10 ways to celebrate Pride while social distancing this year

There are a number of virtual Pride "parades" and events all month long, from Boston Pride's 2020 flag-raising ceremony on June 5 to virtual Pride parades in Denver, San Francisco, and Seattle.

NYC Pride is also hosting a number of exciting virtual events, from a Human Rights Conference to an immersive culinary experience, drag festival, and more.

One of the most important ways to celebrate Pride is to uplift the LGBTQ community through donations.

Organizations like The Trevor Project focus on suicide prevention for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning youth, while the Pride Fund to End Gun Violence works to support political candidates with progressive gun reform policies while promoting LGBTQ safety and equality.

There are dozens of organizations that support and uplift the LGBTQ community, which you can find here.

Club Quarantine, a queer online dance party, hosts virtual dance parties every night, featuring DJs, drag performers, and other special guests.

You can also opt to attend a virtual rave while social distancing.

Hosted by Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, and Pride Summit, Pride Prom will be held on June 13 and feature appearances by Billy Porter, Lena Waithe, Carson Kressley, Cyndi Lauper, Hayley Kiyoko, Patrick Starr, and more.

The night will also have a lineup of DJs, drag artists, makeup sessions, and more fun cameos.

One thing to do during Pride Month that will make you an all-around better ally or community member is to educate yourself on the history of Pride.

Pride Month is usually marked by fun parades, dancing, and rainbow-colored floats in the streets. However, Pride itself is rooted in a social justice uprising that occurred on June 28, 1969, remembered as the Stonewall riots.

At the time, police raids on bars that catered to LGBTQ patrons were common, but that night, the patrons of the Stonewall Inn in New York City decided they would fight back against the brutality and harassment they faced.

Transgender activist Marsha P. Johnson, a trans woman of color, is remembered as a leader of the demonstrations that followed the raid and was reportedly the first to throw a brick or shot glass that sparked the riots and subsequent visibility of the LGBTQ community.

Stonewall usually holds a number of pride events all throughout June. But with social-distancing measures in place, the bar is closed. You can still visit the historic site virtually.

The interactive webpage Stonewall Forever takes visitors through the history of the monument, including what life was like before Stonewall, the riots, and the first year of Pride.

Another way to support Stonewall, the birthplace of Pride and the larger gay rights movement, is by supporting its staff and family members through its GoFundMe while the bar remains closed.

As well as the pandemic lockdown, curfews from the Black Lives Matter demonstrations have resulted in businesses closing earlier than usual or closing altogether, so supporting local LGBTQ-owned bars, restaurants, and small businesses has never been more vital.

According to the US Small Business Association, you can contact SBA's Network for LGBT businesses at lgbt@sba.gov.

Using a couple drops of food coloring and rainbow sprinkles, you can transform any standard dessert or brunch dish into a rainbow-colored, Pride-filled dream.

A rainbow cake can be surprisingly simple, but you can also easily add food coloring to pancake batter or cupcake icing for a fun yet simple Pride Month treat.

Having a virtual movie night with friends using an app like Watch Party or even a Google Hangout can help you connect with other members of the LGBTQ community and allies all month long.

Some great LGBTQ-centered movies on Netflix include "Alex Strangelove," "All In My Family," "Moonlight," "The Death and Life of Martha P. Johnson," and "A Secret Love."

While you can't go out to drag shows during the lockdown, some queens are taking to social media instead. You can watch livestreams, tip the performers (some like Crayola the Queen and Just May are accepting tips via their social media pages), and follow along so when gigs do resume you can go out and support them in-person.

• Read more:
• 20 LGBTQ figures you should know
• 22 ways to cover yourself in rainbow for pride month
• The all-time best LGBTQ movie couples, from Jack and Ennis to Elio and Oliver
• I identify as bisexual — here are 5 things I wish people understood