UCR Lavender Graduation LGBTQ+ Celebration

UC Riverside will hold its 2026 Lavender Celebration on Thursday, June 4, as the campus moves into its 72nd commencement season. The evening program is billed as a recognition event for LGBTQ+ graduating students and allies, with doors opening at 6 p.m. in HUB 302, dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the program at 7 p.m. UCR’s LGBTQ+ Resource Center says the event is free and open to all, with RSVPs strongly encouraged. The celebration appears on the university’s commencement-related events listings alongside other graduation-season programs. ### When is the Lavender Celebration, and where will it happen? Thursday, June 4, is the date listed by both UCR’s events calendar and the LGBTQ+ Resource Center for Lavender Celebration 2026. The location is HUB 302 in the Highlander Union Building on the Riverside campus. The university’s event listing says the program runs from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m., a buffet dinner starts at 6:30 p.m., and the formal program begins at 7 p.m. The listing says the event is free and open to all attendees. ### Who is the event meant to recognize? UCR’s LGBTQ+ Resource Center says the celebration “salutes graduating Highlanders” and recognizes LGBTQ+ students and allies. The center says students wear rainbow tassels and lavender cords as part of the event. The program also includes student-selected “You Got Me Through” awards, according to the resource center’s page. Those recognitions allow graduating students to honor people who supported them during their time at the university. ### What else happens during the ceremony besides graduate recognition? For more than 25 years, UCR’s Lavender Celebration has also included the presentation of Lambda Awards, according to the university’s event page and LGBTQ+ Resource Center. The awards are selected by the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee and recognize individuals and organizations that have made contributions to the campus LGBTQ+ community, the resource center says. The university describes the event as both a celebration of graduates and a tribute to campus community members. That places it in the same category as other identity-based or affinity recognition events that appear on UCR’s broader commencement calendar. ### How does it fit into UCR’s commencement schedule? UCR’s official commencement site says the university is holding its 72nd commencement in 2026. The school’s posted schedule shows recognition celebrations beginning on June 3, with the AAPI Recognition Celebration, followed by the School of Medicine ceremony on June 5 and the Graduate Division Hooding Ceremony on June 6. June 4 places the Lavender Celebration between those events and ahead of the larger school-by-school commencement ceremonies scheduled for June 15 and June 16. UCR’s commencement site says it will continue updating deadlines and ceremony information as graduation approaches. ### How can students and families attend? UCR’s event page says RSVPs are strongly encouraged, and the LGBTQ+ Resource Center says everyone attending should complete the Lavender Celebration 2026 registration form. The center says the form is for both graduating students who want to be recognized and guests planning to attend. Free parking will be available through a university link, according to the LGBTQ+ Resource Center page. The next public milestone is the June 4 program in HUB 302, followed by UCR commencement ceremonies beginning June 5 and continuing through June 16.