Pride in Baltimore: More Than Just Divine

Once upon a time, Baltimore-based filmmaker John Waters made a massive star out of a glorious drag queen named Divine. While she remains perhaps the most enduring symbol of LGBT Baltimore, thanks to roles in iconic flicks like "Pink Flamingos" and the original "Hairspray," Charm City's got a lot more to love.

Pride's Best
Running July 19-24 this year, the more than four-decades-old Baltimore Pride draws some 30,000 merrymakers. "With a block party twice the size of last year," says Baltimore Pride 2016 co-chair Thomas Idoux, "it's hard not to be excited. The block party will feature a dance area, a youth pride zone and a main stage with a score of regional artists throughout the evening, leading up to our Pride headliners, George Lovett and Band, Crystal Waters and CeCe Peniston."

Dine and Wine
Located in the classic gayborhood of historic Mount Vernon, newbie Flavor is owned by Executive Chef Julia Belton, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, and her wife, Vanna. The quick-fire scratch kitchen specializes in inventive small plates like pleasingly piquant buffalo-roasted cauliflower. The smart and stylish Attic lounge upstairs is open weekends for drinking, dancing and relaxing. Be sure to order a peach-strawberry daiquiri, made with peaches hand-picked and pureed by the delightful proprietors. For a more divey vibe, hot foot it over to Leon's, also in Mount Vernon, said to be Baltimore's oldest gay bar.

Score Some Culture
Perhaps the country's most unique and endearing cultural institution, the American Visionary Art Museum is dedicated to the work of intuitive, self-taught artists -- more than a smattering of them LGBT. Among them is Andrew Logan, whose larger-than-life sculpture of Divine is just one of the many pleasures to be found. Keep an eye out for the photography of John Waters' prot�g� Bobby Adams, part of "The Big Hope Show," on exhibit through September 4, and don't leave without browsing gay-owned and operated Slideshow, the coolest museum gift shop on the planet (or at least in the Mid-Atlantic).

Lay Your Head
Just a couple blocks away from the gleaming Inner Harbor and housed in downtown's historic Keyser Building, the new Hotel RL Baltimore is the first of its kind for Red Lion Hotels Corporation. Mid-priced, contemporary and casual, the boutique property is targeted to millennials, with a sweeping lobby featuring an artisan Victrola Coffee Roaster, tons of outlets and comfy seating perfect for work or hanging out. The 130 guest rooms offer spiffy hardwood floors, 55-inch flat-screen televisions and walk-in showers big enough for two or more, depending on how your Pride celebration shapes up.

Hands-On
Dig Italian cuisine? Take an evening to not just consume it but also learn to cook it at Da Mimmo's, a beloved Baltimore institution for more than three decades. The restaurant does it right, sending a limo to pick up students. And the class itself, led by deeply charming Iranian-born Chef Masood Masoodi, who trained extensively in Italy, is enlightening but entertaining. While Masood does most of the work, students are welcome to pitch in and make house specialties like tagliatelle al limone, an egg noodle pasta in a creamy lemon sauce that originates from the Amalfi Coast. Almost as much fun are the photos of grinning celebrity customers that line the walls alongside original Tony Bennett watercolors.

Pro Pointer
Mount Vernon might be Baltimore Pride's home, but there's another quarter now sporting rainbow flags, according to Susannah Siger, proprietor of Ma Petite Shoe Caf�. "Hampden has evolved into the new gayborhood," Siger notes. "Many entrepreneurs have found a home here, from vintage shops to the most lauded restaurants of Baltimore." LGBT-owned businesses include not only Ma Petite but also adult toy shop Sugar, the Southwest-flavored Golden West Caf� and kitsch boutique Hampden Junque.