Pride Month marks the one year anniversary of the unofficial formation of Denver’s first ever Queer Cultural District. Dubbed Lavender Hill, the name is a nod to the shade of purple’s complicated place in LGBTQ+ history. The district’s loose boundaries blanket the Capitol Hill, North Cap Hill, City Park West, and Cheesman Park neighborhoods, plus parts of Five Points and Baker, to incorporate sites important to the city’s queer history.
With hopes of earning official city recognition in coming years, the district was created to centralize and support local queer businesses and LGBTQ+ resources. In fact, the route for Denver’s annual Pride Parade cuts right through the center of it. So while you’re out celebrating Pride this month, here is just a taste of what Lavender Hill has to offer.
🏳️🌈 A Little History
Located just on the border of the North Cap Hill and CBD neighborhoods, the American Museum of Western Art is hosting a series of art discussions all month long focused on paintings that feature themes of sexuality and gender in the American West.
🕺 Drinks and Dancing
Find fun and camaraderie at some of Denver’s oldest and most popular queer clubs and gay bars including Blush & Blu, one of the country’s last remaining lesbian bars, X Bar, Denver’s hottest LGBTQ+ nightclub, and Charlie’s, Colfax’s longstanding “big, gay cowboy bar.”
The ~loose~ boundaries of Lavender Hill. (Lavender Hill Denver)
💖 Community and Support
At the heart of Lavender Hill, both physically and metaphorically, is The Center on Colfax. As Denver’s biggest provider of LGBTQ+ services, programs, and cultural events you’ll find everything here from HIV/STI screenings and peer support to local queer history preservation and community celebrations.
🍔 Dinner and a Show
Catch Denver’s best queens and divas at Hamburger Mary’s, a North Cap Hill burger joint known for its drag performances nearly every night of the week, or drag brunch at Crazy Horse, a queer reinvention of a classic Colfax staple. Sidle up for a brew and a WNBA game on the big screen at Tight End, Denver’s first and only gay sports bar.
👉 Psst! Looking for some more Pride fun this month? Check out this list from Visit Denver, featuring everything from restaurant specials and art exhibits to bar crawls and speed dating. Happy Pride! 🏳️🌈
