Check out these D.C. Black Pride events Here’s where to celebrate Blackness and queerness in the city

By TINASHE CHINGARANDE

Pride festivities in the capital city will kick off this weekend with D.C. Black Pride. Below is a partial list of events you can attend to get your energy revved up for a month of activities:

Welcome To DC Happy Hour will be on Thursday, May 25 at 4 p.m. at 640 Rhode Island Ave., N.E. This kickoff event will allow guests to drink and mingle with friends while celebrating Black Pride. There will be music by DJ MoMoney. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

The 4th Annual DC Black Pride Unity Ball will be at 7 p.m. at Renaissance Washington, D.C. The Capitol Ballroom Council in collaboration with Icon Charles West, Legends Twiggy Garcon, Duante’ Balenciaga, and Domo Alpha Omega will come together to celebrate D.C.’s ballroom community. There will be more than $3,000 in cash prizes across various categories. For more details, visit DC Black Pride’s website.

For The Culture Brunch Cruise will be on Friday, May 27 at 12 p.m. at 580 Water St. This Saturday Morning at the DC Wharf will have food, bottomless drinks, and amazing music. Tickets start at $125 and include bottomless mimosas, bottomless Bloody Marys, a brunch buffet, sounds by DJ Obie, and a live performance by Le’Andria Johnson. Le’Andria will be performing on Deck . area were expected to attend this year’s D.C. Black Pride events based on pre-registration records, Hutton told the Blade. He said many have booked rooms at the Renaissance Washington, D.C. Downtown Hotel, and were expected to occupy most if not all of the hotel’s rooms during the weekend events associated with Black ride. his year s D.C. Black ride will mark the nd anniversary of the first D.C. Black ay and esbian ride event held ay 25, 1991, on the grounds of Howard University’s Banneker ield.

Rainbow Row: Organization & Vendor Expo will be at 5 p.m. at Renaissance Washington, D.C. Downtown. This event will be a vendor and organizations expo to support the Black community. For more details, visit DC Black Pride’s website.

DMV Black Pride Gospel Explosion 23 will be on Sunday, May 28 at 3:30 p.m. at The Community Church of Washington, D.C. United Church of Christ. There will be music performances from DMV gospel artists, churches, singers and the DMVP Mass Choir. Offerings collected at this event will be donated to a local nonprofit. or more information, contact Deidre ay at - - .

The Finale Rooftop Day Party will be on Sunday, May 28 at 4 p.m. at Twelve After Twelve. This indoor and outdoor experience will feature multiple rooms with multiple DJs and drink specials. Advance tickets cost $15. For more details, email unleashdcinfo@gmail.com.

Pride Super Party (Wet Dreamz) will be at 10 p.m. at The Park at 14th. This event will be hosted by Daryl Wilson Promotions. There will be a stage show, food trucks, frozen drinks and more. For more details, visit Daryl Wilson’s Instagram.

That event was organized by veteran Black gay activists Welmore Cook, Theodore Kirkland and Ernest Hopkins, who modeled the event after a Memorial Day Weekend celebration and fundraiser for HIV/AIDS organizations providing services to the Black gay community held at the D.C. Black gay bar called The Clubhouse, which operated from to .

The current D.C. Black Pride website says Cook, Kirkland, and opkins one year later, in , organi ed the first D.C. Black Pride to continue the tradition started by the Clubhouse, which was known as the Children’s Hour celebration. The write-up says D.C. Black Pride expanded dramatically over the next decade and drew African-American and people of color participants from across the country and even from abroad.

“DC Black Pride was the catalyst for what is now regarded as the Black Pride movement,” the write-up says. “Since its birth, more than 50 other Black Pride celebrations now take place throughout the world, many using DC Black Pride as its model.”

One of the workshops at this year’s D.C. Black Pride called “An Homage to The Clubhouse” will celebrate the role that the iconic gay bar played in developing the “rich history and culture” that led to the founding of Black Pride celebrations in D.C. and worldwide, the Black Pride website write-up says. The workshop was scheduled to take place Saturday, May 21, from 3-6 p.m. at the Renaissance Washington hotel. A full schedule of the weekend’s D.C. Black Pride events can be accessed at dcblackpride.org.

Brunch & Babes: 2nd Annual DC Black Pride Iconic Drag Brunch will be at 12 p.m. at Hook Hall. This event will be hosted by the iconic Sophia McIntosh and feature the icons of “Atlanta” including Stasha Sanchez Garcon and Raquell Lord Balenciaga. There will also be appearances from Exotic Lord Mugler, Syria Synclaire, Paris Brooks-Bonet Ebony and Haven Garcon. Tickets start at $20 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

PRIDE In The Park will be on onday, ay at p.m. at Fort Dupont Park. At this festival, guests will be treated to free food, games, axe throwing, henna tattoos, and more, all for free. There will be a lineup of performers, including Reesa Renee, Deja B. and Meeche Korrect. The event will be hosted by Royce and MC Boom.