Celebrating its 40th year of celebrating LGBT history, Houston Pride is a treasure trove of LGBT-themed events. The Texas megacity is putting the voices of LGBT people at the forefront this year with #DearPride, a campaign where LGBT people are invited to share their personal journeys and explain what Pride means to them. Feel free to contribute your "compelling story about struggles, triumphs, activism, life and love within the LGBTQ+ community," and add your voice to the movement!

Houston Pride kicked off on June 14 with the Grand Marshal Reception, catered by Hamburger Mary’s, where attendees stuffed their faces with delicious food and celebrated the Grand Marshals—all for free! Between the reception and the start of the festival, there’s a full two weeks of interesting events, from dinners to fashion events. And if you really want to feel your western oats, don your cowboy hat and chaps and join your fellow Cowboys for the Pride in the Country Dance Party at the cowboy-themed Esquire Dance Hall. Are your chaps allowed to be assless? Only one way to find out!

Starting at noon on June 23, the massive Houston Pride Festival promises fun for all ages, sporting hundreds of booths, food vendors, and plenty of LGBT cheer. And afterward, you’re invited to join the Official Pride After Party to make a full day of queer fun. Luckily, not all of Houston Pride is so family friendly! If you really want to run on the wild side, look no further: hosted at the Houston Eagle, the Unleashed party on June 21 will satisfy your craving for leather and bears.

The celebration culminates on the night of June 23 with the Houston Pride Parade, which will bring together half a million people to cut across Downtown Houston and celebrate "who we are as a people and how much more we still need to fight for."

Finally, it wouldn’t be a Houston Party without a Tea Dance! Join thousands of visitors on the evening of June 24 for the Official Pride Closing Party Tea Dance. This genteel tradition finds its gay avatar today, and now LGBT people and allies are invited to transport themselves to a garden party from a different era, while learning some dance moves your great-grandma would find cool. Check it out!

Houston not only offers an amazing Pride experience, but has a cornucopia of other things to offer. Check out...

Journey beyond the stars

Interested in the final frontier? Swing by NASA’s Johnson Space Center! Self-described as the hub of human spaceflight activity for more than half a century," the center houses operations for the International Space Station, the Orion program, and more. Also, Space Center Houston—half education center, half space museum—offers something for the astronaut in all of us!

Impressive nature

Houston also offers an impressive array of natural spaces, from parks to butterfly conservancies. Buffalo Bayou is an expansive park and waterway wrapping through the countryside and into the city of Houston. This park has everything, from family areas to playgrounds to skate parks and more—not to mention amazing vistas of the Houston skyline! If you’re looking for some contact with the animal kingdom, Houston also offers the unparalleled Cockrell Butterfly Center, offering interactive information about the insect world and a 3-story rainforest conservancy. Talk about a trip to the wild side! Or, if you’re in a picnic mood, check out the at Hines Waterwall Park, all built around an incredible 60-foot tall fountain.

Museums galore

Far from the wild-west frontier it once was, Houston boasts an impressive array of museums and cultural centers. Notably, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH) offers 64,000 pieces of art, from Van Gogh paintings to Islamic and decorative arts. Check out their calendar of events to see what’s on the roster when you visit! Another must-see, the Houston Museum of Natural Science has all the mainstays of a world-class natural science museum, from dinosaur bones to a planetarium, in addition to amazing exhibitions on crystals and man-eating animals. Go on and get cultured, you hear?