Rainbow Center

08/21/2026

Introducing Gayla 2026: Your City of Destiny.

Our city. Our community. Our future.
This November, we come together to celebrate the people who make Tacoma what it is—and imagine what’s possible for the community we call home.

Tacoma’s story is yours. You are invited.

Saturday, November 14, 2026
5–10 PM · Marriott Tacoma Downtown

Early bird tickets are available now at the link in bio.

08/20/2026

🚨 EMERGENCY CLOSURE 🚨

Due to unforeseen circumstances out of the control of Rainbow Center, we will be closed today, Thursday August 20, as well as tomorrow, Friday August 21.

We are so sorry for this inconvenience to our community members, and hope to be open for regular community hours starting next Tuesday. Please check back in to this page for more updates, and if you have any questions you can message us on this platform or email us at [email protected]

Thank you for your continued support and understanding at this time, we are so grateful to our community and hope to see you all soon 🫂

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

08/20/2026

08/20/2026

🏳️‍⚧️✨ Happy Thursday! ✨🏳️‍⚧️

Today for Transgender History Month, Rainbow Center would like to highlight some modern trans activists and public officials with boots on the ground!

🌈 These individuals have worked hard to build spaces for LGBTQIA2S+ folk across the country, and we are so grateful for people like Marsha Botzer—a trailblazer in transgender rights activism and co-founder of Ingersoll Gender Center; Danni Askini (they/she) is an activist, policy expert, and organizer as well as one of the original founders of the Gender Justice League in Washington State; and Dylan Orr, the director of Environmental Health Services for King County here in Washington, and the first openly transgender person appointed to a U.S. Presidential Administration from Seattle.

💕 Thank you to the heroes serving as a reminder that trans people are everywhere, working tirelessly to better the lives of everyone and make this world an amazing place.

Furthermore, trans and gender-expansive folk can join us at Rainbow Center for our twice-a-month Trans Social Drop-In on August 28th from 5PM-7PM 🥰

You are loved, and always worth fighting for 💙🩷🤍🩷💙
***rtacoma

08/19/2026

🏳️‍⚧️ Happy Transgender Flag Day! 🏳️‍⚧️

🌈 Created 27 years ago today by Monica Helms in 1999, the flag features five horizontal stripes, with Monica stating: “The stripes at the top and bottom are light blue, the traditional color for baby boys. The stripes next to them are pink, the traditional color for baby girls. The stripe in the middle is white, for those who are transitioning or consider themselves having a neutral or undefined gender."

While the world we live in right now can be a terrifying place, we want to uplift trans voices and proudly wave our flags today and every day to make sure the transgender community is supported 💕

Furthermore, trans and gender-expansive folk can join us at Rainbow Center for our twice-a-month Trans Social Drop-In next Friday, August 28 from 5PM-7PM 🥰

You are loved, and always worth fighting for 💙🩷🤍🩷💙
***rtacoma

08/18/2026

❤️✨ Come to Rainbow Center during community hours this Thursday to access the AHF mobile unit brought to us by AIDS Healthcare Foundation

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation brings fast, confidential, and compassionate care right to our community 🔬 With free HIV, STI, and Hepatitis C testing that’s quick and easy—you’ll get your results in minutes with no insurance needed!

They also help provide low or no cost PrEP as a safe, effective way to prevent HIV. With their confidential care and ongoing support, AHF will help you get started with anything you might need.

We’re honored to help the AIDS Healthcare Foundation bring care right to our community, and look forward to seeing y’all during our community hours this Thursday ❤️

🌈 AHF Mobile Unit Testing
📅 Thursday, August 20th
🕔 1:30PM - 3PM
📍 Rainbow Center
2215 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402
***rtacoma

08/14/2026

💌 RAINBOW CENTER INVITES YOU TO JOIN US FOR GAYLA 2026 ✨🌃

Every city has its legends, landmarks, and a story only it can tell 💖

Tacoma was named the City of Destiny in 1873—a city chosen for an extraordinary future. More than 150 years later, we are still shaping that future together.

The destiny of Tacoma became a working waterfront city that creates glass art, elects gorillas as local celebrities, and never lets go of a good story. Inspired by the streets we know, the bridge we all have a story about, and the people & landmarks who are local legends, Gayla 2026 is unmistakably Tacoma: bold, resilient, creative, and entirely our own.

A city of joy. A city of belonging.
A q***r utopia in the City of Destiny.

Join us as we reimagine the City of Destiny together 🌈

📅 Saturday, November 14, 2026
🕔 5:00 – 10:00 PM
📍 Marriott Tacoma Downtown
1538 Commerce Street, Tacoma, WA 98402
🎟️ Link for Tickets in Bio
***rtacoma

08/13/2026

🏳️‍⚧️✨ This Transgender History Month, we want to highlight historical trans figures and reiterate that transgender, nonbinary, Two-Spirit, gender-nonconforming, and genderq***r people have always existed ✨🏳️‍⚧️

🌈 This post features just a few of those trailblazers, including Dr. James Barry, a 19th century surgeon and Inspector General of Military Hospitals in the British Army; Lucy Hicks Anderson, a socialite and entrepreneur who asserted in court her right to live and love as a woman; Amelio Robles Ávila, a trans man who served as a Colonel during the Mexican Revolution under Emiliano Zapata and successfully secured official recognition from the Mexican government under his correct name and military rank; and Roberta Cowell, a British World War II fighter pilot, racing driver, and the first known trans woman to undergo modern gender-affirming surgery in the United Kingdom in 1951.

💕 At Rainbow Center, we believe everyone deserves dignity, safety, and equal protection under the law. We will continue to fight—not just this month but every month—to make a difference for our transgender community.

Furthermore, trans and gender-expansive folk can join us at Rainbow Center for our twice-a-month Trans Social Drop-In this Friday, August 14 from 5PM-7PM or on August 28th from 5PM-7PM 🥰

You are loved, and always worth fighting for 💙🩷🤍🩷💙
***rtacoma

08/11/2026

✍️ TONIGHT! Come check out the RC Writer’s Group in-person right here at Rainbow Center!

Join our education manager Mary Woodard as we review our literary zine, KEEP TACOMA Q***R, and participate in some writing prompts about how we connect our q***rness to the city around us 🥰

Thank you to Tacoma Creates for helping make this possible!

🌈 RC Writer's Group
📅 Tuesday, August 11th
🕔 5 - 6:30pm
📍 Rainbow Center
2215 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA 98402

🌈 Don't forget to preorder tickets for Gayla 2026 ! 🌈

Starting on August 14th, you can follow the link in our bio to tickets for the Rainbow Center’s annual fundraising Gayla. Held in November, this "party with a purpose" features a live and silent auction, dinner, entertainment, and dancing to support year-round programs, advocacy, and safe spaces in the South Sound.
***rtacoma ***rlit