Los Angeles Pride – Do you enjoy eye candy? Well, there’s no other place on earth that’s got more of that (trust me, your eyes will ache!) than West Hollywood, popularly known as WeHo, where more than 375,000 queers gather each year to celebrate Pride Christopher Street West, June 6-8. This year’s agenda, both festive and political, is “Love, Equality, and PRIDE!” Established in 1970, Los Angeles LGBT Pride in West Hollywood marks its 38th year. So these Southern Californian queers really know how to celebrate at their two-day street festival, parade, and long list of parties and special events. For information, visit www.lapride.org

San Francisco Pride – In the world’s gay capital city, San Francisco queers know how to celebrate but they also make sure that the political message is secured–and expressed loud, clear and spread wide. This year’s pride theme is “Living San Francisco Values” (won’t Anna Madrigal of Tales of the City be pleased, author Armistead Maupin, too!). Everything in the Bay City for Pride is “United by Pride, Bound for Equality” as the San Francisco LGBT Pride celebration commences June 28 and 29. When the organizers advertise that they’re ready to “Welcome the World,” they’re not kidding. June Pride seems–literally–to overtake the entire city, It’s just one amazing event that only San Francisco can ever offer! For information, visit www.sfpride.org

Denver Pride – How about heading out to the Centennial State?  PRIDEfest Denver 2008 is all about Fun, Free and Fabulous this year, June 21 and 22. Presented by Coors (who else as the corporation is Colorado-based?), the partying begins with lesbian kick-ass Sophie B. Hawkins performing on June 21, followed by former Weathergirls’ Martha Wash on June 22. Of course, the organizers have organized the annual Sunday Parade and Festival at Denver’s Civic Center Park. PRIDEfest’s Grand Marshall will be Donna Rose leading the largest event of its kind in Colorado. All events are being produced by The Center. For information, visit www.pridefestdenver.org

Gay Disney – It’s all about “Patriotic Pride” at Gay Days Orlando 2008, Florida, June 3-9. You can enjoy a summer fling at Walt Disney World, pridewise, in this resort fantasy land. Organizers boast that “everything you need is in one spot” with special “pride” offers at official host hotels, travel expos, pool parties, party tickets, cruise reservations and attraction tickets. For lesbians, there’s a full schedule of special events at Girls GayDays, too! There’s plenty of local Florida queers to meet in addition to others from across the country who assemble in sunny, playful Orlando! For information, visit www.gaydays.com

Atlanta Pride – Pride lives on beyond June!  You can easily head south and do that “Southern Twang.”  During Fourth of July Weekend, Atlanta Pride Celebration will take place, July 4, 5 and 6. Queers in this sophisticated but still a city overflowing with Southern hospitality (I’m happy that hasn’t diminished as Atlanta has developed into an urban metropolis) gather, in the hundreds of thousands, at the Atlanta Civic Center. Though the Atlanta queer community enjoys partying, their message for 2008 is “Your Vote, Your Rights, Your Future.”  Lead sponsors are Coca Cola (their world headquarters are located in Atlanta), Bud Light, Delta (also Atlanta-headquartered), Smirnoff and Instinct Magazine. For information, visit www.atlantapride.org

The Lambda Literary Foundation, purveyors of all things LGBT literary, will be hosting the 20th Annual Lambda Literary Awards, beginning at 6 p. m., May 29, at West Hollywood’s famed Silver Screen Theater, Pacific Design Center, 8687 Melrose Ave., in the heart of the queerest neighborhood in Los Angeles. Presented by LLF’s executive director Charles Flowers, this year’s event will feature Michael Corbett as Master of Ceremonies with the who’s who of the nation’s current LGBT literary world as Award Guest Presenters, including Calpernia Addams, Denise Penn, Bernard Cooper, Felice Picano, Lillian Faderman, Anne Stockwell, Alice Y. Hom, Michelle Tea, Michael Nava, Linda Villarosa, Torie Osborn and Patricia Nell Warren. Special Guest Performances will be presented by the celeberated Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, Tim Miller, and the Gay Mafia, directed by Richard Hochberg and produced by Karen Ocamb. The evening’s event schedule will be: 6:00 p. m., Gala Buffet Reception, 7:30 p. m., LLF Awards Ceremony and 9:30 p. m., Dessert Reception. The one-of-a-kind national LGBT annual event is not to be missed, according to Flowers. “It’s the one time each year that our LGBT voices gather together from all over the country to network, recognize and honor the best creative writers in our community from the publishing industry,” he said. Tickets costs $150 per person, with all proceeds from the event to benefit LLF, a non-profit national organization. For information, visit www.lambdalit.org

Capital Pride – There’s a definite reason why it’s titled Capital Pride but the annual LGBT festival and parade, not to mention the untold parties hosted throughout Washington, D. C., over the period, June 6-15, attests to the fact that we’re “queer and proud of it” in the nation’s capital city. Marking its 33rd year, Capital Pride is celebrating DC Metro Area LGBT Community and its Friends and Allies with observance of this year’s theme of “History. Vision. Legacy.” Revellers abound at the fourth largest gay and lesbian pride parade and festival in the country (estimated attendance of more than 200,000 people) is completely run by volunteers, funded by corporate and individual donations, and overseen by the Whitman-Walker Clinic. Beyond the receptions, special events and dance parties, the week-long calendar of events also focuses on educational, civic and social events for the entire queer community. Highlights of the weekend annually includes a landmark parade on June 14 (excuse the expression, but it seems that all of Washington “comes out” on this weekend, populating both sides of the street, along the parade route) and the extensive festival on June 15 also features a pageant, drag contests, film screenings, panel discussions and a full range of parties. Organizers said that this year’s pride events will be focusing on issues like same-sex marriage, hate crimes, HIV/AIDS, queer youth, women’s issues and other health concerns, and serving openly in the military. For information, visit www.capitalpride.org

Boston Pride – Well, it’s not surprising that you have to make choices about what cities across the country you’re going to celebrate pride (and party hard, too!) since there’s only four weeks in the month of June. This year, Boston Pride Week is the exact same dates as Washington, D. C., June 6-15. Their theme is “Sustaining our Community, Conversing our World.” Their lineup includes Celebrity Marshal Leslie Jordan, Honorary Marshal Captain Ciara Durkin and Grand Marshal Tim McFeeley. Jordan is an actor known for his memorable roles in everything from the celebrated queer feature films, “Sordid Lives,” to his memorable role in the popular queer television sitcom, “Will & Grace.” Durkin is a community activist from the US Army Reserve. Lawyer McFeeley is a political community activist who founded the Boston LG Political Alliance and Baystate Democrats. During the week leading up to the annual pride parade and block party, there are a number of different types of events. The weekend is the finale of the pride events with the annual pride parade, at Copley Square at noon, and the annual pride festival, at Boston Common at noon, on June 14. The annual Boston Pride Block Party at Stuart St. between Arlington and Berkeley St., 2 to 9 p. m., and the crowds show up! The finale to everything pridewise is the annual pride closing party with Junior Vasquez, 9 p. m. to 2 a. m., on June 15. (Queer Bostonians can party like it’s the last day on earth!) For more information, visit www.bostonpride.org

Rhode Island Pride – Who could have predicted that the quieter (almost forgotten) City of Providence, Rhode Island, would have created such a non-stop party celebration for PrideFest 2008? “Many Faces, One Voice” is the theme of this year’s pride celebrations at the second largest pride celebration in New England (after Boston), the festivities begin at noon with the RI PrideFest at Station Park at the State House, across from the Providence Place Mall. The outdoor festival will feature live entertainment from recording artists, a LGBT marketplace, a business exposition, a beer and wine garden, an arts and crafts show and sale, a kids’ pride zone and community organizations information booths. Unique to Providence (or maybe most other points of the nation’s map), organizers boasts hosting New England’s only night time pride parade beginning at 8 p. m. on June 21 with headliner, 1980’s Pop Diva, starring Tiffany, at the Bank of America City Center, Burnside Park, across from the Biltmore Hotel and Providence City Hall.. Rhode Island Visitors Packets are available for travel, lodging, sightseeing and admission to special pride events. All events are organized by the Diversity of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community of Rhode Island and Southern New England. For information, visit www.prideri.com

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Philly Pride – Celebrate pride in your own backyard on June 8 with Philadelphia’s Annual Pride Parade and Festival. March around the gayborhood and down market street to Penn’s landing for an amazing festival. With floats and marchers from all of your favorite locals, plus, of course, PhillyGayCalendar marching in the Parade, so make sure you say hi! For information, visit phillypride.org