Pride, Odunde Festival, and more — your guide to the week June 8 – 14

This weekend, Pride Month begins in earnest, and one of the country’s largest and longest-running African-American festivals returns to Philadelphia. Those and other picks for the week:

June 8-10: This weekend marks the 30th anniversary of the Philly Pride Parade and Festival, kicking off Friday night with a block party at 12th and Locust. Comedian Margaret Cho is headlining Sunday’s parade. The parade is free; it’s $15 to enter the festival area (or $5 if you pick up a wristband on Friday night).

June 9: The collective Her Philly Moves is hosting an alternative Pride event in North Philly called  Juice: A Summer Fest for Queer/Trans Women of Color. One of the organizers, Daiyon Kpou, said the goal was to create a safe space for queer and trans women of color, while returning to Pride’s more radical roots.

June 9: Philly is no longer just the town of the cheesesteak. Sample vegan foods from a variety of restaurants at this year’s VegFest, a celebration of the plant-based lifestyle. There will be food vendors, as well as lectures, cooking demonstrations, and animal-free clothing and cosmetics for sale.

June 10: One of America’s largest and longest-running African-American festivals returns to South Street for the 43rd annual Odunde Festival. It grew out of a New Year’s tradition begun by the Yoruba people of Nigeria, and it’s now a huge, free street fair with dancers, music, and vendors, a Philly staple. This will be the first year without its founder Lois Fernandez, who passed away last year. The festival begins Sunday morning with a ceremonial procession to give offerings at the Schuylkill River.

June 10: If you’ve ever stood in a museum, scratching your head at a sculpture or a piece of performance art, Extra Credit at the Institute of Contemporary Art might be for you. This free series of classes and discussions will introduce curious art enthusiasts to the history, practice, and theory of contemporary art. Sessions start Sunday with Contemporary Art 101 and run through July 29.

June 12: Kids can learn about pride, inclusivity, diversity, and self-love at Drag Queen Storytime at the Fumo Family Library in South Philly. It’s exactly what it sounds like: drag queens reading children’s books aloud — and all the campy fun that entails. It’s just one of more than 40 Pride Month-related programs at 20 library locations this month, including movie screenings, lectures, and activities for kids, teens, and adults.

Plus! In case your summer reading goals need a little reinforcement, I’ve rounded up some of Philly’s most interesting book clubs. There are cookbook clubs, graphic novel clubs, reading groups for educators, and much more.

And don’t forget, Philly Beer Week and the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts continue until June 10. I caught a performance of “The Fever” and the first half of Taylor Mac’s “24-Decade History of Popular Music,” and was floored by both.