FoCo’s Best LGBTQ+ Hangouts
Fort Collins, primarily known for its brews, bikes, and hikes, was once a small college town but continues to expand each year. It has reached a population of just over 164,000 and you can guarantee that this population is somewhat of a mixed bag of anyone from different cultural backgrounds to different identities.
What I have personally noticed about Fort Collins while living here for the past year and a half is the strong sense of community. This happens to be one of the primary reasons why I chose to attend CSU to finish my degree. However, there is one particular community that that tends to fall under the radar when it comes to places to connect and unite. I am talking about the LGBTQ+ community.
Those of us in the LGBTQ+ community may sometimes feel that Fort Collins falls a bit short on recognizing the LGBTQ+ community as a whole, or at least recognize various places and platforms for connection.
Here are some of the best LGTBQ+ hangouts that I found that happen to be in Fort Collins…
R Bar & Lounge
This is Fort Collins’ only LGBTQ+ lounge. Open to all walks of life, R Bar hosts inclusive events and activities that range from Karaoke, to Drag, to Sunday brunch. R bar opened in November of 2015 and has continued to welcome anyone who falls on the LGBTQ+ spectrum and beyond. As a member of this community, I felt a bar/ lounge like this was something that Fort Collins was missing. Overall, the LGBTQ+ community often struggles to find places that feel like theirs- places where they can be open and free to express who they are without any fear of judgement or discrimination. R Bar is welcoming, fun, and an overall success among those of us who live in Fort Collins and can finally say, “This place is ouR’s!”
Check out R Bar’s scheduled events here.
You can also follow their Facebook page for updates.
Northern Colorado’s Pride in the Park
Here’s a little history lesson for you: In June of 1969, groups of people who identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and/or trans rioted on the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City after a police raid. This moment set many other LGBTQ+ movements in motion at that time, and since then, June has been marked as LGTBQ+ Pride Month to commemorate the riots and celebrate the movements’ progressions around the world.
Pride ultimately provides the opportunity for anyone and everyone who believes in equality to stand against violence and discrimination toward gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and trans persons alike. Included in the cities who celebrate Pride is in fact Fort Collins. Though June is the official Pride Month, Fort Collins typically holds theirs in the Summer, but the month itself tends to vary. The actual festival takes place in City Park, but there are usually all sorts of other events throughout the surrounding weeks, such as film screenings by “Pride Films” at the Lyric, dance parties, coffee socials, a rainbow prom, and more!
Though the numbers of FoCo’s Pride Fest don’t quite reach Denver Pride’s incredible turn out of roughly 350,000, it is still a great place to connect with other members of the community and just have a happy time! I personally love Pride Fest more than any holiday. It’s always such a blast and filled with so much positive energy.
If you’re interested in a slightly more in depth description about the history of LGBTQ+ politics, click here.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is a great resource for more history, important news, and info about support.
LGBTQ Meetups in Fort Collins
I just recently discovered a site called Meetup. It is a site where you can get an account and find groups of people to meet up with for fun activities, events, or gatherings. Organizations pay for a subscription to post their groups on Meetup, then all you have to do is get your own account and start searching.
It turns out that there are groups dedicated to building the LGBTQ+ community in Fort Collins. It you search LGBTQ on the Meetup website, several different groups pop up, including Fort Collins LGTBQ Social Alliance and Hiking with PRIDE NoCo. Each group schedules and hosts events that keep the LGBTQ+ community in Fort Collins connected and growing.
I think this is a great way to meet more people within the community and even get involved in organizing events yourself. You never know- maybe you could contribute to having even more LGBTQ+ related events pop up in Fort Collins.
LGBTQ Meetups in Fort Collins
