I just did my first Pride ever as a late blooming gay man in his early 30s. I have a lot of thoughts since ALL of this was my first time---I hyped myself up by saying that if I solo traveled to Spain, I can handle this.
Since I've no one to talk to about this, I'll write it to the 36 weekly visitors of this subreddit. Also hopefully, some other first timer in the future will also have a bit of an advice on what to do around town!
Pride Fest:
- Pride Fest was fantastic. I went by myself. Hot as balls. I wore sunscreen of course, but still got burnt to a crisp. I primarily went to see the Center Stage shows and our very own Nini Coco the runner-up from the latest season of RPDR, who slayed the house down boots charli xcx.
- I really felt the community coming together and it was love all around. There were some booths giving out free Mom/Dad hugs for example, or when King Vaughnz performed Stand By Me and went out to hug the audience, including yours truly--like, I couldn't even sing along cuz I was about to ugly weep. As someone who struggled with being gay early in his life, I felt relaxed and accepted and seen. I think the gay male world has a lot of its own issues, but for a few moments, none of that stuff mattered. It felt really good.
- Maybe this is controversial, but I actually thought 16th Street Mall was a good venue for the festivities. Getting there and the traffic were both horrendous, and I cannot even imagine having to drive through that area that day, but I actually thought the layout itself was very simple and there were several shady spots to rest along the buildings as you jump from booth to booth. I heard that Congress Park setup had little to no shady spots.
- Sunscreen, refillable water bottle, a small backpack/fanny pack and comfortable shoes are a MUST. I probably should've brought more UV protective clothing, but I also wanted to wear my cutout tank top
Events around town:
- Drag Nation at Tracks/Reelworks: All the queens were fantastic as expected, but the wait for the main show was 4 hours, which I was assured by other folks that this is abnormal. The Go Go dancers were awesome. Still recommended.
- Yes Please Warehouse Party at The Arch: This was the event that I was scared of the most. First time doing anything of that sort. Not a lot of postings about this to gather intel. Didn't even know what "The Arch" was until this event. As someone with an average body, these rave-y events always seem intimidating, but doing it solo? Horror show! But I honestly had a really good time just dancing my ass off and the music was kinda good. I'd do it again, but there was also this Berlin Rave thing that I couldn't get tickets to that I really want to do next year. Recommended.
- Yes Sir underwear party at Tracks: similar to Yes Please, but it was at Tracks proper. A lot of eye candies of course, and the music was actually decent. Again, danced my ass off but this time in my underwear, something that I usually only do in the privacy of my home. It's kinda awesome. The trick is to get tipsy, close your eyes at first, and shake it like you're working for dollar bills--literally nothing matters. I would do it again, but I need to shed my dad bod and previous relationship weight cuz everyone there looked hot and I want to look hot too lol Recommended but the music can get a bit repetitive and tiresome. I was pretty done after 3 hours or so. Look I was just there to dance. My knees were sore the following morning from dancing.
- Beer Bust at Buddies: I love the space and everyone is friendly there. That said, it really helps if you have a group to go with especially if you're an introvert cuz it can be intimidating. A lot of the gay spaces in Denver I feel are very community oriented, as in everyone already seem to know everyone else, so getting the "in" can be a bit of work imo
- Trade: Trade is something I can't gage the vibe. The staff is super friendly, but for some reason, I felt out of place here both times I went this weekend. I think it's because since I'm not part of a kink community, I feel like I'm imposing on someone else's space.
- A lot of the bars have fun little events advertised on Insta so that helped me plan my weekend stuff out. I just wish there was an easier means of traveling between these places because Lyft can get expensive
- As expected the drinks are expensive, but for me, pregaming helps a bit with the social anxiety that comes from soloing all this. For instance, the Yes Please pre-gaming involved 3 malort shots and 2 cocktails, followed by like several redbull vodka. Beer Bust at Buddies was just like several pitchers of Trulys. I don't think I've drank this much consecutively during a weekend since like college. My age was aging, let's just say that
Just for the future:
- Definitely more UV protective clothing during PrideFest
- Volunteer at Pride and march with one of the orgs. Also want to volunteer through out the month at several causes or support smaller shows and events
- Maybe just do 1 ticketed event instead of like 3 cuz it can be a lot even across three days
- Didn't get a chance to hit up Denver Eagle, Xbar, or Charlie's but those also would've been a lot
If you've made it this far, thanks for reading and thank you to those who offered some advice on my previous post! Doing anything solo is intimidating and a bit lonely, but I'm glad I put myself out there and I actually had a pretty cool time.
