Pride St. Louis and The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis have entered into a strategic partnership that provides much needed food supplies to the St. Louis LGBTQIA community. This agreement brings together two nonprofit organizations that serve their respective communities with programs and events that empowers and educates its members. Due to the Covid-19…
Letter from the Editor: Chris Andoe
The roar is seared in her memory. Writer Elizabeth Van Winkle recalls waiting for her first Pride Parade to start and not knowing what to expect — and then the Dykes on Bikes revved their engines. Van Winkle digs all the way back to the 1940s while researching the history of motorcyclists in our community,…
Saint of the Streets: Dr. Punch saves St. Louis
It’s basically impossible to talk about public health in St. Louis right now without mentioning Dr. LJ Punch. The genderqueer genius has their hands in all the region’s most pressing issues, slicing through red tape and getting it done with brilliance, warmth, humor and grace. After years as a trauma surgeon in Baltimore and St.…
Makeover Session: Just John rolls the dice with a $100k renovation
Even before the coronavirus pandemic rewrote the rules governing public gatherings, many believed online dating apps and the general mainstreaming of queer culture had made gay bars a lot less important than they once were. Jeromy Ruot, co-owner of Just John, disagrees. “As long as there are Republicans in charge of Missouri who are trying…
Just John’s Joe Hedley is there for it — all of it
If Joe Hedley is any indication, seventy-five doesn’t look like it used to. The day after his big birthday, which was July 26, Hedley was surprised when he went to work and was greeted by flowers, cake, friends and co-workers. “It was great fun,” Hedley says. But he’s not one to sit still for long,…
Biker Clubs and Queer History: Stories of Rebel Queers in St. Louis
Picture it: St. Louis, 2003. You’re a young queer person from southern Illinois, in the big city for your first-ever Pride parade. You’re scared shitless, horny as hell and trying to look cool. You’ve managed to score prime real estate on the parade route because in your nervousness you accidentally showed up two hours early.…
From Seminary to Coven: The Journey of Brother Zeeke
“I like these crackers,” said my roommate Zeeke Harris, 36, while happily munching on a multigrain wafer in the kitchen. “I give them as an offering to the spirits I work with. Ancient Greeks used to offer the first grains of the harvest.” Living with a witch is interesting. At 25, Zeeke left Dallas Theological…
PrideSTL’s Entertainment Line Up for Virtual PrideFest 2020
Pride St. Louis is excited to announce the entertainment lineup for Virtual PrideFest 2020. This first-of-its-kind STL Pride event will feature a wonderful mixture of national recording artists as well as regional and local entertainers. Many national recording artists will headline the festival, including Ava Max, Betty Who, Kim Petras, R&B sister duo Chloe X…
The Influencers: 2020
Our editorial team assembled this list of influencers in January, before COVID-19, the subsequent financial collapse, and well before the seismic shift in the discussion on policing and race spurred by the murder of George Floyd. The world is a very different place than it was six months ago. We are proud to say that…
Mark Moore: Socializer with a Cause
“Taking the time to smile at someone and say hello can change them. Doing something this simple can sometimes make or break a life,” says Mark Moore, whose profile has been rising in the LGBT+ community since 2011. Moore speaks with positivity and high energy during our conversation. We talk about his roles in the…