Friday, June 19: It’s Pride Portland y’all! A 10-day celebration of Portland’s LGBTQIA community kicked off on the 12th and continues through the 21st. One of today’s Pride events is the Maine Dyke March, which gets underway at 6:30 p.m. with a rally at Monument Square. The march itself starts at 7:30 p.m. and ends at One Longfellow Square where there will be an after party featuring DJ Kate. The rally and march are free. There is a suggested donation of $5-10 at the door for the party, but none will be turned away.
Just thinking about marching make you thirsty? Then we’ve got the perfect event for you. While proms in high school can cause a lot of anxiety, overinflated expectations and crushing disappointments, proms as an adult are waaaaaay better. Why? Well, for one thing as a grownup it’s legal for you to enjoy booze at the prom. Score! The good folks at Oxbow Brewing Company are throwing their spin on the adult prom at the Washington Avenue location on Friday, June 19, to celebrate the release of First Fruits, a blend of barrel-aged fruit beers. So go rent a tuxedo, dust off that prom (or bridesmaid) dress and get ready to dance the night away to DJ Hiduke. Tandem bakery is providing a sure-to-be-yummy fruit pie bar and your $10 ticket gets you admission, plus your first glass of First Fruits. Oxbow Blending & Bottling, 49 Washington Ave., Portland.
Saturday, June 20: One of our favorite annual events at SPACE Gallery is the return of the Found Footage Festival. For the uninitiated, the FFF is curated and hosted by Joe Pickett (The Onion) and Nick Prueher (Letterman), who travel the country scouring bargain bins at thrift shops, garage sales, you name it looking for old VHS tapes and then editing together the best of the best (or more accurately, worst of the worst) to present to audiences for their viewing pleasure/horror. If you have never caught one of these, shows, do yourself a favor and buy your ticket now. They are only $12, or $10 if you are a SPACE member or have a valid student ID. SPACE Gallery, 538 Congress Street, Portland.
Yay, more parades! Today it’s the annual Pride Portland Parade. This one is epic, featuring marchers, floats, and more drag queens then you can shake a stick at. It is family friendly and really helps bring the whole Portland community together to celebrate our diversity and the LGBTQIA community. The parade begins at Monument Square at noon, continues up Congress Street, down High Street, onto Park Avenue and winds up at Deering Oaks Park, where the Pride Festival begins at 1 p.m. Free!
Sunday, June 21: While we love our dads, their annual celebration just doesn’t seem to get the same kind of attention as moms, which is a bummer because dads are awesome. Two bars making it a point to celebrate fathers are Gritty’s and Little Tap House. Dads get $2 off any pint at Gritty’s on Sunday, unless they’re mug club members, in which case they are already getting a good deal. And at Little Tap House it’s BYOB (that’s Bring Your Own Baby) Super Dad Day, a special happy hour from 3-5 p.m. to celebrate all the Super Dads in Portland. Gritty’s, 396 Fore Street, Portland. Little Tap House, 106 High Street, Portland. Both pay as you go.
After enjoying some discounted beer, grab your camp chairs and take the kids over to Congress Square Park to teach them about the classics, namely the original “The Muppet Movie.” C’mon, who doesn’t love “The Rainbow Connection” and “Movin’ Right Along?” Free, Congress Square Park, 8:30 p.m.