Southgate Roller Rink's Pride Skate Night Is a 'Magical' Space for LGBTQ+ Community

Experienced skaters glide around the rink under a shimmering disco ball, skating backward, dipping, dancing to hits old and new, like Whitney's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" and Kim Petras' "Coconuts." Some partners skate laps holding hands, some people line up for choreographed dance moves, and some less experienced skaters hug the wall as they make their way around the rink. 

It's Pride Skate night at Southgate Roller Rink, a weekly 21+ LGBTQ+ skate night. More than "just" queer, trans, and allied people skating around in a circle for hours, it's a special world of friendships, music, and queer joy in the heart of White Center. 

"It brings a lot of positive energy," said a skater named Beard. "People are happy to see each other. There's regulars, there's new people. People are learning a new skill. People are helping each other. People always have something to connect over."

Pride Skate happens every Wednesday from 8:30 to11 p.m. During Pride Skate, the bar hosts karaoke by Baby Ketten Karaoke — fully accessible by roller skates, just a quick roll down a ramp from the rink. Pride Skate has a special theme night once a month (on July 16, it's "Heroes vs. Villains"), when lots of people come in costume, and there's typically a drag performance in the bar. 

When the world outside feels increasingly hostile to LGBTQ+ communities, slipping away to a glittery world where the lights are low and you can glide, roll, slide, karaoke, and dance the night away among friends feels very, very good. 

"It's a very healthy outlet, you know, from dealing with frustrations at work, frustrations of life, frustrations with the world at large," Beard said. "It's just good to get the energy out. It's a great way to exercise and be among community. And the music is always good. So you can't go wrong with the music."

Between theme nights, drag, karaoke, and skating, "all these things kind of wrap together and create one really good night out for the community," Beard said. "It's all just good, positive vibes, and it's the kind of thing we really need right now." 

"I wish I could come every week," said skater Kelly Ewing. "I love people-watching the most. There's just so many fucking cool people here, and I feel like I've gotten to know a lot of the regulars, which has been super fun. There's a real sense of community, and it's very intergenerational."

Southgate Roller Rink has a fascinating history: First established as a boxing arena in 1920, ownership changes over the years led to various incarnations as a dance hall, a skate rink for the Rat City Rollergirls, and an event hall for swap meets. It was dormant for a few years until husband and wife duo Josh and Erin Rhoads took it over in 2011. Having a special LGBTQ+-inclusive skate night was a priority from the get. 

The Rhoads opened Southgate in April that year and launched Pride Skate that October. Erin's friends Tim Staerk and Patrick Savedra were instrumental in starting it up. "Patrick was a fashion photography student at the time, so he did all of our promo pictures. We had volunteer models, and just started that way. I would DJ, and Tim worked the front desk," said Erin Rhoads, who doubles as DJ Slayground.

Their first night drew about 30 people. Now, 14 years later, Pride Night can draw anywhere from 150 to 200, and possibly more during theme nights.

"There's something so freeing about roller skating. And what's great about [Pride Skate] is you can just be who you are and move to the music," said Erin Rhoads. "Sometimes I go a little over time just because everyone's having a good time. I'm like, 'One more song, let's do it,' you know? It's amazing on a Wednesday night to have so many people just having fun and enjoying themselves."

Local drag queens, like regular Holli B. Sinclair, perform during theme nights, and Southgate also hosts other queer events outside of Pride Skate, like Leather & Lace drag cabaret and drag bingo. 

"I like that there's more spaces that are not so alcohol-centric, which is really big," said first-time Southgate skater Kristina Alvarez. "I think just generally for the queer community, a lot of events are centralized around drinking and pubs … so it's nice to know that there are activities [like this]."

White Center is "kind of a magical place" for LGBTQ+ community right now, Erin Rhoads said, noting that there's a tight-knit community of queer-owned businesses, like Lumber Yard Bar, Boombox, Wolfpack Cellars, and Cartwheel Vintage. White Center Pride just had its sixth annual event on June 7, a worthy start to Seattle's Pride season, bringing live wrestling from Lariat Bar, drag, beer gardens, and a new "Resource and Resistance" section with information on legal name and gender marker changes and more.

"We saw a lot of growth pre-COVID, and I feel like post-COVID things kind of slowed down, and then we had those catastrophic fires that took place in our downtown area, which devastated our community," Rhoads said, referring to the 2021 arson, believed to be a hate crime against Lumber Yard Bar. The arson ended up damaging six other businesses in the core of White Center. "That kind of destroyed our business district for quite a while. Now we're really on a rebuild."

The Rhoads took on Búho restaurant on 16th Avenue Southwest three years ago, and have a new arcade opening July 11. Taking over a former Bank of America building in the same parking lot as the roller rink, the Rhoads have transformed it into Southgate Arcade, an air-conditioned, all-ages spot for retro games, and a special room for karaoke or Mario Kart. 

And yes, the bank vault is still there — "We couldn't take it out!" Rhoads said — and will be a special rotating spot for rare pinball machines.