Virginia Pride Takes Us Out To The Ballgame

by | Jun 26, 2019 | QUEER RVA

The Richmond Flying Squirrels and VA Pride are presenting the first-ever Pride Night at The Diamond this Thursday. Hooray!

After a year and a half or so of rainy weather, it’s been a real refresher to get the warm, sunny weather we’ve been experiencing this Pride Month. And there’s nothing better for a sunny summer evening than enjoying a ball game with hundreds of your best friends. This Thursday night, Virginia Pride and the Richmond Flying Squirrels will cap off Pride Month with the first-ever Pride Night at the Diamond, and it’s going to be marvelous.

The event will focus on an evening game between the Flying Squirrels and Hartford’s Yard Goats, but there’ll be a lot of added perks to enjoy as well, from the Diamond’s signature fireworks — which attendees will be able to experience “up close and inside the fences,” according to VA Pride — to all the hot dogs, peanuts, and cracker jacks your little heart desires.

Actually, the Diamond has a pretty outstanding array of food and beverage options, going well beyond the expected ballpark fare to include things like pimiento cheeseburgers, pepperoni flatbreads, and seafood. Plus, Hardywood’s Lively Oak stand will be serving the official beer of VA Pride, the Tropic Like It’s Hot summer ale, all evening long.

Virginia Pride has a stated goal of raising $20,000 for their scholarship and outreach fund as part of this event, and quite a few Richmonders have pitched in to help out — according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, over 3,000 tickets have been sold for the game so far, putting the funds raised at over $10,000.

There are still tickets available, however, and you can order yours now at Groupmatics for $9 each. If you purchase your tickets through this link, a portion of the price goes to benefit VA Pride.

And of course, lest we forget — the first of two Pride Guides released by GayRVA and VA Pride this year will be unveiled at the game. Pick one up for free, and enjoy it between innings. If you don’t manage to grab one at the game, keep an eye out in the coming days for copies at your favorite retailers around town — but hopefully we’ll see you there!

Photo by Branden Wilson

Marilyn Drew Necci

Marilyn Drew Necci

Former GayRVA editor-in-chief, RVA Magazine editor for print and web. Anxiety expert, proud trans woman, happily married.



more in gayrva

RVA Live Music | Which Side Are You On Fest, Drug Country, ShotClock

Lotta bands on these bills so I hope you see one you like. Got some really good and impactful benefit shows this weekend so if you got some time and a few bucks it goes a long way to a lot of people. Got a show coming up? New single? Simply want someone to talk music?...

Photos | Warriors in Bloom at Agecroft Hall

For one weekend, Agecroft Hall stopped being a museum and became a kingdom.  What began as a fundraiser to help launch Richmond's first Renaissance Faire has grown into a destination of its own. Warriors in Bloom, created by the folks at Virago Alley, returned with...

Everything We Did Was A Bad Idea

Editor's Note: Writer's Block is a space for Virginia writers to share personal essays, fiction, memoir, and works that fall somewhere in between. We’re standing on some corner in downtown Richmond: me, my two friends, a pair of women, and their male friend we had met...

Review | SAFETY! Swings Big But Falls Just Short

WARNING: This review contains baseball metaphors.  Cadence Theatre’s Pipeline New Works Program is at the plate again, with its last batter, Witchduck, staring at home from third base. It is literally the first swing ever for the new musical, SAFETY!, at Firehouse...