Portland prides itself on being a safe, and inviting city to people of all backgrounds. This guide to businesses, resources, and community groups highlights those that are specifically queer-owned and LGBTQIA+ focused. Looking to celebrate Pride this June? Scroll down for the Pride Events Calendar.
Not seeing your favorite LGBTQIA+ business, resource, or community group? We’d love to hear about them. Send an email to info@portlandoldport.com and we’ll add them to the list!
Come Out: Queer-owned and safe event venues/shows, restaurants, bars and coffee shops in Portland…
Grab your besties and enjoy one of the best parts of Portland – our thriving service and hospitality industry! From your morning coffee to last call, our city has you covered with these queer-owned and queer-safe restaurants, bars, and venues.
Located in Portland’s East End, Anoche is a Basque inspired cider house and bistro, offering a vast range of local and international ciders, select spirits and wines.
BoaBoa offers Asian inspired comfort food, designed to satisfy both the midnight foodie, or discerning dinner diner. The core menu is supplemented with ever-changing daily specials and a wide variety of teas, beers, wines and specialty cocktails.
Bearded Lady’s Jewel Box serves up bespoke cocktails fixed up in a moody, candlelit environment with vintage decor and a snack menu.
Blackstones is a low-key gay bar with a leather-&-Levis slant- serving cocktails from a classic wood bar since 1987!
Bright, fresh fun in the heart of Portland, Citrus whips up frozen drinks, tasty snacks, and citrusy cocktails into the dance club experience that adults have been longing for.
A friendly, neighborhood cocktail bar in the East End offering a modern twist on traditional favorites, local beer and cider, natural wines and soft beverages.
Maine’s #1 Traveling Drag Show, Curbside Queens was born out of the early days of the pandemic lockdown. As community morale and engagement grew low, Drag Queens Cherry Lemonade and GiGi Gabor floated the idea of driveway shows as a way to celebrate a Pride month devastated by a global pandemic.
Geno’s Rock Club is the legendary Portland Dive Bar, established in 1983. Geno’s is striving to provide Maine with quality live music – featuring local and national touring acts of all genres, at affordable ticket prices.
Gross Confection Bar is a dessert focused restaurant and bar in Portland. Menu consists of plated, component-based desserts designed around seasonal ingredients, concentrating on unique flavor contrasts along with textural nuances.
Higher Grounds on Wharf Street is a unique combination of Maine-grown premium medical cannabis and cafe. Their interior is reminiscent of a woodland apothecary complete with metaphysical mural, wood cut tables, and wide selection of caffeine and cannabis infused products including edibles and tincture.
In addition to being LGBTQIA+, La Bodega is proud to be a Latin grocery market with a diverse customer base.
LB Kitchen is a bright counter-serve cafe for health-centric breakfast, lunch and Sunday brunch dishes.
Maine’s first resto-brewery and distillery located on Portland’s waterfront in the Old Port, Liquid Riot is additionally the home base for the monthly Queers + Beers ME social club and meet-up.
Sagamore Hill is a great neighborhood bar and lounge, for people who love a good bar. It’s a world class place to get a damn good drink, inside a former luxury hotel. Pays tribute to the original Rough Rider, trust buster, and big stick carrier, Theodore Roosevelt.
SPACE is a nonprofit organization that supports contemporary arts projects, champions artists, and encourages an open exchange of ideas.
Dining on the go: Queer-owned food trucks
If your Portland itinerary is jam packed with places to see and things to do, then the grab and go convenience of a food truck may just well save the day from hanger. These food trucks are 100% queer-owned, and 100% delicious.
The Greeks of Peaks offers their family’s Greek food recipes on the streets of Portland and the American Legion lawn on Peaks Island.
Lady Shuckers is a mobile raw-bar and event company sourcing from women-owned sea farms. Invested in increasing visibility and representation for females, minorities and LGBTQ+ on the working waterfront.
Saying goodbye to beloved New Orleans, Owner Lauren Gauthier and her wife Cassie moved to Portland and opened Little Easy Snoballs, which blends the traditional tastes of New Orleans with local Maine flavors to bring a truly unique shaved ice treat to the streets of Portland.
The Muthah Truckah makes delicious, golden griddled sandwiches sourced with the Freshest of ingredients, made fresh to order.
The Pink Waffle was created to fill a big waffle hole in the southern Maine area. Their menu is creative and fun and suits you for any meal any time of day!
Looking to find food trucks, including their exact location + hours? Follow Maine Food Trucks here and download the FoodTrux app here!
Take Care: Queer-owned health and wellness
We’re all just doing our best and a little help never hurts. Nourish your mind and body with these wellness focused businesses.
Arcana, in the heart of Portland’s Old Port, is a holistic healing arts center as well as a gallery for innovative jewelry, herbal supplements, yoga, massages and more!
CycleBar is Portland’s premier indoor cycling studio. Promising inclusivity for all, rides at CycleBar Portland are intended to calm your mind, elevate your mood and revive your senses. From June 23rd – 25th, 2023, CycleBar Portland will be hosting Pride Rides (Rock Your Pride ‘n Ride).
Pageboy Studios is a hair salon that offers creative, collaborative and inclusive hair services
Learn More: LGBTQIA+ Resources
Whether you’re new to Portland, or newly interested in learning more about the LGBTQIA+ community, these organizations are packed with information, resources, events and more.
The Equality Community Center is a collaborative workplace for LGBTQ+ and allied social justice seeking non-profit organizations. They strive to provide a safer and more inclusive gathering space with social and educational programming for all, while supporting the most marginalized in the communities.
EqualityMaine is the oldest and largest statewide organization dedicated to creating a fair and just society for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Mainers.
MaineTransNet is a community based organization led by transgender people for transgender people. They provide peer-to-peer support groups, social and community events, advocacy for the transgender community across Maine, and transgender cultural competency training for medical, mental health, and social service providrs.
OUT Maine creates a more welcoming and affirming communities for Maine’s diverse queer youth in all of their intersectional identities. They seek to change the very systems that serve them: schools, health care, foster care, community organizations, and more.
PFLAG Portland, Maine offers compassionate peer support to the parents, families and friends of, and including, LGBTQ individuals through group discussion, education, advocacy and creating connections to community resources.
Portland Outright is a youth-led, membership organization building the power of LGBTQ+ young people in Maine (aged 14-25) through intersectional organizing for LGBTQ+, racial, and economic justice. Led by young, queer, trans, people/of color, and their allies from low-income communities in Maine who address homelessness, criminalization, racism, and health issues from the seat of personal experience.
Gather Together: LGBTQIA+ Community Groups
“I have enough friends,” said nobody. Create deeper community connection by engaging with these LGBTQIA+ community groups.
Facebook Groups
Bi Nothing: Maine Queer Giving and Receiving
Portland Maine Queer Things To Do
Meet Up Groups
And more!
Pride Events Calendar 2023 – Highlights & Full Calendar
1) The Big Gay Dance Party with Equality Community Center
The Saturday night party during Pride Portland weekend!
Equality Community Center is shutting down The Porthole for The Big GAY Dance Party! Have no doubt this will be the party of the year for the entire community featuring three DJs, go-go dancers, drag performances, VIP party boat, and the return of the Ferry Queens (for those whom may remember the days of the Pier Dance)!
All proceeds will support ECC’s capital campaign to build an affordable housing complex for LGBTQ+ and allied older adults!
Tickets: Go live June 1st, 2023
Where: The Porthole
When: Saturday, June 17th, 2023 starting at 6 PM
2) Pride Portland! Parade and Festival 2023
Get ready to wave your rainbow flags and put on your most fabulous outfits because Pride Portland! is here to paint the town with love, celebration, and acceptance! This annual extravaganza brings people together from all walks of life for a memorable parade and festival that will have you dancing, cheering, and feeling the vibrant energy of the LGBTQ+ community.
Parade and festival celebrates and honors the accomplishments of the LGBTQ+ movement, raises awareness of the community’s ongoing struggles, and fosters an environment of inclusivity, accessibility, and solidarity.
The 2023 theme is “Together with Pride”
Where: Parade starts at 1pm at Monument Square. Festival is from 1 PM – 5 PM in Deering Oaks Park.
When: Saturday, June 17th, 2023 starting at 1 PM
3) Strut Pride Tea Dance Party
The most iconic Pride party of the year at Inn on Peaks Island!
This Pride event promises to have it all, including lively commentary from hosts The GiGi Gabor and Cherry Lemonade (Portland’s own), an on site raffle (100% of proceeds donated to Equality Community Center) , live performances from some of your favorite Queens, DJ sets and a very special appearance from Amanda Lepore, the International Blonde Bombshell.
Where: The Inn on Peaks Island
When: Sunday, June 18th, 2023 starting at noon
4) Cherry Lemonade Presents Portland Pride 2023!
Get ready for an electrifying celebration at Cherry Lemonade Presents Portland Pride 2023 at Aura!
This event is going to be an absolute blast, packed with non-stop entertainment! The finest and most fabulous Drag Queens around will be slaying the stage to live musical performances that will make you dance your heart out, the energy will be off the charts. Appearances from Kornbread (RuPaul’s Drag Race), comedy genius Rachel Scanlon (Two Dykes and a Mic), and two-spirit icon Geo Soctomah Neptune, with performances by Arabella The Goddess, Chartreuse, Finn Gerring, Kori Kiing, Tasha Tektite, Gem Fatale, and Sarah Tonin, and music by DJ Skooch!!
Where: Aura
When: Friday, June 16th, 2023 at 8 PM
Help Liquid Riot celebrate the release of their beer Liquid Pride, brewed in partnership with Queers + Beers ME! Stop on in throughout the day for DJ sets by @wherejadeplays and a Drag performance by Cherry Lemonade
For the month of June, Liquid Riot will donate $1 from every Liquid Pride beer sale to the Trans Youth Equality Foundation at Maine Trans Net.
Where: Liquid Riot
When: Sunday, June 4th, 2023 starting at noon
