Support Smart, Local Journalism
Make a Small Monthly Donation

Give now

Queer Issue 2026

Feature package editor: Nolan Parker.

Assistant editors: Wm. Steven Humphrey and Katherine Chew Hamilton.
Posted inQueer Issue 2026

It’s the Mercury‘s 2026 Queer Issue!

And check out the triptych of queer issue covers from our sister publications!
Avatar photo by Wm. Steven Humphrey

It’s Pride season, babies! And the Portland Mercury is once again celebrating and boosting all things LGBTQIA+ with our 2026 Queer Issue, which you can find right now (in print!) at more than 500 spots all around the city. (Want to make sure you never miss one of our monthly print issues? Subscribe here and […]

Posted inQueer Issue 2026

An Appeal to the Queers on Behalf of Pro Wrestling

Hot take: pro wrestling is drag. Fight me!
Avatar photo by Riley McCarthy

What follows is one of the many articles in the Mercuryโ€˜s 2026 Queer Issue. Find a print copy here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to you here, and if youโ€™re feeling generous and want to keep these types of articles coming, support us here.โ€”eds. Violence is never the answer. Well, โ€œneverโ€ is a strong word. Surely violence has […]

Posted inQueer Issue 2026

Sparks Fly During the Portland Fireโ€™s Opening Season

The Mercuryโ€™s guide to Portlandโ€™s first WNBA season since 2002
Avatar photo by Cameron Crowell

What follows is one of the many articles in theย Mercuryโ€˜s 2026 Queer Issue. Find a print copyย here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to youย here, and if youโ€™re feeling generous and want to keep these types of articles coming, support usย here.โ€”eds. On their first night as a Womenโ€™s National Basketball Association franchise, the Portland Fire […]

Posted inQueer Issue 2026

Queer Social Dancing Uproots Gender Norms

Stomptown, Landline, and Queer Baile are upturning the outdated culture of social dancing.
Avatar photo by Katherine Chew Hamilton

What follows is one of the many articles in theย Mercuryโ€˜s 2026 Queer Issue. Find a print copyย here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to youย here, and if youโ€™re feeling generous and want to keep these types of articles coming, support usย here.โ€”eds. Partner dancing, at least traditionally, follows a strict gender binary: who leads and who […]

Posted inQueer Issue 2026

The Many Queer Saints of Stumptown

Shining a spotlight on a few of Portlandโ€™s legendary gay greats.
Avatar photo by Holly Hazelwood

What follows is one of the many articles in theย Mercuryโ€˜s 2026 Queer Issue. Find a print copyย here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to youย here, and if youโ€™re feeling generous and want to keep these types of articles coming, support usย here.โ€”eds. I donโ€™t have the data to back it up, but based on anecdotal evidence […]

Posted inQueer Issue 2026

Marisa Anderson on How to Listen in America

‘The Anthology of UnAmerican Folk Music’ reinterprets recordings from United States conflict zones.
Avatar photo by Lindsay Costello

What follows is one of the many articles in theย Mercuryโ€˜s 2026 Queer Issue. Find a print copyย here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to youย here, and if youโ€™re feeling generous and want to keep these types of articles coming, support usย here.โ€”eds. In 2022, Portland experimental guitarist Marisa Anderson visited the bohemian musicologist Harry Smithโ€™s archives […]

Posted inQueer Issue 2026

At Pride Northwest, Pride Is Year Round

The nonprofit organization plans one of Oregonโ€™s largest festivalsโ€”and cultivates the seasonโ€™s spirit all year long.
Avatar photo by Andrew Jankowski

What follows is one of the many articles in theย Mercuryโ€˜s 2026 Queer Issue. Find a print copyย here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to youย here, and if youโ€™re feeling generous and want to keep these types of articles coming, support usย here.โ€”eds. Pride is year round, as the saying goes, but for Pride Northwest itโ€™s doubly […]

Posted inQueer Issue 2026

A True Story of Actual 1800s Vermont Lesbians

Comics genius Tillie Walden traces an archived account of Charity, Sylvia, and hope.
Avatar photo by Suzette Smith

What follows is one of the many articles in theย Mercuryโ€˜s 2026 Queer Issue. Find a print copyย here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to youย here, and if youโ€™re feeling generous and want to keep these types of articles coming, support usย here.โ€”eds. Pride can be so booty shorts and body beats. And we love thatโ€ฆ most […]

Posted inFood and Drink

Queer Winemakers Shake Up the Industry

Hip Chicks Do Wine, Ram Cellars, Statera Cellars/Lares, Zฤ“ Wines, and Landmass Wines are changing the game.
Avatar photo by Katherine Chew Hamilton

What follows is one of the many articles in theย Mercuryโ€˜s 2026 Queer Issue. Find a print copyย here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to youย here, and if youโ€™re feeling generous and want to keep these types of articles coming, support usย here.โ€”eds. Wine often feels shrouded in rigidityโ€”the jargon, the inaccessible prices, the impossibly thin glassware […]

Posted inQueer Issue 2026

iLoveMakonnen Plays His First Portland Pride

The Portland-based rapper reflects on what makes Portland Pride special, and how Portland has fueled his creative work.
Avatar photo by Andrew Jankowski

What follows is one of the many articles in theย Mercuryโ€˜s 2026 Queer Issue. Find a print copyย here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to youย here, and if youโ€™re feeling generous and want to keep these types of articles coming, support usย here.โ€”eds. Though he has attended Portland Pride celebrations since relocating here in 2017, chart-topping rapper […]

Posted inDo This, Do That

Do This, Do That: June-July 2026

A selection of the city’s coolest (and queerest!) upcoming events.
Avatar photo by Lindsay Costello

What follows is one of the many articles in theย Mercuryโ€˜s 2026 Queer Issue. Find a print copyย here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to youย here, and if youโ€™re feeling generous and want to keep these types of articles coming, support usย here.โ€”eds. Street Books Queer Book Drive JUNE (COMMUNITY) Portlandโ€™s favorite bikemobile lending library and harm […]

Posted inQueer Issue 2026

The Faults in Our Stars (June 2026)

The only horoscopes column in the universe.
Avatar photo by Anthony Hudson

Happy Pride, Portland! I know, I knowโ€”technically we celebrate Pride in July, unlike the rest of the country, because we like to keep Portland โ€œweirdโ€ (ร  la Austin, Texas), and weโ€™re still too hip to follow trends like celebrating annual occasions at the correct time. The legendary Stonewall Riots, in which Martha P. Washington and […]

Gift this article