Ellen Page starred in Freeheld, the film based on a true story about a lesbian couple fighting for the right to domestic partnership benefits, alongside Julianne Moore. The movie was a tearkjerker, but we loved it!
The cold months won't stop the gays from having a good time.
Winter Party Festival serves as the National LGBTQ Task Force's signature event that blends world-class DJs, community connection, and critical fundraising to help the queer community in south Florida.
Returning to Miami Beach for its 33rd anniversary this year, this iconic party features everything that makes the LGBTQ+ community so bright despite the scary political climate.
Although Florida has proven to lean right in recent elections, the sunny state serves a perfect backdrop for all of the Winter Party shenanigans. The diverse population that fuels the rich society of South Beach makes this party once of the most inviting and inclusive events I've ever been to.
Although Speedo and pool pics may be the first thing you notice about Winter Party, this festival captures so much more queer joy than just the liberating outfits and warm weather.
Yes, it's true that there's nonstop party options happening all weekend, but the true gift is the reminder that chosen family and the spirit of the LGBTQ+ community can't be overshadowed or erased... no matter what.
Whenever I have a chance to attend an iconic queer event like Winter Party, I love to take a second to step back and live in the present. For me, there's nothing quite fulfilling and motivating as a gay man than to see my queer peers reading each other to filth, hugging one another, and dancing the night away on a stunning beach under the stars. Who knows? You might even someone get engaged, tip a drag queen, or fall in love right before your eyes.
"I'm happy to be here! I've been coming to this event for years and it feels amazing to be recognized for the work I'm doing preserving queer spaces and fighting against HIV," Schukraft tells Out.
With so much hatred and vitriol dominating everyday conversations, it's such a relief that nonprofit organizations such as the National LGBTQ Task Force remind queer people around the world why these circuit parties are so important to the foundation of our community.
As one of the only community-produced circuit events in the world, Winter Party is a refreshing opportunity to reconnect with our gay roots, celebrate how far we've come, and encourage each other to continue to fight for another day. 2026 may have just begun, but I sincerely hope I can kick off 2027 by returning to the neon lights in Miami, Florida.
Ricky Cornish at Bota Bota, spa-sur-l'eau in Montréal, Canada.
Ricky Cornish
Even in the freezing cold temperatures, Montréal, Canada is a top destination for queer travelers.
Can you expect snow? Yes. Should you pack a winter coat? Absolutely. Yet, the chilly atmosphere is actually way more inviting than you'd think.
It's no secret that Montréal is a safe space for everyone in the LGBTQ+ community as it's known for its vibrant queer scene, Pride festivals throughout the summer, and famous gayborhood called Le Village. However, there's no denying that winter is still a magical time to visit the breathtaking city.
Although the temperatures outside may be bone-chilling, there are plenty of places to escape the cold and take in the gorgeous sights and sounds of Montréal.
Located in Old Port, Bota Bota, spa-sur-l'eau is a luxurious spa experience that must be added to any itinerary. The beautiful building serves as a unique floating spa on the St. Lawrence River and offers many relaxing accommodations such as a hydrotherapy water circuit, saunas, steam baths, massages, and more.
It may be hard to imagine that you could wear a bathing suit in the middle of a Canadian winter, but as seen in the pics above, you can comfortably submerge into the heated pools and jacuzzis at Bota Bota, spa-sur-l'eau as a playful amount of snow falls over your head.
It's safe to say that Le Village and Bota Bota, spa-sur-l'eau provide plenty of fun indoor opportunities to beat the frigid temperatures, but there's nothing that quite compares to a quintessential Montréal experience than attending Igloofest in the heart of downtown.
Bundling up is a no brainer as this festival takes place outside and at night, but the vibes and atmosphere will definitely keep you warm. Plus, the delicious drinks and body heat from the welcoming ravers all around you certainly helps as well!
Igloofest takes place over a course of four weekends in Montréal before heading off to other cities throughout Canada including Gatineau, Quebec, and Edmonton. Besides the flexible dates, the iconic festival creates a different lineup each weekend to give fans the opportunity to see a different show every night. Just a few of the headliners throughout 2026 at Igloofest include Lost Frequencies, Sofi Tukker, Aluna, Disclosure, DJ Snake, and many more.
The DJs certainly bring huge crowds of passionate fans, but Igloofest offers so much more than your typical music festival.
Thanks to the cold atmosphere, many attendees can be seen bonding with friends making s'mores, playing interactive games to win prize, and indulging in plenty of savory meals and drinks to stay warm. Don't forget to try Montréal's signature dish... the poutine!
Fabulous accommodations are also widely available throughout Old Port, but nothing quite compares to Hotel William Gray. The stunning property is located next to all of the action at Igloofest and offers a very cozy stay with top tier amenities. From tasty restaurants to gorgeous views of the snowfall, this hotel is the best choice across the board.
There's truly something for everyone in the LGBTQ+ when visiting Montréal, even in the dead of winter. Between all of the sickening drag performances, gorgeous decor, and delicious drinks at Le Village, to premiere relaxation at Bota Bota, spa-sur-l'eau, and the immaculate vibes at Igloofest, there's no shortage of iconic memories to be made in Canada.
No surprise here, but it's also worth noting that the friendly people who make up the queer scene in Montréal really make this city stand out. The rumors are true. Canadians just do it better, and they do it with a smile on their face.
Don't miss out on your chance to check out Igloofest in 2026. To learn more, visit the official website here. You won't regret it!
The RISE Festival just commemorated its tenth year in the Nevada desert and pulled out all of the stops. Considered the world's largest sky lantern festival, the breathtaking event also serves as a safe space for everyone in the LGBTQ+ community.
Everyone had the opportunity to send gorgeous lanterns into the night sky and manifest positive energy or let go of burdens that are weighing them down in their everyday lives.
As if the beautiful views weren't enough, RISE Festival recruited some of the top talent from around the world to give attendees the opportunity to dance the night away. Headliners that performed all weekend included Calvin Harris, Disclosure, John Mayer, LP Giobbi, Rüfüs Du Sol, and more.
There were only a few dry eyes at the stunning celebration. With anti-LGBTQ+ legislation sweeping the country and so much negativity being spread at a rapid pace, RISE Festival couldn't have come at a better time.
Similar to many other popular music festivals, the LGBTQ+ community was in full force and bringing positive vibes that can only be felt amongst queer peers. In fact, LP Giobbi even spoke with PRIDE about specifically keeping an eye out for her gay fans as she performed at the unifying gathering.
"I am playing for you! I think it's a deeply important and beautiful community. I will do everything in my power to support and uplift. I'm just so grateful to be accepted into that community! I feel like I can be most myself around this community. My favorite version of myself is when I get to be with y'all!," Giobbi tells PRIDE.
It's safe to say RISE Festival wanted to make their tenth anniversary a remarkable occasion, so fans are already speculating as to what could be in store for next year. Let the countdown begin!
The writer was invited to cover this event by RISE Festival. Grab tickets to an upcoming show by visiting the official website here.
Back in March, Audri Pettirosi shared a TikTok documenting her great-uncle’s military service and 50-year relationship with his late husband. Now, former Marine Marshall Belmaine is opening up about his beautiful love story and the contributions both men made to the LGBTQ+ community over the years.
Pettirosi only met her great-uncle a little less than a year ago, but when she learned of his story, she knew she had to share it with the world.
“He's just done so much for this country and for the gay community,” the 21-year-old told People. "It's just a very important story that I feel like really needs to be told.”
And Belmaine’s love story clearly resonated with people since the TikTok video has already been viewed more than 585,000 at the time of publication.
While Belmaine’s life has been full of love and fighting for LGBTQ+ rights, he originally joined the Marine Corps in November 1965 because he dropped out of high school after suffering from homophobic bullying, and then was forced to keep his queerness a secret while serving in the military.
Balmaine told People he was surrounded by homophobia even within his own family, "including from my own family, including Audri's grandfather, who was my half-brother.”
While fighting against Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, he told the Miami Herald that while he was an active duty Marine, "It would have been easier to say that I had ax-murdered my grandmother than admit that I was gay.”
Balmaine may have received a Purple Heart for rushing into the line of fire to save a fellow Marine during the Vietnam War and got top-secret security clearance to work as a Marine guard for the National Security Agency, but he also had to remain cautious about keeping his gay identity secret throughout his career.
He was eventually honorably discharged in 1969 and met his late husband, Albert Wakefield, at a bar just two years later.
Marshall Belmaine.
Courtesy of Audri Pettirosi
But it wasn’t until 1976 that Belmaine came out of the closet and was able to live his life out loud and proud.
Wakefield, who was the love of Belamiane’s life, was 13 years his senior, and together the two men worked as LGBTQ+ activists and also advocated for those in the military.
"We joined about 27 different organizations,” Belmaine said. “When everybody was going out on a Friday or Saturday night, having fun, we were in a meeting fighting for civil rights.”
Not only did the pair participate in rallies and protests, but Belmaine was the former president of American Veterans for Equal Rights, and he and Wakefield helped form gay men’s organizations like Homophile Union, Papa Gayos, “The Gay Co-op,” and a motorcycle/leather club for gay men called the Vikings, according to The History Project, which works to preserve the history of New England’s LGBTQ+ community.
Since the death of his husband, Belmaine has slowed down his activism but says he is “still in the fight.”
Marshall Belmaine and Albert Wakefield.
Courtesy of Audri Pettirosi
The two men’s love story — despite seemingly insurmountable odds — has moved people. The video has gone viral and the comment section is filled with viewers who were deeply moved.
“I’m shedding tears, I’m a Marine that served when it was illegal to be gay and serve. Then, DADT was implemented during my service. Semper Fi to your uncle,” one person wrote.
“I’m 57, gay, been with my husband 28 yrs. Stories like these are what broke the lies told to me by society and the churches when I was young!!! All respect for those two,” someone else commented.
“This is a great memory to share…as a Marine Vet, I can tell you there are a lot more of these stories out there that should be told. So many people choose hate, instead of love,” another person posted.
Pettirosi seems inspired by her great-uncle’s story as well and says she’s not ready to give up the fight for LGBTQ+ rights any more than he is.
"There's no room for hate in this world," she said, "and we got to stand up for what's right.”
Queer joy is a radical act, so join us each week for more stories that uplift, resist, and shine. For more stories on Queer Joy, click here.
After dressing some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, setting trends on the runway, and starring in his own Netflix show, fashion designer Thái Nguyễn is now busy breaking down barriers with his adorable children’s book.
Not only is Nguyễn’s book Mai’s Áo Dài about a little girl who has two dads learning to love wearing a traditional Vietnamese outfit for Lunar New Year, but it’s also a celebration of two important parts of his identity and because of this has become a hit among children and their parents looking for the kind of representation Nguyễn wished he had growing up.
Nguyễn is both gay and a Vietnamese American, and while he has had a wildly successful career, he wasn’t always accepted for being an immigrant or for his sexuality. Being an immigrant left him open to hate and ridicule from society, but he also experienced judgment from his family, who considered being gay to be “a sickness, or like a phase, or a trend,” which is why he feels like his children’s book is so important.
“It’s really about exposure. It’s not just about race, but it’s all about identity in general, and queerness as well. We need that exposure,” Nguyễn tells PRIDE. “And for my parents, because they’re very traditional, and I’m the only child, so that responsibility as an Asian son in an immigrant family, that responsibility that I have to get married to a woman and have kids and carry on the name.”
Luckily, Nguyễn’s parents have since come around and now accept his partner, whom he has been with for 18 years, with open arms.
The cover of Mai’s Áo Dài
Courtesy of Thái Nguyễn
Nguyễn co-wrote Mai’s Áo Dài, alongside Monique Truong and illustrator Dung Ho, because he wanted to create a children’s book that celebrated the unique parts of his identity in a way he was never able to experience when he was growing up.
“The book is for the kids, but you don't even know, the Vietnamese mom, Vietnamese dad, they will come up to me and they were like ‘I wish I had this book growing up because for a very long time we had to hide ourselves.’ There was no exposure whether on media or in literature, so this was not just only for the kids, but also for the adults,” he explains.
The idea for Mai’s Áo Dài came after Nguyễn made history on the red carpet with Star Wars actress Kelly Marie Tran. Tran was the first woman of color to play a lead in the popular franchise when she took on the role of Rose Tico in 2017. After a flurry of racist, misogynistic comments and death threats from the Star Wars fandom that drove her out of the public eye and into therapy, she decided to celebrate her cultural heritage in a very public way.
Nguyễn designed an áo dài — a traditional Vietnamese garment that includes a long tunic and pants — for Tran to wear on the red carpet, and the impact it had on the community served as the inspiration for his children’s book.
“We made that ensemble in 16 hours, and then it became this iconic moment for the whole community,” he said.
In Mai’s Áo Dài, the main characters’ Vietnamese cultural identity is front and center, but Nguyễn intentionally made the LGBTQ+ theme more subtle. There is no mention of the little girl at the heart of the story having gay dads, but in the illustration of Mai arriving at the Lunar New Year party, she walks in with her two dads by her side.
A page from Mai’s Áo Dài
Courtesy of Thái Nguyễn
The book was released in January and while on a book tour Nguyễn said that everyone he comes across appreciates seeing their own identities reflected in the book.
“They appreciate that there is a book like that out there for the kids to see themselves. And also, you know the queer parents who see this it's like it's like a very nice surprise when they read the book,” he said.
The response to Mai’s Áo Dài has been overwhelmingly positive, and the one homophobic review Nguyễn got on Amazon, only fueled sales of his book.
“When my co-author sent me that and I saw that, I was like, ‘You know what, this one-star review like push so much sales because so many people were like, ‘Oh my god, what world is he living in?”
Nguyễn said that when you are Vietnamese, you’re parents expect you to settle down with a wife and kids and become a doctor, lawyer, or engineer, so him turning out to be a gay fashion designer was a hard pill to swallow, but his parents and the community at large have embraced him.
“I have always been that disappointment, you know, a gay guy doing fashion, it’s like a double whammy,” he shared. “Here I am I’m truly happy that I’m a queer American fashion designer and I have a home. I have a business and I get to celebrate with so many people.”
TikTok · Audri
