Community Events
Submit EventFind current urban, Black, and queer events in Boston and New England, including ballroom, nightlife, art shows, conferences, community programs, resources, and cultural gatherings.
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October 2026
18 events2026 MAAH Stone Book Award
Annual award event celebrating exceptional new scholarship in African American history and culture. The evening begins with a wine and hors d'oeuvres reception at 5:30 PM where attendees can meet the winning authors. The ceremony starts at 6:30 PM and features remarks by all authors, an interview between the winning author and Callie Crossley (WGBH's Under the Radar), and a Q&A. The first 99 people to arrive receive a free signed copy of one of the winning books. Free and open to the public. Live-streamed.
LGBTQ+ Leaders Discussion & Strategy Session (Virtual) — The Queer Neighborhood Council – Boston's LGBTQIA+ and ally community
TWO AVAILABLE DATES: Join us IN-PERSON -OR- VIRTUAL Virtual session will be Thursday October 8th from 6- 7:30 pm . In-person Session October 15th 12:30 Lunch Circle starts 1:00pm- 3:30pm space to be determined. LGBTQ+ organizational
One Night Only Presents: Forever October
One Night Only returns with Forever October — a celebration of everyone with an October birthday. Five-hour nightlife event at Savvor Lounge.
Frolic Friday Bussdown at Legacy
Boston’s #1 Night for QTPOC every Friday.
Ladies in Black Party
Black-out themed party at Hava Nightclub. 21+.
BLVCK OUT: All Black Affair at The Grand
BLVCK OUT: Boston's Annual All Black Affair at The Grand Boston! A night full of style, fun, great music, and prizes. Hosted by IamAfriQue, this is Boston's exclusive annual all-black-attire party — dress to impress in all black and come celebrate in style. One of the city's signature Black nightlife events. 21+. Early bird tickets from $15.
R&B VIBES
R&B VIBES — a mature-crowd R&B experience singing along to throwback memories. Music by J Saki & DJ Rozay B30. Presented by Schdor Entertainment & Bezo along with Twins & Friends. Coincides with National Coming Out Day weekend. 21+, proper ID required.
2026 National Trans Visibility March
The National Trans Visibility March mobilizes trans communities and allies for advocacy, policy engagement, and community power. NTVM 2026 in Puerto Rico includes a summit, awards ceremony, and a powerful rally to uplift the TGNC community.
ICA Boston: 90 YEARS
The ICA celebrates 90 years with a major anniversary exhibition exploring nine previous exhibitions and initiatives from the museum's history. Includes the landmark 1941 'Modern Mexican Painters' exhibition featuring José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros, works by Njideka Akunyili Crosby (Nigerian-American), Edgar Heap of Birds (Cheyenne/Arapaho), and Yayoi Kusama's 'LOVE IS CALLING.' Also features works by Laurie Anderson, Joan Jonas, and Andy Warhol.
Boston African Restaurant Week 2026
Boston African Restaurant Week 2026! A celebration of African cuisine, culture, and community across Dorchester and Greater Boston. Explore the flavors of the African diaspora through special menus, pop-up dining experiences, chef showcases, and community gatherings. Support local African-owned restaurants and food businesses while discovering incredible food from across the continent. A delicious week of culture, connection, and cuisine!
$5 Third Thursday at the MFA
Enjoy the MFA after dark with just $5 admission from 5 to 10 PM. Explore galleries including Counter History: Contemporary Art from the Collection, join hands-on art-making, shop, and experience the museum in a whole new way. $5 minimum, pay-what-you-wish.
HallowQueen: Drag & Burlesque Spectacular
Halloween-themed drag and burlesque spectacular presented by the Bisexual Resource Center.
Author Event: Black Messiahs by Steven A. Holmes
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Steven A. Holmes discusses his book Black Messiahs, which follows two Black American soldiers and a young Jewish Holocaust survivor whose lives intersect during the liberation of Nazi concentration camps. Held at JustBook-ish, a Black-owned bookstore and community literary space in Dorchester.
HOOD BALL FRIGHT NIGHT
Bostons kiki HOOD BALL Hosted by Legendary Fresh and The Monarch of CT, Rodd Juicy Couture 🚨 HOOD BALL: FRIGHT NIGHT 🎃🔫 This Hood Ball, we bringing ALL THE SMOKE to your door. Pick your weapon. Tap who you want. Will you win… or get capped? 🔫 OCTOBER 30TH — FRIGHT NIGHT Every category must bring it with at least ONE: 🟠 Orange bandanna 🎭 Scary mask 🔫 Toy weapon CATEGORIES Beginners Runway Beginners Performance OTA Face OTA Realness Runway Performance
Loop Dreams 2026
The Loop Lab's annual celebration of creativity, community, and the next generation of creative technology leaders. The Loop Lab is a BIPOC-led nonprofit empowering Womxn and People of Color in media arts. Evening includes storytelling, live performances, networking, silent auction, and Dream Award ceremony.
Sky Casper's Boo Bash: Big Queer Halloween Dance Party
Sky Casper's Boo Bash is Connecticut's queer Halloween main event, featuring two rooms of music, drag performances, a costume contest, happy hour drink specials, and an outdoor patio. All-ages-welcome inclusive space for the queer community in West Hartford.
Counter History: Contemporary Art from the Collection
Counter History: Contemporary Art from the Collection challenges dominant historical narratives through works by over 70 artists including Mark Bradford, Jeffrey Gibson, Dana Chandler Jr., Steve Locke, and more. Three thematic sections — Monuments, Unofficial Archives, and Counter Histories — explore collective memory, alternative records, and resistance to official narratives.
Suzanne Jackson: What Is Love
The first major museum survey of Suzanne Jackson's groundbreaking artistic vision, featuring lyrical paintings and drawings from the 1960s to today. Jackson, a trailblazing Black artist, explores beauty, freedom, and connection through her expansive creative universe.
November 2026
4 eventsBlack Violin: The Be Free Tour
Black Violin blends classical violin with hip-hop, explicitly blurring lines of genre, race, and gender. New album Full Circle out now. The Be Free Tour.
Oldway Sessions X TCC
Oldway Sessions delivers a free, low-barrier arts-based education experience rooted in the movement, history, and cultural traditions of Ballroom Old Way, facilitated by Rodd Juicy 007. Through recurring sessions, participants develop technical skills, artistic confidence, historical understanding, and creative expression in an affirming learning environment. Each session serves as an incubator for preserving and passing forward Ballroom’s living lineage as a Black Queer Cultural tradition.
The Pumps New England Awards Kiki Ball
✨👠The Pumps New England Kiki Awards Ball 👠✨ A celebration of the power, glamour, and CUNT of wearing heels on the ballroom floor. It’s a call to bring the PUMPS back— back to the runway, back to performance, and back into the culture of stepping onto the floor and commanding the room ✨👠 For every, you are challenged to incorporate pumps into your effect. Whether you're a seasoned walker or putting on heels for the first time, this is the time to pump the runway! This isn't about who has the highest heel or the most expensive shoe. It's about how you wear it, how you move in it, and what you create with it! 👠✨ ✨Location: Spontaneous Celebrations (45 Danforth St, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130) ✨MC: Icon Precious & "The Voice of New England" Pooh Mulan ✨DJ: Mars 007 ‼️Free Entry‼️ ✨House Tables: Six house are FREE on first come, first serve basis✨ Doors Open at 6pm‼️ OTY New England Award Ceremony at 7pm‼️ LSS begins at 8pm!‼️ ✨Categories Breakdowns✨ 👠Beginner’s Performance “Break Them In!” (1 Trophy) Beginners get ready to step onto the floor in their pumps! Show us that even if you're new, you know how to move, dip, and perform in your heels. 👠 Virgin Runway “First Time in Pumps!” (1 Trophy) Your first runway experience in pumps! Whether they're sky-high, classic, platform, or strappy, show us that your first walk can still be unforgettable. 👠Commentator v Commentator “Pump the Beat!” (1 Trophy) DJ pump the beat! Each commentator must use the word “pump” in an original chant! Can you make us FEEL it!? 👠Best Dressed “Pumps Complete the Look!” (1 Trophy) The outfit isn't complete without the perfect pair of pumps. Serve a head-to-toe look where your shoes are the finishing touch! 👠Face “Beat it!” (1 Trophy) Make sure your BEAT compliments your PUMPS! The pumps may be on your feet, but the attention should be on your face. Sell the fantasy from your eyes down to your toes. (Male Figure and Female Figure) 👠Realness “Pump it Up!” (10 Trophies) PUMPS or not! Show us that you’re real no matter the shoes! Male Figure: Executive, Thugs, Pretty Boy, Trans Man, School Boy Female Figure: Everyday, Bangy, Pretty Girl, Drags, Butch 👠OTA Runway “Pump the Runway!” (2 Trophies) Bring your best runway! Strut, pose, turn, and give us a walk that makes the judges forget you're walking on shoes designed to make you suffer! (European: Heels are MANDATORY! American: Dress shoes are MANDATORY!) 👠OTA Performance “If the pumps fit, PERFORM!” (6 Trophies) HEELS are MANDATORY! Whether it’s a block or stiletto, step onto the floor and show us what you can do in your pumps! Give us performance, attitude, musicality, and creativity from the first beat to the last! (Femme Queen, Butch Queen, Womens, Twisters, Drags, Old Way) 👠Legendary/Iconic Performance “Dust off those Pumps!” (1 Trophy) Has it been a minute? That never mattered! Put on your best pumps and show us why you’re legendary and/or iconic! HEELS are MANDATORY! 👠 $1k Tag Team Performance “The Perfect Pair of Pumps! (2 Trophies) Two performers, four pumps, one performance. Work together to create a pump fantasy that shows cohesion, creativity, and control! HEELS are MANDATORY!
The Pumps New England Awards Kiki Ball
Hosted by Kenyan James
Sat, Nov 21, 2026
6:00 PM - 12:00 AM ET
45 Danforth St, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130-1847, United States
Free
✨👠The Pumps New England Kiki Awards Ball 👠✨ A celebration of the power, glamour, and CUNT of wearing heels on the ballroom floor. It’s a call to bring the PUMPS back— back to the runway, back to performance, and back into the culture of stepping onto the floor and commanding the room ✨👠 For every, you are challenged to incorporate pumps into your effect. Whether you're a seasoned walker or putting on heels for the first time, this is the time to pump the runway!
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Doja Cat with Latto: Tour Ma Vie World Tour
Doja Cat brings the Tour Ma Vie World Tour to TD Garden with special guest Latto. Two Black female artists headlining Boston's biggest arena.
December 2026
1 event2026 International LGBTQ+ Leaders Conference
The 42nd Annual International LGBTQ+ Leaders Conference, hosted by the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute, brings together 700+ LGBTQ+ elected officials, leaders, and advocates from across the United States and around the world for three days of networking, skills-building, and policy strategy. The conference addresses equality legislation, civil rights, political power-building, and the movement for LGBTQ+ equality. U.S. senators, state legislators, city council members, and corporate partners participate in conversations that shape the direction of LGBTQ+ political engagement. Early-bird rates available through September 15, 2026.
January 2027
1 eventCreating Change 2027
The 39th Creating Change Conference, the nation's largest political leadership and skills-building conference for the LGBTQ+ movement. Organized by the National LGBTQ Task Force, heading to Louisville, KY. Proposal submissions are open.
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