes are available online (advance sale only) at $75 each. A limited number of VIP passes are also available online (advance sale only) and are $199 each. Single day general admission tickets will be available for sale at the gate only for $30 each and are only valid for the day of purchase. Attendees have the opportunity to meet their favorite performers by purchasing one or more of four Meet & Greet add-on packages at $50 each. Each of these small-capacity private events will include the opportunity to meet a selection of artists and include a professional digital photo.
For tickets and more information including the day-by-day talent schedule, please visit the official queer/pride festival website at queerpridefestival.com/ and on facebook at www.facebook.com/queerpridefestival
