Third annual Pride Metal Fest features 18 bands
WEST CHICAGO — Enjoy two days of metal music for Pride month at the third annual 2026 Pride Metal Fest Friday and Saturday. Eighteen acts from around the Midwest will perform in genres from progressive metal to death metal. The doors open at 5 p.m. Friday and close at 11 p.m. Saturday. Admission for both days is $40, and $20 or $25 for the first and second days. Find the metal music at The WC Social Club, 920 Roosevelt Rd.
Help support Chicago LGBTQ+ orgs at Proud To Run
CHICAGO — Run in a 5K or 10K and support the LGBTQ+ community with ProudToRun Saturday at 8 a.m. Registration is $50 for a 5K walk, $60 for a 5K run, and $65 for a 10K run. Register here. Proud To Run started in 1982, and has raised over $700,000 for Chicagoland LGBTQ+ organizations. The race is open to all abilities. Proceeds this year will support Trans Up Front IL, the Youth Empowerment Performance Project that works with homeless LGBTQ+ youth, and the Black-led LGBTQ+ social justice organization the Lighthouse Foundation. The race starts at Montrose Harbor, 601 W. Montrose Drive. Race info packets can be picked up Thursday and Friday at the Walgreen’s at 3201 N Broadway St. from noon to 6 p.m.
LGBT Book Fest to support Brave Space Alliance Saturday
TINLEY PARK — Buy books, meet queer authors and help raise money for the Brave Space Alliance at Slay the Lake Chicago Pride Book Fest Saturday. This all-ages event is open to all authors representing LGBTQ+ people and their allies, with priority given to LGBTQ+, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) and female authors. All proceeds will go to the Brave Space, which is a Black and queer-led LGBTQ+ Center on Chicago’s South Side. The fest is noon to 5 p.m. at Soundgrowler Brewing Co., 8201 183rd St.
