Twelve years of Pride! China's biggest community celebration of LGBTQ is back again for 2020, a little delayed because of the truly hellacious year we've been having so far, but just as determined to get together and put on the annual spread of seminars, gathering and paaaarties, taking place between Saturday, June 13 and Sunday, June 21. This year's theme is "Raise the Pride," reflecting ShanghaiPRIDE's commitment to asserting one's identity and "daring to let our true colors fly free." Couple important things to note: due to COVID-19, the ShanghaiPRIDE Film Festival and Pride Art have been postponed, and there will be some changes to scheduling and procedure at a few other events to make sure everyone stays safe. Also, this year, the location of several of these events will only be shared to those who register, so make sure you RSVP to the events you want to attend as soon as possible. Okay, PSA out of the way. Here's the schedule for 2020. Flags up!

Saturday, June 13

ShanghaiPRIDE kicks off first thing on Saturday morning, and it's a pretty packed day, starting with the first ever ShanghaiPRIDE Job Fair. Recognizing that PRIDE is not limited to personal life, this is an opportunity for LGBTQ individuals and allies to meet face-to-face with inclusive businesses, network and hopefully land gainful, fulfilling employment at a company that respects and encourages diversity. That's followed by the annual Pride Open Day, where the many many groups and communities that support LGBTQ all over China get to put their best foot forward. Over 30 communities from Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hubei, Shaanxi, Guizhou and more, focusinng on everything from workplace inclusion to transgender community services, academia, mental health support, health support, LGBTQ advocacy, and media inclusion. Throughout the day there will also be Workplace Diversity & Inclusion Forums, which aim to educate companies on how (and why!) to create more inclusive work environments. From 1-3pm there'll be an Inclusive Academia Forum, featuring teachers and counsellors discussing ways to improve curriculums, provide social-emotional support and ways to reduce the astonishingly high rates of bullying that queer youth experience. The Mental Health Forum features therapists trained to help process and understand LGBTQ experience, discussing accessibility to psychological care and internal and external acceptance. The Rainbow Marriage Forum brings together experts, lawyers and the community itself to address the legal needs and living situations of same-sex couples in China, and discusses ways to advocate for marriage with legal, social and community approaches.

Sunday, June 14

Sunday sees the Pride Run, where four separate teams of runners start near Nanjing Xi Lu and Maoming Bei Lu and arrive together at the Pride Run's final destination. There are two routes in the morning, another two in the late afternoon. Spots have been reduced this year due to the pandemic. That ends with the Rainbow Brunch at Henkes, which gets packed, boisterous and fully booked almost immediately, so make sure to register ASAP.

Thursday, June 18

The Ladies’ Party, ShanghaiPRIDE’s annual celebration for queer women, is currently scheduled for Thursday. Men are allowed in, but only after midnight. Unless you're in drag, in which case you're always welcome.

Saturday, June 20

The annual Pink Party goes down on Saturday, June 20. People show up for the inclusive vibe, the raffle prizes and the partying. Honestly, perhaps the bravest thing about PRIDE is that they schedule the full-on party blowout for the night before the full day of talks that marks the finale of PRIDE.

Sunday, June 21

PRIDE draws to a close on Sunday, June 21, with Pride Talk, an intimate community event at M on the Bund's Glam. Speakers from the LGBTQ community and allies get together to share. This year's speakers include: a broadcast journalist speaking about managing their life and role as a public figure; an ally sharing what allyship means; an expat comparing their experiences coming out to a conservative family in the Philippines and their "out" life in Shanghai; a gender non-binary worker at a transgender center in Beijing; and others, sharing their "rainbow stories." This is always an emotional event, and it gets booked out very quickly.

Other Stuff With Pride!

There's more happening, some explicitly ShanghaiPRIDE related, some tangentially related, some unrelated but happening same time anyway! Here's some: A bunch of brands have released a bunch of rainbow-colored products to mark Pride month, from Calvins and Abercrombie to Mickey Ears and Apple watches. Hey, visibility matters! ShanghaiPRIDE might only go for a week and two weekends, but it's Pride month. ShanghaiPRIDE and Liquid Laundry have a month-long special for all ladies every Wednesday: say "I'm with her" to the staff and get buy-one-get-one-free on all beer and cocktails. Six LGBTQ bars are doing a rainbow colored shot each: visit Rice Bar, Moon Cafe & Bar, Asia Blue or HUNT anytime in the month of June, post about it on your social media, then go to another bar, show the staff and get a color shot specific to that bar. Snap, post, repeat, until you have the entire rainbow. What happens then? You do it again, of course. Exemplary queer bar Roxie is putting on a vodka-fueled No Labels Party on Saturday June 13 with DJ Michelle Grant, pole performers and shots of Absolut. 50rmb entrance to that! *** For more information about ShanghaiPRIDE 2020, follow their WeChat account: 上海骄傲节Shanghai-PRIDE.