Seattle’s Elysian Brewing is teaming up with Queer Eye star and LGBTQ advocate Jonathan Van Ness as the face of the brewery’s GLITTERis Pride Ale, a beer that will benefit Seattle Pride, according to a press announcement.
Van Ness (a.k.a. JVN), the loving and lovable grooming expert from the Netflix series, will also officiate the marriage of an LGBTQ couple at Elysian’s recently renovated Capitol Hill brewpub on Tuesday, June 4, 2019. The couple will be chosen via a contest run in partnership with Seattle Pride.
Elysian is the official beer sponsor of Seattle Pride. GLITTERis Pride Ale originally launched last year and will make its second, nationwide debut on June 1, 2019. The beer is a cream ale with blackberry and raspberry “for extra rainbow flavor,” according to Elysian.
“I’m so excited to team up with Elysian Brewing during Seattle Pride to share the message that all people should be free and proud to express themselves as they are,” Van Ness said in a statement. “I can’t wait for June!”
“We couldn’t think of a better way to kick off Seattle Pride festivities, than with this contest in partnership with Elysian Brewing,” Kevin Toovey, president, Seattle Pride, said in a statement.
Joe Bisacca, Elysian co-founder, said, “I want Elysian to always be a safe place where anyone within our network can show up as their authentic selves. You don’t need to change who you are to make other people feel comfortable.”
In a video promoting the upcoming ceremony, Van Ness calls back to the Supreme Court ruling last June in which the court ruled in favor of a Colorado baker who refused to sell wedding cakes to same-sex couples.
“Thankfully, there are so many businesses that do support the LGBTQ community,” Van Ness says in the video.
In an interview with Delish, Van Ness commented on the nature of rainbow-clad promotions during Pride: “It’s important to have the visibility. It’s not necessarily the product, it’s the conversations and the visibility around it that reaches into hearts and minds and helps change people’s hearts and minds,” he said. “Celebrating people and their authentic selves is so beautiful and important, and I think any way to extend that conversation is really just welcomed. It’s not necessarily about the glitter; it’s the inclusion it inspires.”
Gorgeously said, JVN. Couples can enter the contest by sharing their “love story” on Instagram with the hashtags #MarryUsJVN and #Contest, and tagging @ElysianBrewing and @SeattlePride.
Learn more about the contest here.