A long list of third spaces and events for Tucson’s queer community

In January, Tucson Pride canceled its annual pride festival and shuttered the organization entirely. Tucsonans quickly flooded comment sections to express their sadness and frustration.

While we’re now missing Tucson Pride’s large-scale pride festival, several groups have gathered to discuss the recreation of one. Even beyond the Tucson Pride organization, Tucson is lucky to be home to many third spaces and events for the queer community. Think craft nights, live shows, nature outings and more listed here. Let me know if I missed any!

Bonus entry before we get started: Bisbee Pride, which has an annual parade and festival.

Crafting, books, markets and more social events

• Bawker Bawker — Find monthly queer speed dating and drag queen bingo at Tucson’s cider house.
• Building Out Safer Spaces — Hands-on skills workshops where you can learn to use drills, saws and hand tools, plus building and renovation days in collaboration with LGBTQIA+ nonprofits.
• Celestia Collective — Queer witchy third space that’s home to art, tattoos, piercings and community events including trans coffee hours, magickal meetups, craft nights and more. 
• Community Craft Night — Craft nights at Cheba Hut hosted by local artist SoGayCrochet.
• Floozy Flea — Market that prioritizes BIPOC, queer, disabled and women-owned businesses.
• Fluxx Productions — Nonprofit with a goal to foster a vibrant queer cultural scene through advocacy and events like social gatherings, yoga, game nights and more. Also find programs like a name change clinic and an intergenerational gender performance workshop. 
• G3 — Known as Tucson’s gay happy hour with monthly meetups at Playground Bar & Lounge. 
• Homeward Books — Worker-owned bookstore with a slew of community events including drag, a queer clothing swap, sewing circles and more.
• La Suprema Works — Queer-owned co-working and events space.
• LGBTQ+2S Resource Center — Queer resource center at the University of Arizona that includes drop-in hours, crafting, educational chats and more.
• LGBT Chamber of Commerce — A space for networking and building communities with monthly breakfasts.
• LGBTQ+ Institute — Research and programming unit at the University of Arizona with events like a book release and film screening, educational presentations, poetry workshops and more.
• Queer Bazaar — Twice a year, Tucson Hop Shop hosts a market filled with queer vendors selling jewelry, apparel and other art.
• Queerdos — Witchy shop Monsoon Mystics hosts this market annually to celebrate queer makers.
• Queer + Femme Tucson — Events by and for the queer and femme community, including craft nights, karaoke and other happenings.
• Queer Hearth — Community events like a queer clothing exchange, game nights and crafting. 
• Rainbow Reads Book Club — Queer reading circle hosted by the Pima County Public Library that discusses books by and about the LGBTQIA+ community.
• Romero House Potters — Open studio on the first Sunday of the month for women, femme, trans and non-binary people.
• Sonoran Sapphics — Third space currently on pause! Past events include crafting — like cake decorating and DIY patches — and book swaps. 
• Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation — LGBTQIA+, HIV and AIDS support, outreach and education through medical programs, housing services and more. Also find the Eon Youth Lounge inside the Thornhill Lopez Center on 4th, which offers a long list of services along with peer socialization for youth ages 13-24.
• Southern Arizona Senior Pride — Celebrating older LGBTQIA+ adults with events like support groups, drawing circles and weekly walks.
• Subspace Art Collective — Art walks, weekly drawing circles, art exhibits and more.
• Tucson Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network (TIHAN) — Support network for people living with HIV through monthly social gatherings, game nights, a lunch program, care packages and more.
• Tucson Prime Timers — Group for gays, bisexuals and transgender people who self-identify as male and are over age 21. Events include weekly lunches, crafting, movie nights and more.
• Venture-N — Described as a leather bar with pool, a large patio and no frills.
• WTF* (Women, Trans, Femme) Workshop at BICAS — Open hours at BICAS for the WTF community, plus monthly bike rides.

Music, comedy, drag and other shows

• Bumsteds — Find karaoke, drag shows, burlesque and more at this restaurant and bar.
• Desert Voices — LGBTQIA+ chorus with seasonal concerts.
• Divas Illusion Show — Uniting LGBTQIA+ and Latin communities with drag shows.
• Female* Storytellers — Live storytelling from women and people of marginalized genders during monthly events.
• Fulta & Friends Cocktail Cabaret — An evening of comedy, dance and music hosted by Fulta Burstyn.
• IBT’s — Bar with drag shows four days a week, plus trivia, karaoke and dancing.
• Loud and Proud — Queer festival at Hotel Congress.
• Queer AF — A series of drag brunch shows, pool parties and more events that celebrate the queer community.
• Queerd Science — A show where burlesque and science intertwine!
• Queer Goth Nite — By Nightcall Presents, these alt parties are produced by DJ Mijito usually alongside performances, vendors and more.
• Queer + Femme Tucson — Events by and for the queer and femme community, including craft nights, karaoke and other happenings.
• Retro Game Show Night — NSFW comedic twists on TV game shows, held monthly in downtown Tucson.
• Reveille Men’s Chorus — Chorus that promotes acceptance of LGBTQIA+ individuals through music. 
• Surly Wench Pub — Alt and goth bar with events that include burlesque shows and ‘80s dance parties.
• Splinter Collective — Find events that range from open mics to burlesque to live music to movement classes.

Sports, wellness and outdoors

• Arizona Queer Climbing Collective: Tucson Chapter — Climbing group for the queer community, often at The Bloc and Rock Solid.
• Kindred Connections — A collective dedicated to holistic wellness offering yoga and a garden group among other events.
• Our League Tucson — LGBTQIA+ friendly kickball league that began in 2021.
• Queer Trans Football Club Youth Soccer Tucson — This group provides free opportunities for trans, queer, questioning and allied youth to play soccer.
• Renegade Riots of Tucson — LGBTQIA+ friendly roller derby that has participated in several of Tucson Hop Shop’s Queer Bazaars.
• Shaolin Kung Fu — Kung Fu school for kids, teens and adults, open to anyone regardless of gender or gender expression.
• Splinter Collective — Find events that range from open mics to burlesque to live music to movement classes.
• Tucson Bird Alliance — Hosts quarterly queer birding walks. 
• Tucson Inferno Pride Softball — Softball league for the LGBTQIA+ community and allies.
• Tucson Queer Outdoors — Find hikes, mountain biking, pickleball and backpacking trips.  
• Tucson Roller Derby — Gender inclusive roller derby in Tucson with themed fundraising events like a pride roller disco and a mashup in glam and goth attire benefitting a local mutual-aid group.
• WTF* (Women, Trans, Femme) Workshop at BICAS — Open hours at BICAS for the WTF community, plus monthly bike rides.

Resources to bookmark

• Fluxx Productions — Nonprofit with a goal to foster a vibrant queer cultural scene through advocacy and events like social gatherings, yoga, game nights and more. Also find programs like a name change clinic and an intergenerational gender performance workshop. 
• LGBTQ+2S Resource Center — Queer resource center at the University of Arizona that includes drop-in hours, crafting, educational chats and more.
• Mariposas sin Fronteras — Supporting LGBTQIA+ migrants in and recently released from detention centers. 
• Reach Pluto — Providing gender-affirming wardrobe items to youth.
• Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation — LGBTQIA+, HIV and AIDS support, outreach and education through medical programs, housing services and more. Also find the Eon Youth Lounge inside the Thornhill Lopez Center on 4th, which offers a long list of services along with peer socialization for youth ages 13-24.
• Tucson Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network (TIHAN) — Support network for people living with HIV through monthly social gatherings, game nights, a lunch program, care packages and more.