Pride Weekend in Aurora will feature more than just a parade downtown.
According to information from the Aurora Downtown group, the events for the weekend will begin Friday and run through Sunday, when the second annual Pride Parade is set for noon downtown.
Activities will begin Friday during Aurora Downtown’s monthly First Fridays event, which features art, music and more in downtown Aurora.
Pride-themed activities or art events on Friday will be at the Santori Public Library, The ArtBar at Two Brothers Roundhouse, Arcana Studios, Wyckwood House, Christian Science Reading Room, SciTech Hands on Museum and Aurora Fastprint.
The event at the Santori Public Library, 101 S. River St., is called “Proud Visions: Images from June 17, 2018 — Aurora’s Inaugural Pride Parade,” which will feature pieces by photographers Nathan Villotti, Robb Winder and Indivisible Aurora, as well as several snapshots submitted by members of the community. It will run from 6 to 9 p.m.
The ArtBar at Two Brothers Roundhouse, 205 N. Broadway, will feature “ArtBar: Drag Queens and Dragons,” an LGBT portrait show. It will run from 7 p.m. to midnight.
Arcana Studios, 5 1/2 W. Downer Place, with stage “Unapologetically Me: A Night of Music, Poetry and Comedy.” It is a pride variety show featuring music from touring artist Kevin Kaufman of the band Real Movement and indie acoustic artist Aly Jayne, poetry from Ferris James, and comedy from Renee Millette. It will go from 8 to 11 p.m.
Wyckwood House, 14 W. Downer Place, Suite 16, will be the home of the Aurora Downtown pride photo booth with photographer Jason Arthur from 6 to 8 p.m.
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Aurora Fastprint, 54 E. Galena Blvd., will have a customer appreciation and Aurora Pride open house with a photo booth and Wheatley Design pop-up shop to go from 3:30 to 8 p.m.
The Christian Science Reading Room, 34 S. Stolp Ave., will hold a program called “Celebrate Love” from 6 to 8 p.m.
On Saturday, Riverfront Playhouse at 11 S. Water St., will feature a hip hop, poetry, spoken word and storytelling event from 2 to 4 p.m. Admission is free.
Waubonsee Community College at 18 S River St. will hold “Stonewall: The First and Next 50,” a moderated panel discussion on the LGBTQ+ movement in the 50 years since the Stonewall Uprising and what the hopes are for the next 50 years. Admission is free for the event, which will go from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday.
Ballydoyle Irish Pub, 28 E. New York St., on Saturday will feature OUTspoken, the award-winning LGBTQ+ storytelling group out of Chicago, which will feature stories and comedy. The event, which is for adults, will go from 8 to 10 p.m. Admission is free.
The Aurora Pride Parade will cap the weekend. It will step off at noon at Broadway and Benton Street in downtown Aurora.