How and where to celebrate Pride Month

👋 Annalise here. There's much to do in metro Detroit during Pride Month — here's some ideas to start you off.

Saturday and Sunday: Motor City Pride is at Hart Plaza, 1-9pm Saturday and then 12:30-7pm Sunday after the noon parade.

• 🐺 Catch me there, probably wearing a shirt with wolves on it because…express yourself.

Saturday: 🚗 Check out the Bears in Speedos Car Wash. The fundraiser for LGBTQ+ nonprofits Affirmations and the Ruth Ellis Center is 11am-3pm at 22635 Woodward Ave. in Ferndale.

All month: Mighty Real/Queer Detroit's art exhibition is spread across 17 galleries. Go when you can or attend events like:

• Artist Vagner Whitehead's performance 3pm Saturday
• Poetry and performance night at 6pm on Wednesday
• Or a film discussion at 4pm on June 25.

Sunday: Queer Arts and Crafts Show, 11am at 567 Livernois Ave. in Ferndale

June 26: Berkley Pride Block Party, 12-4pm

July 15-17: It's not in June, but Hotter than July is a long-running Black LGBTQ+ Pride event. Its headliner, rapper Da Brat, performs July 16 at Motor City Casino Soundboard.

Worthy of your time: Local LGBTQ+ magazine Pridesource has a Pride Month calendar.

💭 My thought bubble: When it comes to rainbow-laden Pride merch, corporate retail America has gone hard.

• Whether or not money from these sales goes to LGBTQ+ causes is mixed. So one thing you can do for sure for these causes is support local queer-owned businesses this month (and, y'know, other months).

• Try the Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce's directory, Etsy or booths at events.

Don't forget: Have fun, but that's not what this is all about. Pride events are rooted in the 1969 Stonewall Riots — also known as the Stonewall Uprising — after New York police raided a gay club and gay and transgender people fought back.

• The uprising and related protests, led by Black and Brown activists, sparked the modern gay rights movement.