Parties to be Proud Of

8 Austin Pride events fabulously supporting the local community

Drag queen Moxie performs at ATX Trans Pride in 2024.

Austin Pride Month has just begun, and locals are is ready to continue celebrating LGBTQIA+ communities. Among the rainbow-colored flags and cocktails, it may be difficult to sort through which events truly align with what Pride Month stands for.

But there are plenty of happenings around Austin that directly give back, whether it’s by supporting LGBTQIA+ creatives, performers, and businesses, or providing a safe and inclusive space to celebrate. From music festivals to community events and drag shows by beloved performers, there is something for all ages in this roundup.

Here are 8 Pride Month events around Austin that celebrate and support the LGBTQIA+ community.

Pride & Seek at ColdTowne Theater
1700 E. 2nd St., remaining shows August 9-29
For a comedic take on Pride, head over to ColdTowne Theater for Pride & Seek. The hour-long improv performance directed by Liz Brenner and Tess Hermes depicts a queer couple’s effort to reconnect during a Pride Festival where nothing goes according to plan. Showings are every Saturday of August, along with additional Friday shows during Pride Week. Tickets ($13.95) available at coldtownetheater.com.

Big Gay Austin Pride Bazaar at Rain
217 W. 4th St., Sunday, August 17
For folks who want to support local queer businesses and creatives, the Big Gay Austin Pride Bazaar is a must. There’s a special appearance from Plane Jane of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 16 fame. Little Gay Shop, Miss Barkley's Candles, Spooned by Layne, and Native Nomadic will be among the vendors. The bazaar is free and open to the public. RSVP on Facebook.

Pride & Joy: Annual LGBTQ+ Community Art Celebration
11402 Joy St. (Community Arts Therapy), Saturday, August 23
All ages can enjoy Pride during this community art celebration, fostering themes of belonging and identity. The events offer healing-centered activities such as mosaic-making, jewelry-making, and screen printing. Drag queen Ritzy Bitz will have a glam station, while activists and community leaders will share resources and opportunities to stay connected with the Austin LGBTQIA+ community. The event kicks off at noon and it’s free to attend. RSVP on Eventbrite.

Austin Pride Parade & Festival at Fiesta Gardens
2101 Jesse E. Segovia St., Saturday, August 23
With the theme “Silence = Death," this year’s parade serves as a poignant reminder that Pride is more than just a celebration. Austin Pride announced it’s going back to its roots this year by turning up its activism, featuring only local entertainment, and offering free entry to the festival. Festival gates open at 11 am and the parade starts at 8 pm; carpooling or taking public transportation is encouraged. Find more information at austinpride.org.

Legends of the Night Drag Show at Highland Lounge
404 Colorado St., Saturday, August 23
Enjoy an iconic drag show while supporting LGBTQIA+ Texans. Legends of the Night will be hosted by local drag queen Vylette Ward, featuring Sasha Nicole, Nadine Hughes, Juliana Ross, and Hellena Handbasket. The show starts right after the Pride parade, and all proceeds go to Unite the Fight Austin, which directly supports Kind Clinic and OutYouth, among others. Tickets are not yet available, but keep an eye on Highland Lounge's social media for when they go on sale.

ATX Trans Pride at Cheer Up Charlie's
900 Red River St., Saturday, August 23
ATX Trans Pride is back for a second celebration at beloved queer club Cheer Up Charlie’s with music, featured speakers, comedy, local vendors, and drag performances. The incredibly fun lineup of trans artists includes DJ Amarji King, Texas-based Ed West, Lavender Thug, and many more. The festivities start at 4 pm, and it’s free to attend. RSVP at atxtranspride.com

Shuffle It Up at the Austin Motel
1220 S. Congress Ave., Thursday, August 28
The Austin Motel and Local Queer, an Austin-based, trans-founded organization, have come together for a fun and one-of-a-kind Pride mixer. Shuffle It Up is the chance to match and mingle with other queer folk in Austin, whether looking for new friends, community, or a shot at love. There will be group activities to break the ice, fun games, and drink specials from Rocky’s Bar. RSVP at bunkhousehotels.com.

Now or Never. Louder Together at the 29th Street Ballroom
2906 Fruth St., Sunday, August 31
This music festival-style event by Now or Never will have two stages featuring Austin and Texan musicians like Parker Woodland, Booher, Stella & The Very Messed, and many more. Now or Never is an Austin grassroots organization that brings artists from all over the country together to support and amplify the LGBTQIA+ community. The funds raised will go toward Equality Texas. This is an all-ages matinee show, tickets are ($29) are available at 29thstreetballroom.com.

pride lgbtqia+parties bars nightlife festivals concerts live music

Movie Review

Soft horror film Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is almost truly scary

Blumhouse

Five Nights at Freddy's 2

Blumhouse Productions first made their name with the Paranormal Activity series, establishing themselves as a leader in the horror genre thanks to their relatively cheap yet effective movies. In recent years, they’ve added on “soft” horror films like M3GAN and Five Nights at Freddy’s to draw in a younger audience, with both films becoming so successful that each was quickly given a sequel.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 finds Mike (Josh Hutcherson) and his sister Abby (Piper Rubio) still recovering from the events of the first film, with Abby particularly missing her “friends.” Those friends just so happen to be the souls of murdered children who inhabit animatronic characters at the long-defunct Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, children who were abducted and killed by William Afton (Matthew Lillard).

A new threat emerges at another Freddy Fazbear’s location in the form of Charlotte, another murdered child who inhabits a creepy large marionette. Mike, distracted by a possible romance with Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail), fails to keep track of Abby, who makes her way to the old pizzeria and inadvertently unleashes Charlotte and her minions on the surrounding town.

Directed by Emma Tammi and written by Scott Cawthon (who also created the video game on which the series is based), the film tries to mix together goofy elements with intense scenes. One particular sequence, in which the security guard for Freddy Fazbear’s lets a group of ghost hunters onto the property, toes the line between soft and hard horror. That and a few others show the potential that the filmmakers had if they had stuck to their guns.

Unfortunately, more often than not, they either soft-pedal things that would normally be horrific, or can’t figure out how to properly stage scenes. The sight of animatronic robots wreaking havoc is one that is simultaneously frightening and laughable, and the filmmakers never seem to find the right balance in tone. Every step in the direction of making a truly scary horror film is undercut by another in which the robots fail to live up to their promise.

It doesn’t help that Cawthon gives the cast some extremely wooden dialogue, lines that none of the actors can elevate. What may work in a video game format comes off as stilted when said by actors in a live-action film. The story also loses momentum quickly after the first half hour or so, with Cawthon seemingly content to just have characters move from place to place with no sense of connection between any of the scenes.

Hutcherson (The Hunger Games series), after being the true lead of the first film, is given very little to do in this film, and his effort is equal to his character’s arc. The same goes for Lail, whose character seems to be shoehorned into the story. Rubio is called upon to carry the load for a lot of the movie, and the teenager is not quite up to the task. A brief appearance by Skeet Ulrich seems to be a blatant appeal to Scream fans, but he and Lillard only underscore how limited this film is compared to that franchise.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is better than the first film, but not by much. The filmmakers do a decent job of making the new marionette character into a great villain, but they fail to capitalize on its inherent creepiness. Instead, they fall back on less effective elements, ensuring that the film will be forgettable for anyone other than hardcore Freddy fans.

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Five Nights at Freddy's 2 opens in theaters on December 5.

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Movie Review

Soft horror film Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is almost truly scary