Hello, Darlings! Spring is here, which means sitting under blooming trees pretending you have time to read.

If you need help picking the book, the 14th Annual Rainbow Book Fair is back Saturday, 5/9 at The LGBT Community Center. Three lucky winners will win free books from three of the over 100 queer authors in attendence.

JUST ANNOUNCED

• The iconic queer Broadway musical La Cage aux Folles just announced a limited two-week run at City Center Encores in June, with Billy Porter and Wayne Brady leading a sharp, all-Black cast.

• Tickets just dropped for a special screening of the film Small Town Gay Bar on Monday, 6/8 at the Tribeca Film Festival, hosted by Peaches Christ.

• Jewish Drag Icons: Then & Now takes over the 14th Street Y on Wednesday, 6/24 with a rare, lineage-driven look at a century of Jewish drag, from underground cabaret to modern Pride stages.

• The PEN America World Voices Festival runs Wednesday, 4/30 through Saturday, 5/3, turning NYC into a global salon featuring writers, artists, and cultural thinkers. This annual celebration of books has been happening in NYC for over two decades.

• The Glam Vamps, a NYC-based drag and burlesque collective, announced a performance at Stonewall Inn with Queer Icons on Thursday, 5/14. This show celebrates legendary figures in queer history and will feature Kerry Fey, SugaTush, Gendy Neutch, and special guests.

QUEER CRAFT NIGHTS

Who doesn’t love craft night? You show up, make something imperfect, and end up talking to people you wouldn’t meet otherwise. In queer spaces, that turns into actual community fast. A few good ones coming up this month if you want in.

• 5/03 - STITCHIN N BITCHIN @ CHERRY ON TOP

• 5/05 - MAKE IT WITH BRINI @ CLUB CUMMING (FREE)

• 5/06 - TRANS MASC COLLAGE & CRAFT NIGHT @ HAPPYFUN HIDEAWAY

• 5/09 - QUEER CRAFT CLUB @ CLEO’S (FREE)

• 5/12 - QUEER CRAFT NIGHT @ COIL & CORD

THIS WEEK

LOCALS ONLY

• Julius’ just marked 60 years since the Sip-In, the landmark protest that predated Stonewall. Nearly six decades later, the oldest gay bar in NYC is still serving drinks where queer history was made.

• Did you know that one of New York’s great queer institutions is hidden in a Brooklyn brownstone? Lesbian Herstory Archives houses the world’s largest collection of lesbian history, built not by a university but by a community determined to preserve itself. It’s part archive, part time capsule, and one of the city’s lesser-known cultural treasures.

WIN STUFF

FEATURED