Hello! I am back at it, once again, gay people! This past week was a doozy for me! I worked a bunch in drag, but I did make some time to celebrate my best friend’s birthday, and that was a delight! I hope you all had a lovely, lovely time this past week, but we are back together via this newsletter, and we have some amazing stuff to talk about! Market Days is coming up, so we’re chatting with Lucy Stoole about her upcoming event, RuPaul is coming back to Chicago, Lollapalooza approaches, and we’re gonna talk about all of it!

Seatgeek Stadium welcomes North Coast Music Festival 2026 this September! Bass, house, hard dance, and way more music will shake Bridgeview to its core! You can join in on the fun with a 30-minute drive outside Chicago and by entering our giveaway for 2 free 3-day VIP tickets to rock out!

JUST ANNOUNCED

• One of Chi’s favorites, Lezbian Minnelli, is bringing you All Day Gay: Lez Out July on July 25th at The Hideout! There’s no better way to celebrate being gay than by doing it all damn day, so grab your gay flags and your tickets too!

• Drag Race’s dynamic duo are back to celebrate the yuletide with The Jinkx and Dela Holiday Show! This winter, expect comedic Christmas stories, twists and turns, but most of all, a good time! You can enter a giveaway to feel the Christmas spirit with two free tickets!*

• The Andersonville Sidewalk Sale is here again! This is the perfect time to shop your favorite stores, discover new ones, and enjoy the amazing pop-ups along Clark street! Sales galore and all participating places coming at you!*

• Tickets go on sale July 17th for the return of RuPaul at Radius! The queen of drag returns to Chicago, October 3rd, for another sickening DJ set! You’re not gonna want to miss this! Sissy that walk and get those tickets!

• London’s superstar gives us Lily Allen: West End Girl this October, right here, in Chicago. Don’t miss the British pop sensation as she sings her heart out and gives us all she has. You can get the London look and tickets right now!

LUCY STOOLE AND LADYBEAR

Lucy Stoole is a prominent Black, non-binary, drag performer, nightlife producer and activist based in Chicago. Known as “Chicago’s Black Bearded Beauty” and “The Mother of Chicago,” she’e been a fixture in Chicago nightlife for over a decade, and formerly served as the program manager at Berlin Nightclub. She’s coming back to personally producing a nightlife event, outside of her weekly, 10-year-long tenure as one of Queen!’s resident hosts. Her new event debuts on August 8th at smartbar and its called LADYBEAR. I recently chatted with Lucy about the event, and this is what she had to say!

Lucy’s work with LADYBEAR and the Chicago nightlife scene at large is brilliant! You can check out Lucy’s new party on August 8th at smartbar!

THIS WEEKEND

LOCALS ONLY

• The 23rd Annual Disability Pride Parade is coming July 25th! The parade will happen in the loop and conclude with a celebration at Daley Plaza for their “Game On” theme! It is FREE, so check out all the information right here!

• Like every Sunday, Queen! is back this week with special guest host, Spjörk! The theme is “Yellow Gorgeous,” so rummage through your closet for anything dandelion, gold, or canary, get your tickets and Queen! out!

• Tomorrow, July 17th, you can make your way to Whiskey Girl Tavern to watch Chicago’s WNBA team, Chicago Sky play their next game! There’s no cover, so just be there by 6:30, beer in hand, for a good time!

• The Volleywood Beach Volleyball Tournament is coming July 18th! See the premiere beach volleyball event of the year crossover with a music festival! Here is where you can rock out and find out about the festival, and you can find the Volleyball details right here!

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