The glamour, emotion, and undeniable power of authenticity take center stage in this issue’s exclusive fashion spread, captured during the unforgettable week of the Miss International Queen USA 2026 competition. Held at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City, the event brought together some of the nation’s most inspiring transgender women for a dazzling showcase of beauty, resilience, and individuality.

Forty-three years ago, the Gay Academic Union (GAU) was recognized as an official student organization at UNLV. The GAU-UNLV were trailblazers, who not only created space for queer recognition and community on campus, but also shaped the identity of queer Nevada.

Have you ever just felt a little silly leaving your house? Maybe it was because you were wearing something a tad out of your comfort zone? trying a new makeup trend? or just styling your hair a different way? Me personally? I’ve never felt like that. I take every day by storm, walking like a fool into the mundane and terrifying, decorated with layers of paint, a smile drawn on from ear to ear. But how did we get here? From a young clown simply clocking in for a 9-5 to a micro-niche internet celebrity: honestly, I don’t even know.

Few entertainers have embodied spectacle, resilience, and reinvention quite like Liberace. Born Wladziu Valentino Liberace in 1919, he came of age during the hardships of the Great Depression, using his extraordinary musical talent to help support his family by playing piano for dance classes and even washing dishes to make ends meet. Those humble beginnings would shape a career defined not only by virtuosity but by an unmatched commitment to showmanship.

What do you think of when asked, “What is your community?” It’s often categorized by race, religion, sexual orientation, and other characteristics of shared identity. But community can also mean shared goals, like allies. As someone who has lived with a disability for most of my life, this is how I primarily define my community.

Liquid Gold at Oddyssey Noir manages to do something rare; it transforms nightlife into an immersive, living editorial where every guest is both audience and star. More than just a Friday night out, Liquid Gold is a sensory experience that blurs the boundaries between music, fashion, and performance, inviting guests to step fully into their most expressive selves.

Las Vegas has culture! It has Art! It has leaders in both Art and Culture! And I am extremely fortunate to know one such person, Liezl Siojo. We have known each other for almost 2 decades, with our paths crossing through the LGBTQIA+ community, art festivals, galleries, and downtown shenanigans! Her dedication to the arts and to individuals within the Queer Arts community is strong and deep, with a strong commitment.

A new voice is stepping forward with a mission rooted not in individual recognition, but in collective empowerment. The newly crowned Miss Las Vegas Latin PRIDE 2026 is already defining her reign with a clear, purposeful vision: to strengthen bonds between the LatinX and LGBTQIA+ communities across Southern Nevada.

These days, it seems like my friends and I talk a lot about our aches and pains, Social Security, and Medicare. I suppose it’s normal. I will turn 60 this year, and many in my circle are older. But there’s one topic we don’t talk about enough, and that’s what will happen to us when we age to the point of needing care, what the health care industry typically calls “assisted living.”

As we turn the page to PRIDE Month, this issue of Las Vegas PRIDE Magazine is rooted in a simple yet powerful idea: community is not just something we belong to; it is something we build, protect, and carry forward together. PRIDE has always been about visibility, but visibility alone is not enough. It must be paired with connection, care, and a commitment to showing up for one another in both big and small ways.

Las Vegas PRIDE is gearing up for SUMMER 2026! ELEVATE PRIDE Pool Party will be back at SAHARA Las Vegas with the ONLY recurring charity event hosted on The Las Vegas Strip! Come celebrate EVERY BODY, have fun, celebrate PRIDE, and help raise funds for all our charity work!

In a cinematic landscape where queer stories are often flattened into familiar arcs of coming out or tragedy, Anthony Bawn is carving out something far more layered with Almost Us. Premiering April 17 on Watch VIM, the new romantic dramedy delivers heat, humor, and emotional honesty—while asking deeper questions about love, power, and the cost of belonging.

This April, audiences are invited into the heart of Havana for a story that is as visually lush as it is emotionally raw. Cherri, the latest release from Breaking Glass Pictures, arrives on streaming platforms April 21, offering a deeply human exploration of love, vulnerability, and the courage it takes to begin again.

When Rae Canady talks about justice, she doesn’t begin with statutes or courtrooms. She begins with people. Raised in the Midwest as the youngest of four girls, Canady learned early how to make her voice heard. “In a household with loud older sisters, I definitely had to speak up,” she says with a laugh. But beyond sibling dynamics, it was the region’s cultural values: hard work, integrity, humility, and community care, that shaped her foundation. Those principles still anchor her today as she runs for Las Vegas Municipal Court Judge, Department 1.

As winter thaws into spring, March and April arrive with movement, momentum, and a reminder that growth is rarely quiet. This season invites queer and trans communities to stretch toward the light, shed old narratives, reclaim desire, and embrace visibility on our own terms. Whether you’re blooming boldly or rooting deeper beneath the surface, these months promise transformation, tenderness, and a renewed sense of purpose.

Planned Parenthood Mar Monte’s North Las Vegas health center has seen more than 4,000 patients since it opened a year ago (April, 2025), an indication of how essential its quality, affordable sexual and reproductive health care services are in the region. In fact, the first walk-in patient in April, 2025 received PPMM’s first-ever rapid syphilis testing, which led to immediate treatment for an infection that could have gone undetected and caused major health problems.

I am very honored to know Sergeant Alexander Cuevas. When we first met several years back, I knew this was a person grounded in humanity and compassion, who really loves his community and family. Our paths cross often, reuniting with each other at community or civic events, always with a smile, a big hug, and a general sense of gratitude for our positions within the Las Vegas Queer community.

Ever since my very first comedy parody play, Mommie Queerest, waaaaay back in 2003 (this is why I hate math) people have been asking, “When are you going to do The Golden Girls?” (I always thought that phrasing sounded a little creepy.) I would politely reply, “Ooo, maybe next year,” brushing it off while knowing full well I had absolutely no intention of parodying a sitcom that was already perfect.

By any measure, Soleil McCants is a force. In the boardroom, she is a 14-year veteran of search engine marketing who understands the psychology of turning a casual browser into a loyal customer. In the community, she is an award-winning activist whose voice has shaped conversations around LGBTQIA+ equity and food insecurity. In her personal life, she is joy personified, middle name and all.

I was shaped by a lineage of formidable women. I grew up on stories of these great women: my great-grandmother, born during the Lost Generation, a single mother who forged a homestead alone; my grandmothers, who endured the hardships of the Great Depression and World War II; and my mother, who witnessed the transformative power of the Civil Rights and feminist movements.

In my journey, I will always have a special place in my heart for the women who have come into my life, especially those within the “L” GBTQIA+ community. My lesbians and those who “do not label” have always supported my journey, given me the strength to be who I am, and most importantly, have shown me how to love. (Especially ERMA! May she rest in peace.)

In the heart of North Las Vegas, a bold promise is taking root: that every child deserves access to excellence, not just in academics, but in creativity, identity, and possibility. At the center of that promise stands Shambrion Treadwell, M.Ed., Founder and Executive Director of Do & Be Arts Academy of Excellence, a free, arts-integrated K–8 school built on the belief that students can truly “DO anything and BE anything.”

In 1981, the first documented cases of AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) were reported in the United States. What followed was not only a public health crisis, but a wave of fear, misinformation, and stigma. HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), the virus that can cause AIDS, was poorly understood in those early years. Hysteria often overshadowed science, and harmful stereotypes were perpetuated, particularly against the LGBTQ+ community.

On Saturday, March 28, 2026, the community will gather at The LGBTQ+ Center of Southern Nevada for an afternoon of celebration, connection, and courageous joy as it hosts its annual Trans Day of Visibility (TDoV) event. Taking place from 3 to 7 p.m. at The Center, located at 401 S. Maryland Parkway, this year’s observance promises to be both affirming and unforgettable.