Happy Pride, Y’all!
I write this blog post with the clear, and upfront intention of promoting the Gay Agenda. I am the Marketing and Branding Assistant at West Sixth Brewing, and I am a bisexual woman.
Over the last year, queer Kentuckians have been under direct attack. As a brewery that started in the heart of downtown Lexington, it is important to acknowledge our current political climate. “Don’t Say Gay” bills & anti-trans legislation have been at the heart of the local conversation of late. Local LGBTQ businesses were graffitied with hate speech earlier this year.
Pride is not unaccustomed to happening in the midst of struggle. As you may well know, the first Pride was a Riot. On June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club, in New York City’s Greenwich village. In response, the patrons and the surrounding neighborhood rioted & protested for six days, resisting the brutality the police displayed towards the employees & guests of the Stonewall Inn during their initial raid. Six days of protest, and violent clashes with the police, that sparked a gay rights movement, and yes, the declaration of June as “Pride Month.”
You can read more about the Stonewall Riots here.
Somewhere along the way, this riot became overrun by rainbow washing. People were given an excuse to wear rainbows, and get drunk in public spaces. Companies took this opportunity to make more money, without supporting the cause in any meaningful way. But, for the gay community, the struggle never ended. The rainbows became annoying – especially because they disappeared on July 1 as quickly as they came out on June 1.
West Sixth is not this company. While, we acknowledge, there is always room for conversation & improvement, we have been community focused & strived to be LGBTQ friendly since we opened our doors. For us, Pride never ends.
Five years ago, we brewed our first batch of Pride, Y’all at West Sixth. Through this can, and before it even existed, we have donated proceeds to local pride festivals – big and small. We are proud to be a sponsor of Lexington Pride since 2014, and a yearly vendor at both the Louisville and Kentuckiana Pride Festivals. West Sixth donates year round, and often focuses these efforts towards the LGBTQ+ movement. You can read more about our give back programs here.
We also cosigned this petition from Lex Have Pride, which was created in response to the aforementioned “Don’t Say Gay” bills, and outlines current legislative and community demands from the LGBTQ+ community.
Beer is for Everyone. That’s what all of us at West Sixth believe. I hope that when you walk into our taprooms, whether it’s our flagship location in Lexington, West Sixth NuLu, the West Sixth Farm, or our little box on the Newport Levee – you feel that. All year long.
I encourage you to continue your Pride past June, and while we’re in June, to support Pride in ways that include, but aren’t limited to, purchasing cans of Pride, Y’all. Though, for a beer lover like me, that’s always a good place to start.
Below is a list of festivals, organizations, and learning resources to support throughout the year.
Share these resources, use them, save them for later, and please, comment to let us know how we can continue to improve our support of Pride at West Sixth, all year, every year.
Happy Pride, friends! May we continue to openly love who we want, and take pride in who we are.
If you or someone you know needs support, LGBTQ+ youth can get support from the Trevor Project by calling 866-488-7386 or visiting thetrevorproject.org. You can call Trans Kentucky at 859-448-5428 or visit transkentucky.com. Nationally, you can call the Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860 or visit translifeline.org. And more generally, anyone can now call 988 for mental health crises.
Upcoming Festivals
(list from Fairness Campaign)
Cincinnati Black Pride
June 15-June 19
Kentuckiana Pride Parade & Festival
Saturday, June 17, Noon-10:00 p.m. ET
Big Four Lawn, 1101 E. River Rd., Louisville, KY 40206
Harlan County Pride March
Saturday, June 24, 9:00 a.m. ET
Location: TBA
Lexington Pride Festival
Saturday, June 24, 11:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. ET
Central Bank Center, 340 W. Vine St., Lexington, KY 40507
Cincinnati Pride Festival
Saturday, June 24, Noon-9:00 p.m. ET
Sawyer Point, 705 E. Pete Rose Way, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Owensboro Pride Picnic
Sunday, June 25, Noon – 6:00 p.m. CT
Unity Fellowship, 625 Allen St., Owensboro, KY 42303
Ashland Pride Picnic
Saturday, July 8, 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET
Ashland Riverfront Park, 50 15th St., Ashland, KY 41101
Louisville Pride Festival
Saturday, September 9, 11:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m. ET
Bardstown Road & Grinstead Dr., Louisville, KY 40205
KY Black Pride Festival
September 15-17, Lexington
Pride in the Park Saturday, September 16, Noon-7:00 p.m. ET
Woodland Park, 601 E. High St., Lexington, KY 40502
Murray Pride Parade & Picnic
Saturday, September 16
Chestnut Park, 900 Payne Street, Murray, KY 42071
Pride Run
Saturday, September 23
Coldstream Park, Lexington, KY 40511
Berea Pride
Saturday, September 30, 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. ET
Memorial Park, W Jefferson St., Berea, KY 40403
Pikeville Pride
Saturday, September 30, Noon-6:00 p.m. ET
Appalachian Wireless, 143 Main St., Pikeville, KY 41501
Bowling Green Pride Festival
Saturday, October 21, Noon-5:00 p.m. CT
Circus Square Park, 601 State St., Bowling Green, KY 42101
Chill Out and Proud Somerset
Saturday, October 21
Somerset College Festival Field, 808 Monticello St., Somerset, KY 42501
Capital Pride Festival
October 14, 2023
Non - Profits
Louisville Youth Group
LYG empowers QTBIPoC/LGBTQIA+ youth to grow into healthy and resilient leaders through community connection, life skills education, and social advocacy.
Fairness Campaign
The Fairness Campaign is Kentucky’s LGBTQ advocacy organization founded in 1991 by 10 Louisvillians. Its primary goal is comprehensive civil rights legislation prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and to dismantle systemic racism. With the help of the Fairness Campaign, 24 Kentucky communities and counting have enacted Fairness Ordinances outlawing LGBTQ discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations. Today, the Fairness Campaign works in cities all across Kentucky to advance LGBTQ rights and acceptance through legislative advocacy and public education.
ACLU Kentucky
The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky (ACLU) is freedom’s watchdog, working daily in courts, legislatures, and communities to defend the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people by the Constitutions of the United States and the Commonwealth of Kentucky:
Sweet Evening Breeze
Sweet Evening Breeze was founded to address the over-representation of LGBTQ+ young adults experiencing homelessness in Louisville which mirrors national data and the lack of affirming services to address the additional risk they face while on the streets compared to their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts.
Queer Kentucky
Queer Kentucky is a diverse LGBTQ+ run non-profit based in Louisville, Kentucky working to bolster and enhance Queer culture and health though storytelling, education, and action. Through our storytelling approach, we give visibility and celebrate the lives of LGBTQ+ people in the great Bluegrass State. Visibility alone is life-saving. Queer Kentucky actively works with organizations and businesses on their inclusivity efforts that enhance the well-being of their employees.
Kentucky Health Justice Network
Our Trans Health Advocacy program works to help Trans Kentuckians access the healthcare they need, as well as reaffirm our autonomy and community. Our program aims to put a focus on the intersectional barriers Trans Kentuckians face when accessing healthcare such as structural and interpersonal racism, classism, ableism, and sizeism
Free Mom Hugs
Today, Free Mom Hugs has chapters in all 50 states and other initiatives forming globally. The group’s growing force of more than 14,000 volunteers is a national groundswell dedicated to empowering the world to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community through visibility, conversation and education.It’s been a long year of attacks on LGBTQ rights in the U.S. State Legislatures. 491 to be exact. A record number of bills go especially after transgender youth. Kentucky is one of the worst states. Attached below are websites to learn about everything that is happening. Knowledge is power.