“We didn’t know what to expect,” said co-founder Amanda Thomas-Murphy. “We said we would be happy if 10 people performed with us, but the response was huge! So many members of the community from all over the state stepped up, participated and made our first Pride season amazing.”
Iowa City Pride
Posted inCommunity/News
What’s the point of Pride? Trans/genderfluid Iowans discuss persistence, fear and how to spite the bigots in power
Dr. Emma Denney (she/they) is the community resource navigator at the LGBTQ Iowa Archives & Library in Iowa City. She regularly tracks anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the state legislature, traveling to Des Moines to speak against them. She holds a Ph.D. in composition from the University of Iowa and makes music under the name .em. V […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Parking restrictions begin Friday night, street closures early Saturday as Iowa City gets ready for Pride
There will be no street parking in downtown Iowa City on Linn from College Street to Washington Street starting at 6 p.m. on Friday, as crews begin preparing the site for Iowa City Pride. The festival kicks off at noon on Saturday. The following streets will be closed for Iowa City Pride starting at 6 […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Events around Iowa to fill your Pride Month 2024 calendar
Though some cities in Iowa have already kicked off their official Pride festivities the first weekend of June — we see you Rock Island! — there is still lots to look forward to this Pride Season in SE and Central Iowa. Keep reading to check out some highlights of the plentiful array of celebrations happening […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘We all suffer from the loss of them’: How the AIDS crisis shaped the next generation of LGBTQ activism in Iowa City
This is the final article in a three-part series examining the legacy of HIV/AIDS in Iowa City. In the early 1980s, Rev. John Harper was a fresh-faced graduate student at the University of Iowa and a semi-active member of the Gay People’s Union. He’d heard about some disease affecting gay men in New York and […]
Posted inCommunity/News
During the ‘wild, bucking ’70s’, Iowa City’s lesbian and gay communities were often at odds. A crisis brought them together.
This article is part one in a three-part series from Adria Carpenter exploring the history of HIV/AIDS activism in Iowa City. Part two and three will be published in the weeks to come. In the early 1980s, Rev. John Harper was a fresh-faced graduate student at the University of Iowa and a semi-active member of […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Photo Gallery: Iowa City’s 51st Pride Parade and Festival
Thousands of people participated in the Iowa City’s 51st Pride Parade and Festival on Saturday. The parade began at College Green at noon and ended on the corner of East Washington Street and South Linn Street. After the parade, there were musical performances by Alisabeth Von Presley, Miss Christine, Alyx Rush and the Quire of Eastern Iowa. The […]
Posted inEastern Iowa Community/News
Street closures for Iowa City Pride Festival start at 6 a.m. Saturday
Street closures downtown for the Iowa City Pride Festival begin early Saturday morning. City crews will block off Linn Street from Iowa Avenue to the alley on the north side of the Iowa City Public Library and Washington Street from Dubuque to Linn streets, starting at 6 a.m. to allow vendors to set up. Also […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Iowa City Pride’s June celebration returns
Iowa City Pride’s 2022 celebration returns to Pride Month this weekend after two years of cancellations and delays. Festivities officially kicked off yesterday with the organization’s bar crawl and events will continue leading up to the all-day festival on Saturday. This year will mark the 51st Iowa City Pride Festival. On Wednesday evening, drop by […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘There’s no right way to be trans’: One year into her transition, Madeline Trainor is her own woman
The internet is an incandescent sludge of information and toxicity, a vessel for boundless exploration and a minefield of odious rabbit holes. But despite what some may preach, no amount of Tumblr blogs or Twitter threads can turn a person trans. “Sometimes you get like trolls on your social media and they’re like, ‘oh, the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Photo Gallery: Iowa City celebrates 50 years of Pride
Iowa City held its 50th annual Pride celebration on Saturday. This year’s Pride would’ve been the 51st, but Iowa City Pride 2020 was canceled due to the pandemic. Iowa City first celebrated Pride in 1970, when the Gay Liberation Front marched in the University of Iowa’s homecoming parade. Organizers decided not to hold Pride’s traditional […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Iowa City Pride announces lineup for fall festival
June may be Pride Month, but October is LGBTQ+ History Month — an appropriate enough occasion for the 50th Iowa City Pride Festival, postponed 15 months due to COVID-19. Last Friday, Iowa City Pride shared the official lineup for their 2021 fest, taking place Oct. 1 and 2. Besides the shift to a fall date […]
