On May 1, 2009, a charter bus rolled into downtown Iowa City, packed with lesbian and gay couples from Missouri (and a rabbi or two). A few weeks earlier, Iowa had become the first state in the Midwest to recognize same-sex marriage. The busload of couples had come to the Hawkeye State to get hitched. […]
Iowa City Pride
Posted inCommunity/News, COVID-19
Iowa City Pride hosting virtual parade on Saturday, joining Juneteenth march
Pride events across the country were swiftly canceled earlier this spring, as the risks posed by COVID-19 became clear, but many LGBTQ organizations promised not to let Pride Month pass without a celebration. Iowa City Pride will host its own socially distant celebration this Saturday, June 20, with a virtual parade. Local drag queens and […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa City cancels Fourth of July fireworks, closes City Park Pool for the season
Iowa City is canceling its annual Fourth of July fireworks display due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The decision comes in collaboration with the Summer of the Arts, whose annual Iowa City Jazz Festival is held in unison with the City’s fireworks display,” the city said in a statement on Friday. Summer of the Arts has […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The 2020 Iowa City Pride Parade and Festival are canceled
The Board of Directors for Iowa City Pride has decided to cancel the 2020 Pride Festival and Parade, they announced Monday. “The uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified in recent weeks, and the organization has concluded that the risk to public health of a large-scale gathering such as Pride preclude this year’s production of […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Hazy Buchanan, the groundbreaking Miss Iowa City titleholder, offers advice ahead of the 2020 pageant
With Iowa City Pride Week still five months away, the community could use a dose of charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent. Iowa City Pride will host their annual Mr. and Miss Iowa City competition at Studio 13 on Sunday. Last year, Hazy Buchanan, a drag queen who identifies as a woman, both in and outside of drag, was dubbed Miss Iowa City.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Pride Fest, family style: Kid-friendly events at the 49th Iowa City Pride Festival
This Pride Month marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, a monumental moment in LGBTQ rights history. Major legislative and social strides have been made since Stonewall, but many in the LGBTQ community still face barriers to representation and celebration of their identities, including youth and families. “I feel like the harshness that is […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa City’s downtown transport hub will move on Saturday to make way for the Pride Parade
The downtown bus hub at Washington and Clinton will move to Court Street on Saturday to clear a path for Iowa City Pride Fest and Parade, Iowa City Transit announced on Tuesday.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Pride at FilmScene kicks off Iowa City Pride Week with ‘Stonewall Uprising’
FilmScene and Iowa City Pride will recognize the 50th anniversary of Stonewall by showing ‘Stonewall Uprising’ for free on June 10, the day before Iowa City’s 49th Pride Festival begins. ‘Stonewall Uprising’ is just one of many LGBTQ+ affirming films shown as part of their monthly series, Pride at FilmScene.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
FilmScene marks the 30th anniversary of the University of Iowa HIV/AIDS Clinic with mini film series
When the University of Iowa introduced its HIV/AIDS Clinic in 1988, the U.S. AIDS epidemic was in full swing, with more than a 100,000 reported cases. The UI offered the first clinic in Iowa to treat not just AIDS, but HIV infection, and saw hundreds of patients within its first two years. Today, the UI […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa City Pride brings genderless drag to The Mill on Friday with the Mister Iowa City and Iowa City Diva pageants
Mister Iowa City, one of Iowa City Pride’s drag pageants, returns for its second year on Friday night. This time the interpretations of “masculine” presented in the Mister Iowa City event will be joined with the first Iowa City Diva pageant, in which the performers present their interpretations of “feminine.”
Posted inCommunity/News
Remembering Varnum v. Brien, the case that brought marriage equality to Iowa
How a divorce helped kick-start marriage equality in Iowa By Paul Brennan The path to marriage equality in Iowa started with a divorce. Kimberly Brown and Jennifer Perez traveled from their home in western Iowa to Vermont in 2002 to be joined in a civil union, a substitute for traditional civic marriages Vermont created for […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Portrait of the artist: Amelia Bucks, burlesque dancer
Muscatine native Irene Jara has been a burlesque dancer for just shy of a year, dancing with local burlesque troupe the Heartland Bombshells. While Jara identifies as genderfluid, their burlesque identity, Amelia Bucks, embodies all things feminine.
