Hello to all the queer people reading this column – and also to the straight and cisgender people who want to be kept abreast of the community business. Would that I had some great updates to inform you on, but I’m just keeping my head above water at the moment. Instead, why don’t you take my sincere wish for you and yours to have a spring refresh.
And what better way to refresh the spring than hopping on a summer camp application? Yes, those outdoorsy folks of Local Queer ATX are taking over the Camp Moody site out in Buda for CampOUT, a three-day experience from May 23-25. There’ll be bonfires, talent shows, drag, dance parties, and more – all under that big beautiful Texas sky. Registration runs until April 23 with tiered tickets allowing for everyone to join no matter their financials. Each ticket includes a camping spot, commemorative T-shirt, and five delicious camp meals.
This year started rocky and, I’ll admit, has only become more unstable as the large cruel machine of power destroys everything in its path. But hope springs eternal, even when the actual springs appear to be struggling to produce their usual flow. What’s any of this even worth if we don’t keep trying for a better tomorrow, ya know? Here’s to trying again, over and over.
Okay, on with the events!
Austin Vogue Nights
Thursday 2, Swan Dive
Kick off spring break with the Aughts vibes served up by House of Lepore’s monthly kiki. Mother Natalie Lepore emcees while Babidoll helms the DJ booth. Check out the categories at centraltxkikiscene on Insta. 10pm.
Sana Sana: Fiesta
Thursday 2, Ani’s Day & Night
Guest host Jack leads this party-hardy open mic that’s all-ages and all-mediums welcome. 8pm.
First Thursday
Thursday 2, Top Drawer Thrift
This week’s after-hours shopping spree gets a hot boost thanks to several leftover items from the 2 Hot 4 Top Drawer Auction last month. Plus, sips, treats, and the usual great finds. 5:30pm.
Frisky Fun Pack: Fantasy Edition
Friday 3, Tiny Minotaur Tavern
Frisky Business Burlesque travels to fantastical new places with their improv game show, Blushin’ Roulette. First half offers prepared acts, while the second offers the stage up to fate. Performers include Amelie Ahmose, Titty Androgynous, Stella Belle, CanDeStroy, and host Hips McCoy. 7pm.
First Fridays
Friday 3, Rain on 4th
Pride in Black ATX spins up another wekend starter, this time with a set by DJ Cysum.
Jawbreaker
Friday 3, Triple Six Social
Join host Smokey Zbornak and special guest Duchess Deville for a special screening of this Nineties girl best friends satire. Arrive early for the pre-show! 8pm.
Ecstatic Marbling
Friday 3, MASS Gallery
Take part in collaborative textile and paper marbling under the watchful eyes of artists Erin Miller and Adéọlá Ọlágúnjú. Part of MASS’ currently running exhibition, “Ecstatic.” 3pm.
Bichota
Friday 3, Oilcan’s
Where can you find Latin pop spun by Lavender Thug as well as a $150 strip-off prize contest hosted by Harlot? That’s Bichota, baby! 9:30pm.
Now That’s What I Call Recession
Saturday 4, Cheer Up Charlies
Return to the warm embrace of 2000s tunes with host Whoopsie Daisy and her cast including Tigris, Yu Phoric, Atlas Mars, Justin Eater, Neura Toxin, Lash the Stampede, Anita Chiquitas, and DJ Kshal. 9pm.
PFLAG Austin Spring Feast
Saturday 4, First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin
Our local chapter of PFLAG invites one and all to this springtime potluck, so bring your “yummiest, go-to-est, most impressive dessert to share.” 11:30am.
Body Mechanics
Saturday 4, 4211 Todd Ln.
Travel to the bizarre realm with vinyl sets by DJ Protection and Rowena Jean as well as sets by Metallix, Big Ace, and closer Ak-4ya. 10pm.
The Sandwich Social
Saturday 4, OutWellness
Join local food and weight-inclusive TLB Nutrition Therapy for this family-friendly meetup where you’ll make sandwiches for ATX Free Fridges. Plus, a partner workout by OutWellness and raffle prizes. 11am.
Big Tits, Bigger Dreams
Saturday 4, Oilcan’s
Brigitte Bandit hosts this non-competitive drag open mic that invites upcoming drag artists to hone their craft as well as get professional portrait and performance photography. 7pm.
Dream Blunt Rotation: Gotham City
Sunday 5, the Glassmith
Hot box with the Bat during this drag show tribute to DC heroes and villains. Featuring Calor, Franky L’Amour, Perra Normal, Phoenix, Hya Zakite, and host Slaylem Cholula Cuntress. 2pm.
House of Deviance Presents: Unholy Union
Sunday 5, Cherrywood Center
Make this your most sinful Easter yet with devilishly great burlesque, drag, and aerial performers like Alexander the Great, Ashley Lynn, Flex Fatale, Autumn O’Beals, the Chrome Cabaret, Disco Lemonade, Hibiscus Bloom, Ruby Lamb, Lilith Azazel, Sarah Sonatina, and Violet Menace. 6pm.
EuphorEaster
Sunday 5, Highland Lounge
He isn’t the only thing that’ll be risen tonight, as DJs kiwi and FVLL3N 3GO resurrect house, techno, disco, and club banger tunes at this basement show. 8pm.
Bronco Queer Linedance Night
Monday 6, Sagebrush
It’s a boot-scootin’ birthday for this beginner line dance night, so celebrate all the hip thrusts, claps, and accidental flat tires given to the person dancing in front of you with Neon Rainbows and Country Fried Dance. 7pm.
Grackle Games Cycle 7
Tuesday 7, Rain on 4th
Lady Grackle hosts the seventh edition of this drag competition with contestants vying for the winner’s bounty: a cash prize and weekly show.
Linq Up
Tuesday 7, Central Library
Find productive discussions on building queer unity and community organization with fellow Austinites at this sober space. DM the linqupatx Insta for the meeting room number. 6pm.
Divina: Noche Drag Latinx
Wednesday 8, Oilcan’s
See Oilcan’s stage taken over by the spirits of Latina legends like Gloria Estefan and Paulina Rubio – courtesy of host Tatiana Cholula and local Latinx drag talent. 9pm.
Kiki + Karaoke
Wednesday 8, Cheer Up Charlies
Aira Juliet hosts this weekly karaoke with strict rules, such as one Chappell Roan song per hour, all Adele selectors must commit, and only one person may pick “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse. 9pm.
TransPose
Thursday 9 – Saturday 11, First Austin
Austin Gay Men’s Chorus leads several workshops on trans-centric vocal pedagogy as well as “how to cultivate welcoming choral and vocal spaces for transgender singers.”
In the Calendar
ART Presents Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Through April 11, Ground Floor Theatre
A guardian angel for everyone living in the wicked town that’s modern-day United States, Hedwig comes to Austin to rage. She’s here to sing out for all the disappointed, disenfranchised, and disappeared misfits. As produced by Austin Rainbow Theatre, Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a perfect reminder to rock and rail against a society that would prefer to ignore anything outside a narrow box. This production leans into the live music aspect of the story, with a live band and three separate Hedwigs (local drag artists Cheeki Khant, Evah Destruction, and Juni Nguyen) to fully illuminate the complexity of our heroine. It’s part drag, part punk, and all from the heart. – Cat McCarrey
Queer Austin Bike Tour
Saturday 4, various locations
Learning is an active sport, which is probably why AIA Austin’s LGBTQIA+ Alliance has their upcoming tour of the city’s queer organizing history on wheels. The 4-mile bike ride will have you zipping past several of Austin’s most beloved queer spaces with insights threaded throughout from historians, architects, and folks who were actually there while history was made. Meet the group at Cosmic Saltillo for pre-pedaling brekkie with your own bike in tow – or one you’ve rented from MetroBike. The tour ends at 1972 Pub with a celebratory happy hour. Registration runs you $15, which includes a cool T-shirt to remember the day by. – James Scott
Castration Movie Anthology i. Traps
Monday 6, Alamo South Lamar
A warning from someone who previously caught this flick at AFS: You might want to take an anti-nausea med pre-screening. That’s not because auteur Louise Weard’s trans mega-epic features any images less than astounding, but in fact because the Castration Movie series was filmed with an eye toward home viewing. Its bold filmmaking done via a consumer-grade handheld video camera dizzies the mind when stretched across the multiplex screen. But maybe the disorientation’s the point, as Weard explores the uncomfortable realities of gender, life, and love in a manner radically different than any other movie, period. It also features a track from Barbie in the Nutcracker, if that sweetens the deal any. – James Scott
This article appears in April 3 • 2026.
