Pride Month at Read & Run Chicago
Readers & runners at Read & Run Chicago’s first Pride run, a tour inspired by John D’Emilio’s Queer Legacies in June 2021.
By Allison Yates
Our favorite way to celebrate or commemorate anything is by using movement and stories, and as a queer-owned small business, Pride Month is no exception!
Whether you’re a Queer history expert, becoming an ally for the first time, or nervous to join your first event, we welcome you to use movement and stories to explore Chicago and celebrate Queer history with us this June. Here are the ways you can use movement and stories this month.
2025 Pride Month Events:
🏳️🌈 June 3 | A Night at the Queer Archives in Rogers Park
🏳️🌈 June 7 | Book Club Run of Cold Girls with author Maxine Rae in Evanston
🏳️🌈 June 24 | Running Tour of The Girls in 3-B and post-run lecture with Gerber/Hart Library & Archives
🏳️🌈 June 28 | Proud to Run 5K & 10K
June 3 | A Night a the Queer Archives
We’re kicking off Pride Month with a special book-themed field trip to Gerber/Hart Library & Archives in Rogers Park to view archives related to The Great Believers and The Girls in 3-B. If you’ve ever wanted to know the historically-significant documents the Rebecca Makkai may have used in her research or learn more about the 1950s-era queer author behind iconic lesbian pulp fiction novels, join us for an educational and fun evening exploring the stacks!
Queer author Maxine Rae’s debut novel Cold Girls is the story of Rory, a teenager who lives in the wealthy North Shore suburbs of Chicago but struggles with feeling out of place due to her family’s relatively lower income and her own social awkwardness. She's only made one friend at Telsey High School in months, but at the start of a new semester joins choir, and there she meets Liz. There is a coming of age story in this book: feeling out of place, finding your person, finding yourself, figuring out your sexuality.
Join us on Saturday, June 7 for a June’s Book Club Run inspired by this novel. Over three miles, we’ll discuss the major themes and end with a live Q&A with author Maxine Rae.
On this annual tour, Quinn Sluzenski guides runners through the Gold Coast/Near North area and stops at real-life queer hangouts from Chicago history and discusses characters from The Girls in 3-B. Through Valerie Taylor’s 1950s-era story of three small-town Midwestern Girls—Annice, Pat, and Barby— we discuss themes like work, love, independence. After the run, we’ll end with a fun and informative lecture with Jen Dentel of Gerber/Hart Library and Archives. This year, our tour is on Tuesday, June 24 at 6pm out of Vuori Gold Coast. A portion of ticket sales will be donated to Gerber/Hart Library and Archives!
June 28 | Run the Annual Proud to Run Race
Join Read & Run Chicago’s team for Chicago’s annual Proud to Run race! Their mission is to support organizations empowering the LGBTQ+ community in Chicago. The Proud to Run 5K, 10K, and Half Marathon is organized by an all-volunteer, community-based board of directors.
[Related: Guide to Chicago’s Running Community 2025]
The first Proud to Run race was organized by Peg Gray of the Gay Athletic Association, along with Rob Williams and Jim White. On June 20, 1982, 40 runners and walkers gathered at Foster Avenue Beach and set off on a 10K run and a 1-mile walk that would evolve into an annual Pride Week event that welcomes thousands of participants and supporters, and has raised almost $700,000 for organizations that support the Chicagoland LGBTQ community. [Source: Proud to Run]
Readers & runners at Ann Sather in Lakeview in January 2025.
To understand more the real-life parallels between Makkai’s novel The Great Believers and 1980s Lakeview, Read & Run Chicago hosted three LGBTQ elders after our Book Club Run of The Great Believers in January 2025 in partnership with Gerber/Hart Library & Archives, the largest LGBTQ archives in the Midwest and a resource for Rebecca Makkai.
If you’re interested in further context for Valerie Taylor’s work—whether you will join our running tour or not!—or if you’re curious about what life was like for queer people in the pre-Stonewall era, this list is for you! Quinn Sluzenski put together a collection of book recommendations and supplementary exhibits (both in-person and online) that center around those experiences, especially for Chicagoans.
Allstora is the independent bookstore committed to sharing all stories and sharing profits fairly. At Allstora, we are dedicated to championing authors. We split our profits with authors, doubling their income on the sale of each book–as opposed to another retailer whose name rhymes with "Glamazon." In a time where important stories, especially from queer and marginalized voices, are being banned and ostracized across the country, Allstora is ensuring there is access to books that represent a vast range of intersections, narratives, and history. Building off the success of the first iteration, ShopQueer, Allstora has expanded its catalog from 3,000 to 10 million titles, offering a catalog that appeals to all audiences through a diversified set of genres and authors. Allstora was co-founded by New York Times bestselling author and LGBTQ+ advocate Eric Cervini, drag performer and actor Adam Powell, and television icon and author RuPaul. [Source: Allstora]
Run a Self-Guided Route Inspired by David Jay Collins’s Gaybash
Gaybash is set during Memorial Day weekend in Boystown. In the novel, main character Matt Thompkins is faced headfirst with the fact he’s always lived a comfortable life within easily-discernible lanes. When he’s confronted with a terrible and violent situation near his house, his awakening leads him to make a decision that will impact his life forever. As David Jay Collins said in one interview, “Gaybash is about trusting yourself and believing in yourself, no matter who you are.” Read the book and run a self-guided route in Lakeview.
Browse the Library or View the Archives at Gerber/Hart Library and Archives
The largest LGBTQ archives and library in the Midwest since 1981 is a welcome, inclusive space where you can view anything from vintage VHS tapes to the newsletters of niche 1990s-era queer women fishing and camping groups!
Visit the LGBTQ-Owned Lakeview Bookstore Unabridged
Read & Run Chicago volunteer Connor Cargill and I showing off my “Lesbians for Cliterature” shirt!
Read & Run Chicago sells all kinds of cool merch items at the end of every event, but before we had that, we had this. This is our silly, Gen Z-inspired, homemade merch made just in time for Pride a few years ago—and when you purchase it, you help support our overhead costs. What a win!
Hot Tip: These shirts do well with some cropping and cutting.