Pride Month

Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD) recognizes the LGBTQIA+ community with Pride Month in June. Join us in celebrating individuality, diversity, and inclusion throughout the Pikes Peak region with programming and resources on this page. Explore booklists, LGBTQIA+ history, Library programming, and more.

Programs

• Pride Flag Painting
  Show your LGBTQIA+ Pride! During this program you will paint a flag of Colorado with your choice of Pride flag colors on a canvas board. We'll include images of Pride flags you can reference!
  • Sat., June 3, 2 p.m. – Fountain Library
  • Wed., June 7,    2:30 p.m. – Rockrimmon Library
  • Fri., June 9, 2 p.m. – Ruth Holley Library
  • Tue., June 13,    2 p.m. – Penrose Library
  • Mon., June 26, 10:30 a.m. – Cheyenne Mountain Library
  • Wed., June 28, 5 p.m. – Sand Creek Library
     
• Rainbow Storytime            
  Join us in celebrating inclusion, diversity, and positivity at this interactive storytime for Pride Month. All ages are welcome; stories are geared towards preschool-aged children and older. Registration required.
  • Thu., June 8 from 10 – 10:30 a.m. – Library 21c 
  • Fri., June 9 from 10:30 – 11 a.m. – Ruth Holley Library 
  • Sat., June 10 from 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. – Manitou Springs Library
  • Mon., June 12 from 2 – 2:30 p.m. – Monument Library
  • Fri., June 16 from 10:30 - 11 a.m. – Penrose Library
  • Sat., June 24 from 2 – 2:30 p.m. – Cheyenne Mountain Library
  • Sat., June 24 from 11 a.m. - noon – East Library
  • Fri., June 30 from 10:30 - 11 a.m. – Penrose Library
     
• Patrons of Influence: El Paso County’s Diverse Voices 
  The Library and Citizen-Powered Media celebrate local leaders who are providing positive influences in the areas of culture, business, and leadership in El Paso County. Panelists will discuss their shared interest and experiences on how organizations and communities are strengthened by diverse voices. 
  
  There will be a Question and Answer session following the panel discussion.           
  
  This is an in-person event. Registration is not required but strongly recommended. There is a Livestream option for this event (registration required).
  • In-person at Penrose Library: Wed., June 14 from 10 – 11 a.m.
  • Register here for the livestream option. 

Virtual Teen Programs 

• Teen Tech: Ziggy Stardust 3D Designed Earrings - Learn basic 3D modeling and celebrate bisexual icon David Bowie with a 3D-modeled Ziggy Stardust earring. 
  

   
   

• Teens Read: Books for Pride  
  Discover books centered around Pride in this video.   
  

Booklists 

• Young adult books on the Libby app and Overdrive website 
• Picture books for kids 

Regional History and Genealogy Resources 

• The Pikes Peak Lavender Film Festival Records (archival collection MSS 0342) 

  Colorado Springs has a fascinating and often tumultuous history with the LGBTQIA+ community. When the Lavender Film Festival began in 2000, it was the only LGBTQIA+ film festival in the state of Colorado. The material in this collection provides valuable insight into this groundbreaking event.

  The collection includes VHS tapes and DVDs of the films shown at the festival. Newspaper clippings provide a glimpse at how the event was promoted and, in turn, viewed by the local community. The opening remarks of the event give us an understanding about why the organizers felt the festival would help bring awareness and educate people about LGBTQIA+ issues and filmmaking. Various budgets and meeting minutes provide a detailed look into the work involved in bringing this innovative event to the community. 

• Colorado Springs Pride Center Records (archival collection MSS 0461) 

  The Colorado Springs Pride Center was one of the oldest LGBTQIA+ community centers in the United States. Founded in 1978, the Center offered assistance and support programs to people across the Pikes Peak region. In 2014 alone, more than 8,400 people contacted the Center for help. Topics covered in this collection include – but are not limited to – Amendment 2, marriage, hate crimes, local news, and legal cases. News releases, newspaper clippings, and scrapbooks show the highs and lows of what was happening in the community. This nonprofit organization served as a much-needed medium for marginalized voices in the Pikes Peak region.