Go Big, or Go Home – Lavender’s Super-Sized Summer of Pride Kickoff Party and Score @ Pride Are Back for a Second Round

Pride…just the word conjures up images of rainbows and confetti, balloons, floats, drag queens, music and dancing. Parades. Happiness. Fun. Celebrating the diversity of our community with laughter and joy and the knowledge that this is our month to show the world who we are and how we fit into every aspect of society.

This year, Lavender kicks off the Pride season with our second annual Summer of Pride Kickoff Party + Score @ Pride. Our inaugural super-sized combined event last year was a huge hit, and we expect this year to be even bigger and better!

Lavender’s First Thursday event began in February of 2008 with an attendance of a mere 20—30 people. It quickly grew in both size and popularity, soon boasting of an attendance of well over 150 attendees each month. The First Thursday for June always coincided with the June Summer of Pride Kickoff Party which easily drew crowds of over 500 attendees as a way of both unveiling Lavender’s annual Pride issue as well as sashaying into the Pride season with style.

Score came about a few years later as a way of bringing together LGBTQ+ athletes and fans for a monthly, sports-centric happy hour, and eventually the event evolved into the once-per-year Score @ Pride in 2018 as one of the signature events of Lavender’s annual Summer of Pride slate of celebrations, held on the Thursday before the Twin Cities Pride Festival.

It gave the community a chance to see all of the options open to them that they could participate in the sports of their choice with like-minded individuals in the LGBTQ community, with teams that were welcoming and inclusive in every way. It also gave the local professional teams such as the Lynx, the Vikings, the Twins and the Wild a chance to show our community that they supported us and welcomed us at their games and in their stadiums with branded Pride-themed swag and the various Pride nights that they sponsored throughout the summer.

Both events drew, and continue to draw, enthusiastic and loyal crowds, folks who always make room on their calendars for Lavender’s events, and both events are highly anticipated by Lavender readers as both a way to kick off the summer and a way to kick off Pride weekend in the Twin Cities.

Building on the success of last year’s combined event, this year’s Kickoff Party + Score @ Pride is slated to be held on June 6 at the elegant and inviting Hilton Minneapolis in their first-floor event room, The Gallery, that offers a great view of Marquette Avenue.

Attendees will be able to register for awesome prizes at the Lavender welcome table before stepping into the elegant event space where they’ll be welcomed by multitudes of vendor tables representing many businesses and organizations that support and welcome our community. Numerous local LGBTQ+ sports leagues will also be in attendance, welcoming your questions on how to come out to support their games or, better yet, to sign up to be part of their teams. Several of the Twin Cities’ professional teams will also be on hand with representatives eager to talk about how they appreciate our community coming out to cheer the players on at games and matches.

Be prepared to enjoy delicious complimentary appetizers, a cash bar, chances to register to win great prizes and pick up fun swag and promotions, and to peruse tables from a dazzling array of tables staffed by representatives from local LGBTQ nonprofits, LGBTQ sports teams and organizations, and Minnesota’s professional sports teams.

There is ample parking available, both as street parking and also in nearby ramps. Additionally, the Hilton Minneapolis will offer valet parking that evening for attendees.

Lavender’s Summer of Pride Kickoff Party and Score @ Pride
June 6 • 5:30 – 8:00 PM
Hilton Minneapolis, 1001 Marquette Ave. S. • Minneapolis
www.Minneapolis.hilton.com