Highwood Pride Fest Kicks Off With Pub Crawl, Drag Show

HIGHWOOD, IL — Pride month celebrations kick off in Highwood with two nights of adults-only events benefiting a summer camp for LGBTQ+ youth.

The annual Highwood Pride Fest schedule begins June 2 with the "Taste the Rainbow" Pub Crawl, with festivities starting at 28 Mile Distilling Company and heading to Teddy O'Brian's, El Burén and The Toadstool Pub for the "End of the Rainbow Dance Party."

Pride Fest continues June 3 with "Radiant Rebellion," a drag show and dance party at 28 Mile Distilling Company, 454 Sheridan Road, featuring Your Boi Toi Sebastian, Keri Traid, Switch The Boi Wonder, Princess Bootyshorts, Vivian Dejour and Muffy Fishbasket.

DJ Versage will preside on the ones and twos during both nights' events, according to Celebrate Highwood, a nonprofit public-private partnership between the 5,000-person municipality and its local chamber of commerce.

Downtown Highwood will be decorated with Pride flags all month long, along with rainbow windows and chalked sidewalks.

“Highwood has been recognized as one of the first communities on Chicago’s North Shore to host a Pride Fest,” said Highwood Ald. Eric Falberg, president of Celebrate Highwood and co-owner of 28 Mile.

“Highwood is an incredible community rich in diversity, love and acceptance for all," Falberg said in a statement, "and although we dedicate the month of [June] to celebrate PRIDE, we embrace the LGBTQ+ community 365 days a year.”

Tickets to the June 2 and June 3 events are $20 for one night or $30 combined entry for both nights and available online. No reserved seats are available for the drag show.

Proceeds will benefit Camp Indigo Point, a two-week residential summer camp outside of St. Louis, Missouri, for trans, gender expansive and LGBTQ youth entering grades 2 to 11.

“We are thrilled to have Camp Indigo Point as this year’s Highwood Pride Fest beneficiary,” said Celebrate Highwood board member D.R. Smith.

“Camp Indigo Point provides a space for queer kids to be themselves in a traditional camp environment," Smith said in a statement on behalf of organizers. "Our goal is to raise enough money to send at least one kid to Camp Indigo Point this summer.”

According to the camp's website, registration costs $1,400 per camper, though the actual cost would be closer to $2,100 if it were not subsidized by donors and its board.