16 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
Continued from Page 4
Cocktails and Gayla
The weekend’s agenda is full of official
volunteer-run Pride events, as well as com-
munity events happening concurrently and
the week leading up to the festival. The only
ticketed events — which are also fundraisers
for the Q Center — are Friday night’s Cock-
tails with the Queens and the third annual
Astoria Pride Gayla.
The preshow soirée starts at 6 p.m. in the
McTavish Room at the Liberty Theatre. The
Gayla, also at the Liberty Theatre, is a taste
of the region’s eclectic and diverse talent that
celebrates expression, inclusion, queer family
and love. Performers from Portland, Seattle
and other cities who have a connection to the
region also make guest appearances.
The Gayla includes drag performances,
singing, dancing, a performance by the Q
Center’s Qhoir and more. Davis organizes
and directs the Gayla, which is satisfying for
“the artist side” of him, he said. He will be
performing, as will Bowman, who is sing-
ing a brassy Broadway number called “Big
Time” in the style of Linda Eder.
Bowman also sang at last year’s Gayla; to
be asked to audition a second year, he said,
was “an extreme honor.” Though the event
is a talent showcase, those involved feel it
means more than that.
“Backstage and onstage, you felt this
energy, that everyone was there for the same
reason,” Bowman said about last year’s
Gayla. “It was a performance, but it wasn’t a
performance, if that makes sense.”
‘A colorful community’
Bree Libertad, a board member for the Q
Center and a singer, agreed. “It’s a time to
highlight the different talents people in the
LGBTIQ+ community possess, and that we
are willing and wanting to put ourselves out
there,” and also for allies to show up and
demonstrate support, she said.
Last year’s involvement, when Libertad
performed with the Dragalution troupe, was
particularly significant to her. When she
initially auditioned, she had not come out
publicly, but by the event, she had.
“For me, it was a very important experi-
ence,” she said. “It was more than just per-
forming at Pride. It was expressing, ‘This is
who I am, a part of this colorful community.’
It was a really amazing experience.”
She is excited to be sharing in this year’s
Pride events with her partner and two chil-
dren.
“Having those moments to shine as a
family is definitely the highlight for me,” she
said.
In addition, her preschool, Salmonberry
Play School, is a sponsor of the festival this
year, and students and families will be walk-
ing in the parade, which takes place Saturday.
COURTESY ASTORIA PRIDE
Members of the United Finnish Lesbians of Astoria participate in the 2017 Astoria Pride River-
walk Parade.
OFFICIAL PRIDE EVENTS
COCKTAILS WITH THE QUEENS, TICKETS $20
6 to 7:30 p.m., Friday, June 8, in the McTavish Room at the Liberty Theatre, 1203 Com-
mercial St.
THIRD ANNUAL ASTORIA PRIDE GAYLA, TICKETS $30, OR $15 FOR PARTIAL
VIEW
7:30 p.m. doors open, show begins at 8 p.m., Friday, June 8, at the Liberty Theatre, 1203
Commercial St.
RIVERWALK PRIDE PARADE, FREE ADMISSION
Noon, Saturday, June 9, leaving from Fourth Street and skipping down the Riverwalk to
the Barbey Maritime Museum Block Party
PRIDE BLOCK PARTY, FREE ADMISSION
1 to 8 p.m., Saturday, June 9, along the Riverwalk at the Barbey Maritime Center, 1792
Marine Drive
PRIDE DANCE PARTY, FREE ADMISSION
9 p.m. to midnight, Saturday, June 9, at the Astoria Arts & Movement Center, 342 10th
St., third floor
PRIDE PICNIC IN THE PARK, FREE ADMISSION
11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, June 10, in Tapiola Park, 900 W. Marine Drive
COMMUNITY PRIDE EVENTS
QUEER-AOKE AT THE LABOR TEMPLE, FREE ADMISSION
7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 7, at the Labor Temple, 934 Duane St.
UNOFFICIAL PRIDE AFTER PARTY AT THE LABOR TEMPLE, FREE ADMISSION
Directly after the Gayla, Friday, June 8, at the Labor Temple, 934 Duane St.
QUEER ARTIST SHOWING @ AVA POP-UP SPACE
5 to 8 p.m., Saturday, June 9, at Pier 11 Studios, 80 11th St.
“AFFABLE GENTLEMEN PRESENTS “QUIERDOS UNITED”
8 p.m. Saturday, June 9, at the Labor Temple, 934 Duane St.
PACIFIC UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIP SERVICE
11 a.m., Sunday, June 10, at the Performing Arts Center, 588 16th St.
‘You’re not alone’
In Bowman’s opinion, “the parade is the
icon of any Pride weekend.”
“That’s what people most recognize,” he
added. “It’s what people love to be in. They
like to go spectate. It brings a sense of commu-
nity and love and acceptance.”
Davis agreed the parade is “magical and
so intimate, because we’re walking beside our
friends and relatives, who are there to watch or
walk with us. I love that.”
The parade builds on a tradition started by
the 1970 Christopher Street Gay Liberation
March, and peacefully demonstrates solidar-
ity, pride and a demand for “freedom from
oppression, violence, bullying, discrimination
and hate,” according to a news release. Anyone
who supports equality and human rights is
encouraged to join, walking or biking in the
parade or spectating.
In addition to celebrating victories achieved
by the LGBTIQ+ community and highlighting
the remaining obstacles, the parade is also a
sort of awareness campaign.
“It’s for other people who might be afraid,
who don’t know that they have a voice and they
have some safe place to go,” said Bowman, who
felt as a young gay man that resources, informa-
tion and support were not readily available to
him, and he would like others to have a different
experience. “Having a sense of community and
letting people know there is a place is what it’s
about. You’re not alone.”
Family-friendly events
The Riverwalk Pride Parade leaves at noon
from the foot of Sixth Street and will be led by
Grand Marshal Abraham Lincoln (Walter Trum-
bull) and the North Coast regional ambassadors;
the route follows the waterfront to the Barbey
Maritime Center at the Columbia River Mari-
time Museum for the Pride Block Party, which
is free and open to the public. The party, which
goes to 8 p.m., features performers, local food
trucks, vendors and nonprofit booths.
Saturday’s festivities wrap up a with Pride
Dance Party from 9 p.m. to midnight at the
Astoria Arts & Movement Center, 342 10th St.
Admission is free. The festival will wind down
Sunday with a picnic at Tapiola Park from 11
a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be food and fami-
ly-friendly activities and games.
The picnic was added to the lineup this
year as another way for families or people in
different stages of life to collectively enjoy the
festival.
“I would encourage anyone who has any
interest in exploring what our community is
like to come out,” Libertad said. “Any oppor-
tunity we have to be with others in a setting
that is really focused on promoting love and
acceptance, the more people that show up for
something like that, the more beneficial it will
be for everyone.”
Looking beyond the Astoria Pride celebra-
tion, the center’s board is working toward en-
hancing opportunities to bring people together
routinely throughout the year.
“We are looking at how we can offer sup-
port and opportunities to people in our commu-
nity who want to connect with others and just
know they’re seen and heard,” Libertad said.
For more information, visit lcqcastoria.org/.
To purchase tickets for ticketed events, such as
Cocktails with Queens and the Gayla, visit the
Liberty Theatre website. CW