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New Hope’s Only LGBT+ Bar

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Welcome to The Cub Room – your home away from home.

Pride flag across that bridge toward a festival in Pennsylvania. Nestled in the heart of New Hope, Pennsylvania, our vibrant bar is a beacon for the LGBTQ+ community and its allies.

“I always say — because our community is so large, you can go to any place on a Friday or Saturday night, and it becomes a gay bar,” said Melissa Patterson, president of New Hope Celebrates, about the number of LGBTQ+ people living in and spending time in the New Hope/Lambertville area.

New Hope Celebrates organizes major LGBTQ+ events (like Pride) for New Hope, Pennsylvania and Lambertville, New Jersey and preserves the community’s queer history.

Let the spirit of New Hope fill your heart as we embrace love, forge connections, and create a better world, one unforgettable day or night at a time.

  • Specialty Cocktails: Creative and unique, featuring signature drinks

  • Food Service: Delicious menu with a variety of options

  • Happy Hour: Special discounts on drinks during happy hour.

  • Parking: Free, and plentiful, on-site parking

  • Live Music: Hosting local bands and musicians for live performances.

  • Drag Shows: Spectacular drag performances with talented queens and kings.

  • Safe Space: Patrons can be themselves without judgment or discrimination.

  • Dog Friendly: Well behaved and kind dogs are always welcome!

LGBTQ+ Bucks County

New Hope PrideFest takes place May 10 - 18, 2025.

The organization wasn’t founded until 2003 — formed by a group of LGBTQ+ business owners who hoped to promote the town as an LGBTQ+ travel destination.

Nestled on either side of the Delaware River, New Hope and Lambertville have long been recognized as the area’s own little Provincetown — coupling the picturesque charm of historic small town America with the safety and comfort of a queer-centered community.

“It’s always been a place that I would come to even before I lived here where there was a sense of safety,” Patterson said.

Queer bars emerged in the decades that followed. The Cub Room is more than just a bar – it's a destination where you can let your hair down, be yourself, and revel in the beauty of diversity. The multi-day event will feature a series of Film Screenings, Drag Brunch, Pride Block Party, Music Day, and various pop-up events and celebrations throughout the community. 

Book your stay at Pineapple Hill Inn B&B, the Logan Inn, Fox & Hound B&B, Wedgwood Inn, Aaron Burr House and so many more.

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The event challenges 10 to 15 drag performers to run up Mechanic Street in 3-inch heels as they carry and decorate a pumpkin.

To commemorate the tradition, New Hopes Celebrates invited more than 30 artists to transform a wooden heel template into their own unique creation for an upcoming auction. But they often operate socially as a more singular unit — signified by a walkable bridge that connects them.

That relationship and attachment is especially visible at the annual Pride parade — in which participants start marching in New Jersey, carrying a 100-ft.

“It’s now more important than ever for the stories to be heard and told.”

New Hope Celebrates aims to continue that legacy.

“As most of us on the board say,” Patterson added.

gay new hope pa

It might be the only Pride parade that traverses state lines.

The towns’ weeklong festivities welcome approximately 15,000 people for Pride — making it one of the area’s biggest events. It’s so busy that people coming in from out of town typically book hotel rooms a year in advance.

But New Hope Celebrates is also active all year long.

And that comes with a strong economic impact. It always begins with the unfurling of the 25-foot eight color Rainbow Equality flag at Starbucks in New Hope, PA. NHC and their partners host fun and educational events all week, including the famous Best Cocktail Contest. Embrace love, authenticity, and acceptance in our welcoming atmosphere, surrounded by like-minded individuals who share your values.

The parade starts in Lambertville, NJ and crosses the Delaware River into New Hope, PA with floats and marching bands. “We want to make sure that New Hope will stay as gay as ever — forever.”

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Lauren came to PGN at the end of 2023 and was previously a freelance journalist.

The arts think out of the box,” said John Dwyer in a video from the Music Mountain Theater in Lambertville, who underlined that theater is what brought so many LGBTQ+ people to the area.

Across the river is the Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, which also welcomed LGBTQ+ performers during that time. The organization is currently gearing up for “Out in October” — a month of events centered around LGBTQ+ History Month.

This year is the 20th anniversary of the community’s annual High Heel Drag Race — an event initially launched by the local chamber of commerce.

“It’s exciting when you get to be surrounded by such an amazing team — and not just the executive team but the larger board as well.”

Other executive board members — many who have been involved but are rotating into new roles, including Rich Lucarini, Paul Kokesh, and Kelly Beck-Kay — will continue to help New Hope Celebrates stay focused on its mission and goals.

This includes a long-term goal of moving the archives — which includes biographies, films, images, diaries and other historic materials — to digital formats and an interest in finding more creative approaches to help those materials reach new generations online.

“Because queer history is extremely important,” underlined Patterson, noting that she wants young people to learn about how much work was done to achieve the progress of today and better understand the threat of recent political rhetoric.

Ryan Segura — who has been developing and expanding family-friendly initiatives, such as skating night and pickleball — recently became the organization’s vice president of events.

“Each person on the board has a real, personal connection to the organization and to our mission,” Patterson underlined. Join us and raise your glass as we continue to create a vibrant tapestry of LGBTQ+ life.

Photos of drag queens, LGBTQ+ leaders, and the Pride parade are posted in the town’s municipal hall.

“All of this is ingrained in the fabric of our borough,” Patterson said.

The towns have separate governing bodies and taxes, school districts, chambers of commerce, and other various other functional differences. Each entry will be displayed around town.

Patterson is also excited to see more family-focused events take shape.