Boston area sees growing interest in sober LGBTQ+ events, spaces
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Emma Whitney and her friends struggled to find LGBTQ+-friendly events that didn't revolve around drinking or using substances.
- So the team of college students formed their own group last year called Lavanda.
Why it matters: While substance use disorder affects people across race, gender or class, LGBTQ+ people may face a higher risk due to systemic barriers, trauma and social pressures.
- Those include the prevalence of alcohol and drugs at gay bars and other LGBTQ+-friendly venues.
What they're saying: "I think it's great that they exist," Whitney says of local bars and other venues with alcohol, "but I also think there should also be opportunity for people who don't do that to also find their community."
The big picture: Dedicated dry spaces have popped up across the country in recent years, from Cuties in Los Angeles to Moon Base One, a Salem-based sober music venue for all ages.
How it works: Each organization is different, but Lavanda asked people to refrain from drinking, smoking or using other substances during its events, Whitney tells Axios.
- People didn't have to be sober to join.
Yes, but: These spaces are still hard to come by, and they can be difficult to sustain without lots of funding to cover venue costs.
- Lavanda's programming culminated with a festival last summer, but the company wound down this spring after Whitney graduated from Berklee College of Music and other team members left Boston.
State of play: Massachusetts has a growing number of dedicated dry spaces despite Lavanda's exit, in addition to several LGBTQ+ bookstores, cafes, gaming tournaments and other events.
- QT Library has focused on creating dry events, from book clubs to picnics and poetry events, as has Moon in Salem.
- Annual events like the Pride parade also have sober options: K-Street Clubhouse, a sober meeting space for LGBTQ+ people and allies, hosts a sober corner for the parade.
Gay & Sober, an events organization in New York City, has had people from Boston at their Gay & Sober Conference (GSM+), organizers say.
Threat level: LGBTQ+ people in Massachusetts reported higher rates of smoking/vaping and binge drinking than heterosexual and cisgender people, per a 2025 report by the Boston Foundation and the Fenway Institute.
- Between 2020 and 2022, LGBTQ+ adults were nearly twice as likely to be unable to see a doctor in the past year because of the cost of health care, per the report.
What's next: Whitney is considering bringing a version of Lavanda to her new home, Nashville, but it's unclear what, if anything, will take Lavanda's place here.
- With or without Lavanda, she says, there's demand for dry and sober spaces in Boston.