1. Spectrum Queer Bar 150 W. Broadway. 541​​-225-4896. SpectrumEugene.com.

2. Monkey’s Paw Tiki Bar 420 Main St., Springfield. 541-505-7975. Find on Facebook and Instagram.

3. Cowfish Dance Club and Café 62 W. Broadway. 541-683-6319. Find on Facebook and Instagram.

Spectrum Queer Bar is more than a bar. It’s a safe space for the LGBTQIA+ community according to its manager, Kiki Boniki. With everything from weekly drag performances and craft night to clothing exchanges and community meet ups Spectrum is not limited by the traditional definition of bar. 

Arriving at Spectrum, you’re greeted by the bright colors of the wacky and zany characters painted on the front windows. Many represent signature Spectrum drinks, which are equally as colorful and have playful names that make you wonder about the stories behind them.

As you enter the back room you realize the color has escaped the walls and now covers the people as lights flood the stage to showcase lip sync performances and drag queens. You can feel the energy at your seat, just feet from the small stage.

When your Friday night is finally coming to a close there is no need to be sad. You don’t have to leave for long. Show up the next day for crafts, a social mixer or a drag race watch party. On Sundays, you can nurse your hangover right back at Spectrum while enjoying drag brunch. Prefer to play your Nintendo Switch to partying? Show up to the Spectrum Gaymer night and prove which Mario Kart character is best. 

“Spectrum is a safe space for everyone. No matter where you fall on the spectrum of gender or sexuality, anyone that is in the LGBTQIA+ family, this is your space to be yourself and to not have to worry about what people from society think about you,” Boniki says.

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