🏳️‍🌈 The happiest weekend of the year

Happy Friday, Boston!

🍩 Also, Happy National Doughnut Day! To celebrate, Dunkin’ will be offering a free doughnut with any bev purchase all day, and Loretta’s is giving 100 free doughnuts to its guests this morning. Bon appetit!

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Game 1? CHECK.

• A major moment for LGBTQ+ parents

• Drag storytime is BACK

Up first…

SUMMER FRIDAYS (PRIDE EDITION)

Parades, parties, and PRIDE!

Happy Pride month, B-Siders! For this Summer Friday send, we’re focusing on all the local Pride festivities going down this weekend, including Saturday’s Pride parade, festival, and block party.

Here’s what to know:

🌈 The parade kicks off at 11 a.m. near Copley. The 1.7-mile route takes a windy path from Boylston Street at Clarendon Street to the Common, heading down Clarendon and back up Berkeley by way of Tremont Street, then taking Boylston and Charles back toward the Common, arriving near the Public Garden. 

✨ This will be year two that Boston’s Pride for the People is in charge of the festivities, which are meant to celebrate LGBTQ+ culture, commemorate the Stonewall riots and 20th century BIPOC queer and trans activists, plus educate and empower the community.   

🚃 As for getting to the parade … Per usual, road closures near the parade route will make driving a headache, so avoid the area if you can. And keep in mind that if you’re taking the T (nearby stops include Copley, Arlington, Boylston, and Back Bay), you’re going to contend with major weekend shutdowns on the Red and Orange lines and the commuter rail.

👀 There are lots of ways to get in on the action. 

• If you want to watch along the route … Things can get squishy in high traffic areas (especially near the Common), but you should have a little more wiggle room near the beginning and middle of the route. 

• If you want to march in the parade … You can still sign up to do it with an organization. 

• But if you can’t make it IRL … you can always stream it here.

🏳️‍🌈 By parade’s end, the party will only just be getting started. Once the parade arrives at the Common at around 12:30 p.m., there will already be a Pride festival underway until 6 p.m., with headliners Jordy and Mila Jam. After that, if you’re of legal drinking age, there will also be a block party at City Hall Plaza, complete with another stage of performers, plus beer, wine, and seltzer from local breweries (and a dedicated sober area, too!) from 2 to 8 p.m.

🤩 Still got questions? This website’s got answers.

QUICK QUESTION

🏳️‍🌈 Are you heading to the parade this year? 

TOGETHER WITH MOUNT HOLYOKE

Learn without limits

🌟📓 This could be the start of your next chapter. Mount Holyoke is the leading gender-diverse women’s college accepting applications from female, transgender, and nonbinary students since 2014. And MHC is right in our backyard! Looking for a diverse, vibrant community of leaders where you can build cross-disciplinary skills to make a positive impact? Learn more and discover how Mount Holyoke empowers students to thrive.

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🏀 Game 1? CHECK. If there’s one takeaway from the Celtic’s commanding 107-89 victory over the Dallas Mavericks last night, it’s that Kristaps Porzingis is BACK. The 7-foot-2 superstar hadn’t played since April 29 due to a calf injury, and yet, you wouldn’t know based on the 20 points he scored. And he was just as hot defensively with multiple emphatic blocks (this video of him drilling a deep three followed by a sick block could possibly replace your morning coffee). We’re back at TD Garden for Game 2 on Sunday, so please pray to the basketball Gods to keep this energy going.

📝 Boston City Council had a busy week. The council approved $15 million in changes to Mayor Wu’s proposed $4.6 billion city budget, reallocating funding from the Police, Fire, Public Works, and Transportation departments, in a 10-3 vote. Some of the biggest reallocated line items include $2 million for youth jobs funding, $1.5 million for city housing vouchers, and $1.5 million for down-payment assistance. In an 8-4 vote, they also approved Mayor Wu’s controversial commercial property tax rate hike, an effort to protect homeowners from the financial impacts of declining commercial property values. But state lawmakers will still have to OK it. 

👩‍👩‍👧‍👦 A major moment might be coming for LGBTQ+ parents. At Mass.’ official Pride flag raising ceremony, Mass. House speaker Ron Mariano announced lawmakers’ plans to take up a parentage equity bill this month. The bill would redefine who can be considered a parent when couples use IVF or surrogacy. The laws, which Mariano called “archaic,” haven’t been updated in 40 years, meaning non-biological parents using IVF and surrogacy have to adopt their child after birth in some cases. 

THINGS TO DO

Weekend checklist

🌈 DIY your own Pride attire. Rebel Rebel is teaming up with Tiny Turns Paperie to host a (free!) cookout and tie-dyeing event post-parade Saturday. This year’s theme is Bikini Bottom. 

🎥 Watch a (queer) cult classic. Trident is holding a special Pride screening of “But I’m a Cheerleader!” Saturday evening with food and drink. Did we mention it’s free?

🥳 Keep the party going all weekend. Pridebar festival is taking over some of Fenway’s hottest bars this Sunday, featuring DJs, drag, a vendors market, and live music.

👠 Catch a drag show. Night Shift Brewing’s Everett taphouse is having one this Sunday, hosted by Queen Binx. Plus, a portion of the ticket proceeds will go to Boston Proud.

🏃 Run in a sea of rainbows. Boston Theatre Company is putting on its annual “Road of Rainbows” Pride-themed 5k run/walk on Saturday, kicking off at the Boston Common. Plus, there will be a post-run festival with local queer talent!

🎉 Want more things to do recommendations? Refer five friends to unlock four bonus items. For those who already have, enjoy below.

ONE LAST THING

Drag storytime is BACK

The Cambridge Public Library is proof that story time is better with a drag queen. 

Every June for the past six years, the Cambridge Public Library celebrates Pride month by swapping its regular Saturday morning story hour with a drag story hour. And this year is no exception. 

A drag queen is invited to read children’s books about drag and Pride month, with names like “If You’re A Drag Queen And You Know It,” and “Twas The Night Before Pride.” The stories are meant to help children learn about Pride and drag, and depict kids with queer parents, or attending parades. 

The events kicked off last weekend with a reading from Roxbury-based queen Briar Blush. You can read more about the event here.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

📚 Thanks for reading! Are childless adults allowed at drag story hour? Asking for a friend.

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, Mount Holyoke, for supporting local journalism and providing higher education to diverse communities.

🌊 The results are in: B-Siders are either really knowledgeable about cliff jumping, or you’re all cheating. Over 60% of readers correctly answered that 193 is the world record for highest cliff jump. I choose to believe the former.

💃 Keep up with us @BostonBSide on IG, TikTok, and Twitter. Send comments and suggestions to [email protected] or [email protected].