PRIDE has become such a major, and exciting celebration now that is longer confined to the bustling metropolitan cities but is also enjoyed in remote rural areas where people once used to think they were the ‘only gay in the village’ .  There are major events like the mile-long + street parade in NY that attracts over 2 million peeps, or One Magical Weekend, in Orlando, Florida where for the 30th Weekend– thousands of LGBTQIA travelers descend on Walt Disney World; or #SFPRIDE52 with an evening of legendary drag and entertainment, benefitting the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus in Drag Me to St. Francis.

Or you could make tracks to celebrate Pride in Paducah, Kentucky (where?). Its nestled in the western nexus of Kentucky, at the southern tip of Illinois, and the riverside town of Paducah is an unassuming—and totally unexpected—place to find a robust Pride festival filled with floats, drag queens and kings, and rainbow flags, culminating with the crowning of Mr., Miss, and Mz. Paducah PrideFest 2022.  The small city also hosts the only all-lesbian film festival in the country, 

Here in Provincetown, the queer mecca that has been the summer base for Queerguru for the past 22 years nothing seems to be off the list on how we celebrate,  like the incredible Underwear Party at the Red Room on a Sunday evening.  However, this article is NOT about how we all party like mad and personally indulge in so much merriment, it’s more about how we …. as a community ….. share our Pride in small but very meaningful ways.

We were out one Saturday Pride night having a post-dinner drink at the newly refurbished outside bar at the Crown & Anchor (thank you Paolo and Jonathan for this great new space).  On the other side of our table was a very striking drag queen beaming away.  We assumed that she was about to perform somewhere, but when we started chatting she told us her unexpected story.

Her name is Peachy Springs and she had just flown in the day before from Portland Oregon to conduct a wedding and now was enjoying her night out before flying back home the next day.  A complete PTown virgin Peachy stood there with us exuding happiness about finally having made it to our gay mecca and how it exceeded her every expectation.  Not because of all the fab Pride activity but the warm welcome she felt from literally everyone she encountered in town.  

This to her was not about finding any particular Mr. Right but the sheer friendliness of everyone in town towards a queer total stranger. Even in liberated Portland, it’s still unsafe for her to walk home in drag on her own.

It's a very small story but to us it is very significant. That night the Queerguru Team were so very proud to be 
living in a community where Pride really means something that we can practice and celebrate every day of 
the year.

P.S. the charismatic Peachy Springs has a very popular Act she performs on the West Coast …. maybe someone will invite her to share it with us here on the East?

https://peachysprings.com/