Capital Pride reveals 2023 theme, plans for 2025 World Pride

Celebrating ‘Peace, Love, Revolution’

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

About 300 people turned out Thursday night, March 16, for the annual D.C. Capital Pride Reveal celebration, which organizers say served as the official kick-off of the LGBTQ Pride events for 2023 in the nation’s capital.

Among other plans for the 2023 Pride events, including the annual Pride parade and festival, organizers announced this year’s theme for the Pride festivities will be “Peace, Love, Revolution.” he event took place in one of the large ballrooms at D.C.’s Kimpton Hotel Monaco at 700 F St., N.W. fficials with Capital ride lliance, the group that organizes D.C.’s annual Pride events, also announced at the Reveal celebration that the 2023 Pride events will set the stage for 2025, when D.C. will serve as the host city for World Pride 2025.

World ride is an international B event that takes place over a period of several days that usually draws a million or more visitors from countries throughout the world to the host city.

Organizers of the World Pride celebration announced last year that they had accepted D.C.’s bid to host World Pride 2025. The bid was prepared by Capital Pride Alliance and D.C. government officials, including officials from the office of ayor uriel Bowser and the city s convention and visitor’s bureau.

“We are thrilled to introduce our theme for Capital Pride

Comings & Goings

2023 as we gear up to welcome the world to D.C. in 2025, which is also the 50th anniversary of Pride in D.C.,” said Capital Pride Alliance Executive Director Ryan Bos in a statement released on riday. his year s theme kicks off a three-year campaign leading into the message that we want to share with the world in 2025,” Bos said.

In the statement it released on Friday, Capital Pride explained its rationale for selecting its theme, saying it was based in part on the LGBTQ rights movement’s history.

“Social justice issues, including those involving the LGBTQ+ community, were shaped by moments that turned into movements beginning in the 1950s and in the years that followed,” the statement says. These movements created a E I of change that sparked the beginning of newfound freedoms,” it says.

he fight for these liberties instilled a sense of ride in members of the LGBTQ+ community in the decades since,” the statement continues. “PEACE and LOVE motivated many of these pioneers to be brave and inspired others to fight for human rights for years to come, it says.

The statement points out that “recent challenges” have arisen in state legislatures and in the U.S. Congress that have once again placed the B community under fire from those who would deny us our basic civil rights.” It says these challenges will re uire a continuation of the fight for freedom “through direct action in the streets and the halls of government.” mong those who spoke at the eveal event, in addition to Ryan Bos, were Capital Pride Board President Ashley Smith, and Capital Pride’s public affairs director, Marquia Parnell. lso speaking was aper Bowles, director of the D.C. ayor s ffice of B ffairs, who told the gathering that the city government, especially Mayor Bowser, will be working diligently to provide full city support for World

Pride 2025.

D.C. drag performer Shi-Queeta-Lee drew loud applause from the crowd that filled the hotel ballroom for a drag performance after the speakers addressed the crowd.

“We’re going to be focused on peace, love, and revolution over the course of this next year,” Capital Pride Board Chair Ashley Smith told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the Reveal event. “We’re super excited about it because this is a part of the movement that adds to the historical pieces as we approach 2025 and World Pride in 2025,” he said.

In its statement released on Friday, Capital Pride Alliance announced the Capital ride arade will take place Saturday, une , and will travel the same route as last year s D.C. ride arade. ride block party will also take place this year in a two-block section of th Street, .W. near Dupont Circle in the same location as last year, the Capital Pride announcement says.

And it says the annual Capital Pride Festival and concert will take place on Sunday, une , also at the same location as last year – along a stretch of Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. with the .S. Capitol as a backdrop.

“Through the events of Capital Pride and its many partnerships, last year Capital Pride Alliance was able to raise over $200,000 for the Pride 365 Fund,” according to the Capital Pride statement.

“The success of last year allowed CPA to invest and partner with the D.C. Center for the LGBT Community to establish a new LGBTQ+ community center for Washington, D.C., and continue the support of partner organizations that organi e events such as DC Black ride, rans ride, outh ride, Silver ride, atin ride, and sian and acific Islander Pride,” the statement says.

Further details of plans for Capital Pride 2023 can be accessed at CapitalPride.org.

Inouye named Deputy ssistant Secretary in communications at Dept. of Education

By PETER ROSENSTEIN

The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at: comingsandgoings@washblade.com.

Congratulations to Shin Inouye on his appointment as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Communications and utreach, .S. Department of Education. He said, “I’m honored to join the Biden-Harris administration and the amazing team under Secretary Cardona. Working with my outstanding colleagues, I am confident we will meet our goal to raise the bar and promote academic excellence in America.”

Previously, Inouye served as Executive Vice President of Communications, The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and Human Rights, The Leadership Conference Education und. e also held a number of high-level positions in the Obama administration, including Press Secretary and Acting Senior Adviser for Intergovernmental and External Affairs, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; Adviser for Intergovernmental and E ternal ffairs, E ecutive ffice of the resident White ouse ffice of Communications Director of Specialty edia and as an authori ed spokesperson for the Obama Inaugural Committee, with a focus on specialty media outlets.

SHIN INOUYE TRISTAN FITZPATRICK

Inouye has received many honors, including being named one of 25 “LGBTI next generation leaders to watch” by Out in National Security and the Atlantic Council; and one of sian merican acific Islander ational Security & Foreign Policy Next Generation Leaders” by New merica and the Diversity in ational Security etwork.

Congratulations also to Tristan Fitzpatrick, on his promotion to Senior Communications Consultant at APCO Worldwide. it patrick said, I am thrilled to start this new position and look forward to the start of a new chapter advising clients on how to best achieve their communications and public affairs goals. ristan has worked with C for the past year and a half. They are the fifth largest independently owned firm in the nited States. rior to that, it patrick was a Digital Media Specialist with the National Public Pension Coalition in D.C. e worked as a Communications and Digital Adviser, to the Biden for President campaign. He advised the campaign’s Out for Biden Coalition on communications and digital best practices for turning out 11 million LGBTQ and 57 million pro-equality voters. Tristan has also been a Communications Manager and Digital Outreach Coordinator, Cancer Support Community, Washington, DC.