The Best Things To Do & Eat In NYC During Pride Month 2022

Happy Pride Month, NYC. It’s time for drag shows, day drinking, and a seemingly endless supply of go-go dancers and Doja Cat remixes. NYC does Pride big in every borough, so you should surrender your weekends to the dance floor now. If you don’t know where that dance floor is yet and you’re seeing too many rainbows to keep track of on your feed, use this guide to find some of our favorite spots in the city hosting brunches, pop-ups, and homages to gay icons.

June 8th - June 14th

ChamberQUEER at National Sawdust

June 10-12th

There’s seemingly endless queer history lost to the mainstream in any given discipline. ChamberQUEER showcases queer composers across centuries and provides an intersectionally inclusive space to bring a wider exploration of classical music to your ears. Their 2022 Pride festival runs from June 10-12 at National Sawdust and Branded Saloon, kicking off with a collaboration by Miriam Parker and Mazz Swift on opening night. They’ll take you on a musical journey inspired by everything from the New York downtown queer scene, Marsha P. Johnson, and queer identity in the 18th century. Check out the full festival lineup here.

New York Songwriters' Circle Pride Night at The Bitter End

June 14th, 7:30pm

The Bitter End is holding their annual Pride night Tuesday, June 14th with the New York Songwriter’s Circle. The intimate acoustic setting will feature Anson Jones, Tatiana Lima, Nick Deutsch, Oliver Houser and Stefan Alexander, and all ticket proceeds will go towards benefiting Lambda Legal. Tickets can be purchased here.

Block Party at Good Judy

June 11th, 1pm-8pm

Good Judy’s block party is the essential stop at Brooklyn Pride, which happens a couple weeks before the main event on June 26th. You can find a good time at this gay bar any day, so we can assume they’ll be generous hosts to their Park Slope queer community. Come out on Saturday, June 11th for music, drag, and cheap drinks.

June 15th - June 21st

Another Queer Brunch at Llama Inn

June 18th, 11am-1pm & 1pm-3pm

You’re going to get a lot of brunch invites this month. If you’d like yours to come with excellent lomo saltado and ceviche on a refreshingly green rooftop, make sure to get a ticket to this queer brunch fundraiser collaboration between Llama Inn and the Queer Food Foundation. Each ticket will include brunch, cocktails, cooking demos, queer trivia, and a silent auction. If you can’t afford a ticket, DM QFF on Instagram. Get your tickets for one of two seatings on June 18th.

The Brunch at 74Wythe

June 19th, 12pm-4pm

This year's official NYC Pride Brunch celebrates Juneteenth and Black LGBTQIA+ business leaders who've helped their local queer communities thrive. The four-hour event will include bites from six Black LGBTQIA+ chefs, a curation of their Juneteenth food stories, and an open bar.

Drag Daddies Brunch at HOWM

June 19th, 12pm-2pm

Avec Moi, a queer nightlife collective for people of marginalized genders, is hosting several events for Pride Month starting with their Drag Daddies Brunch on Sunday the 19th. The brunch—celebrating Pride Month, Juneteenth, and Father’s Day—will feature food, drinks, drag, and a DJ, and a portion of the proceeds will go to Color of Change. Be sure to reserve your seat.

Hustle: The Donna Summer Solstice at Three Dollar Bill

June 20th, 6pm-10pm

If you want to get sweaty and catch some shows from Dev Doee, Tina Twirler, Xunami Muse, and Paris L'Hommie, check out Avec Moi's disco dance party Hustle: The Donna Summer Solstice at East Williamsburg queer nightlife venue Three Dollar Bill. Grab your tickets here.

Ursula Pride Pop-Up at No Bar

June 21-26th, various hours

Crown Heights’ New Mexican cafe Ursula is a proud queer-owned establishment, and owner Eric See is known for regularly hosting events highlighting the queer community in food—so you know they’ll be going all out for Pride. His team is popping up for an exclusive week-long residency at No Bar at The Standard, East Village for Pride Week, starting June 21st. A four-course menu will be offered Tuesday through Sunday, followed by “Queens of the South, a queer brunch celebration”, a Pride day brunch where queer chefs Woldy Reyes, of Woldy Kusina and Tony Ortiz, of Chile con Miel, will join Eric in the kitchen. The Sunday brunch will include music from DJ Young Wavy Fox and drag performances curated by The Soapbox Presents, a Harlem-based community organization celebrating the brilliance of Black and Brown people through art. More info and tickets here.

The Center's Garden Party at Pier 84

June 21st, 6pm-9pm

The Center has been a place of Pride for all LGBTQ New Yorkers since they were founded in 1983, and you can celebrate with them in person for the first time in three years at their Garden Party. Head to Pier 84 for performances from the likes of Paula Cole, Sophie B. Hawkins, and the world-renowned Haus of Tisci in front of a rainbow-colored sunset. There will be food, seasonal cocktails, and special guests. Get your tickets here.

June 22nd - June 30th

Queens at the Garden at Queens Botanical Garden

June 22nd, 6pm-8:30pm

As if the gorgeous living art (and impressive feat) that is creating a killer drag ensemble wasn’t enough, you can admire a parade of iconic looks against the gorgeous backdrop of flowers at Queens Botanical Garden. Their Queens at the Garden Pride event will feature after-hours drag performances hosted by drag artist and TV personality Marti Cummings, DJs, and food and drinks for purchase. Buy your tickets here.

Prismatic at The Rooftop at Selina Chelsea

June 24th, 7pm until late

To close out their slate of Pride events, Avec Moi is hosting Prismatic, a Pride rooftop party at Selina Chelsea on Friday, June 24th, at 7pm. Stop by for pop-up performances and sunset views, and stick around when the party continues indoors at 11pm. General admission is first come, first served, but you can grab a ticket to make sure you get in.

JUDY: The Illustrious Blacks, Amber Valentine at House of Yes

June 25th, 10pm-4am

Whether you’re a friend of Dorothy or just love sparkly red stilettos, there’s no place like House of Yes during Pride month. On June 25th, click your heels three times and you’ll find yourself at JUDY on the technicolor dance floor surrounded by psychedelic circus acts, magic, and music by The Illustrious Blacks and Amber Valentine. Make sure to stop by the photo booth to capture your take on the theme–because your look is everything, and the best ones get in for free before 11pm.

Pride Party at Maite

June 26th, 5pm-10pm

Maite’s annual Bushwick Pride Party is probably the only place you’ll get to enjoy some farm-fresh duck egg arepitas and go-go dancers at the same time, before or after heading out to the streets to party with an exponentially increasing amount of go-go dancers. Come by anytime on June 26th to fuel up during the city-wide festivities.

L'unicorns Fiesta at Alice Austen House

June 26th, 1pm-4pm

The queer community of Staten Island is thriving and diversifying, with collectives like Staten Island’s first LGBTQ+ Latinx group, L’unicorns. You can join them in making local history with music, poetry, and dance performances at the historic LGBTQ site the Alice Austen House. Prolific photographer Alice Austen is an LGBT icon for creating early images of intimate relationships between Victorian women and women in male drag, all from her childhood home in Staten Island where she lived with her female partner of 53 years.

More Events and Openings to Know About:

• The married couple behind Harlem’s Lambda Lounge, Charles Hughes and Richard Solomon, have recently opened a new spot called Club Lambda in East Williamsburg. Celebrate Pride by supporting one of the few Black-owned queer bars and event spaces in NYC with a night of cocktails and dancing.

• Queer and Asian-owned Bushwick bar Mood Ring is celebrating with a weekly residency at Fotografiska Museum for all of June. Join them for cocktails, film screenings, queer comedy, poetry readings, and a party hosted by legendary New York vintage store James Veloria. Find event details here.

• The Paley Center screening schedule this month celebrates two influential LGBT+ moments in television history: the television movie That Certain Summer and Ellen's "The Puppy Episode." Buy tickets to watch these on the big screen along with other series that moved queer TV forward like Queer as Folk, The L Word, Pose, and Twenties. The costumes from Netflix's drag culture period piece Pose will also be on display.

• For the month of June, $1 of every purchase of Gong Cha’s special Rainbow Strawberry Taro Milk Tea will directly benefit LGBTQ+ organizations including: It Gets Better, National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA), and The Trevor Project.

• They haven't given many details yet, but keep an eye on Lebanese restaurant IIlili's Instagram for info about their upcoming pride party Arabs Got Queers on June 26th.