Weaving beloved community in Portland & Cascadia
Queer Magic is a volunteer-run queer community organization based in Portland, Oregon. Emerging from Radical Faerie organizing efforts dating back to 2007, Queer Magic creates accessible, all-gender opportunities for connection, creativity, spirituality, mutual aid, and community resilience.
Since 2023, Queer Magic has organized and hosted a diverse range of community-building activities including:
• Two multi-day all-gender Queer Magic Gatherings at Breitenbush Hot Springs, serving approximately 70 participants.
• Seven all-gender Breitenbush Day Trips, making the healing and restorative experience of Breitenbush accessible to participants who may not have the resources, time, or comfort level to attend a multi-day retreat.
• Four Queer Magic Pool Parties over the past three years, with three additional events scheduled for Summer 2026. These events have typically served 30–50 participants each and provide opportunities for joyful, body-positive, intergenerational queer community connection.
• Eleven Heart Circles focused on topics including trans experience, sacred intimacy, substance use and recovery, mutual aid, and community care.
• Fourteen Queer Magic Medicine Shows, spiritual open mics and community pancake breakfasts featuring music, spoken word, ritual, storytelling, performance art, and other forms of creative expression. These events regularly attract 30–40 participants and audience members.
• Recurring Pop-Up Markets providing free vending opportunities for artists, craftspeople, and community members. We’ve had about 15 of these since the pandemic began continuing to the present day. These events support local queer artists while creating accessible gathering spaces that regularly attract 30–60 attendees.
• Community support projects, including assembling and distributing welcome bags for transgender individuals and families relocating to Portland from states with increasingly hostile political climates.
All Queer Magic events are organized, staffed, and facilitated entirely by volunteers. Success is measured through attendance, repeat participation, volunteer engagement, community feedback, collaborative partnerships, and the continued emergence of new community-led projects and relationships.
Over the past several years, Queer Magic has created well over 1,000 participant experiences through volunteer-run programming serving LGBTQIA+ communities in Portland and throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Founded: 2025 nonprofit (roots dating to 2007)
Events produced since 2022: 40+
Medicine Shows: 14
Heart Circles: 11
Pool Parties: 4
Breitenbush Gatherings: 2
Breitenbush Day Trips: 7
Pop-Up Markets: 15+
Participant experiences: 1,000+