Q-Prom is back and this year you'll want to pack the sunscreen for a high seas adventure
ShrevePride's flagship event is back for a fourth year, and it's returning to its original home at Artspace in downtown Shreveport on Saturday, June 24.
Q-Prom is the premier pride extravaganza in the Ark-La-Tex. This year's theme is "Seas Shreveport," which has a bit of a double meaning, according to the organizers.
"It's kind of a double entendre of like a play on the cruise theme," explained ShrevePride co-founder Sam Ortiz. "But also seizing this beautiful city and community that we all have and getting the most out of it. That's kind of what we were going for. It's like seize the day, seize the city, seize the opportunity, but also it's cruise themed, so it's centered around what it's like when you go on a cruise."
Artspace's multiple floors will be turned into the cruise of your dreams, with a performance area and a stage with comedians, drag stars, musicians and more. There will be an area set up for games like cards and a mini casino, and there will be a clubbing area with a local DJ and band. To top it all off, local filmmakers will be showcasing their films on a big screen on the "main deck" area.
You can come dressed to impress in your finest prom attire or come decked out ready for the cruise of a lifetime. There will be multiple cash bars and light hors d'oeuvres for guests to enjoy. This event is open for guests ages 16 and up, but the cash bars will only be available to those ages 21 and up.
"It's become a destination, and even people who are in places like New Orleans have come up to our events because what they're wanting isn't there, and they've found something here that they really enjoy," said ShrevePride co-founder Chris Lyons. "ShrevePride's events and other events that are kind of gathering around Pride Month are making Shreveport a tourist attraction."
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If you're looking for dinner before prom, Artspace's next door neighbor Pepito XO will be serving a special menu at 5:30 p.m. For $50 a person, guests will choose one selection from each menu category and all proceeds go directly to the restaurant.
Appetizer Options:
Zucchini fritters with marinara
Seared Peruvian tuna
Chips and queso
Entrée Options:
7oz churrasco chimichurri with Mexican rice, grilled asparagus and crispy onions
80z blackened barramundi with blackened shrimp, whipped potatoes, hollandaise sauce and asparagus
Pasta primavera with veggies, grilled bread, fresh basil chiffonade and shredded parmesan
Dessert Options:
Churros with whipped cream and chocolate syrup
Lemon Carlota with whipped cream and lemon garnish
Chocolate flan with whipped cream and sweet cherry garnish
Tickets for Q-Prom are $35 each, go on sale Thursday, June 1 and can be purchased at the ShrevePride website. If you're unable to afford a ticket, don't worry, you can apply for a scholarship ticket. With the help of the community and sponsors, ShrevePride is able to offer scholarship tickets to those who need them. You can apply for them at the ShrevePride website.
"None of the money goes to us, I mean every single cent we make goes back into putting on these events and to ensuring that we can give away as many scholarship tickets as are needed," said Ortiz. "We've never turned away a scholarship ticket application and that's really important to us, so that's why we work so hard to raise funds so that we can afford to put on these large-scale events and give tickets to people who need them."
To help cover the cost of Q-Prom and make sure there are plenty of scholarship tickets, you can support ShrevePride by purchasing a Pride yard sign for $15 each on the website.
On Saturday, June 10, you can head over to the Kendra Scott store at 6535 Youree Dr. Ste. 412 in Shreveport to buy some jewelry for prom and 20% of the proceeds support ShrevePride. On Monday, June 12 the Raising Cane's on Kings Hwy will also be donating part of their sales to ShrevePride.
"I'm excited for Q-Prom because I feel like right now, especially the LGBTQ+ world is so divided and I feel like Q-Prom is coming at such a good time," ShrevePride co-founder Nicole Ortiz explained. "We can all come together and just reinvigorate ourselves and have that unity. We're together in this and people can feel supported and not alone. It's truly a safe place and we're gonna just continue to move forward in a positive way. You're accepted here and you can be who you want to be here and to me, that's a big deal."
Q-Prom will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 24, at Artspace, 708 Texas St. in downtown Shreveport.
Meredith G. White is the arts and culture reporter for the Shreveport Times. You can find her on Facebook as Meredith G. White, on Instagram and Twitter as @meredithgwhite, and email her at mgwhite@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Check out this year's theme for Shreveport's annual LGBTQ+ Prom
