Vancouver, June 20, 2010

Summer officially kicks off with the Summer Solstice at 7:28 AM, EDT across North America on Monday, June 21, 2010, and we are gearing up for another exciting season in the months ahead.

Pride celebrations have already begun across the continent and around the world, and there's a full line-up of events at various times and places, everywhere from small town Canada, to the largest cities on the globe. The weekend of June 26-27 coincides with the 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York (40th NYC Pride Festival this year), and is the usual main weekend for Toronto Pride, which has shifted to the following weekend this year due to the G8-G20 Summit. San Francisco celebrates that weekend as well, as does Chicago, Seattle, and Houston, among others.

Here in BC, our friends in Surrey celebrate Pride with a series of events, including a Paddle Boat Cruise on June 27, and a Pride Festival in Holland Park on July 11, Victoria celebrates Pride with more than a week of festivities, starting on June 27, with the main events, the annual Pride Parade and Festival on July 4. Prince George celebrates from July 14 - 18, with a Pride Parade, Pride Festival, and Pride Party on July 17, and Vancouverites enjoy a full month or so of Pride celebrations, kicking off with East Side Pride on June 26. With too many events to list here, Vancouver Pride is the region's largest celebration, culminating  with Pride Weekend, which takes place July 29 - August 1, this year. Just a few hours east of Vancouver, our friends in the Okanagan are next in line, with celebrations from August, 11- 15, 2010. Check out our Travel pages and What's On pages for more information and links to these events and more:  http://www.gayvan.com/travel.html , http://www.gayvan.com/whats-on2.html .

In addition to Pride, there are many other festivals and events of interest this time of year, including the Dragon Boat Festival, June 19-10, Car Free Days at six locations around the city, June 20, The Vancouver International Jazz Festival, June 25 - July 4, Vancouver Shakespear Festival - Bard on the Beach, June 3 - Sept 25, Canada Day celebrations July 1, with the Burrard Inlet Fireworks Show at 10:30 PM same day, Festival of Contemporary Dance, July 8-18, the 32nd annual Folk Music Festival, July 16-18, Caribbean Days Festival in North Vancouver, July 24-25, Vancouver Early Music Festival, July 15 - August 14, Celebration of Light - International Fireworks Competition, four fabulous nights, July 21 - July 31 (right in the middle of Pride weekend), and of course, the Vancouver Queer Film Festival, August 12 - 22, 2010. Get info on these and other events:
http://www.gayvan.com/whats-on2/events-of-interest.html .

And to top off a great day of event hopping, Vancouver has a fantastic line-up of LGBT-specific nightlife in the weeks ahead, including:

• D.M.S. Summer Solstice Show, Tuesday, June 22, 2010 at 10:00pm, Numbers Cabaret
• Celebrities presents GLEEK NIGHT / ♫♫ Inspired by GLEE ♫♫, Thursday, June 24, 2010 9:00pm, Celebrities Night Club (1022 Davie Street)
• Divas Live presents DIVAS GONE COUNTRY,Friday June 25th 2010, Dragshow, 9:30pm, Odyssey Nightclub (1251 Howe St)
• 900 Quayside Drive at the foot of the Inn at Westminster Quay“HERSHE BAR” WEDNESDAY JUNE 30/10 @ RED ROOM, Where The Girls Are!
• Canada Day Celebration - SHERRY VINE Live! (NYC), Wednesday, June 30, 2010 at 10:00pm, Celebrities Night Club (1022 Davie Street)
• CANADA DAY T-DANCE, Thursday, July 1, 2010 3:00pm - 9:00pm, J LOUNGE (1216 Bute Street)

Check out all these and more on our continually updated What's On Gay Events page:
http://www.gayvan.com/whats-on2/lgbt-special-events.html .

And on a final note, we just wanted to remind everyone that we have a great selection of gay friendly hotels, with special rates, Pride Packages and more listed on our secure, online Hotel Reservations System: http://www.gayvan.com/imscart/index.php?page=shop/index .

Happy Summer!