Portland maine gay bars
LGBTQ+ Nightlife
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A bartender makes sparks at Local Lounge.
You'll find plenty of LGBTQ+-friendly places to visit when the sun goes down in Portland.
3 min read
Note: This section was produced in collaboration with ProudQueer.com, formerly known as PQ Monthly.
Portland has no shortage of LGBTQ-owned and queer-friendly bars and clubs. Whether you’re looking for a safe vacuum to enjoy a relaxing night with friends, a high-energy dance party or a drag show, Portland delivers.
North Portland
Florida Room is both queer-friendly and dog-friendly. Enjoy a drink with your favorite two-legged and four-legged friends on one of their two patios.
Eagle Portland is Portland’s leather bar and home ground for the Oregon Bears. Guests who wear a leather harness, vest, chaps, or full drag with “significant effort,” get in free on Friday or Saturday nights.
Downtown and The Pearl District
Scandalscalls itself, “Portland’s Gay ‘Cheers.'” The relaxed vibe makes it a great place to date with friends, or join new ones. During warmer months, grab a seat outside and watch the summer crowd cruise by.
There are two all-male strip clubs in Portland. Silverado, locat
Do We Have Gay Bars in Maine?
Kind of…
We used to have Styxx in Portland but that closed down years ago and we really don’t hold much to replace it with.
We’re no Portland, Oregon but if you saunter down our streets you’d think there would be a lot more gay-friendly places given our demographic.
For those of you who are unaware, Ogunquit is actually where our main gay-bar scene is. The charming coastal town is a safe space for the community and applications more LGBTQ+-friendly bars and businesses than other parts of our state.
MaineStreet
This spot in Ogunquit is actually one of the biggest queer bars and clubs in New England and they regularly host drag performances.
It’s open seven days a week and hosts themed events to keep us on our toes and entertained. They have two dance rooms, two outdoor decks, three bars, and is right down the street from the beach. Not a bad setup if you ask me.
The Front Porch Piano Bar
The blog Travel Gay lists The Front Porch Piano Bar as a gay-popular bar in Ogunquit. They have events almost every night and a killer food and cocktail menu.
Flask Lounge
Flask Lounge is an extremely high-energy, intimate
11 Wine Bars for Every Kind of Vibe
Portland’s lgbtq+ bars are more than just hangouts. Most of the city’s dozen-plus gay bars opened in eras hostile to the gay community. The city’s oldest surviving bars were havens in an openly homophobic era, while its newest venues join a chorus of voices against an increasingly transphobic national climate. The entire LGBTQ+ society should, in the optimal bars, feel safe and free to let loose, have fun, and maybe nibble on something tasty, on menu or off.
Not all queer gatherings have a permanent place, so we’ve assembled a rundown of the city’s robust scene of recurring pop-up parties alongside our favorite brick-and-mortar establishments. From leather bars to flamboyant dens to lesbian parties to trans cabaret revues to Portland’s “gay Cheers,” there’s always somewhere where everyone’s glad you came.
Jump to: Upbeat Clubs / Low-Key Venues / Strip Clubs / Recurring Gay Parties
Upbeat Clubs
CC Slaughters
Est. 1981 | old town
Though technically on the outskirts of Old Town’s Entertainment District, CC’s is very much at the center of the queer downtown Portland scene. Part cocktail block and part dance club, it’s an approacha
Portland, Maine, Only Has 2 Gay Bars – Here’s Why We Might Not See Another One
It seems that under a decade ago, the LGBTQ community had several bars to call their own in Portland, Maine, but is now down to two.
That would be Blackstone's, Portland's oldest gay exclude, and a newer establishment, Cocktail Mary.
With Portland being the progressive, gay-friendly city that it is, it makes you wonder what happened? And will there be another one?
The answer to both of those questions isn’t truly known, but with changing times and progression toward acceptance of all sexual preferences and identities, it can’t be ruled out that everyone just started blending in as one community.
The LGBTQ community getting together at a local brewery, dive bar, or pub has become the norm, especially over the last decade.
Most of the members of the community that I've spoken with enjoy Blackstone's and Cocktail Mary, but are missing the often traditional dance floor. However, in order for that to happen, a much larger establishment would demand to open, which also comes with higher expenses along with the uncertainty of being a thriving business.
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