2022 BLOCK PRIDE SEPTEMBER 15th-18th
2022 BLOCK PRIDE SEPTEMBER 15th-18th
“When you love others – tell them so – celebrate it – not only by some words but by your life toward them and toward the whole of the world. Your specific love of another is verified and supported in your love of all others and all things, even those that which seem to be unlovable, which seem unworthy to be loved.” William Stringfellow; Instead of Death.
“When you love others – tell them so – celebrate it – not only by some words but by your life toward them and toward the whole of the world. Your specific love of another is verified and supported in your love of all others and all things, even those that which seem to be unlovable, which seem unworthy to be loved.” William Stringfellow; Instead of Death.
Please Consider Supporting Block Pride So That We Can Make Our Festivities Even Better This Year!
Thursday September 15th
The first day of the second annual Block Island Pride starts off with the kid-friendly Dodge Night Market, where Drag Queens Ninny Nothin’ and Danuel Duel will be mingling on Dodge Street from 4:00- 8:30 pm.
Take photos and enjoy light refreshments at The Island Free Library while we make signs for Saturday’s Pride March. Pop over to The Traveling Seamstress to make rainbow tie-dye. At the tie-dye party there will be some Queer Block Island shirts available for purchase, but feel free to bring your own additional fabrics! Finish off the night with deserts, jazz music, and tarot readings at Persephone’s Kitchen.
Friday September 16th
On the second day, The Darius Inn will be hosting a Life Drawing Class with Katherine Clarke Langlands and a nude model in The Darius Inn’s back barn. Katherine is a multidisciplinary artist whose work includes painting, sculpture, installation, collage and assemblage. She is a part time Block Islander and always, a Vermonter. Katherine grew up immersed in the snow/skate culture of Darkside Snowboards and that sensibility often informs her gritty, relevant conceptual ideologies, artistic progression and her vibrant dynamic paintings and sculptures. Katherine is currently a studio resident at the Vermont Studio Center, represented by Soapbox Arts Gallery in Burlington, VT and an MFA student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. They will provide basic drawing supplies like pencils, charcoal, and paper, but please feel free to bring more with you. The class will last between 45 minutes and an hour. Space is limited, so sign-up with the form below to ensure you have a space! Please note that we will be charging $25 for the class which will be collected before the beginning of the class via cash or Venmo.
In the evening, The Block Island Beach House will be hosting a Drag Queen Cocktail Party with Ninny Nothin’ and Danuel Duel. Our drag queens will spend some time with participants and perform a few numbers on “The Shells” in the Beach House’s stunning backyard.
Finish up the night with a screening of Paris Is Burning (R) in The Empire Theater at 9:00pm. The award winning film was made over seven years, and offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion “houses,” from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. The film remains one of the best documentaries about queer culture and emphasizes the historical significance of drag as a cultural institution within the LGBTQ+ community.
Saturday September 17th
In the morning, come back to The Island Free Library at 10:00pm to enjoy Drag Queen Story Hour with Ninny Nothin’ and Danuel Duel. They will read us a selection of queer themed kid’s books, nibble on snacks, and dance to music with rainbow streamers.
After Drag Queen Story Hour walk with Ninny and Danuel up to the Ocean View Pavilion to gather for the start of our march through town. The march will start approximately at 12:00 pm. We encourage everyone to dress extravagantly in rainbows and bring instruments to make noise! The march will finish down at the beach access across from the Beach Head.
Following the march, we encourage all participants to come to The Yellow Kittens for a family friendly drag show hosted by Ninny and Danuel at 1:00pm. At this event we will award a prize to the best dressed and perform a comedic lip-sync numbers, music, and plenty of banter. Tickets are $15 For admission to event. There will be also be a taco bar with chicken, pork or vegetarian option with rice & beans and all the fixin's available on location for additional cost. There is limited seats for this event, so sign-up by clicking the eventbright button below.
Under the cover of night, Captain Nick’s Rock-N-Roll Bar is bringing back the popular Liquid Dance Floor- a queer party welcoming all people who love to dance. They invite everyone to dress in costume, and encourage everyone to push the boundaries of gender expression & sexual orientation. Expect to witness killer performances from Ninny Nothin’ & Danuel Duel with a bumping electronic dj set from local queer DJs. There will be a $10 cover charge at the door, so please bring cash.
Sunday September 18th
Take an afternoon walk with the Island Naturalist Kim Gaffett to The North Lighthouse as we highlight examples of queerness in nature and tell old stories of queer island residents. Who knows what cool stuff we'll discover when we are enjoying a good walk! This event is free, but we ask that you email Kim at kim.gaffett@tnc.org to sign-up so we can estimate the number of participants.
The grand finale of the pride weekend is Soundwaves’ screening of But I’m a Cheerleader at 6:30pm on Town Beach. “But I'm a Cheerleader” is a 1999 American satirical romantic teen comedy film directed by Jamie Babbit, written by Babbit and Brian Wayne Peterson. Natasha Lyonne stars as Megan Bloomfield, a high school cheerleader whose parents send her to a residential in-patient conversion therapy camp to cure her lesbianism.