Washington Blade, Volume 54, Issue 23, June 09, 2023

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Large crowds expected at Capital Pride parade, festival Bowser says there are no credible threats to events

By ISABELLE KRAVIS

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend the Capital Pride Parade on Saturday.

The parade will follow a 1.5-mile route that will step off on th Street at Street, .W., and finish on Street at st Street, N.W. A map of the expected parade route can be found on the Capital Pride website

The Capital Block Party will take place at the intersection of Q and 17th Streets, N.W., during the parade. The party will feature local vendors, food trucks and a beverage garden and it will also have a designated viewing area for families with children to watch the parade, along with other children s activities.

The fourth annual Pride on the Pier will take place at the Wharf during the parade. The event, hosted by the Wash-

ington Blade, e DC and the Wharf, will have a fireworks show, a D and more.

The parade will be followed by the Capital Pride Festival on June 11. Taking place on Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., the festival will feature more than 300 booths with local vendors, businesses and organi ations. rom - p.m., the Capital Pride Concert will host acts such as Broadway actress Idina Menzel and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” winner Monét X Change.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser last Thursday told the Washington Blade after she helped to raise the rogress ride ag at the Wilson Building that there have been no credible threats to any upcoming Pride events in D.C. amid a rise in violence against the B community.

“MPD is constantly working with all of our agencies to

make sure we have safe special events and we’re going to keep going with our planning, like we do every year,” Bowser said. “There’s always a scan for any threats to the District.”

The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating a bomb threat made on Twitter for the annual District Pride concert scheduled for une at the incoln heatre.

emperatures are forecast to reach the mid- s on Saturday and the low- s on Sunday. recipitation chances on both days are low.

With recent air quality issues, Alert DC is advising those with respiratory issues to wear masks, avoid strenuous activities and reduce time spent outdoors.

Further details and a full calendar of events can be found on the Capital Pride website

ways to celebrate ride month in Delaware

From Wilmington to Rehoboth, there’s something for everyone

By JOEL LEV-TOV

It’s Pride month, so we’ve rounded up Pridethemed events, so you know where to celebrate.

FRIDAY, JUNE 9

QUEER FILM: The Rehoboth Beach Film Society and CAMP Rehoboth kick off the threeday ride ilm estival featuring movies, ranging from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” to “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project,” which explores author Giovanni’s life and six decades of work. The schedule has not been announced yet as of publication of this guide. he films will be shown at Cinema rt heatre at Dartmouth d. in ewes. per film.

A HISTORY LESSON: Delaware LGBTQ history researcher Carolanne Deal explores the queer history of Sussex County and a new exhibition with parts of Delaware’s queer history in the Zwannendael Park by the museum with the same name. p.m. at ings ighway in Lewes. Free.

SATURDAY, JUNE 10

PRIDE FESTIVAL: Delaware Pride is putting on its annual Pride festival, with more than 100 vendors and many entertainers making up the single largest LGBTA gathering in Delaware, the organization says. Seventeen entertainers are listed on Delaware Pride’s Facebook page, including “American Idol” contestant Alisabeth Von Presley – “Lady Gaga meets Pat Benatar with a dash of Michael Jackson,” Little Village Magazine writes; Aunt Mary Pat, the drag queen and singer; Jenna Tall, who’s won five iss titles he anhattan rairie Dogs, a dance group that’s legal to watch despite prairie dogs being illegal to keep as a pet in New York; and Ryan Cassata, a singer and public speaker on trans issues. That’s not even mentioning vendors that are scheduled to attend. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at 411 Legislative Ave. in Dover. Free.

PRIDE AFTER-PARTY: Double D’s Taphouse is hosting an after-party throughout Saturday

night for adults and over, hosted by Scarlett Masters (who’s also hosting the drag bingo above). 6-10 p.m. at 137 Jerome Drive in Dover. .

COUNTRY DANCING: Get yir boots on and saddle up, gays! Atlantic Sands Hotel & Conference Center is hosting a country dance party for gay men and women in Rehoboth. 7 p.m. at 1 Baltimore Ave. on the Boardwalk in Rehoboth. .

BRING YOUR GAY ASS OVER HERE: Flash your colors at Wilmington’s Crimson Moon bar. Brush up on your gay history to understand why: When it was illegal to be gay, LGBTQ people put a colored handkerchief in their back pocket to signal their queerness to other community members. Community leaders periodically changed that color so they would not reveal their sexuality to undercover cops. Over time, it evolved into what it is today – a way to show who you are and what you’re looking for. p.m. at W. th St. in Wilmington. o cover.

SUNDAY, JUNE 11

RUN FOR FUN AT THE FUN RUN: Fun for run, no, run for fun in Rehoboth, organized by a Delaware shoe store, Charm City un. - a.m. at ehoboth ve. in ehoboth. ree.

MIDDLETOWN PRIDE: Middletown is hosting its second annual Pride Walk and Festival with vendors this time. - p.m. in iddletown. Free.

BINGO FOR A CAUSE: AIDS Delaware is hosting a spring bingo with The Rainbow Chorale in the Mill Creek Fire Company’s Chambers, with all proceeds benefitting the two organizations. It’s hosted by drag queens Scarlet Masters and Aura Buboyz and organizers encourage guests to dress in Pride attire or your “best ally” attire. Doors open at 5 p.m., games begin at p.m. at irkwood wy in Wilmington. for admission and one game board.

S I B E E earn about the challenges facing older LGBTQ

adults and resources for them in a roundtable discussion hosted by Sussex Pride at the Unitarian Universalists of Southern Delaware’s building in ewes. - p.m. at ewes Georgetown Hwy. Free.

THURSDAY, JUNE 15

A NIGHT OUT: Bring your friends and (queer) family to this LGBTQ social event at Constitution Yards Beer Garden. It had a record turnout of about 300 last year, and organizers are hoping to crack this year. - p.m. at ustison St. in Wilmington. ree.

GAME NIGHT: If going out isn’t your thing and you’d prefer a more chill night, fear not: Sussex Pride is hosting a game night in the Epworth nited ethodist Church.p.m. at olland lade d. in ehoboth. Free.

FRIDAY, JUNE 16

GET INTO THE HOMO SPIRIT: Listen to CAMP Rehoboth’s Chorus singing all-time favorites like Chad & Jeremy’s “A Summer Song,” Chicago’s “Saturday in the Park,” and, of course, a Beach Boys medley at Epworth United Methodist Church. Friday and Saturday 7 p.m., and onday p.m. at olland lade oad in ehoboth. .

GAYEST SONGS EVER: Celebrate the super gay pop hits of yesteryear (and this year) with performer odd lsup. - p.m. at he ines, Baltimore ve. in ehoboth. - .

SATURDAY, JUNE 17

DRAG BRUNCH: Miss Troy, who is also performing at the Pride Festival, is hosting a drag brunch at The Queen in its Crown Room. The Queen is normally a live music venue but has a history of hosting all kinds of events. p.m. at . arket St. in Wilmington. - .

POOL PARTY: If you want to take a splash in the pool while being a little tipsy this is the place to do it. Bring your own booze if desired, and bring food if you wish. - p.m. at oney Brook Lane in Felton. Free.

PLAY DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: Take a break from celebrating with a round of Dungeons & Dragons hosted by Sussex Pride at the roome Church. - p.m. at Savannah Rd. in Lewes. Free.

SUNDAY, JUNE 18

QUEER STORY TIME: Bring your little (or not so little) kids to the Woodlawn Library and read picture books with LGBTQ characters. You must register for the event beforehand here. Masks are strongly encouraged at the event. a.m.- p.m. at W. th St. in Wilmington. Free.

BRING YOUR DADDY TO BRUNCH: Goolee’s Grill encourages you to bring your dad (or daddy) to this family-friendly drag brunch because it’s Father’s Day. The event is hosted by the runner up for Rehoboth’s Best Drag Queen in the Blade awards, egina Co .p.m. at South st St. .

SATURDAY, JUNE 24

ZOO VISIT: The Brandywine Zoo is holding its annual Pride Day – only the third – with educational programming, a scavenger hunt, and story time. 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at 1001 N. Park Dr. in Wilmington. for seniors and youth, for adults.

SUNDAY, JUNE 25

STONEWALL RELIVED: Listen to four actors recreate the Stonewall prising at C Rehoboth with the words of those that were there – reporters, drag queens, trans youth, gay people, and homeless kids that confronted the police, letting out their anger. It wasn t the first LGBTQ uprising of the era, but the most consequential. 4 p.m. & 7 p.m. at 37 Baltimore Ave. in ehoboth. .

FRIDAY, JUNE 30

C ED Standup comedian en ober, an out lesbian from Louisiana, is touring the country and stopping in Rehoboth Beach at The Pines along with Jeff D. She won NPR’s Snap Judgment of Comedic Performance of the Year and went viral for her standup about Girl Scout cookies. 7 p.m. at The Pines in Rehoboth.

Did we miss anything? Let the author know at joellevtov@icloud.com

Ivy Young, D.C. journalist, poet, and activist, dies at 75

A life of service dedicated to community building

FROM STAFF REPORTS

Ivy Joan Young passed away on April 24, 2023, at the age of 75. She was born to Dorothy Elizabeth (Lewis) Young and Joseph Henry Young on Dec. 23, 1947, in Washington, D.C. Both parents and her younger brother Ronald Alexander Young, Esq. preceded her in death.

Resistance framed her political activism and her life in service of justice, fairness, decency, egalitarianism, feminism, honor, principle, authenticity—all of which were among her core values. From the time she graduated Eastern High School in her native D.C. until her health declined, Young stood as a voice and advocate for a better human existence for all.

Young contributed her time and talent to community building for social justice on an international scale. She

Comings & Goings

worked at VISTA in Chicago, the Center for Black Education and Drum and Spear Book Store, in D.C., the Venceremos Brigade in Cuba, Astraea National Lesbian Action Foundation in New York, the 1974 Sixth Pan African Congress hosted in Tanzania East Africa, and the Southern Africa Support Project that stood against the oppressive apartheid system in that region.

Speaking truth to power through word and song were her pathways. Young created poetry and leaves a beautifully rich and extensive body of work. She was part of the Sophie’s Parlor women’s radio collective on WPFW-FM acifica radio, reported news for W - oward niversity radio, served as general manager at WWa radio in ew rleans, ublic ffairs Director for WBAI-FM in NYC, and wrote for the Southern Africa News Collective.

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force launched the first initiative on behalf of lesbian and gay families in 1989 to secure recognition of lesbian and gay rights. It chose Young as its Family Project Director and in that role oung wrote and published the first-ever Domestic Partners Manual. She was an organizer for Lesbians and Gays for Jesse Jackson in 1988 and consulted the People of Color stage at the National March on Washington for

Jennings named director of Manhattan Theatre Club

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.

The Comings & Goings column also invites LGBTQ college students to share their successes with us. If you have been elected to a student government position, gotten an exciting internship, or are graduating and beginning your career with a great job, let us know so we can share your success.

Congratulations to Chris Jennings on being named Executive Director of the Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC). David C. Hodgson, chair of the MTC board of directors said, “Chris Jennings brings a wealth of experience to his new role at MTC. After a broad national search, Chris stood out for his strong theater chops, the quality of his body of work at Shakespeare Theatre Company, and familiarity with MTC from his time with us as an Administrative Fellow here in 1996. The board is eager to begin our new partnership with him.”

pon accepting the position, ennings said, I m thrilled to return home to MTC, where I began my career and was mentored by Barry Grove. I’m truly excited to partner with Lynne Meadow in building on her success and helping to continue to create an artistic home for the most talented artists working in the theatre today. It is thrilling that in the first few months alone, we ll be working on new plays by Jocelyn Bioh, Qui Nguyen, John Patrick Shanley, and more. It is with mixed emotions that I take this next step after 19 seasons with STC. My time here has meant more to me than words can say. STC is

well positioned for the future with dynamic artistic work and the most dedicated and talented staff.”

Jennings is completing his 19th season with Shakespeare Theatre Company, having produced 120 shows. Highlights of Jennings’s time with STC include the construction and opening of Sidney Harman Hall in downtown Washington, D.C., receiving the 2012 Regional Theatre Tony Award, leading the artistic transition from founder Michael Kahn to Artistic Director Simon Godwin, and successfully guiding the company through the difficult periods of the recession and the C IDpandemic.

otably, returning to live performances after the C ID lockdown, he developed a celebrated collaboration with the ederlander rgani ation to premiere nce pon a ne ore ime, which became the biggest-selling show in S C history and is now in previews on Broadway. nder his leadership, STC toured productions to Macau, the iddle East, and the nited ingdom, including to the RSC Complete Works Festival. He has built international collaborations, annually importing high-profile productions from South frica, rance, and the , most recently represented by the critically acclaimed and sold-out production of “The Jungle” this spring. During his tenure, STC launched District Shakespeare, a model accessibility program providing every 10th grader from all 53 D.C. schools the opportunity to experience Shakespeare live on stage. Jennings is currently leading a mixed-use real estate project, The Bard, to provide consolidated support including actor housing with an anticipated groundbreaking later this year.

Jennings has served on numerous boards, including Theatre Washington, D.C. Downtown BID, THE ARC Com-

Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1987.

Twin loves of music and justice led Young to serve as a .S. delegate to the hird International estival of New Song in Ecuador. She staffed both the Smithsonian Institution’s Program in African American Culture, and the Center for olklife and Cultural eritage s olklife Festival. Additionally, she served as staff of the Roadwork women’s cultural production company that organized SisterFire concerts 1982-85, the National Conference for Women in Radio, administrator for Sweet Honey in the Rock 2001-2011, editor for the Sweet Honey in the Rock documentary, Gotta Make This Journey, and member of “In Process…”, Sweet Honey’s song workshop.

Young’s surviving family members are her youngest sibling Michelle Marie Young, nieces Jade Michelle Keith and Camille Adrienne Keith, and great-niece Joy Anajli Jade Manning, who are among so many friends and colleagues that love and respect her and who celebrate her life, memory, and unwavering dedication to justice.

A late summer community event to celebrate Young’s life and legacy is being planned. Details are forthcoming. For updates send inquiries, visit bit.ly/REMEMBERIVY.

For media inquiries, contact Jade Keith, msjakeith2020@gmail.com.

munity Center, and the D.C. Arts Collaborative. Before joining STC he served as General Manager of Trinity Repertory Company and Theatre for a New Audience. Chris held positions with Yale Repertory Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, and Dougherty Arts Center. Jennings was a recipient of an Arts Administration Fellowship from the NEA.

ennings earned his B in heatre usic, niversity of Miami; and MFA in Theatre Management, Yale School of Drama.

IVY YOUNG (Photo by Sharon Farmer)

CHRIS JENNINGS

nprecedented times for companies facing anti- B backlash

E perts weigh in on how firms should respond during ride month and beyond

By CHRISTOPHER KANE | ckane@washblade.com

The precipitous rise of anti-LGBTQ sentiment in America has increasingly put corporate allies in the crosshairs of fraught culture war battles, creating unprecedented challenges for firms as they navigate business decisions during Pride month.

Concerns follow recent cases in which Target Corp. and nheuser-Busch InBev suffered financial and reputational damage first, when their outreach to B customers provoked backlash, and again when the companies backed down in response to their anti- B critics. ow should firms approach ride month promotions in a climate where even the most minor or anodyne move can inspire right-wing calls for boycotts, or even threats of violence What obligations do companies have to their B customers, many of whom have long ob ected to brands tendency to offer performative demonstrations of support for the community to boost their sales in une hree e perts spoke to the Washington Blade to address these and other questions.

ndrew Isen is founder and president of Win ark Concepts, a firm that provides marketing services targeting LGBTQ audiences and customers, primarily for large publicly traded companies. odd Evans is president and CE of ivendell edia, a firm that coordinates and manages advertising and marketing campaigns that are run in B media. nd ack ackinnon is senior director of cultural insights at Collage Group, a consumer research firm whose customers include many of the world s biggest and best-known brands.

False claims on social media that an item in Target’s seasonal ride collection a tuck-friendly swimsuit was offered in children’s sizes led to in-store confrontations that prompted the retailer to respond by moving merchandise to the back of stores and off the oor in some rural southern locations.

he controversy illustrates the unpredictability and arbitrariness of online are-ups targeting individual companies, often driven partially or entirely by misinformation, the sources agreed.

We are literally umping from crisis to crisis to crisis, Isen said, adding we are in uncharted territory where companies are “unable to foretell on an hourly basis what will blow up on social media, and responding effectively is made more difficult when the claims at issue are patently untrue.

s a result, there is a real reticence to move forward on outreach to the B community until things work themselves out, Isen said. Companies are now struggling with balancing their obligations to LGBTQ customers and their corporate shareholders, he said.

Evans said part of the problem is proportionality. ressures from a small and vocal contingent of anti- B consumers are amplified by unregulated social media platforms, he noted.

or e ample, he said, ne illion oms, a division of the merican amily ssociation that is known for demanding boycotts against companies that have embraced the LGBTQ community, only has a few thousand Twitter followers.

Isen and Evans said that while brands have long been attacked for publicly embracing the B community, the controversy over Bud ight s social media spot featuring transgender in uencer Dylan ulvaney marked a tipping point because of the resulting harm to parent company Anheuser-Busch’s bottom line.

egative ramifications would have been thwarted, Isen

said, had the company not reacted with a defensive posture by issuing a statement that we never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people.

here s no professional that would have recommended nheuser-Busch respond in the way that it did, agreed Evans.

o the e tent that firms can anticipate when they may encounter anti- B backlash, the sources agreed it is generally directed at the transgender community and anything involving minors as seen in the rise in attacks against all-ages drag performances, for instance, and legislation targeting the rights of trans Americans, especially youth.

Evans said transphobia is part of a broader reactionary moment in American politics that presents a threat to the entire LGBTQ community and “anybody else who is different. Isen noted the political climate has been defined by a right-wing crusade against wokeness led by the likes of lorida s epublican ov. and presidential contender on DeSantis.

been a different story, Isen said.

nheuser-Busch s ma or miscalculation was failing to build a relationship with its LGBTQ customers who might otherwise be inclined to forgive the company s decision to back down to pressure from anti-trans e tremists with its delayed response and then a really unthoughtful response, Evans said. Engendering goodwill with the community is crucial, he said.

his is a brand that was not necessarily known for B outreach in their marketing, ackinnon said, so when they partnered in a very small way, by the way and dabbled in a partnership with ulvaney , that caught some people by surprise, potentially, and they put themselves in an awkward position to e plain what it was that they were doing.

As a result, he said, for many people Anheuser-Busch’s business decision to work with ulvaney seemed insincere or opportunistic.

ackinnon said consumer research indicates that young people, especially, are inclined to research individual companies to assess the e tent to which their support for inclusivity is sincere and baked into their corporate governance, rather than performative and motivated entirely by profit chasing.

s an e ample, ackinnon pointed to cases where, following the murder of eorge loyd, firms e pressed their support for the Black ives atter movement, only to face criticism when customers discovered the lack of diversity in their boards of directors.

Brands should be thinking about not ust what should my campaign be for this June, but where do we want to be in terms of building trust six months from now, a year from now, five years from now, ackinnon said.

ackinnon, however, said the anti-trans backlash is distinct. ther B issues like gay marriage are not very controversial from a marketing and advertising perspective, but there has been a shift in recent years as people starting to think about transgender issues on a higher level, he said.

isinformation can be weaponi ed and e ploited to a greater extent when it concerns gender issues about which many mericans are still unfamiliar, ackinnon said.

As they approach any business decision concerning advertising or outreach to the B community, the sources agreed the Bud Light dustup may offer important lessons for companies moving forward into ride month and beyond.

When the beermaker approached ulvaney, the decision to engage her was done for business reasons, Isen said, as the company saw a valuable opportunity to tap into a broader market of young potential customers. he in uencer has a demographic following that fit perfectly into a market e pansion opportunity for the brand that was in double digit decline.

The company’s response, he said, was a problem because nheuser-Busch seemed to characteri e its work with ulvaney as, instead, a cultural outreach effort which rang insincere and “alienated the entire LGBTQ community, bar owners in the trade, and consumers.

ad they stood firm and said, we made a calculated business decision to engage this social in uencer as we have thousands of other social in uencers, it would have

ost of that work is uiet and under the surface and behind the scenes, and it is essential for building a platform and a framework and a foundation to have any other effective types of campaigns, he said.

Part of this strategy should also include clear and consistent messaging on online platforms, which ackinnon said can act as an effective bulwark against the spread of misinformation targeting companies.

brand that is investing in transgender, B consumers, he said, must be ready to know how to e plain those investments and how to combat that misinformation with uick, simple responses provided in real time. sed properly, ackinnon said, social media can be an effective tool for firms to build trust allowing for opportunities to engage in discussions and storytelling in a conversational fashion not afforded by other forms of corporate communication.

The ascendency of transphobia and anti-LGBTQ sentiment comes as Americans’ faith in institutions – politics, traditional media, scientific and medical e pertise continues to plummet.

hese conditions have primed consumers to look to brands to speak to these issues, ackinnon said, not to, like, heal the world, but to operate as in uencers on the issues that are front-of-mind for people.

Companies might, then, see not ust a set of challenges but also valuable opportunities for B outreach during ride month. cting thoughtfully, these firms might ma imi e their market caps for the month of une without alienating their LGBTQ customers while also, potentially, helping to facilitate a world in which more Americans might be down to have a beer with a trans neighbor or bring their kids to a drag performance.

Target became the target of anti-LGBTQ backlash and protests following misinformation over its Pride merchandise. (Courtesy of 11 Alive Atlanta)

10TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

LGBTQ+ PRIDE NIGHT AT DODGER STADIUM

The Dodgers have again teamed up with their long-time community nonprofit partner LA PRIDE and celebrate the 10th anniversary of the LGBTQ+ Pride Night at Dodger Stadium.

TICKET PACK

Ticket package includes a ticket to the game and an exclusive 2023 Dodger LGBTQ-themed jersey. ONLY AT DODGERS.COM/LAPRIDE

Anti-LGBTQ laws, drag bans loom over Pride celebrations

By MICHAEL K. LAVERS | mlavers@washblade.com

Anti-LGBTQ and anti-drag laws that Republican governors have signed have prompted Pride organizers to reconsider or even cancel their events this year.

The Bozanich Photography Collaborative, which organizes St. Cloud Pride in Florida, in its statement that announced the cancellation of its June 10 event noted the state “has recently passed a number of laws that target the LGBTQIA+ community” and they have “created a climate of fear and hostility for LGBTQIA+ people.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on May 17 — the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia —nors, restrict pronoun usage in schools and require public buildings and other facilities’ restrooms and locker rooms to have “separate facilities for men and women based on biological sex.” DeSantis on that day also signed House Bill 1438, which “protects children from explicitly adult performances in all venues — including drag shows and strip clubs” and “ hotels and restaurants that admit a child into an adult performance.”

complaint against a Miami restaurant after LibsofTikTok broadcast a video of children attending a drag show.

The DeSantis administration this year has sought to revoke the liquor license of the Hyatt Regency Miami and Foundation after children attended drag shows at the respective locations.

Tampa Pride on May 18 announced the cancellation of its “

Port St. Lucie only allowed those who were at least 21 years old to attend their annual event that took place in April.

Hamburger Mary

HB 1438.

The annual Stonewall Pride Parade and Street Festival is scheduled to take place in Wilton Manors on June 17.

a telephone interview with the Washington Blade pointed out Wilton Drive, the road on which the parade and festival will take place, is a state road.

He said performers and vendors will have to abide by a series of rules that include no nudity, no lewd conduct and no vulgarity or overtly sexual language. Sterling admitted HB 1438 and the other anti-LGBTQ bills that DeSantis signed “indirectly” prompted Stonewall Pride to implement them, but he stressed they do not apply to those who attend the parade and festival.

Sterling denied reports that suggest drag queens will not be allowed to perform.

“We need to be proud of the beauty of our culture while keeping in mind who we are entertaining,” he said. “ standards should be that which we would use around our own children or our families’ nieces or nephews. We are performing for all ages, so the youngest in the audience should dictate the minimum standards we should adhere to.”

Miami Beach Pride took place on April 16, less than a week after Equality Florida and the Florida Immigrant Coalition issued a travel advisory for the state. The event took place before DeSantis signed HB 1438 and the three other anti-LGBTQ laws.

The third annual PensaPride will take place in Pensacola in Florida’s Panhandle on June 24.

Sydney Robinson, who is a member of PensaPride’s board of directors, during a June 1 telephone interview with the Blade noted the all-day festival is a sober event

and “family-friendly, open to all ages.”

She noted drag queens typically perform at PensaPride, but organizers are “still sort of grappling to try and do something or if we want to avoid it altogether because of the new law.” Robinson was nevertheless adamant that Pride events should continue to take place in Florida, despite DeSantis and the anti-drag bill he signed.

“I’m really disappointed with any Pride events that cancel for that reason because I think there is a way to have a vibrant Pride event that doesn’t have drag,” she said. “If you really want to follow the law, if that’s your main concern, you could easily do a wonderful Pride event and just not have that element involved.”

Robinson. “That was the basis of Pride from the start.”

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte on May 22 signed a bill that bans drag story hours in public schools and libraries and restricts “sexually oriented performances” on public property. (His nonbinary child urged him to veto anti-LGBTQ bills that reached his desk during this year’s legislative session.)

Missoula Pride will take place from June 16-18.

“We’re more motivated than ever to put on just one big hell of a Pride festival,” Andy Nelson, executive director of the Western Montana LGBTQ+ Community Center, which organizes Missoula Pride, told the Blade on June 2 during a telephone interview. “This legislative session here in Montana has been devastating and we just need to come together as a community more than ever.”

public libraries and schools. Nelson said drag queens will perform at Missoula Pride as they normally do.

“As far as drag performers performing at our street party in downtown Missoula, we’re good to go,” Nelson told the Blade. “And so we’re going to have a bunch of queens up there, like usual, doing their thing. They’ll be in the parade and we’re still going to have multiple drag events throughout the weekend.”

A document the Department of Homeland Security shared with law enforcement and government agencies on May 11 notes anti-LGBTQ threats are increasing and and LGBTQIA+ curricula in schools.” The document also warns of the potential increase in attacks against health LGBTQ people.

Police in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho last June arrested 31 armed white nationalists who were protesting a Pride event Coeur d’Alene is less than three hours from Missoula and the arrests took place days after Missoula Pride. “What happened there is not out of the question, that it could happen here as well.”

Nelson noted a small group of neo-Nazis with AR-15s in March protested an International Trans Day of Visibility event that took place at Missoula’s courthouse. He said a private security team and members of the Missoula Police Department will be on hand during Pride.

mind,” said Nelson.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on March 2 signed Senate Bill 2, impersonators who provide entertainment that appeals to a prurient interest” on public property or where children are present.

Friends of George’s, a Memphis-based LGBTQ theater company, challenged SB 2 in federal court.

U.S. District Court Judge Thomas L. Parker of the U.S.

District Court for the Western District of Tennessee on June 2 declared SB 2, which is also known as the Adult Entertainment Act, unconstitutional. The same federal judge temporarily blocked the law hours before it was to have taken effect.

Tennessee Equality Project Executive Director Chris Sanders on Monday noted to the Blade that Pride events took place in Memphis, Cookeville and in other cities across the state over the past weekend.

Sanders said drag queens performed in a public park during Columbia Pride that took place on Sunday. He noted some Pride celebrations “probably did make some contingency plans or change the way their celebration went on, but many continued to have drag as part of their celebrations.”

Sanders told the Blade that activists in Tennessee remain “extremely stressed, particularly about the anti-trans laws.”

anyone who is under 18 years old. Sanders noted that statute “continues to hang over everything,” but Parker’s ruling was something to celebrate.

“People got a bit of relief, obviously, because of the drag ruling and people are very excited about that,” said Sanders.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on June 2 signed a law that Senate Bill 12 — which would “regulate sexually oriented performances” and “those performances on the premises of a commercial enterprise, on public property, or in the presence of an individual younger than 18 years of age” — is currently awaiting the Republican governor’s signature.

Nick Harpster, the public relations and advocacy coordinator of Lubbock Pride, on June 1 noted to the Blade during a telephone interview that SB 12 would take effect after his city’s Pride events if Abbott were to sign it into law.

He said SB 12 has “such a broad and vague wording and it’s left up to so much interpretation,” and questioned how

drag queens with SB 12 and another bill that sought to defund public libraries that host drag queen story hours.

“That’s been the goal from the get go,” said Harpster. Harpster said Lubbock Pride “may have to do some things differently” next year if Abbott signs SB 12. In the meantime, drag performances and drag story times are among the events that will take place during this year’s Lubbock Pride that will take place on June 10.

(Dawn Ennis, Christopher Kane, Michael Key and Brody Levesque contributed to this story.)

A drag queen performs at Lubbock Pride in Lubbock, Texas, in 2022. (Image courtesy Topher Covarrubio of NeverEnding Memories Photography)

STATE OF PRIDE

In LGBTQ+-Friendly New Jersey, love is love all year-round – not just during Pride Month. Discover dazzling destinations to visit and fabulous places to stay, eat and play. From neon-lit Atlantic City to art-muraled Asbury Park. Laid-back Lambertville to edgy Jersey City. Preppy Princeton to happening Hoboken (plus Montclair with its must-try food scene!)

Everyone is welcome here, all of the time.

Plan your getaway at VisitNJ.org/LGBTQ.

Federal gov’t celebrates Pride month

The White House, U.S. federal agencies, and Congress are honoring ride month with a slate of official and unofficial events this year, many taking place this week. Visit our website for an updated list of events.

• The U.S. Department of the Interior kicked off Pride month with a celebration on June 1, where DoI Secretary Deb Haaland raised the Progress Pride Flag alongside members of Interior’s LGBTQ community.

• Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Offce of LGBTQ Affairs hosted a fag raising ceremony on June 1 at the John A. Wilson Building. The Mayor’s Offce is also sponsoring a District of Pride Showcase at the Lincoln Theatre on June 29.

• On June 2, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security held a fag raising ceremony at the agency’s headquarters with DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

• Speaker Emerita U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) threw out the ceremonial frst pitch during the Wash-

ington Nationals Night OUT game on Tuesday, Major League Baseball’s longest-running annual Pride event. The Speaker will be honored this year for her advancement of LGBTQ civil rights throughout her career in Congress.

• The U.S. Department of Defense’s DoD Pride, an LGBTQ employee resource group for service members and DoD civilian employees, was slated to hold its annual Pride month event on June 7 at the Pentagon.

• President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden were scheduled to host a Pride month celebration on the South Lawn of the White House on June 8, featuring a performance by singer-songwriter Betty Who.

• The LGBTQ Victory Fund’s June 22 Federal PAC Reception will feature LGBTQ members of Congress: U.S. Reps. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.),

Robert Garcia (D-Calf.), and Sharice Davids (D-Kan.).

• On June 28, Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff are hosting a reception in celebration of Pride at the Vice President’s residence, in collaboration with GLAAD.

a. lawmakers send anti- B bills to governor

The Louisiana state Senate on Monday, following a national conservative movement targeting B youth, approved three measures that undermine B rights. he bills now head to the state s Democratic ov. ohn Bel Edwards, one of which has spurred calls for the governor to veto from leading civil rights advocacy groups including the American Civil Liberties Union.

is the only bill of the three to receive a veto-proof majority vote in both House and Senate should the governor veto it, which sources say is highly likely.

“This extreme government overreach harms everyone in our state, especially transgender Louisianans, and we all deserve better, C spokesperson ari Elgin said in a statement.

The local newspaper, the Advocate, reported the Senate voted onday for B , the ban on talk of gender and se in school classrooms, on a - vote, a two-thirds maority and for B Bill , the pronoun bill, on a - vote, also a two-thirds majority. However, the House passed each of those bills earlier in session without two-thirds majority votes.

Human Rights Campaign State Legislative Director and Senior Counsel Cathryn Oakley released the following statement:

“

ouse Bill , a ban on trans youth gender-affirming health care, passed on a - vote along party lines. B

rom doctors offices to classrooms, ouisiana s e tremist legislators show no shame in assaulting the freedoms of those different from them. Blocking teachers from providing the safe and inclusive spaces that B youth so desperately need is an unconscionable act. There is absolutely nothing inappropriate about being B or in acknowledging B issues and people. urthermore, denying transgender and nonbinary youth access to best-practice, life-saving medical care puts their lives in very real danger.”

There was opposition to the trans youth healthcare ban

from Republican Committee Chair Fred Mills, of Parks, joined who had joined with the Democrats in opposition. The bill killed by the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, which Mills chairs, was thought to have effectively killed the bill for this legislative session.

According to the Advocate after weeks of political maneuvering that saw it revived by the full Senate as political pressure mounted from conservative interest groups and then approved last week by a second Senate panel, sending it back to the full chamber.

Last month Mills expressed his trust in science and health care providers before joining Democrats in opposition.

“I guess I’ve always believed in my heart of hearts that a decision should be made by a patient and a physician,” Mills said.

Speaking to the Advocate Monday, Mills said his vote was driven by his belief that decisions about medical care should remain between doctors and patients. He said Monday that blowback to his vote, which included threats from local and national conservatives, came as a surprise because he was unaware of the “cultural war” the issue was enmeshed in.

“This is probably one of the biggest blessings of my life, this controversy,” he said. “I’ve been attacked nationwide by people with hate. But I do not hate these people. I know God blesses them.”

BRODY LEVESQUE

Marriage equality support remains strong at 71 percent

A Gallup Poll released Monday showed that support for same-sex marriage is maintaining a position of 71 percent of Americans who think it should be legal, matching the previous year’s percentage.

Gallup noted that public support for legally recognizing gay marriages has been consistently above 50 percent since the early 2010s.

he latest figures are from allup s annual alues and Beliefs poll, conducted May 1-24.

When allup first polled about same-se marriage in , barely a quarter of the public (27 percent) supported legalizing such unions. It would take another 15 years, until 2011, for support to reach the majority level. Then in 2015, just one month before the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision, public support for legalizing gay marriage cracked the percent level. In , it reached the percent mark

for the first time and has been there each of the past three years.

Gallup has recorded increases in support for same-sex marriage across all major subgroups over time. Today, majorities of all but two key subgroups epublicans percent and weekly churchgoers (41 percent) — say gay marriages should be legally recognized.

Republican support for gay marriage has hovered around the 50 percent mark since 2020, with slight majorities backing it in and . he latest percent recorded for this group is statistically similar to the level of support Gallup has recorded in recent years.

Like all other subgroups, weekly churchgoers (41 percent) are more supportive of gay marriage now than they were in the previous two decades. However, their level of support has been steady since 2018 — ranging between 40 percent and

44 percent.

Same-sex marriage has received majority support in the U.S. for over a decade, and support has been on an upward tra ectory for most of allup s polling since .

Gay marriage became the law of the land after the Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell decision, and President Joe Biden signed bipartisan legislation to ward off future udicial attempts at undoing its legality late last year.

Among many groups — including older adults, Protestants and residents of the South — perspectives on gay marriage have gone from majority opposition to majority support over the course of Gallup’s trend spanning more than a quarter of a century. But two groups remain holdouts on the issue, with Republicans evenly divided on the legality of same-sex unions and weekly churchgoers maintaining their position against it.

FROM STAFF REPORTS

CHRISTOPHER KANE

Louisiana Gov. JOHN BEL EDWARDS (Photo by Marie Constantin)

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS (Photo courtesy DHS)

at Nats game

Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives als Stadium on Tuesday, June 6 for the Night OUT at the Nationals game. Team DC, the local LGBTQ umbrella sports organization, organized the LGBTQ night and sold 7,000 tickets. The Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Washington Nationals 10-5.

MICHAEL KEY

Federal judge halts enforcement of Fla. trans healthcare ban

In a 44-page ruling, Judge Robert Hinkle of the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida has barred the state from any further enforcement action against transgender youth or their parents from seeking

Hinkle’s ruling allows Florida parents challenging the ban to access necessary medical care for their trans children while the legal challenge to the bans continues. The ruling blocks enforcement of Florida state Boards of Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine rules banning established medical care for trans adolescents as well as provisions in Senate Bill 254 that codify those rules into state law with added criminal and civil penalties.

In his summary Hinkle wrote: “Gender identity is real. Those whose gender identity does not match their natal sex often suffer gender dysphoria. The widely accepted standard of care calls for evaluation and treatment by a multidisciplinary team. Proper treatment begins with mental health therapy and is followed in appropriate cases by GnRH agonists and cross-sex hormones. Florida has adopted a statute and rules that prohibit these treatments even when medically appropriate.”

In today’s ruling the court indicated that the plaintiff parents are likely to succeed in their claims that SB 254

and the Boards of Medicine rules unconstitutionally strip them of the right to make informed decisions about their children’s medical treatment and violate the equal protection rights of trans youth by denying them medically necessary, doctor-recommended healthcare.

The challenge to the Boards of Medicine and SB 254 healthcare bans is likely to proceed quickly to trial.

The families are represented by Southern Legal Counsel, GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Human Rights Campaign, which issued the following statement:

lished, science-based medical care, and of the rights of parents to make informed healthcare decisions for their children. The court recognized the profound harm the state of Florida is causing by forcing parents to watch their kids suffer rather than provide them with safe and effective care that will allow them to thrive. We are incredibly relieved that these Florida parents can continue to get healthcare for their children while we proceed to challenge these bans and eventually see them fully overturned.”

BRODY LEVESQUE

Musk wants to criminalize healthcare interventions for trans youth

Elon Musk started Pride month with a series of transphobic tweets that constitute his most extreme attacks against the community to date and included a pledge that he will be “actively lobbying to criminalize” healthcare interventions for transgender youth.

Also last week, Musk responded “totally agree” to a tweet from a trans-exclusionary LGB account that said, “LGB don’t even want Pride month anymore. We just want to be separated from the TQ+.”

And then on Friday, the Twitter owner intervened on behalf of anti-trans pundit Matt Walsh when the platform took steps to limit the reach of his “documentary” attacking the community, and then he re-tweeted Walsh’s video.

The New Republic named Walsh “Transphobe of the grotesque conspiracy theories about grooming” and pedophilia in the LGBTQ community.”

media commentator and University of Toronto Professor

Jordan Peterson tweeted, “Prison. Long term. Without Parole. No Mercy. And maybe for the compliant ‘therapists’ and the butchers they enable.” Musk replied, “Absolutely.”

Medical societies that develop and publish clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of gender dysphoria in minor patients do not generally recommend genital surgeries before the age of 18.

Access to the interventions proscribed in these guidelines, which are supported

been shown to dramatically reduce rates of depression, suicidal ideation and suicides among trans youth. Studies show rates of post-treatment regret are exceedingly rare. Musk has long been known as an online provocateur, often taking aim at institutions like Hollywood, big business and the mainstream news media that he believes promote a left-leaning agenda without providing room for dissenting voices.

However, the tech billionaire has increasingly aligned himself with more extreme right-wing politics and con-

DeSantis, who launched his 2024 presidential campaign last week with a Twitter Spaces discussion hosted by Musk just days after signing some of the most extreme anti-trans laws of any state in the country.

Likewise with his public statements concerning the trans community. A few years ago, Musk courted controversy for mocking and complaining about the practice of calling trans and nonbinary people by their preferred pronouns. This week’s anti-trans tirade was markedly more extreme.

Last year, Insider noted Musk’s comments about gender pronouns in its coverage of a Reuters report that the South African-born entrepreneur’s 18-year-old trans daughter

Per Reuters, the teen said that she no longer wished to be “related to my biological father in any way, shape or form.”

A month later, the elder Musk publicly declared his support for the Republican Party. In an interview with the Financial Times, he said the reason for his estrangement from his daughter was “full on communism” in elite colleges and universities.

CHRISTOPHER KANE

HRC declares national emergency over anti-LGBTQ laws

The Human Rights Campaign on Tuesday declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ people in the U.S., “following an unprecedented and dangerous spike in anti-LGBTQ+ legislative assaults sweeping state houses this year.”

America’s largest LGBTQ organization, which has never before made such an announcement in its 40+-year hisAmericans Under Attack, which “details more than 75 anti-LGBTQ bills that have been signed into law this year alone, more than doubling last year’s number, which was

previously the worst year on record.”

In a press release, HRC explained, “The sharp rise in anti-LGBTQ+ measures has spawned a dizzying patchwork of discriminatory state laws that have created increasingly hostile and dangerous environments for LGBTQ people, prompting HRC today to also issue a national warning and downloadable guidebook for the LGBTQ+ community. “

These include resources for health and safety, “a summary of state-by-state laws, ‘know your rights’ information, and information designed to support LGBTQ+ travelers as well as those already living in hostile states.”

“LGBTQ+ Americans are living in a state of emergency,” HRC President Kelley Robinson said in a statement.

“The multiplying threats facing millions in our community are not just perceived — they are real, tangible and dangerous,” she said. “In many cases they are resulting in violence against LGBTQ+ people, forcing families to uproot and triggering a tidal wave of increased homophobia and transphobia that puts the safety of each and every one of us at risk.”

CHRISTOPHER KANE

ELON MUSK (Photo via BigStock)

Speaker Emerita NANCY PELOSI throws out the fi e da lade ael e

Global Pride events to renew demands for equality

Kyiv Pride to take place in Liverpool

By MICHAEL K. LAVERS | mlavers@washblade.com

Activists around the world are using Pride events to renew their demands for full equality.

This year’s Pride month coincides with the debate over marriage equality in Aruba.

The Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba that has jurisdiction over three constituent countries (Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten) and three special municipalities (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba) within the Netherlands late last year ruled Aruba and Curaçao must extend marriage rights to same-sex couples.

Gay Aruban Sen. Miguel Mansur on Wednesday told the Washington Blade that he and activists on the island are “pushing to have” the marriage equality debate this month, but opponents in the Aruban Parliament have been trying to delay. Mansur further stressed this year’s Pride month events are an important way to counter those who oppose marriage equality and other LGBTQ rights.

“It’s especially important for representation because of the same-sex marriage law there was an onslaught of attacks by certain religious groups, an association of churches,” said Mansur. “Representation and visibility are more important than ever.”

bers of the current government over their opposition to LGBTQ rights.

“Outside are standing, like every year, the wretched thugs of Lahava movement, demonstrating against us,” said Lapid. “Only this year these people are no longer just a ridiculous bunch of dark extremists — they are part of the government. Bezalel Smotrich, (Internal Security Minister) Itamar Ben-Gvir [and] Avi Maoz, are trying to push us all back into the closet, to the dark closet of their foreknowledge.

Thai MP Pita Limjaroenrat, who is the frontrunner to become the country’s next prime minister, is among those who participated in Bangkok’s Pride parade that took place on June 4. Limjaroenrat told reporters that his government will support marriage equality and a transgender rights law once it forms.

“Love is love and love must win,” said Limjaroenrat in a Facebook post.

Hundreds of people on June 4 participated in a Pride march in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo.

Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, executive director of Equal Ground, a Sri Lankan advocacy group, on Wednesday noted to the Blade that her organization will hold a queer film festival and other events throughout ride month. Activists in Jaffna, a city in northern Sri Lanka, are also planning to hold a Pride march.

These events will take place roughly four months after the Sri Lankan government announced it supports a bill that would decriminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations in the country.

“We are really proud of the work that we have done around bringing Pride to Sri Lanka,” said Flamer-Caldera. It was an alien concept years ago when we first started. We have started a movement in Sri Lanka around Pride.”

São Paulo’s annual Pride parade, which is among the world’s biggest, will take place on the city’s Paulista Avenue on June 11.

President Gabriel Boric’s government to strengthen the country’s anti-discrimination law and to create what it describes as “an anti-discrimination institutionality.”

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on May 29 signed his country’s Anti-Homosexuality Act with a death penalty provision for “aggravated homosexuality.” This year’s Pride events are also taking place against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.

Upwards of 30,000 people participated in the Jerusalem Pride and Tolerance Parade on June 2. Former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who now leads the country’s opposition, is among those who sharply criticized mem-

São Paulo LGBT+ Parade Vice President Renato Viterbo notes participants and organizers seek to “draw the attention of government officials to what public policies should be for all citizens, regardless of their sexual orientation.” The Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, the Chilean advocacy that organizes the annual Pride parade in Santiago, the country’s capital, says it plans to use the June 24 event as a way to demand

Anna Sharyhina, co-founder of the Sphere Women’s Association, a group that promotes LGBTQ and intersex rights in Ukraine, last September led a Pride march in a subway station in Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city that is less than 30 miles from the Russian border in eastern Ukraine.

The Liverpool City Region Pride Foundation and Kyiv Pride on July 29 will hold a joint Pride event in the English city of Liverpool.

“Liverpool and Ukraine remain united by love,” tweeted Pride in Liverpool on June 1. “This year Liverpool will showcase Kyiv and Ukraine’s LGBT+ spirit as our annual March with Pride is held jointly with Kyiv Pride.”

The Baltic Pride March will take place in the Estonian capital of Tallinn on June 10. Reykjavík Pride will take place in the Icelandic capital from Aug. 8-13.

(Brody Levesque and WDG, the Blade’s media partner in Israel, contributed to this story.)

Final preparations for Tel Aviv Pride in Israel on June 7, 2023.

(Photo courtesy of Marty Rouse)

A Pride commemoration in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Sept. 25, 2022. (Photo courtesy of Sphere Women’s Association)

All of Us is a research program from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is seeking one million or more people from across the U.S. More than 431,770 people have already signed up to take part, 42,876 of those identify as LGBTQ+. Joining the All of Us Research Program is your chance to help speed up medical research that will benefit you and your community.

All LGBTQ+ Americans deserve to be seen, heard, and understood— especially when it comes to medical research. #JoinAllofUsLGBTQ

To learn more:

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Email: allofuslgbtq@stanford.edu

Call: (650) 498-5010

Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter: @AllofUsLGBTQ

There’s a gap in medical research that only you can fill.

is editor of the Washington Blade. Reach him at knaff@washblade.com

LGBTQ community

Stopping craven Florida governor’s bid for White House should be our top priority

There’s a cloud over this year’s Pride celebrations following the introduction of more than 500 state bills targeting LGBTQ rights and the ominous rise of Ron DeSantis as a top contender for the GOP presidential nomination.

Sure, let’s party a bit and celebrate the LGBTQ community’s tremendous progress, but then we must recommit to the many battles ahead, chief among them the 2024 race.

The Florida governor is the LGBTQ community’s public enemy No. 1 after spear-pansion of the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law through 12th grade. Apparently, DeSantis hasn’t heard of smartphones, Google, or the internet because blocking young peoples’ access to information is straight out of Communist China or Russia and absurdly impossible in the era of mobile devices and social media.

Let’s be clear about the origins of his “Don’t Say Gay” law — it’s a page ripped directly from Vladimir Putin’s playbook.

nating LGBTQ information to minors — sound familiar? The DeSantis law is so broad that you could be an 18-year-old high school senior banned from learning in social studies class that an openly gay man ran a credible campaign for president in 2020.

These efforts to render us invisible and to even criminalize trans people for using the restroom are nothing short of dehumanizing. Another measure will allow healthcare providers (and insurers) in Florida to deny a patient care on the basis of religious, moral, or ethical beliefs. So a transgender crime victim who needs medical treatment could be abandoned because a healthcare worker holds religious objections to our community.

This is authoritarian madness. And DeSantis doesn’t stop at the LGBTQ community.

majors and minors in subjects like critical race theory and gender studies in Florida’s colleges and universities and bars public funding for such curricula.

Make no mistake that the ultimate outcome of these reckless, cruel attacks is that women and LGBTQ Floridians will die. Trans youth are rightly frightened by the messages coming from DeSantis and his ilk and now that he is an announced candidate for president, we should all be afraid. Young people will take their own lives; trans people be forced into dire circumstances; LGBTQ patients will be turned away by emergency personnel. And the demonization of trans people has consequences far beyond Florida. One mother of a trans teen told the Blade that her daughter wants to sleep with a gun under her pillow even though she lives in a supportive home in a blue state because of all the hate and bigotry coming from Florida. In New Hampshire, 14-year-old Nova Dunn, who was trans, leapt off an overpass onto Interstate 293 last month and died.

DeSantis and his ilk aren’t just failing our kids; they are targeting them. The far right has made no secret of its desire to “eradicate transgenderism.”

derway, LGBTQ Americans and our allies must denounce these attacks and hold those responsible accountable. DeSantis must not be allowed to nationalize his assault on our community. It’s important that we all tune in because Donald Trump increased his share of the LGBTQ vote from 2016 to 2020. According to Edison Research, Joe Biden won the LGBTQ vote 61-28 percent over Trump in 2020; but in 2016, Hillary Clinton won the LGBTQ vote 78-14 over Trump. President Biden’s campaign must address that counterintuitive development.

So let’s enjoy the celebratory aspects of Pride month, while ensuring that we are informed citizens and engaged voters ready to reject hate in 2024.

DeSantis is public enemy No. 1 of the

ERIN REED

is a trans woman (she/her) and researcher who tracks anti-LGBTQ legislation around the world and helps people become better advocates for the queer community.

Target, Bud Light show hypocrisy of ‘corporate Pride’

Even before Pride season began, evidence of corporations succumbing to farright, anti-LGBTQ led boycotts is emerging.

encer Dylan Mulvaney on its cans. The simple act incited a boycott campaign by anti-LGBTQ conservative activists, including Matt Walsh. In response, Bud Light placed the executives responsible for the campaign on leave.

emerged of individuals trampling on Pride displays in stores and harassing staff members. Target’s reaction was to pull several Pride items and relegate Pride displays to less visible parts of its stores.

When these companies were faced anti-LGBTQ hostility, they backed down with little resistance. This reveals the reason why transgender people have been wary about corporatization of Pride: If corporate advocacy consists merely of rainbows was never truly there.

This is all happening against the backdrop of a broader cultural climate marked by more than 530 bills directed at the transgender community, withholding of med-

The retreat of corporations from supporting the LGBTQ community, caving to anti-LGBTQ pressures, does more than fail to assist the community they professed to support when adversaries looked away. It actively damages the community by feed-

ing a narrative that suggests LGBTQ+ individuals are not worth protecting. products and advertising. The speed at which they caved shows why LGBTQ people have warned about corporate Pride.

The campaign against LGBTQ inclusion in stores is not grassroots, but rather a

make an example of it. We can’t boycott every woke company or even most of them. But we can pick one, it hardly matters which, and target it with a ruthless boycott campaign. Claim one scalp then move onto the next.”

What followed was mass harassment and violent threats to LGBTQ advocates and store employees. Of particular note is Ethan Schmidt, whose videos of walking through Target knocking down Pride signs began to reemerge.

cide to shove this garbage in our face, they should know they’ll pay a price.”

The speed at which some companies are caving to anti-LGBTQ sentiment shows the danger in entrusting Pride events to the care of corporations, which have no meaningful skin in the game and are willing to pull support at a moment’s notice.

raid on the Stonewall Inn.

Interestingly, both then and now, anti-drag laws proliferate and LGBTQ people was a riot, and its early celebrations were not about touting corporate advocacy or organizational support for queer people, but rather about fostering our own communities and networks to ensure that overt oppression would never prevail.

By shifting from the original spirit of Pride to Bud Light-sponsored block parties active participants, we risk losing sight of the essence and purpose of Pride – to forge strong bonds in the face of oppressive forces.

Moving forward, we need a new vision of Pride that is more in line with the reason sponsorships, but rather, should uplift the community and support the creation of social networks. Local organizations should be centered rather than multinational corporations.

This vision of Pride is one where we collectively march together in solidarity and celebration and express to the world that our joy will not be eradicated. I envision a Pride where local businesses are supported, where drag thrives, where our block parties truly support the locals who call those blocks home.

only to retreat when confronted by oppressive forces, contradicts the essence of Pride. Symbols demand action to substantiate them.

Corporations wishing to demonstrate support for their LGBTQ employees should medical care in their insurance policies, and cease all donations to politicians endorsing anti-trans stances.

Should a company truly aim to support its LGBTQ employees, it must stand with queer and trans people, even in the face of harassment and abuse by right-wing aggressors. Instead of hastily retreating in the face of even a fraction of the hatred endured daily by the LGBTQ community from these same individuals, these corporations need to show resilient support.

The speed at which some companies cave to far-right demands is chilling

OUR OUTSIDE BIERGARTEN IS OPEN!

M

DINNER: LUNCH: HH:

WED - SUN 3 - 10PM WED - FRI 11:30 - 2:30PM WED - FRI 2 - 6PM

PETER ROSENSTEIN

is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.

Cruising into Pride

supporter of LGBTQ community

As you know if you have read my columns and blog posts, I love cruising. The kind where you are on a river or the ocean. Today in both the United States and around and furious. There are few places where members of our community can feel totally safe these days.

One of those places is on a cruise ship that values the community. That is what I have found whenever I travel on a Celebrity ship. Today, they are going even further in letting the world know about their respect for the community. They happily advertise Pride at Sea. Of course, they are doing it to attract LGBTQ passengers and their dollars, but that’s great in this day and age, when a company is willing to step up proudly, wants our business, and will do everything they can to make us feel both wanted and safe. That is what Celebrity Cruise Lines is doing.

I want Pride to be celebrated not just in June, but every month. But I am excited about the June celebrations whether hosted in D.C. by Capital Pride, or on the high seas. While many of us will be at the D.C. Wharf, on June 10 to help the Washington

are on a Celebrity ship will be part of a Pride celebration as well. Their ships will all

Celebrity has invited my friend, entertainer extraordinaire, Andrew Derbyshire, to lead the celebration on the Edge on June 13, in Ibiza. He recently quoted Celebrity, “In honor of Pride month and our continuing commitment toward fostering positive and authentic partnerships within the LGBTQIA+ community, Celebrity Cruises is Each June, Celebrity Cruises hosts our annual Pride Party at Sea. Every ship takes part in the celebration that brings our crew and guests together to honor and cele -

13th of June for a few nights, to host Pride on the Celebrity Edge, with my friend and captain, Captain Tasos, and the amazing team on board.” Andrew, like many of the entertainers I have seen and met on Celebrity ships, is encouraged to be who he is, ‘out’ and proud.

10, 2023, sailing. “The party will take place in tandem across the award-winning festivities running across hemispheres and time zones. A variety of multi-generational LGBTQ+ focused programming will take place throughout the month of June.nature Pride programming.”

You should know one of the things straight couples could always do on a Celebrity cruise is have the captain marry them. Now, since same-sex marriage became legal in Malta, where most Celebrity ships are registered, their captains can legally sea, on a major cruise line, occurred on board Celebrity Equinox in January 2018 when the captain married Francisco Vargas and Benjamin Gray.

Celebrity is a Florida-based company, and along with Disney, they are standing up for the LGBTQ community. They have been a Presenting Sponsor of Miami Beach Gay Pride for four years in a row. They continue to advertise their collaborations with gay cruise companies like VACAYA, which has charted the Celebrity Apex for a cruise of the Caribbean in 2024. The ship will be sailing with a lot of happy LGBTQ cruisers on Feb 17-24, 2024 for seven nights from Fort Lauderdale to Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and Antigua. For anyone who hasn’t been on the Apex, it is an amazing ship.

LGBTQ travelers on Celebrity Beyond this October out of Rome, and on Celebrity Ascent in October 2024 out of Barcelona. The Ascent hasn’t even set sail yet.

Let’s hope other companies will follow Celebrity’s lead and value the LGBTQ community. We are entitled to live our lives safely and to the fullest, as who we were born to be.

Celebrating Pride Month

We salute the progress the LGBTQ+ community has made in their pursuit for equality, and we recognize that there is still work to be done to ensure a more inclusive future. At Live!, we embrace a world and workplace where diversity and inclusivity are respected because together, WE ALL WIN.

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D.C. still has an HIV epidemic

New CDC data from February 2023 shows that the percentage of D.C. residents with HIV has gone down. Some outlets have marked this as a success and a positive statistic to herald.

demic that needs to be curbed even more.

tion’s capital — a metropolitan city that is supposed to provide quality healthcare coming from the biggest economy in theidents we cross on these streets should not be diagnosed with a serious and lifelong illness.

nationwide and in D.C. to prevent HIV harbor lots of potential and should be celebrated. For the daily pill that would safeguard against infection even if sexual contact with a positive patient was made.

The medical community has long studied what constitutes an “epidemic” in a given counliterature studies epidemics that grow and reside in developing and healthcare are of so poor quality that disease cases skyrocket beyond any manageable which likely originated from an unregulated animal market in the Democratic Republic other diseases epidemics as well.

still shock everyone.

D.C. must continue to treat our HIV rate as a crisis belonging to epidemic proportions. There are a few measures the city can take to prevent spread. A couple come to

Treating HIV as an epidemic in our capital city is necessary to reduce its harm as much as possible.

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• When you’re in LGBTQ spaces, meetings, and events, listen and learn. If you got involved in social justice work to support marginalized communities in creating the

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change they see as necessary, then you need to let the people in those communities lead the way in deciding what that change should look like.

• Be mindful of the fact that you’re part of the movement, not part of the communie e a d a e al all

• Respect LGBTQ-only spaces. If you aren’t sure if allies are welcome, call and ask.

• W e d e e ea l e a le ea e leaders in your school district to advocate for a single graduation gown color, rather than different colors for boys and girls.

• When you mess up (i.e. accidentally say something offensive) thank the person who brings your error to your attention and make an appropriate apology, without make e e a e de e e e e le e ell ers that they messed up. If someone is letting you know that you made an error, it probably means that they value your relationship, have faith that you’re interested in learning, and believe that you’re capable of listening and changing your behavior. Accept this intervention for the compliment that it is and thank the person for committing to an action that’s no fun for anyone. Then let them know you intend to do better.

• Learn as you go. Try not to get bogged down or discouraged by how much you don’t know. Look up new words, learn about new concepts, and investigate new trends as they arise.

• e fi al e eal e a e e a e a d a d a del e e a ally should step in with action and when they shouldn’t. Allyship is a bit of a balancing act. Whether or not you take action as an ally should depend on the situation and the people involved.

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Drag legend Ella Fitzgerald returns to the stage for Capital Pride festival

Donnell Robinson on 40 years as a performer and the current

Donnell Robinson, who has dazzled audiences in the nation’s capital as the drag personality of Ella Fitzgerald for at least 40 years, has the date of Saturday, March 21, 2020, embedded in his mind.

That was the last time he performed in drag. It was at the popular Southeast D.C. nightclub Ziegfeld’s-Secrets, where Robinson performed as Ella Fitzgerald for nearly 40 years, before it, along with all city nightclubs, bars, and other “nonessential” businesses were ordered temporarily closed by Mayor Muriel Bowser in response to

“That was the last show I did,” Robinson told the Blade in an interview at his apartment in Arlington, Va.

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

with other drag performers, one of the longtime bartenders and other employees who came to retrieve their belongings in the dressing room and other storage spaces in the converted warehouse building that had served as home to Ziegfeld’s-Secrets since 2009.

And it meant at least the temporary end to a 40-year cee and lead drag performer at the Ziegfeld’s-Secrets nightclub, which began in the club’s previous location a

Robinson began performing as Ella Fitzgerald at The Other Side nightclub in 1980, which later changed its name to Ziegfeld’s-Secrets, at its previous location on 2006 by construction of the Washington Nationals baseball stadium.

The club did not reopen until 2009, when its owners Allen Carroll and Chris Jensen, were able to obtain a lease for the 1824 Half Street building, which Carroll and Jensen renovated before reopening the club there.

excitement over returning to the stage as Ella Fitzgerald place on Pennsylvania Avenue with the U.S. Capitol as a

While he’s hopeful that all will go well with his upcoming performance at the Pride festival, Robinson says he drag shows in states across the country.

In addition to proposed laws placing restrictions on drag shows, protests targeting drag shows, including some attempting to disrupt the shows, have also occurred in cities and states, including earlier this year in nearby Silver Spring, Md., and at a drag brunch hosted Hill in D.C.

“I have read about some of that,” Robinson told the Blade. “I haven’t been in the drag scene in three years. fellow drag performers who are older in my generation, he continued.

grew up on a farm just outside Warrenton and raised by show portraying TV personality Flip Wilson’s drag character Geraldine Jones.

“All of my girlfriends, they helped get it together,” Robinson recalls. “I borrowed the wig from the school librarian,” he said, adding he bought a red dress and borrowed

He didn’t do drag again until his senior year in high school, Robinson said, when he “pulled out Geraldine again” in a dramatic arts class. “I got an ‘A’ in dramatic arts,” he told the Blade, before graduating from Fauquier High School in June of 1974.

“Then I waited a year or so, and then I came out to do drag in 1975 in the fall,” he said. That began when a friend introduced him to the then gay nightclub Pier 9, located in the building that later became Ziegfeld’s-Secrets, where drag shows were held.

Robinson said he was impressed by the beauty of the drag performers while attending Pier 9 drag shows. “I’m what he did. In October of that year, he entered a Halloween costume contest at the Pier, once again as the Geraldine Jones drag character, and won the contest in the comedy category.

From there, Robinson says, through people he met at the Pier he learned of the then D.C. gay bar Plus One on Capitol Hill, which also hosted drag shows. After auditioning and being approved as a drag performer at Plus One, the owner of the club, Bill Oats, assigned him the drag name Fanny Brice.

It was at the Plus One about a year later when Robinson met Mother Mame Dennis, the drag performer and lead organizer of the Academy of Washington, a local drag social club that organized drag events, including the Gay Miss Universe drag competition. The next day, an Academy of Washington member who performed at Plus One brought Robinson to an academy event.

A short time later, around May of 2020, Robinson and all the Ziegfeld’s-Secrets employees and performers learned that the owner of the club’s building at 1824 Half Street, S.W., announced plans to demolish it to build an upscale condo building several years sooner than expected. That meant the club would not reopen when the COVID restrictions were lifted.

Steven [Delurba, the Ziegfeld’s-Secrets general manager and part owner] called me and said, ‘Honey, do you have anything in the dressing room? Come and get it. The landlord called and said we must be out by the 15th.’”

“And it’s a shame that we have to fear that we can’t present our art, our art form of drag and hope that nothing is going to happen to me today,” he said. “Why should we have to even have that thought going through ting ready?” may be some idiot out there that doesn’t want to see an old man dress up in sequins and beads.” going to go away,” Robinson said. “It’s not. It’s more popular now than it ever was because of RuPaul and the drag brunches and the shows that are continuing to go on.”

Robinson, 68, says he was born in Warrenton, Va., and

It was there that Mame Dennis approached him and raised the issue of Robinson’s drag name. “She said, ‘Oh my dear, if you want to be in this group you need to change your name immediately,’” Robinson quoted Denneed to be either Nell Carter or Ella Fitzgerald,” Robinson recounted.

for $2.’ She said, ‘Oh, you’re funny.’ And she named me African-American daughter in the group.”

Through the Academy of Washington and others he met through the drag scene at Plus One and other D.C. form of drag and developed a following among those patronizing drag shows in D.C. It was through the academy that Robinson also met the owners of the then Other Side nightclub, Chris Jensen and Allen Carroll, who invited Robinson to begin performing at their club.

CONTINUES ON PAGE 58

ELLA FITZGERALD performs in 1993. lade file kle

Did you know that Washington, DC has one of the highest percentages of LGBTQ+ folxs in the whole country?

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In Community, The DC Center for the LGBT Community and the Capital Pride Alliance

By MICHAEL KEY

Friday, June 9

The Ground We Stand On: Past and Present DC Changemakers

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 54

Bunker Drag

Underground RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 8

MIXTAPE Pride Party

PRIDE: Free to Feel Good!

DYKE MARCH

PRIDE @Metrobar

Go Gay DC

The Culture of P R I D E

Love is Love A Friday Night Celebration

RIOT!

The Capital Pride Official Opening Party

Bollywood Pride LGBTQ+ Dance Party

ICONS Dance Party: UNCUT XL Pride Jasmine Juke Joint Capital Pride Show and Dance

Hot Summer Pride party

Saturday, June 10

Bunker Go Gay DC

PRIDE Drag Brunch

Flower Crown Bar

The Friendship Place Pride

Monarch Drag Brunch

CONTINUES ON PAGE 62

DONNELL ROBINSON works as a popular hair stylist in addition to performing as Ella Fitzgerald. (Blade photo by Lou Chibbaro Jr.)

A scene from the 2022 Capital Pride Parade. (Blade photo by Michael Key)

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The Capital Pride Alliance holds its Capital Pride Crack of Noon Parade Brunch on Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Viceroy Washington DC (1430 Rhode Island Avenue, N.W.). It is 21+ to enter and tickets range from $60-$75.

The free Capital Pride Block Party rages on throughout the Capital Pride Parade on Saturday from 12 to 10 p.m. on 17th Street between P and Q Streets. There will be booths and entertainment provided.

Head to the Blue Iguana (12727 Shoppes Lane, Fairfax, Va.) for Sassy Saturdays Drag Brunch at noon for a 1 p.m. show. Tickets are $15 on Eventbrite.

A new effort to create a Pride atmosphere for those in the northern part of D.C. who don’t want to brave the crowds of Dupont. The free festival Uptown Pride will be held from 2-7 p.m. at Kennedy Street and 14th Street, N.W.

Lambda Sci Fi is holding a Tabletop Gaming Party and Parade Viewing at 1425 S Street, N.W. from 2-11 p.m. Bring $10 cash for pizza.

The Green Lantern is holding a Pride Parade Afterparty sponsored by Lobo. Doors open at 2 p.m. for Supergay Happy Hour with the big party planned for 9 p.m.- 3 a.m.

Check out Green Lantern’s Instagram for other related GL Pride events throughout the week.

The Washington Blade and the Ladies of LURe present the annual Pride on the Pier and Fireworks Show on Saturday from 2-9 p.m. at the Wharf DC: District Pier (101 District Square, S.W.). The event is free, but you can purchase a VIP spot in an air conditioned space with an open bar, food, DJs and more.

The 2023 Capital Pride Parade winds through Logan and Dupont Circle neighborhoods on Saturday from 3-7:30 p.m.

Chill out at The Dirty Goose (913 U Street, N.W.) for a Rooftop Day Party at 4 p.m.

Drag performers Crimsyn and Brooke N Hyman entertain at Bunker’s Pride Tea at 2001 14th Street, N.W. from 4-10 p.m.

If you are looking for a buzz among fellow heads, look no further than the H!Gh Pride Fest at Euphoria DC (611 1/2 Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E.) from 6-9 p.m. on Saturday. A $35 donation will garner you a “free gift.”

Go to Phantom Lounge (1327 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.) for a Capital Pride Parade Afterparty from 6-10 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets are $2.

Turn up the voltage this Pride Weekend, as Scorpio Entertainment and Taoti Creative team up with Capital Pride to bring you Electric Disco at 507 8th Street, N.E. at 8 p.m.

The Capital Trans Pride Pool Party will be at Penthouse Pool and Lounge (1612 Unight. The event is free, but a ticket is required from Capital Pride’s website.

If you are into dark music, Vanguard Pride is popping at Safari DC (4306 Georgia Avenue, N.W.) from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tickets run from $7-$10 on Eventbrite.

Comedy Bonfyre presents The Pride Storytelling Special at The Ministry (601 New

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 58

Jersey Avenue, N.W.) from 5-7 p.m. on Saturday. The event features Kenny Rooster, Howl Cooper, Anya Pines, Elani Nichelle, Gray West and Casey Catherine Moore. Tickets are $10 on Eventbrite.

For a show on the darker side, check out Hellboiz! A priDEMONth Drag King Show on Saturday at 8:30 p.m.Tickets are $15-$20 on Eventbrite.

The Capital Pride Alliance holds Revolution!

p.m. to 3 a.m. at WEG (1235 W Street, N.E.). Tickets are $35-$55 on Eventbrite.

The FUSE: Main Womxn’s DC Pride Party will be at the Howard Theatre (620 T Street, N.W.) from 9:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. Tickets are $20 and entry is 18+.

Shaw’s Tavern (520 Florida Avenue, N.W.) is holding an All That Glitters Drag Ball on Saturday at 10 p.m.

Kiki (910 U Street, N.W.) is holding its leather night, “Kinki,” on Saturday at 10 p.m.

as DC9 Nightclub (1940 9th Street, N.W.) holds Leather Dykes: Pride 2023 from 10 p.m.-3 a.m. Tickets are $15 on Eventbrite.

Bunker (2001 14th Street, N.W.) continues its Pride programming with Dirty Pop Pride on Saturday from 10 p.m.-3 a.m. Some VIPable at $25 on Bunker’s website.

=The big Pride parties continue with KINETIC: Candyland with Betty Who at Echostage (2135 Queens Chapel Road, N.E.) from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Tickets for the individual event run from $65-$80, though some weekend passes for Pride events are still available on KINETIC’s website.

Sunday, June 11

Party early into the morning at Bunker (2001 14th Street, N.W.) at Unhinged Pride from 3:30-9 a.m. There are some tier 2 priority entry tickets available (includes clothes check) at $50 on Bunker’s website.

The Cherry Fund presents the Capital Pride Official fterh r at la h (645 Florida Avenue, N.W.) from 3:30-9 a.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $50 on Eventbrite.

Wake up to Tiffany D. Carter leading the Class Act Drag Brunch at Sign of the Whale (1825 M Street, N.W.). Tickets range to $100 on Eventbrite.

The Elevate Drag Brunch: Pride Edition at the Wharf (1120 Maine Avenue, S.W.). Tickets are $25 on Eventbrite.\

The Brewed Up Drag Brunch is hosted by Desiree Dik at Red Bear Brewing Company (209 M Street, N.E.) on Sunday at noon. Tickets are $25 on Eventbrite.

Head over to the Dirty Habit DC (555 8th Street, N.E.) for the Pride Fest Pregame party on Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.

Famed drag artist Shi-Queeta Lee headlines the Illusion Drag Brunch at H Street Country Club (1335 H Street, N.E.) on Sunday from noon to 2 p.m. Tickets are $50 on Eventbrite.

The Capital Pride Alliance presents the

2023 Capital Pride Festival on Sunday, June 11 from noon until 10 p.m. along Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. The event is free and open to the public, but you can purchase VIP passes from Capital Pride’s website to get closer to the stage for the concert. The Pride Concert is held from 1-8 p.m. with a Sunset Dance Party from 8-10 p.m.

Nellie’s Sports Bar (900 U Street, N.W.) holds the Nellie’s Pride Brunch on Sunday at 1 p.m. Tickets are $50 on Eventbrite.

LGBTQ-owned Republic Restoratives Distillery (1369 New York Avenue, N.E.) is holding a Pride Tea Dance on Sunday from 1-5 p.m. Tickets are $10 on Eventbrite.

The Dirty Goose (913 U Street, N.W.) holds a Sunday Funday: Pride Week party starting at 2 p.m.

The Pride Artisan Market is free and open to the public at Capitol Cider House (3930 Georgia Avenue, N.W.) frp, 2-5 p.m. on Sunday.

Kiki (910 U Street, N.W.) holds the früt Tea Dance starting at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

UPROAR Lounge and Restaurant (639 Florida Avenue, N.W.) has a PRIDE Beer Bust from 3-9 p.m. on Sunday.

Go Gay DC hosts an LGBTQ+ Social on Sunday at 4 p.m. at Puro Gusto Cafe (1345 F Street, N.W.).

Celebrate Latinx culture at La Loca Pride Edition on Sunday starting at 7 p.m. at Bunker (2001 14th Street, NW.). Priority tickets are $5.

RuPaul’s Drag Race’s Vanessa Vanjie Mateo attends Pride in the Sky at Hotel Zena (1155 14th Street, N.W.) on Sunday at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $35-$75 on Eventbrite.

KINETIC Pride events conclude with KINETIC: DiscoVERS with DJ Alexis Tucci on Sunday from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. at Sax Restaurant (734 11th Street, N.W.). Tickets range from $40-$70 for the individual event, but weekend passes are available for all KINETIC Pride events.

Davon Hamilton Events and Impulse Group DC join forces to produce the DC Pride Close-Out Party on Sunday from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. at Sachi Nightclub (727 15th Street, N.W.). Tickets range from $0-$100 on Eventbrite.

Monday, June 12

The LGBTQ+ musical and cabaret group La Ti Do holds the show, “La Ti Do Pride,” from 7-10 p.m. at Trattoria Da Franco (305 South Washington Street, Alexandria, Va.). Tickets are $15-$35 on Eventbrite.

Head over to El Rey (1919 U Street, N.W.) for a free She Shed Pride Party from 7-11 p.m.

The regular and free Reign: Drag Variety

Show is headed by Logan Stone at the Dupont Italian Kitchen Bar (1637 17th Street, N.W., second 8:30 p.m.

Tuesday, June 13 Gustav Hofer and Luca Ragazzi’s “Dicktatorship” will be screened at The Abramson Family Auditorium (NYU in Washington, D.C. at 1301 L Street, N.W.) for free at 8:30 p.m. followed by a discussion of the LGBTQ+ themes in the Join Go Gay DC for an LGBTQ+ Happy Hour at Chadwicks (203 Strand Street, Alexandria, Va.) from 6-8 p.m.

Wednesday, June 14

Bring your four-legged friend to the Pride Pawty and Pawrade at The Chase at Bryant Street (680 Rhode Island Avenue, N.E.) from 6-8 p.m. The event is free to watch, but a $10 entry fee is required for your dog.

Epic Reads YA Pride Panel at Politics & Prose Union Market (1270 5th Street, N.E.) for a free event featuring authors Jason June, Abdi Nazemian, and Sonora Reyes.

Play a game of Beach Blanket Bingo with the queens at Freddie’s Beach Bar (555 23rd Street South, Arlington, Va.) on Wednesday at 8 p.m. The game is free, but you might want to get reservations for a table at https:// www.yelp.com/biz/freddies-beach-bar-andrestaurant-arlington.

The weekly drag show Daddy Issues is hosted by Crystal Edge at Kiki (915 U Street, N.W.) at 9 p.m.

Thursday, June 15

The monthly Pentagon Happy Hour is held at Freddie’s Beach Bar (555 23rd Street South, Arlington, Va.) for all the LGBTQ+ members of the armed services to hang out and meet on Thursday from 5-8 p.m.

Are you feeling single, but you’re ready for a change (or at least make a new friend or LGBTQ Singles Meetup on Thursday from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at The Assembly (1700 North Moore St., Arlington, Va.). Tickets are $10 on Eventbrite.

If you are looking for more Pride-related things to do with your favorite furry pet, look no further than The Station’s Pride Paw-ty at Village Green (4704 Van Buren Street, Riverdale Park, Md.)

The LGBTQ+ Book Club will be discussing “Invisible Life” by E Lynn Harris at Federico Ristorante Italiano (519 23rd St. South, Arlington, Va.) at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.

The weekly Wasted & Gay Thursdays is a nice spot to unwind at Wasted Lounge (816 H Street, N.E.) for $5. The event runs from 9 p.m-1 a.m.

A scene from the 2022 Capital Pride Parade.

(Blade photo by Michael Key)

Commissary, Logan Tavern and Stoney’s present

Pride Brunch

Hosted by D’Manda Martini & Silver Ware + live DJ

Drag Brunch Starting at noon, food & drink until late! Drag Happy Hour 3-7

Some proceeds benefiting The Wanda Alston Foundation, For homeless and at-risk LGBTQ youth in DC

OUT & ABOUT CALENDAR

By TINASHE CHINGARANDE

Friday, June 09

Center Aging Friday Tea Time will be at 2 p.m. on Zoom. This is a social hour for older LGBTQ adults. For more information, email adamheller@thedccenter.org.

Women in Their Twenties and Thirties will be at 8 p.m. on Zoom. This event is a social discussion group for queer women in the D.C. area and a great way to make new friends and meet other queer women in a fun and friendly setting. For more details, join WiTT’s closed Facebook group.

Saturday, June 10

Virtual Yoga Class with Charles M. will be at 12 p.m. online. This is a weekly class focusing on yoga, breath work, and meditation. Guests are encouraged to RSVP on the DC Center’s website, providing your name, email address, and zip code, along with any questions you may have. A link to the event will be sent at 6 pm the day before.

Universal Pride Meeting will be at 1 p.m. on Zoom. This group seeks to support, educate, empower, and create change for people with disabilities. For more details, email email supportdesk@thedccenter.org or the group’s facilitator andyarias09@gmail.com.

Sunday, June 11

GoGay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Pride Social” at 4 p.m. at Puro Gusto Cafe. This event is ideal for meeting new people and community building. Admission is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

“Pride Tea Dance” will be at 1 p.m. at Republic Restoratives Distillery and Craft Cocktail Bar. This event for cocktails like the Sbagliato and beer from local queerowned Denizens Brewery, and food from queer-owned La Buena Empanadas. DJ Diyanna Money will also perform a set. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

Monday, June 12

Center Aging Monday Coffee and Conversation will be at 10 a.m. on Zoom. LGBT Older Adults — and friends — are invited to enjoy friendly conversations and to discuss any issues you might be dealing with. For more information, visit the Center Aging’s Facebook or Twitter.

“Reign: A Drag Variety Show” will be at 8 p.m. at Dupont Italian Kitchen. Winners of Dupont Dynasty will perform, including Dabatha Christie, Hennessey, Sirene Noir Sidora Jackson, and Anamosity. The event will be hosted by Logan Stone. Admission is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

Tuesday, June 13

Trans Support Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This group is intended to provide an emotionally and physically safe space for trans people and those who may be questioning their gender identity/expression to join together in community and learn from one another. For more details, email supportdesk@thedccenter.org.

Coming Out Discussion Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This group is a safe space to share experiences about coming out and discuss topics as it relates to doing so. For more details, visit the Coming Out Discussion Group Facebook page.

Pride Interfaith Service will be at 7 p.m. at the Community Church of Washington, D.C. This event is an “integrated service” respectfully demonstrating the breadth, depth, and sincerity of our faith, exposing the lie that anti-gay fundamentalists have a monopoly on faith and religion. For more details, visit the DC Center’s website.

Wednesday, June 14

Job Club will be at 6 p.m. on Zoom. This is a weekly job support program to help job entrants and seekers, including the long-term unemployed, improve self-con-

productivity for effective job searches and networking — allowing participants to move away from being merely “applicants” toward being “candidates.” For more information, email centercareers@thedccenter. org or visit www.thedccenter.org/ careers.

“Painting for Pride with Laya Monarez” will be at 12 p.m. at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. This class will be led by local artist Laya Monarez, and guests will learn about watercoloring techniques, be given a demonstration, and will create their own watercolor pieces. To RSVP, visit the DC Center’s website.

Thursday, June 15

Poly Group Discussion will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This group is designed to be a forum for people at all different stages to discuss polyamory and other consensual non-monogamous relationships. For more details, email supportdesk@thedccenter.org.

Virginia Queer Film Festival to debut

The inaugural Virginia Queer Film Festival will start on Wednesday, June 14 on the campus of Old Dominion University at the University Theater.

tures and documentaries, will be screened. In addieducational workshops and opening and closing ceremonies.

Tickets are available on the festival’s website.

Local tavern showcases queer songwriters

Three queer singers and songwriters will perform on Saturday, June 10 at 9:30 p.m. at Quarry House Tavern.

Indie rock singers Kym Register & Meltdown Rodeo, Tami Hart and Evil will perform. Evil, whose “depressed queer country” songs have been featured on Cartoon Network’s “Adventure Time,” will open the show.

Tickets start at $15 and can be purchased in Quarry House’s website.

It’s Pride weekend in D.C. For a full listing of related events, see Page 58. (Washington Blade photo by Adam Hall)

original songs, dance & poetry by Nicomedes and Victoria Santa Cruz

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JON KALBFLEISCH in action. (Photo by Christopher Mueller)

Watch Pride parade from one of these bars, restaurants

Plenty of viewing options along route with drink, food specials

By EVAN CAPLAN

The Capital Pride Parade steps off from 14th and T streets, N.W. at 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 10. The parade tradition honors the city’s LGBTQ history and acknowledges the evolution of the LGBTQ neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., as the parade winds through the 14th Street, Logan Circle, and Dupont Circle neighborhoods. One of the best ways to watch: Settle down at one of the many bars and restaurants that line the

Nama Ko

Situated just north of the parade kickoff, Nama Ko (which recently replaced Tico, from the same owners), will be celebrating Pride this year with three cocktail options for bottomless brunch (during the parade weekend and all month long), and an extended happy hour from 3-7 p.m. The featured drink is a Lychee Saketini made with Tito’s Vodka, Nigori sake, and lychee purée; the drinks will be offered to-go for $10. Nama Ko will also and a black sesame soft serve topped with date syrup, cherries, and candied walnuts. To the delight of marchers, the many windows that face 14th Street will be painted a vibrant rainbow, as Tico did each year as well.

Bresca

This upscale Parisian-style bistro graced with one Michelin star will join the party by opening up its bar area overlooking 14th Street for the parade.

Le Dip

To honor pride, Le Diplomate is highlighting Republic Restoratives spirits. Republic Restoratives, an LGBTQ-owned distillery located in Northeast, is a longtime supporter of LGBTQ rights in D.C. Le Diplomate will honor Republic in two cocktails June 9-11: the Romarin, using Civic Vodka, and the Tonic Trope, which will feature Assembly Gin. Le Diplomate has patio seating right on 14th Street and on Q Street.

Jane Jane

This throwback gay-owned cocktail lair with a patio on 14th Street is hosting a monthlong Pride fundraiser in support of the ACLU Drag Defense Fund, During the month of June, the popular bar will donate 10 percent of sales from its Pride cocktail menu, and 50 percent of all T-shirt sales to the Drag Defense Fund. The bar will set up a stand for drinks outside during the parade, and will open up inside for the remainder of the evening.

Otherwise on 14th Street, check out patios at spots like Gypsy Kitchen, Garden District, Ted’s Bulletin, Aslin Beer Company, Chicken + Whiskey, Pearl Dive Oyster Palace and more.

The parade route leaves 14th Street and turns west on Rhode Island Avenue. Two hotels right on the route are hosting Pride parties.

Viceroy Washington DC

The Capital Pride partner event Crack of Noon PRIDE Parade Brunch event is taking place at the Viceroy’s Dovetail restaurant. Pregame for the parade with an all-you-caneat brunch plus bubbly. Diners have the chance to meet the celebrated Pride Parade grand marshals, Pride 2023 Honorees, and other surprise special guests. Diners must be 21+. Brunch runs 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. for $60-$75.

Darcy Hotel

Just a block west, The Darcy Hotel will host a Pride event on the Gerrard Street Patio, complete with a DJ plus food and drink specials. The hotel is offering two specialty cocktails for the entire month of June: The No28 cocktail ($6.28) in honor of National Pride

From there, the parade turns north on 17th Street for one block, and back west on P Street.

DC Vegan

At the corner of 17th and P Streets, this vegan deli-restaurant-bar is hosting its annual Vegan Pride party again with a special menu, and extended 12 p.m.-12 a.m. service. The bar will serve sausages, sandwiches, loaded nachos, Pride cupcakes, and other street-friendly eaters. DC Vegan will open up not only its subterranean bar, but also an auxiliary bar in its parklet patio, serving beer, wine, and liquor right on P Street.

Mi Vida

Now one of three Mi Vida locations and part of the gay-owned Knead Restaurant Group, this colorful Mexican restaurant on 14th will have a special Pride cocktail, “Plus One,” which includes Tito’s Vodka, Chinola Passion Fruit, Aperol, Vanilla, Lime, Bubbles ($16). A portion of the proceeds will be donated to The Trevor Project. Guests who are coming to watch the parade can take their cocktail on the patio to get a front-row seat to the parade festivities.

N.W. Bars and restaurants with patios there include Pizzeria Paradiso, Sura Thai, and Emissary.

Pride on the Pier at the Wharf. The festivities include drag shows, DJs, VIP sections, and the parade on the big screen. Admission to the pier is free; the party runs from 2-9 p.m.

Nama Ko will celebrate Pride with three bottomless drinks for brunch, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and an extended happy hour from 3-7 p.m.

Discover Montifalco

By L.Periwinkle

Montifalco Vineyard, a Virginia Farm Winery blending the traditions of Virginia, California and France’s Rhône Valley.

Meet Justin Falco, Montifalco Vineyard’s Owner & Operator, an accomplished Winemaker and grape farmer trained in New World regions of Northern California and Old World farm wineries of France’s Rhône Valley. In 2008, Justin said farewell to his SF Bay Area IT career and embarked on a remarkable journey from classroom learning to hands-on elbow grease stateside and abroad. He now calls Virginia home.

His first encounter with winemaking occurred in Northern California. He honed new skills in viticulture and winemaking with grape varietals like Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre that thrive in the Mendocino and El Dorado regions. This was his foundation of understanding grape farming and the alchemy of transforming grapes into exceptional wines.

He soon set sights on the vineyards of the Rhône Valley in France, a place and its people he continues to have strong personal connections with. There he learned age old French winemaking techniques along with their masterful art of blending.

With knowledge gained and hands-on hard work accomplished while working for other wineries, he decided it was time to established his own vineyard and winery. Montifalco Vineyard was established in 2016. The wines crafted by Justin Falco are a harmonious marriage of Virginia and Californian vibrancy and resilience with French elegance. Each bottle tells a story of the terroir and climate challenges of their now 4 vineyard sites! Three in Virginia’s Monticello AVA and one in California’s Lodi AVA. (American Viticultural Area)

Visiting Justin’s Farm Winery Estate is a wonderful experience. You are welcomed into a truly special natural wine country setting to enjoy his wine and warm hospitality with a feeling of zen and community. Contact Montifalco, mention this article and enjoy a private tasting with Justin! montifalcovineyard.com | 1800 Fray Road,

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The 2023 Annapolis Pride Parade and Festival was held in Annapolis, Md. on Saturday, June 3.

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(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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Re-Registration of The Dupont Circle Business Improvement District Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to section 19 of the Business Improvement Districts ct of , effective ay , D.C. aw - D.C. fficial Code § 2-1215.18) (“Act”), the Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD) will hold a public hearing on the re-registration of the Dupont Circle Business Improvement District.

The public hearing will be held at 9:00 am on Thursday, June 29, 2023 in Suite 850N, 441 4th Street, NW, Washington, D.C.

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