LGBTQ+ Social & Professional Events in Madison, WI
Join our diverse community of queer locals for coffee, drinks, or lunch to make friends, date, or network.
Madison is rich with queer culture, yet sometimes members of our community are siloed within their own networks, subcultures, or spheres of interest, making it challenging for newcomers to access all the resources available to them, or for different parts of the community to come together.
With Rainbow Happy Hour, we seek to create safe spaces for everyone in our community to come together through our monthly events and to share information on our site that can provide a big-picture view of gay life in Madison, including LGBTQ+ owned and friendly businesses, upcoming events, and public groups.
About
Friends Chris Delamarter and Lee Kampa were feeling disheartened by the social vacuum created by Covid shutdowns combined with a rising tide of anti-LGBT+ sentiment. In response, they co-created and hosted the Rainbow Happy Hour group on Meetup in the fall of 2021, and extended the group to Facebook. It consisted of casual happy hour events for queer people at a local LGBT-friendly taproom. Today, the Meetup group has grown to over 500 members, and the Facebook group, over 700, and the events have expanded to include coffee hours, business networking events, and additional one-off events at popular Madison locations including the Vilas Zoo and Olbrich Botanical Gardens.
Mission
While not a formal nonprofit at this time, we’re a group of people that want to create family friendly spaces for queer folx in Madison of all walks of life to connect socially and/or professionally without an implicit agenda or costly barriers to entry. Come hang out!
Coffee hours
Monthly | 4th Sundays | 9:00 AM
Casual, breakfast-time coffee klatches at local coffee shops for socializing.
Happy hours
Monthly | 2nd Wednesdays | 5:30
Informal happy hours at local bars. Join us for drinks and social time.
Lunch & learns
Monthly | Third Thursdays | 12:00 PM
Lunch, a presentation by a local, LGBT+ owned business, and an opportunity to connect with other queer professionals.
Business directory
Find a queer-friendly local businesses and LGBT+ professionals, from personal trainers to realtors.
Help out!
We’re currently looking for presenters, hosts, and location partners to help out with our new Lunch and Learns.
Contact us
Talk to Chris or Lee to learn more about Rainbow Happy Hour Madison, discuss partnerships, or offer to pitch in. We’re always looking for volunteers to lend a hand however they can.