Why Ginger’s Bar is turning down the party a few notches this Pride Month
Worry not, their Brooklyn Pride celebration is still a go!
Mark
The first pride was a protest, and ever since, June has been the one month where the LGBTQ+ community has allowed itself to be its most authentic — and loudest — selves.
But what happens when someone complains that the party is getting a little too loud?
It’s a delicate situation that Brooklyn’s favorite neighborhood lesbian hangout, Ginger’s Bar, finds itself in ahead of this year’s Pride Month festivities.
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In an Instagram post shared this week, the beloved queer establishment, which opened as a lesbian bar in 2000, shared that it’s made “the difficult decision to cancel the majority of our DJ events” during Pride Month due to “ongoing noise concerns in the neighborhood.”
“We know how much these nights mean to community, and we’re deeply grateful to every DJ, organizer, and guest who planned to dance the night away with us,” their statement read.
Notably, the cash-only, Irish-themed dive bar is one of the few remaining lesbian bars in New York City and has seen a resurgence in the city’s LGBTQ+ scene following a short closure during the pandemic. (An Autostraddle article last year celebrated its all-out weekend celebrations, bumping Madonna tracks at 11:30 p.m., and a line around the block for Thursday night karaoke.)
The apparent clash with the neighborhood is ironic, considering Ginger’s is located in Park Slope, a trendy and upscale neighborhood once known as “Dyke Slope” for its lesbian roots.
That said, its owners are looking for the rainbow-colored silver lining to this storm cloud, and encouraged its patrons to do the same.
“As much as we love turning up the music and creating space for queer joy, we also want to remain respectful of the neighborhood we have called home for the past 26 years, and our space that has been a neighborhood bar for over 100 years,” they wrote, encouraging patrons to “please be considerate of our neighbors while out on the street or in the backyard. It takes a village.”
With so few sapphic-centered spaces in the United States as is, it’s understandable why ownership would want to find an amicable solution with the neighborhood, as its importance to the community is immeasurable.
And while the complaints might be enough to lower the volume this season, they can’t shut down the party entirely.
Plans for Ginger’s Brooklyn Pride celebration on June 13, from 12 p.m. to late, are still in full effect, rain or shine. Albeit with some caveats, read: “some RPM adjustments for 1900’s insulation,” another Instagram post explained.
For what it’s worth, it seems like the queer women of Brooklyn are not letting some complaints rain on their parade.
“Can’t wait to bring my megaphone and sing in the streets LOUD,” one commenter wrote, while another added, “LET’S BE LOUD AND PROUD.”
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