Annual Charlotte 5K to honor local runner’s memory
Q Fitness and Wellness is using this year’s annual 5K to support Charlotte Pride, help support a future scholarship fund honoring Lance Sotelo and continue growing an event that has become more than simply completing a race. The QFW 5K, scheduled for June 13 at McAlpine Creek Park, is organized by Q Fitness and Wellness,…
Soul Gastrolounge brunch returns with deep LGBTQ+ community ties
Soul Gastrolounge is bringing back Sunday brunch this weekend, reviving a longtime Charlotte tradition…
Effort to redraw SC voting lines fails
A GOP push to overhaul South Carolina’s congressional map ended May 26, as a…
LGBTQ+ youth vaping linked to bullying and oppression
A growing body of research suggests LGBTQ+ youth are not vaping at higher rates…
Union County Pride conference centers survival, support and LGBTQ+ advocacy
The annual free conference hosted by Union County Pride will return May 28-29 with…
The PROTECT Kids Act will not protect your kids
At a moment in American history when billionaires are the only minority that reliably…
QNOTES History
40 Years of Qnotes Coverage
As a newspaper, Qnotes has served Charlotte for 40 years. In this edition we’ve collected here some of the most significant stories that have appeared on our pages and online during that time. There are more, so many more. We tried to keep it to one big story a year. And we did, mostly. Although…
live theater
Blumenthal announces theatrical lineup for 2026-27
Charlotte’s Blumenthal Arts Center recently released their list of stage productions that will headline for the 2026-27 PNC Broadway Lights Series. It’s a standout mix of drama, romance, spectacle and comedy, which includes the 40th anniversary return of “Phantom of the Opera” in a revitalized production featuring Maria Björnson’s original design. There’s also a new,…
ARTS AND CULTURE
Your Guide to 2026 Pride Festivals Across the Carolinas
As Pride season approaches, LGBTQ+ communities across North Carolina and South Carolina are preparing for another year of festivals, parades and community celebrations. While major events in cities like Charlotte, Raleigh and Durham continue drawing large crowds, smaller towns across the Carolinas are also hosting Pride gatherings throughout 2026, reflecting the growing visibility of LGBTQ+…
IN TRIBUTE
Honoring a Lifetime of Changing Hearts and Minds
Ian Palmquist was still in high school when he first started handing out pamphlets promoting tolerance for LGBTQ+ people. Decades later, what began as accidental activism with five friends grew into a lifetime of grassroots organizing, advocacy and community building — work that has now earned Palmquist recognition from both his peers and the state…
Join the Qnotes Press Club
As Qnotes enters its 40th year, we are inviting readers to help carry this work forward. Qnotes is the only LGBTQ+ newsroom serving the Carolinas, and our reporting remains independent and community-centered because of reader support.
Joining or renewing the Qnotes Press Club helps sustain local LGBTQ+ journalism, amplify community voices, and preserve stories that might otherwise go untold.
A $40 gift in honor of 40 years is a simple way to support the next chapter of Qnotes. Monthly and annual options are also available.
Join the Press Club today and invest in the future of trusted, local LGBTQ+ journalism.
more news
Out in Music: an interview with Marc Almond of Soft Cell
Delighted Tobehere celebrates 25 years of performance
Lambda Legal appoints new deputy legal director of policy
Medical privacy is on the line
Drug resistant shigella infections among men who have sex with other men on the rise
Jim Crow era ‘never ended’ as voting maps shift across south
Cher turns 80!
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