Category Archives: Gay Phoenix
Gay Friendly Arizona
Arizona’s largest city Phoenix, is home to about 1.6 million people.
Phoenix has a higher percentage of gay and lesbian residents than New York, Washington, Chicago and Silicon Valley, according to a poll by Gallup.
In the national survey, 4.1 percent of Phoenix-area residents identified themselves as gay, lesbian or transgendered.
That’s better than New York and D.C. (both 4 percent), San Diego (3.9 percent), Chicago (3.8 percent) and Silicon Valley (3.2 percent). While Maricopa County is politically conservative and has not voted for a Democrat for U.S. president since 1948, Phoenix has a sizable LGBT community, a Democratic mayor and has ordinances in place protecting gay individuals from discrimination.
Greater Phoenix’s fusion of natural splendor and metropolitan verve sets it apart from a lot of big cities—and everyone is invited to experience it. As you explore the city’s urban core, you’ll find a strong LGBT community integrated throughout the area in gay-friendly businesses, events and entertainment.
From the most sophisticated resorts to stylish boutique hotels, Greater Phoenix has plenty to offer when it comes to accommodations. View their list of TAG Approved®* hotels and resorts in Greater Phoenix or discover more places to stay.
You can plan your trip around some of Phoenix’s nationally-recognized annual LGBT events, including the Phoenix Pride Festival and the Rainbows Festival.
During the day in Phoenix, choose from outdoor activities, luxurious spa treatments, shopping at local boutiques or exploring the arts and culture of the Southwest.
At night, the city comes alive with vibrant LGBT nightlife. The Melrose District on Seventh Avenue is a hub for LGBT businesses and clubs such as the popular Charlie’s. Check out this LGBT nightlife guide from Echo Magazine to find more of the best places to dance and drink.
For more information on LGBT events and culture, visit the Greater Phoenix Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and Phoenix Pride. Read More about LGBT Phoenix here.
Travel to Sedona, that artsy and free-spirited enclave two hours outside Phoenix, for the beautiful red-rock canyons and the adventure that comes with them, the spiritual nature of its vortices of earth energy, and to browse through shops filled with Southwestern arts and crafts.
Recently, Sedona has developed into a full-fledged upscale vacation getaway with an especially keen following among hikers and mountain bikers, New Agers, artists, lesbians and gays. Sedona’s growth has been intense in recent years, marked by debates concerning where and how to develop the town while preserving its character and appeal. The population is nearly 11,000 and continues to rise steadily. GayTravel.com did a great article on Sedona you can see here.
While there isn’t a single activity in Sedona that wouldn’t be considered LGBTQ-friendly, there are some tours and things to do that can be tailor-made for LGBT travelers. For example, a couple may want to book a vortex tour or a spiritual counseling session with a psychic or metaphysical guide who can use Sedona’s healing energy to investigate relationship issues specific to same-sex couples. Or perhaps you would like to book a romantic couples massage therapy session at a spa that welcomes same-sex couples as well as straight couples.
For single LGBT visitors, you can find almost anything you want to do in Sedona, based on your time, interests and budget. There are opportunities to meet other travelers with similar interests if you embark on activities like wine tasting, hot air balloon tours, kayaking, fly fishing, guided hiking and mountain biking, or photography tours. And everyone can enjoy Sedona’s famous annual events like the Sedona PRIDE Festival and its seasonal events, the Sedona Film Festival, the Sedona Arts Festival, the Raw Spirit Festival, the Sedona Marathon and more.
For more on the great state of Arizona check out Pride Guide Arizona.
Zakar Twins with Drag Queen Christmas Tour and More!
I can’t remember exactly how I stumbled upon the Zakar Twins, but I found them on Instagram and have been a loyal follower, watching their careers soar for over 1 year now! Their best-selling book “Pray The Gay Away” came out in the Fall of 2017. That’s probably about the time I first discovered them.
These young gay models, writers, entrepreneurs, leaders in the LGBTQ+ community, and lovable goofballs Michael and Zach Zakar are known not only for their identical good looks but for trailblazing a path forward for queer people who come from Near and Middle Eastern cultures. As smart as they are funny, their memoir last year is a dual-account tragicomedy about growing up with deeply religious Iraqi immigrant parents.
“Mom knows.” A simple text that would change two twin brothers’ lives forever. Coming out is hard. The struggle is ongoing, a daily part of life whether to a new friend, a co-worker, or most importantly yourself. Pray the Gay Away chronicles Michael and Zach as they face awkward sexual encounters, drug-fueled escapades, coming out to each other, and their biggest foe – Mom, a woman who not only gave birth to what she calls one regret – but two.
The memoir hilariously and poignantly explores what it’s like growing up as gay, Iraqi twins in modern America. Pray the Gay Away was inspired the night Mom snuck into their bedroom and force fed them “holy grapes,” determined to “de-gay” them. She threw Holy Water on them as well!
The Zakar Twins are new voices speaking out against generations, particularly within the Iraqi culture, who look down on being gay. This book is not only for the LBGTQ community, but for young adults, looking to achieve normalcy.
“The book started kind of as a hateful thing. We wrote it because we were angry that our Mom reacted in such a demeaning way,” Zach said. “Then, over time, the project, it really resulted in kind of a beautiful thing. We were growing with the book, it was growing with us.”
Currently they are on tour with Drag Queen Christmas – The Naughty Tour! 37 cities now through Dec 29th! Presented by Murray & Peter. They will be heading South and West in the coming weeks. Get specific city and tour info at www.DragFans.com.
Their Mom has come a long way to acceptance and actually attended the show in Detroit! Her first drag show ever!
I am told that the producers, Murray and Peter are helping to bring their book to Off Broadway, hopefully in time for Pride 2019!
Recently the brothers relased a calendar for 2019. Defiance: taking a stance on changing the world’s conservative view on what it means to be gay in the Middle Eastern world. Shot by Dexter Brown.
“Everyone has their own unique story. Fortunately for us, we just wrote ours down,” Zach said with a laugh. “The book is done, but it’s not finished. We’re writing two more books about different things.”
Buy the BOOK and CALENDAR Here.
Get to know Michael and Zach with their great YouTube videos!
ZT on Instagram
ZT on Facebook
ZT on Twitter
ZT My Twin Chat App – a way to communicate with others who might be struggling with coming out or just needing someone to talk to. Many people coming out usually feel like they are the only one. So this app is a support system for those scared to talk to a stranger or a close friend.
“You cannot forget the bigger picture. It feels like life is caving in to a lot of people when it first happens. I think that’s one of the scariest things. Because all I was worried about, was when you grow up, there’s so much involved in the bigger picture,” Michael said. “That’s what I tell people, just realize there is light at the end of the tunnel even if it feels almost impossible.”
Gay Pride 2014 is Coming ! To a City Near You!
GAY PRIDE IS COMING! Over the next 6 months, gay prides will be happening coast to coast!
PHOENIX PRIDE April 5-6, 2014
MIAMI PRIDE April 11-13
TOKYO PRIDE April 27rh
SAO PAULO PRIDE May 4th, 2014 – the BIGGEST in the WORLD
NEW JERSEY PRIDE June 1st, 2014
LOS ANGELES PRIDE June 6th-8th
MILWAUKEE WI Pride June 6th-8th
CAPITAL PRIDE DC June 6th-8th
DETROIT PRIDE June 7th-8th
HONOLULU PRIDE June 7th
PHILADELPHIA PRIDE June 8th
BOSTON PRIDE June 8th-16th
KEY WEST PRIDE June 11th-15th 2014
NASHVILLE PRIDE June 12th-14th
SITGES SPAIN PRIDE June 12th-16th
PITTSBURGH PRIDE June 14th-15th
BERLIN PRIDE June 14th-15th
OSLO PRIDE June 20th-29th
HOUSTON GAY PRIDE June 20th-29th
TORONTO PRIDE June 20th-29th – BIGGEST in NORTH AMERICA!
PLUS in 2014, Toronto will actually be WORLD PRIDE with even BIGGER crowds
RHODE ISLAND / PROVIDENCE PRIDE June 21st
NEW YORK CITY PRIDE June 24th-29th
TAMPA FL PRIDE June 27th-29th
PARIS PRIDE June 28th
LONDON PRIDE June 28th
MINNEAPOLIS PRIDE June 28th-29th
CHICAGO PRIDE FEST June 21st – 22nd
(they are trying to fill in the days in between to make a full week of pride)
CHICAGO PRIDE June 29th
SEATTLE GAY PRIDE June 29th
MADRID PRIDE July 2nd-6th
COLOGNE GERMANY PRIDE July 6th
SAN DIEGO PRIDE July 18th-20th
STOCKHOLM PRIDE July 28th – Aug. 2nd
MONTREAL PRIDE July July 28th-Aug. 3rd
AMSTERDAM PRIDE August 1st-3rd – with floats on the canal!
ANTWERP PRIDE August 4th-11th
REYKJAVIK PRIDE August 5th-10th
CHICAGO MARKET DAYS – August 9th-10th (not really pride – but a big party!)
OTTAWA PRIDE August 15th-24th
PRAGUE PRIDE August 11th-17th
COPENHAGEN PRIDE August 26th-31st
ATLANTA PRIDE August 27th-Sept. 1st
SOUTHERN DECADENCE – August 27th-September 1 (not really pride – but a big party)
LAS VEGAS PRIDE September 2nd-8th
AUSTIN TX PRIDE September 20th
DALLAS PRIDE September 21st
MAUI HAWAII October 4th-5th
GAY PRIDE is a time of celebration and with that, usually comes some drinking. MAKE SURE YOU DRINK WATER AS WELL! Keep yourself hydrated! You don’t want to go to the hospital with your boa and go go shorts on! (poor guy!)
Gay Pride in Phoenix Arizona
Phoenix Pride promotes unity, visibility, and self-esteem among gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons; and promotes a positive image in the Valley of the Sun and throughout Arizona through community activities and services.
Phoenix Pride educates the metropolitan Phoenix community about LGBTQ persons and their families and celebrates their lives by producing an annual Gay Pride festival, parade and pageant, in addition to administering other educational and charitable programs serving the LGBTQ community.
THE HISTORY OF PHOENIX PRIDE
In 1981, a group of gay & lesbian activists organized the first Pride march thru the streets of downtown Phoenix to the state Capitol building. It was a politically focused march to bring awareness to gay rights issues in Phoenix.
Nearly ten years later, a group of volunteers joined together to coordinate the annual Pride festival. This committee, best known as the Phoenix Lesbian and Gay Pride Committee, Inc. helped establish a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization known today as Phoenix Pride.
Parade
Saturday, April 5th, 2014
Step Off Time: 10:00am
Begins: 3rd St & Thomas
Ends: 3rd St & Indian School
Festival
Saturday, April 5th, 2014 and
Sunday, April 6th, 2014
Steele Indian School Park
Festival Hours
Noon – 9:00pm
Ticket Information
– Children under 12 receive Free Admission.
– Children 13-17 receive Discounted Admission.
– Adults 18 and over have multiple different ticket packages available.
Online Ticket Sales – CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS
Arizona Becomes First State to Legally Refuse to Serve Gays
ARIZONA becomes first state to pass law ALLOWING for discrimination of LGBT people!
That’s the latest anti-gay line coming from religious groups bringing forth a flurry of new state bills seeking ways to refuse providing goods and services to LGBT couples.
Say a gay couple in Phoenix walks into a bakery to order their wedding cake. The baker refuses to take their order because of his deeply held religious beliefs. Under a measure that passed the Arizona Legislature this week, the baker would have greater protection to invoke religion to shield himself from a discrimination lawsuit.
The bill, approved by the Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday and the GOP-led House on Thursday, would bolster a business owner’s right to refuse service to gays and others if the owner believes doing so violates the practice and observance of his or her religion.
The state Senate passed it on a straight party-line vote, 17 to 13. The House followed suit, 33 to 27, with two Republicans joining all the Democrats in opposition.
