Hotels around Spencer
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About Spencer
Spencer is the county seat of Owen County in southern Indiana, home to roughly 2,450 people, set on the West Fork of the White River about twenty minutes west of Bloomington. In the queer community the town is known for an organisation that punches far above its size: Spencer Pride.
The volunteer-run non-profit works to improve the quality of life for LGBTQ+ people in rural South Central Indiana. Its best-known event is the Spencer Pride Festival, held every year on the first Saturday in October on the lawn of the Owen County Courthouse.
In 2016 Spencer Pride opened its own space in the middle of town, the commUnity center at 17 E. Franklin Street. According to the organisation, that made Spencer the smallest town in the United States with an LGBTQ+ centre. It houses the Unity retail shop, an open gathering space, and a rotating programme of educational and social events.
For travellers, Spencer is above all proof that queer infrastructure is not tied to big cities. There is no nightlife scene here in the urban sense — the centre is the place to go, and it lives on the people who run it.
From the magazine
First Aid at Pride: How to Prepare Before You Go
Pride is a long, hot, crowded day. Most incidents stay minor — if organizers provide proper medical cover and attendees know when to ask for help. A practical guide to preparation, heat illness and dense crowds.
Christopher Street Liberation Day 1970: The March That Started Pride
One year after Stonewall, on June 28, 1970, a few thousand people walked up Sixth Avenue in New York behind a banner reading CHRISTOPHER STREET GAY LIBERATION DAY 1970. Here is how that first march became Pride.
Germany's First Pride (1979): From a Nervous March to a National Tradition
On June 30, 1979, about 450 people marched in Berlin for the first time on the anniversary of Stonewall. A look back at the start of Germany's Pride tradition, the fight against Paragraph 175 and the road to a mass demonstration.