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Happy Monday, Pittsburgh!
We’re more than halfway through October, the Halloween decorations are getting increasingly elaborate, and somewhere in Western Pennsylvania, somebody is already wearing a costume that requires a second person to help them through a doorway.
We love this time of year.
But this week, we’re thinking about beginnings. Not the big, dramatic, ribbon-cutting kind. The little ones.
A few friends getting together for picnic. Somebody deciding to try baking after watching a TV show. A person putting themselves out there, stepping onto a stage, or finding the courage to try something new.
You never really know where those moments might lead.
Sometimes the smallest beginnings grow into the spaces our community needs most.
This week, we’re celebrating a grassroots trans gathering that became a major health and wellness conference, a former elephant trainer who’s baking queer belonging into New Kensington, and some fabulous new Pittsburgh royalty.
We’ve also got a drag comedy showdown coming this weekend, an important voter registration reminder, and a little request from your friends here at Slay Weekly.
Because whether you’re organizing a conference, opening a bakery, or sharing one small moment of happiness, you never know who might need what you’re putting into the world.
Let’s slay the week!
SLAY OF THE WEEK: From a Picnic to 60 Workshops
Sometimes changing your community starts with something as simple as getting everybody together for a picnic. Seriously.
Back in 2010, a grassroots collective of trans and nonbinary Pittsburghers looked around and realized their community needed more opportunities to gather, connect, celebrate, and be seen.
So they started creating them. First came a picnic. Then the TransPride Pittsburgh Talent Showcase, giving local trans and nonbinary performers a place to shine.
Then workshops. And more workshops. And eventually, something pretty remarkable.
The TransPride YOUniting Health & Wellness Conference.
This year’s conference, held virtually October 15–17, brought together speakers, professionals, organizers, and community members for three days of education, empowerment, and connection.
And we’re not talking about a handful of presentations. More than 60 workshops. Sixty!
That’s a whole lot of knowledge, conversation, and community care growing out of a gathering that began 16 years ago.
This year’s programming explored everything from gender-affirming healthcare and medical representation to protecting autonomy as trans people age, creative approaches to wellness, and the importance of connection and belonging.
We especially love that last part. Having access to information. Being treated with dignity. And knowing there are people working to make sure your needs are understood at every stage of life.
From a picnic to a talent showcase to more than 60 workshops over three days. That’s what community care looks like when you give it room to grow.
To everyone who organized, presented, attended, and helped make this year’s conference possible, you’re our Slay of the Week. And to the people who started with that first picnic? Look what you grew.
Now that’s a slay!
A Little Pittsburgh Royalty
While we’re celebrating people showing up as their fabulous selves, congratulations to Valentine (Ms. Pittsburgh Leather Fetish 2027), Elmar (Mr. Pittsburgh Leather Bear 2027), Ian Neft (Mr. Pittsburgh Leather Fetish 2027), and Opossum Jaxon (Iron City Pet 2027), crowned during the 16th annual Steel City Fetish Con! Here’s to another year of leather pride, chosen family, and unapologetic self-expression in Pittsburgh.
Speaking of Royalty…
Pittsburgh’s funniest drag entertainers are ready to bring the camp, chaos, and comedy to the Miss City of Bridges Comedy Queen 2027 pageant on Saturday, October 24, at Arcade Comedy Theatre downtown! Hosted by the fabulous Dixie Surewood, the evening will feature outrageous performances, big laughs, and plenty of drag ridiculousness as contestants compete for the crown and a chance to represent Pittsburgh at the national competition in Orlando. Because in Pittsburgh, we take our drag seriously, even when the queens are being absolutely ridiculous.
Share Your Joy
Send us your happy news, your tiny victories, your unexpected delights, and your gloriously queer little celebrations.
Big joy. Little joy. Spooky joy.
We want it all.
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Today’s the Deadline
A quick reminder before we get back to the fabulousness: today, Monday, October 19, is Pennsylvania’s voter registration deadline for the November 3 midterm elections.
Need to register? Already registered but want to double-check your status?
Visit vote.pa.gov to register to vote or verify your information.
Queer Joy in the World: Let Them Eat Gay Cake
Okay, we need to tell you about a bakery. But first, we need to tell you about an elephant trainer. Because apparently, those two things are connected.
Meet Evan Morgan-Newphis, the man behind what might be Western Pennsylvania’s gayest bakery.
Before opening Evanly Bakes in New Kensington, Evan spent ten years training elephants at a zoo. Yes. Actual elephants.
Then one day, The Great British Bake Off convinced him that maybe he should give baking a try.
There was just one small problem. He wasn’t particularly good at it. At first.
But he kept practicing, eventually competing on the CW’s Great Chocolate Showdown and making it all the way to the finale.
And despite insisting he’d never open a bakery, he did exactly that. Because sometimes life has other plans.
Evan and his husband, Jared, brought their fledgling business to Western Pennsylvania, where local farmers markets and enthusiastic customers helped them build something special.
In 2024, they opened a storefront at 945 Fifth Avenue in New Kensington.
Evanly Bakes isn’t just selling cake jars, brownies, and blondies. It’s creating a little pocket of queer belonging outside Pittsburgh’s usual LGBTQ+ gathering places.
The bakery is designed to feel more like somebody’s living room than a traditional storefront.
There are couches. Colorful art. A back patio. And the kind of atmosphere where people can walk in, relax, and feel welcome.
Evan began noticing that customers wanted to bring their queer children, siblings, and friends to the bakery. Not just because the desserts were good. But because it was a place where they could feel comfortable being themselves. And that matters.
Especially in communities where finding an openly queer-friendly gathering place might otherwise mean driving into Pittsburgh.
We spend a lot of time talking about how important LGBTQ+ spaces are in the city. But queer people live everywhere. In small towns. In suburbs. In old steel mill communities. In places that don’t always get mentioned when people talk about Pittsburgh’s queer scene.
And those people deserve somewhere to belong, too.
We love that Evan and Jared are helping create that space in New Kensington. We also love Evan’s approach to running a welcoming bakery:
“It’s cake. It’s not that serious,” Evan said. Honestly? Put that on a T-shirt.
Queer joy doesn’t need to be complicated. Sometimes it’s a comfortable couch, a friendly face, and a really good brownie.
And sometimes the person who made that brownie used to train elephants.
Life is wonderful.
Here’s something we’ve been thinking about.
Sixteen years ago, a group of trans and nonbinary Pittsburghers got together and started building community. They probably couldn’t have imagined every workshop, conversation, and connection that would eventually grow out of those early gatherings.
A few years ago, Evan started experimenting with baking. He certainly didn’t expect it to lead to a queer-friendly gathering place in New Kensington.
And somewhere in Pittsburgh this weekend, a drag performer might step onto a comedy stage at the City of Bridges Comedy Queen Pageant and discover something about themselves they didn’t know was there.
That’s the thing about beginnings. You don’t always know what you’re starting.
Sometimes you’re just trying something new. Making a connection. Sharing a little happiness. Creating a place where somebody else can feel comfortable.
And then, one day, you look around and realize something bigger has grown. A conference. A business. A friendship. A community. A place where somebody can finally exhale and be themselves.
We don’t always get to see the full impact of the things we do. But that doesn’t make them any less meaningful.
So this week, we hope you’ll try something. Reach out to somebody. Show up somewhere new. Support a queer-owned business. Celebrate a friend’s accomplishment. Share a little good news. Start the thing you’ve been thinking about starting.
You don’t have to know exactly where it’s going. Sometimes you just have to plant the seed.
And who knows? Maybe it’ll grow into something wonderful.
Or maybe it’ll just make somebody’s Monday a little brighter. That’s pretty wonderful, too.
Take care of each other out there, Pittsburgh. Stay fabulous, stay curious, and keep making room for joy.
And if your week gets a little overwhelming, remember:
It’s cake. It’s not that serious.
We’ll see you next Monday.
Talk soon.
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