Nevertheless, Knoxville has defiantly produced a robust gay scene, including the University of Tennessee's Commission for LGBT People a welcoming spot for queer, trans, and other marginalized teens at Spectrum Café ( ) gay-affirming churches and thriving nightlife. The state's legislature has been an unmitigated disaster for our rights, making a law to prevent cities from adopting LGBT-inclusive antidiscrimination ordinances (although, happily, the ridiculous "don't say 'gay'" bill is dead for now). People coming to Atlanta like to party, and the GayTL delivers with Black Gay Pride in September and Atlanta Pride in October, and the black gay clubs' second-busiest weekend of the year surrounds the observance of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday in January. Lesbian businesses thrive in East Atlanta, and gay clubs go off in Mechanicsville. We won't fault you for trying to forget Real Housewife Kim Zolciak's dip into the lesbian pool - but don't blame Atlanta if everyone there wants to sample the fun LGBTs have all over town. The city boasts one of the Midwest's best LGBT country line-dancing scenes, with the Grand River Renegades ( ) offering anyone a dance card on Sundays at Rumors. The heart of western Michigan LGBT life is in Grand Rapids, with dancing, drinking, and bingo at the Apartment ( ), which has been in operation for over three decades karaoke at Diversions video bar ( ), and drag shows and go-go boys at Rumors ( ). But not all LGBT life happens in a bar: According to Ga圜, nine of the city's churches advertise as LGBT-friendly. ( ) for the over-18 crowd, and those of legal drinking age can check out SixTen Center Street Bar, TraX, Miss Kitty's/Saloon (all three at ). The compact city has Backstreet (1021 Jessie Rd.) and U.B.U. The River Market District is the main gay area, and many businesses that don't advertise as specifically LGBT are friendly and open.
Visit the arty Pearl and Alberta districts stay at the Ace Hotel read at the country's largest indie bookstore, Powell's drink at the Silverado ( ) and Red Cap Garage/Boxxes ( ) tune in to Out Loud ( KBOO.fm/OutLoud), and party at Crush ( ), popular with men and women. But there's other fun to be had here too. The lesbian-owned Hotel San José ( ) is a minimalist oasis no fewer than 16 bars offer libations for LGBTs and Splash Days (au naturel sunbathing and parties over Labor Day), the Austin City Limits Music Festival (late September), and March's South by Southwest (SXSW) film and music festival keep Austin suitably weird - and gay.īisexual Sleater-Kinney alum Carrie Brownstein has fun on Portlandia ("Put a bird on it!") playing with the rep of the city's hipster, hyper-locavore, hyper-literate, boycott-ready, feminist, fleece-clad denizens. Bands, barhopping, and barbecue feature prominently here, for queers and others.
Bush or Rick Perry can taint the cosmopolitan, countercultural, and friendly nature of this capital city. No amount of backwoodsiness from previous and current statehouse residents George W. The sunny, welcoming city provides a more relaxed alternative to nearby Los Angeles. How gay is Long Beach? Its pride celebration is one of the country's biggest, and the Long Beach Pride float seems to make its way to every other Pride event within 500 miles! There are a ton of gay and lesbian bars, restaurants, a big boat suitably named the Queen Mary ( it's also haunted, and a hotel). Much of the sporting and social scene is devoted to the ladies of Denver witness the Capitol Hill neighborhood, girl-watching at There Urban Whiskey Bar ( ), a nosh at Racine's ( ), and dancing at Charlie's ( ). (Screw the antigay zealots in nearby Colorado Springs.) A day spent skiing, fishing, hunting, or camping with the fit locals can lead to an evening dining, clubbing, or camping of another sort. But do we really need another article telling us that the homos gather in West Hollywood and Hell's Kitchen? That Northampton, Mass., is still Lesbianville, USA? (Don't get us wrong, we love those places.) Instead, in our third annual accounting of the gayest places in America - according to our totally accurate if decidedly subjective criteria - we look at the per capita queerness of some less expected locales.ĭenver is simultaneously outdoorsy and a rapidly growing metropolis, and its attitude is exceptionally laid-back and gay-friendly. There's the official census with information on same-sex couples as a percentage of the population, then there's our accounting of the gayest places in the USA - and we know the twain shan't meet.