Local
Capital Pride, Black Pride plans coming together
Lambda Rising owner among this year’s honorees
Deacon Maccubbin, a veteran D.C. gay activist and former owner of Lambda Rising bookstores, will be recognized as this year’s Capital Pride Super Hero. (Photo by Joe Tresh)
Singer and actress Mya will headline this year’s Capital Pride and the D.C. City Council will receive special recognition at Black Pride, according to newly released event schedules.
Mya, who hails from the D.C. area, will appear on the Capital Pride festival’s main stage June 13. Best known for singing “Lady Marmalade,” a collaboration with Pink, Christina Aguilera and Lil’ Kim in 2001, Mya went on to win a Screen Actors Guild award for her role in the film “Chicago.”
Separately, Black Pride is set to honor the City Council during the annual event’s opening reception May 28. An award will recognize the role that Council members played in enacting same-sex marriage in Washington. Additional awards will be given that night to Jeffrey Richardson, president of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, and posthumously to Charlotte Smallwood, a longtime LGBT activist.
Top honors from this year’s Capital Pride will go to Deacon Maccubbin, the former owner of Lambda Rising bookstores and a veteran D.C. gay activist. He’ll receive the Capital Pride Super Hero award for his years of service to the LGBT community.
Maccubbin, among other things, initiated and organized the city’s first Gay Pride celebration in 1975 on the Dupont Circle neighborhood street where he first opened Lambda Rising. Maccubbin and his domestic partner of 32 years, Jim Bennett, closed the popular bookstore in January after announcing Maccubbin’s retirement.
This year’s Capital Pride parade and festival, scheduled for June 12 and 13, mark the 35th anniversary of D.C. Pride events, which began with the street festival that Maccubbin organized in 1975. Black Pride, which runs May 27-31, marks its 20th anniversary this year.
Maccubbin is among five Capital Pride Hero honorees and five Capital Trans Pride Engendered Spirit honorees selected this year for work that has “positively impacted the local LGBT community” and “greatly contributes to the transgender community,” Capital Pride officials said in a statement.
Other hero honorees are Marta Alvarado, for her work in support of the local Latino LGBT community; Rick Legg, for fundraising and other work in support of local LGBT causes and his role as female impersonator Destiny Childs; Rev. Elder Darlene Garner, for her ministerial work associated with D.C.’s Metropolitan Community Church and the MCC Conference for African-American Leaders; D.C. Clergy United for Marriage Equality, a gay-straight alliance of local clergy who called on the City Council to pass the District’s same-sex marriage law last December; and D.C. for Marriage, a group of local residents committed to same-sex marriage in the District.
Trans Pride Engendered Spirit honorees are Anthony Hall, executive director of the D.C. social services group Transgender Health Empowerment; Revs. Ruth Hamilton and Brian Hamilton, co-pastors of the LGBT-supportive Westminster Presbyterian Church and host of the city’s first Trans Pride event in 2007; Sadie-Ryanne Baker, a leading member of the D.C. Trans Coalition; Thomas Coughlin, patient advocate for transgender-related health care services at the Whitman-Walker Clinic; and Leandrea Gilliam, a staff member for the D.C. Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League.
Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth Summer Kickoff Party set for May 15 with Ashley Biden
The Washington Blade’s 19th annual Summer Kickoff Party is scheduled for Friday, May 15 in Rehoboth Beach, Del.
Ashley Biden, daughter of President Joe Biden, has joined the list of speakers, the Blade announced. She will accept an award on behalf of her brother Beau Biden for his LGBTQ advocacy work as Delaware attorney general. (Her appearance was rescheduled from last year.)
The event, to be held this year at Diego’s (37298 Rehoboth Ave. Ext.) from 5-7 p.m., is a fundraiser for the Blade Foundation’s Steve Elkins Memorial Fellowship in Journalism, which funds a summer position reporting on LGBTQ news in Delaware. This year’s recipient will be introduced at the event.
The event will also feature remarks from state Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall. New CAMP Rehoboth Executive Director Dr. Robin Brennan and Blade editor Kevin Naff will also speak. The event is generously sponsored by Realtor Justin Noble, The Avenue Inn & Spa, and Diego’s.
A suggested donation of $25 is partially tax deductible and includes a drink ticket and light appetizers. Tickets are available in advance at bladefoundation.org/rehoboth or at the door.
District of Columbia
Curve magazine honors Washington Blade publisher
Lynne Brown named to 2026 Power List
Washington Blade Publisher Lynne Brown has been named to the 2026 Curve Power List celebrating LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary individuals in North America who are blazing trails in their chosen fields.
“From sports and entertainment icons to corporate leaders and lawmakers, these individuals are breaking barriers, challenging norms, and shaping the future,” Curve Foundation/Curve magazine said in announcing this year’s list, which includes ABC newscaster Robin Roberts, comedian/actress Hannah Einbinder, and singer/actress Renee Rapp, among others.
Brown has worked for the Washington Blade for nearly 40 years. She was named publisher in 2007 before becoming a co-owner in 2010.
“I am honored to be recognized by Curve magazine during Lesbian Visibility Week,” Brown said. “Receiving this Curve honor is twofold. I was an early subscriber to Curve. I enjoy the product and know its history. Its journalism, layout and humorous features have inspired me.
“As an owner/publisher, receiving recognition from a similar source acknowledges my work and efforts, with a sincerity I truly appreciate. Franco Stevens, the publisher of Curve, is a business person of duration, experience, and purpose. The fact that they are in the media business, and honoring me and my publication makes it a tiny bit sweeter.”
Nominations for the Curve Power List come from the community: peers, mentors, fans, and employers.
Curve explained the significance of the list in its announcement: “An annual, publicly nominated list of impactful LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary changemakers is crucial in current times to counter discrimination, legislative rollbacks, hostility, and the invisibility of queer women within mainstream and marginal spaces and endeavors. Such a list also fosters encouragement and solidarity, and elevates voices and achievements—from high-profile roles to under appreciated areas of life.”
Rehoboth Beach
Auction of Rehoboth’s Blue Moon canceled
Details on sale of iconic bar, restaurant not disclosed
The Blue Moon in Rehoboth Beach, Del., has been an iconic presence in the local LGBTQ community for four decades but its status remains murky after a sheriff’s auction of the property was abruptly called off on Tuesday.
The property was listed for sale in December. At that time, owner Tim Ragan told the Blade that he is committed to preserving its legacy as a gay-friendly space.
“We had no idea the interest this would create,” Ragan said in December. “I guess I was a little naive about that.”
Ragan explained that he and longtime partner Randy Haney were separating the real estate from the business. The two buildings associated with the sale were listed by Carrie Lingo at 35 Baltimore Ave., and include an apartment, the front restaurant (6,600 square feet with three floors and a basement), and a secondary building (roughly 1,800 square feet on two floors). They were listed for $4.5 million.
The bar and restaurant business is being sold separately; the price was not publicly disclosed.
But then, earlier this year, the Blue Moon real estate listing turned up on the Sussex County Sheriff’s Office auction site. The auction was slated for Tuesday, April 21 but hours before the sale, the listing changed to “active under contract” indicating that a buyer has been found but the sale is not yet final. As of Wednesday morning, the listing has been removed from the sheriff’s auction site.
Ragan didn’t respond to Blade inquiries about the auction. Back in December, he told the Blade, “It’s time to look for the next people who can continue the history of the Moon and cultivate the next chapter,” noting that he turns 70 this year. “We’re not panicked; we separated the building from the business. Some buyers can’t afford both.”
The identity of the buyer was not disclosed, nor was the sale price.
I don’t see the point in a relationship
Julius’ Bar ‘sip-in’ laid groundwork for Stonewall
Trans parent charged with kidnapping, allegedly fled to Cuba with child
Rehoboth Summer Kickoff Party set for May 15 with Ashley Biden
Curve magazine honors Washington Blade publisher
Inside the lonely world of MAGA gay men
Wagons ho! High-class, head-turning haulers
Rorschach stages ‘Dragon Play’ in unlikely, raw space
‘Big Mistakes’ an uneven – but worthy – comedic showcase
