Show off your Pride in Charlotte with these events, food and drink specials and more
While the Charlotte Pride Festival and Parade is set for Aug. 17-18, the LGBTQ+ community is getting the party started with June celebrations recognizing Pride Month.
Along with backing Charlotte area businesses that support the LGBTQ+ community, you can visit bars, breweries hosting Pride events, indulge in a specialty doughnut or pancake created for the occasion at area restaurants and more.
If you’re looking for ways to celebrate Pride, check out these Charlotte-area options:
Billy Sunday and Spindle Bar drink specials
Location: Optimist Hall, 1115 N Brevard St.,, Charlotte, NC 28206
When: Throughout June
Cost: Drinks are $14
Billy Sunday Charlotte and Spindle Bar’s “Drink the Rainbow: A Pride Cocktail Aventure,” offers six colorful drinks and a punchcard, so you can try them all throughout the month and turn your card back in for a prize. Each cocktail sold will mean a $1 donation for The Plus Collective, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg LGBTQ+ Community Fund.
Options include:
- Flaming Hottie (red) with Hornitos Plata, raspberry, watermelon, orange liqueur and lime at Spindle Bar
- Eggplant Emoji (purple) with Ketel One, rose vermouth, wine, blackberry, strawberry, raspberry and orange juice at Spindle Bar
- Otterly Delicious (green) with Astral blanco, Ilegal mezcal, green chartreuse, pineapple, cucumber and lime at Billy Sunday
- Bear Season (orange) with Maker’s 46, orange juice, ginger, strawberry-infused Capelletti and peach jam at Billy Sunday
- Indi-Go Girl! (blue) with Bacardi Blue, curaco, orgeat, lime and tiki bitters at Spindle Bar Airstream
- Twinky Twinky, Little Star (yellow) with Deep Eddy, pineapple, coconut, chocolate and lemon at Spindle Bar Airstream
Birdsong Brewing Co.’s Better in Color
Location: 1016 N Davidson St, Charlotte, NC 28206
When: Throughout June
Cost: Varies
Birdsong Brewing Co.’s Better In Color, a limited-edition blonde ale infused with citrus, will be exclusively available in Birdsong’s taproom this June. A portion of the proceeds from taproom sales during June will be donated to Time Out Youth, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to helping LGBTQ+ youth.
Ruby Sunshine’s Pride Mimosa Flights
Location: 332 W Bland St, Charlotte, NC 28203
Location: 12330 Johnston Rd, Charlotte, NC 28277
When: Throughout June
Cost: $20
Ruby Sunshine is offering Pride Mimosa Flights so you can toast to inclusiveness. The restaurant will donate $1 from each flight sold to PFLAG, an organization of LGBTQ+ people, parents, families and allies.
Pins Mechanical
Location: 307 W Tremont Ave, Charlotte, NC 28203
When: Throughout June
Cost: $13 for a Lisa Frank or $11 for an alcohol-free version; Glitterbomb is shots are $8.
Pins Mechanical is offering featured drinks for Pride Month — the Lisa Frank and Glitterbomb shots. Pins will be donating a portion of the Pride Featured Drink sales and Pride Merch sales to Out & Equal, a global nonprofit organization working exclusively on LGBTQ+ workplace equality.
.jpg "Pins_Pride_2024_Drink_Carousel_Slide1 (1).jpg")
Pride cocktails at El Puro
Location: 5033 South Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28217
When: Throughout June and August
Cost: $15
El Puro’s special Pride cocktail, the Pride Paradise, is made with aged rum, coconut cream, pineapple juice, blue curacao and fruit crema. There’s also an option to order A Sip of Pride, which consists of vodka, melon liqueur, sour apple, peach snaps, pineapple juice and grenadine.
Snooze A.M. Eatery’s Pride Pancakes
Location: 1331 Central Ave Suite 100, Charlotte, NC 28205
Location: 2041 South Blvd Suite 106, Charlotte, NC 28203
Location: 4425 Sharon Rd S170, Charlotte, NC 28211
When: Throughout June
Cost: $11.75+
Snooze A.M. Eatery is celebrating Pride Month with Pride Pancakes, filled with white chocolate chips and rainbow sprinkles, topped with sweet cream drizzle, whipped mascarpone and extra sprinkles. Each Pride cake sold will bring a 25 cent donation to The Trevor Project, with a minimum $25,000 donation to support its efforts to end suicide among LGBTQ+ young people.
Queer Composers Commission Competition
Location: Online
When: Now through Nov. 1
Cost: Free
One Voice Chorus’ Queer Composers Commission Competition will accept submissions for original choral work in all styles through Nov. 1. Results will be announced on Dec. 1, with the winner receiving a $2,000 commission to create a 4-6 minute SATB choral work to be premiered by the chorus in December 2025.
The Salty Donut’s Pride items
Location: 1515 S Tryon St #105, Charlotte, NC 28203
When: June 17-23
Cost: $3.50 for doughnut holes, $4.40 per doughnut and $6.20 for a latte.
The Salty will be celebrating Pride with three specialty items, with proceeds in Charlotte benefiting Equality NC.
The specials include:
- Funfetti Disco Glitter Donut, filled with sugar cookie custard and topped with vanilla bean glaze, homemade rainbow cookies, rainbow sprinkles and edible disco glitter
- Rainbow Donut Holes, 6 per order) made with 24 hr brioche donut holes, vanilla bean glaze and rainbow sprinkles
- Blue Majik Vanilla Bean Latte ($6.20) with blue majik and homemade vanilla
One Voice Charlotte Rags to Riches
Location: Charlotte Ballet, 701 N. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC 28202
When: June 21, 8 p.m.; and June 22, 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $40+
Match Game, a theatrical performance involving costumes, choreography and drag panelists, returns for another summer at Charlotte Ballet. The NC-17-rated show offers free parking.
Punch with Pride
Location: Gritbox, 2151 Hawkins St #140, Charlotte, NC 28203
When: Saturday, June 22, at 8:15, 9:15 and 10:15 a.m.
Cost: Free, but a donation is suggested; all proceeds go to The Trevor Project, which aims to end suicide among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning young people.
Gritbox’s 45-minute Punch with Pride workout takes you through eight rounds that alternate between high-intensity kickboxing, killer core movements and ass-kicking weighted exercises .
Around the Crown’s 10K’s annual Pride Run
Location: Common Market South End, 235 W Tremont Ave, Charlotte, NC 28203
When: 9 a.m. Saturday, June 22
Cost: Free
All paces are welcome at Around The Crown 10K’s annual free Pride run, which includes a tree-lined 5K around Dilworth. After your run, you’ll get a Truist Token good for $5 at Common Market for breakfast that morning. There will also be raffle giveaways from Brooks, Williams Subaru, and more.
Concord Official Pride Bar Crawl
Location: Multiple — you’ll find out with your RSVP
When: June 22, 4-11 p.m.
Cost: Free, but ticketed RSVP requested
Pubcrawls.com is hosting a Concord Pride Bar Crawl, with Pride-themed cocktails and food and drink specials. There’s a free afterparty, too.
Equality Pride Crawl
Location: Slate South End, 200 E Bland St Charlotte, NC 28203
When: June 22, 4-10 p.m.
Cost: $10
Dress up in Pride attire and get a themed wristband to start your pub crawl, which includes welcome treats, drink specials, swag and more.
Spare Time Pride Party
Location: Spare Time Huntersville, 6317 Statesville Rd, Huntersville, NC 28078
When: June 28, 9 p.m.-midnight
Cost: Free, but you must reserve space in advance.
Spare Time’s Pride Party for ages 18+ includes, bowling with lights, music and more. Shoe rental is included.
Charlotte Black Pride
Location: Multiple
When: July 13-21
Cost: Varies
Charlotte Black Pride’s 2024 celebration, themed “Pride on Purpose,” includes multiple events such as the Charlotte Black Pride/Art Pop Kiki Ball, the Charlotte Black Pride 2024 Pageant, a creators content conference and a cookout.
Charlotte Pride Festival and Parade
Location: Uptown Charlotte, with a VIP experience at Mint Museum Uptown, 500 S Tryon St, Charlotte, NC 28202
When: Aug. 17-18, from noon-8 p.m. on Saturday and noon-6 p.m. on Sunday
Cost: Free, but VIP passes starting at $115+ are available for ages 21+.
See the annual Charlotte Pride Parade and celebrate with a two-day festival that includes performances from Baby Tate, Bob the Drag Queen and Slayyyter. VIP tickets include food and beverages, swag, exclusive entertainment and meet-and-greets from main stage entertainers. This year, there will also be a gender-inclusive Charlotte Pride Drag Pageant.
Are we missing an event? Let us know at charlottefive@charlottefive.com.
This story was originally published May 31, 2024 at 5:30 AM.
