Life Drawing at the Darius
Saturday September 18th from 2:00 - 4:00 PM
Cost of the class will be 25$, so please bring proof of payment
As there will be a nude model, this event is only open to people 18+
Cash, Venmo, or PayPal
As part of BI Pride Weekend, The Darius Inn is hosting a Life Drawing Class. Please note that there will be a nude model, so we ask for mature participants only, and we request that all participants contribute to maintaining a safe space for our model.
We will provide basic drawing supplies (eg. pencils, charcoal, and paper), but please feel free to bring other art supplies with you. We will have chairs available, but not easels, so we suggest bringing a hard surface to draw on.
The class will last between 45 minutes and hour with two time slots available, when completing the registration form please specify if you would like to join the 2:00 PM or 3:00 PM session.
We ask that you wear a face mask indoors, due to COVID restrictions, and we will limit the capacity to 25 people.
Drag Cabaret at Tigerfish
Saturday September 18th from 10:00 PM - 1:00 AM
Tigerfish will be bringing back its wildly popular Drag Cabaret show in honor of Block Island Pride! Come see live Performances from some of the best Rhode Island drag entertainers in the industry- Gia Devaroux + Jealousy Jonz.
Our queens will host an evening of sultry performances with music provided by the island’s very own DJ Soundwaves.
Tickets will be sold through Tigerfish with a portion of sales going towards funding Block Pride for 2022.
To reserve a ticket please call Tigerfish and let us know how many people will come
401- 466- 2300
Liquid Dancefloor at Captain Nick’s
Friday, September 17th from 10:00 PM - 1:00 AM
Join us at Captain Nick’s Rock-N-Roll Bar for the debut of the Liquid Dance Floor- a queer party welcoming all people who love to dance.
Dress however you feel most comfortable, but we encourage you to push the boundaries of your gender expression and sexual orientation.
Expect to witness killer performances from queer Rhode Island drag queens Ninny Nothin & Daniel Duel with a bumping electronic dj set from local queer DJ Zoilarosa Z.
There will be a $10 cover charge at the door, so please bring cash.
Queer Nature Walk with Kim Gaffett
Sunday, September 19th from 2:00 - 4:00 PM
Poster Designed By Block Island School Student Sam Hester
Take a walk with Kim Gaffett (The Nature Conservancy's Naturalist on Block Island) from Andy's Way to Beane Point as we highlight some coastal examples of "Queer Biology." When we look to nature, we find a diverse spectrum of gender expressions and sexual behaviors, because nature is queer and being queer is natural! Who knows what cool stuff we'll discover when we are enjoying a good walk.
This event is free, but we ask that you RSVP so we can estimate the number of participants. We will be outside, so face masks will be optional. If we need to cancel or postpone the event, we will communicate with you via email.
Thank you for your interest, and please check out these websites to donate or for more information on Queer Block Island and The Nature Conservancy on Block Island.
Ocean View Foundation’s Rainbow Pride March
Saturday, September 18th at 12:00 PM
Poster Designed By Ocean View Foundation Volunteer Erika Simkins
What is a more perfect way to celebrate Block Island’s first pride than a Rainbow March through town! Starting at The Ocean View Pavilion Saturday, September 18th at 12:00 PM amongst the ruins of the magnificent Ocean View Hotel that once proudly watched over town.
Please dress in rainbow colors, bring a sign, and a speaker with your favorite “Queer Music”.
In 2017 the Ocean View Foundation natural history programs were transferred to The Nature Conservancy (TNC) as part of an endowed program. This program, at The Nature Conservancy, is called the OVF Naturalist Perch. All of the past Ocean View Foundation programs, led by Kim Gaffett, have now been incorporated into TNC's annual schedule of programs, and continue to be led by Kim Gaffett.
Erica Simkins is a 20 year old student who has spent every summer out on the island. Since 2009, Erica has helped out Kim Gaffet with various Oceanveiw events, the most prevalent being the Tuesday morning bird banding program. “The Oceanveiw has always been a place I felt free to be uniquely myself. Working up here I was able to interact with people from all walks of life that genuinely wanted to learn about everything the island had to offer. This pavilion is a place of self-reflection, observation, and growth, and it is amazing to see the work that has gone into keeping it maintained and welcoming. I’m so grateful to every single person that has put countless hours into landscaping, sanding, planning, and cleaning, and thanks to them my 9 year old self was able to find a place that allowed me to develop into who I am today.”
Stonewall riots, also called Stonewall uprising, series of violent confrontations that began in the early hours of June 28, 1969, between police and gay rights activists outside the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in the Greenwich Village section of New York City. As the riots progressed, an international gay rights movement was born (Amy Tikkanen, Encyclopedia Britannica)
One such well-known gathering place for young gay men, lesbians, and transgender people was the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, a dark, seedy, crowded bar, reportedly operating without a liquor license. In the early morning hours of Saturday, June 28, 1969, nine policemen entered the Stonewall Inn, arrested the employees for selling alcohol without a license, roughed up many of its patrons, cleared the bar, and—in accordance with a New York criminal statute that authorized the arrest of anyone not wearing at least three articles of gender-appropriate clothing—took several people into custody. It was the third such raid on Greenwich Village gay bars in a short period (Amy Tikkanen, Encyclopedia Britannica).
In 1969 the solicitation of homosexual relations was an illegal act in New York City (and indeed virtually all other urban centres). Gay bars were places of refuge where gay men and lesbians and other individuals who were considered sexually suspect could socialize in relative safety from public harassment. Many of those bars were, however, subject to regular police harassment.” (Amy Tikkanen, Encyclopedia Britannica)
Stonewall soon became a symbol of resistance to social and political discrimination that would inspire solidarity among homosexual groups for decades. Although the Stonewall riots cannot be said to have initiated the gay rights movement as such, it did serve as a catalyst for a new generation of political activism. Older groups such as the Mattachine Society, which was founded in southern California as a discussion group for gay men and had flourished in the 1950s, soon made way for more radical groups such as the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) and the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA). In addition to launching numerous public demonstrations to protest the lack of civil rights for gay individuals, these organizations often resorted to such tactics as public confrontations with political officials and the disruption of public meetings to challenge and to change the mores of the times. Acceptance and respect from the establishment were no longer being humbly requested but angrily and righteously demanded. The broad-based radical activism of many gay men and lesbians in the 1970s eventually set into motion a new, nondiscriminatory trend in government policies and helped educate society regarding this significant minority (Amy Tikkanen, Encyclopedia Britannica).
Queer Tarot and Wild Bill Jazz Band at Persephone’s Kitchen
Thursday, September 16th from 6:00-9:00 PM
Poster Designed By Queer Block Island’s Austin Morin
Queer Tarot is back and ready for all the Block Island Witches arriving by “broom” rather than “boat”. During a reading a person can expect to chat about sexuality, gender, art, relationships, emotions, and the unknown. The Dodge Night Market provides islanders and tourists with family friendly evening activities hosted by Dodge Street Businesses.
Austin Morin started reading tarot at Persephone’s Kitchen during the Dodge Night Markets on Thursday Nights, as a fundraiser for Block Island Pride. In an intimate nook of the Cafe’s dining space Morin has pulled cards in his leather BDSM Harness and bee keeping uniform for hundreds of people seeking guidance in some area of their lives. Morin believes in the super natural power of guided conversations that encourage people to contemplate their soul and look at situations with a bird’s eye view. Through Queer Tarot Morin has helped nearly 20 people come out as gay or gender-non-conforming.
Soundwaves’ Film Screening of Pride
Thursday, September 16th from 6:00-9:00 PM (weather permitting)
Poster Designed By Queer Block Island’s Austin Morin
It’s the summer of 1984, Margaret Thatcher is in power and the National Union of Mineworkers is on strike, prompting a London-based group of gay and lesbian activists to raise money to support the strikers’ families. Initially rebuffed by the Union, the group identifies a tiny mining village in Wales and sets off to make their donation in person. As the strike drags on, the two groups discover that standing together makes for the strongest union of all (IMDb, 2014).
Soundwaves has been dedicated to showing Block Island Films from the State Beach Pavilion for the past few years screening free family friendly films every Tuesday during the Summer.
This film will be provided at no cost, but please consider donating to Soundwaves