Arts & Entertainment

Here comes the Pride

Bounty of black, Latino events through Memorial Day and beyond

Published

14 years ago

May 17, 2012

Pride season is here and with it brings events, concerts and festivals for everyone.

The sixth annual Latino Pride starts Sunday and this year’s theme is “History, Celebration, Diversity and Identity.” This is the first year Latino Pride is spread over multiple days.

Latino Pride begins with La Corona, the royal coronation and dance party at Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. hosted by Jocelyn Carrillo. There’s a $5 donation for this 21-and-older event.

“La Plática” is May 30 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Human Rights Campaign (1640 Rhode Island Ave., N.W.) and features several components including a panel discussion and networking, a historical exhibition and community resource fair. Panelists include Gustavo Velasquez, director of D.C. Office of Human Rights, and Jack Harrison of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. HIV testing will also be available during this event.

A bilingual ecumenical service, “La Misa,” with Rev. Joseph Palacios is June 3 at St. Thomas’ Parish Dupont Circle (1772 Church St., N.W.) from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.

“This will be the first time we have this,” says David Perez, president of Latino GLBT History Project. “We’re partnering with [St. Thomas’ and Palacios] … and we’re also partnering with the Dignity group … focusing on a call to action of how we celebrate pride by giving back to others.”

Latino Pride ends with the official Latino Pride dance party “La Fiesta” at Town (2009 8^th St., N.W.) on June 7 from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. There is a $5 donation for this 18-and-older event.

For more information on Latino Pride, visit latinoglbthistory.org.

Black Pride starts Thursday and runs through May 27.

D.C. Black Pride starts with a wine-and-spirits reception on Thursday at Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum (1001 F St., N.W.) from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Admission is $10.

The festivities continue on May 25 at the Hyatt Regency (400 New Jersey Ave., N.W.) with a hospitality suite open from noon to 9 p.m. and a game room open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. The opening reception is from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. including a book signing for “King Peggy.” RainbowConnects will be running a speed dating event from 7 to 9 p.m.

Also on May 25 is a performance of “She’Baltimore” at The Warehouse Theater (1071 7^th St., N.W.) at 8 p.m. Tickets to this performance are $25.

The hospitality suite is also open on May 26 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., but there are other events happening that day as well.

At 11 a.m. there is “Why Do You Write/Read and How Do You Succeed?” a panel sponsored by Fire & Ink featuring Rashid Darden, LaToya Hankins, J. Renee LaCour, Spectra Speaks, Red Summer and Dwayne Vernon. There are also various workshops running from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Hyatt.

At 12:30 p.m., Angela Harvey presents “The Key to the Perfect Orgasm” at the Hyatt.

At 2 p.m. is a film festival also at the Hyatt. Admission to the festival is $15. Also at 2 p.m. is a reading of “The Four of Us” at Mead Lab Theater (916 G St., N.W.). Admission to the reading is $20 and includes a small reception.

Buttafly Soul is hosting a poetry slam at the Hyatt from 5 to 8 p.m. and from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. is the Soul Train Dance Party. Admission is $15 to both events.

Black Pride ends May 27 with a faith service organized by Courtney Williams, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Hyatt. At noon, “It’s a Family Affair,” the D.C. Black Pride Health and Wellness Expo begins. The expo will be held at Francis-Stevens Educational Campus (23 and O streets) featuring food, community vendors, children’s play area, DJ and entertainment honoring Etta James, Whitney Houston and Vesta Williams.

For more information on Black Pride, visit dcblackpride.org.

Also starting Thursday is Chocolate City Pride with “The Genesis” at Layla Lounge (501 Morse St., N.E.) on Thursday. Cover is $5 before midnight and $10 after.

On May 25, Omega Entertainment presents “5000 Men Pride Mega Party” at Fur Nightclub (33 Patterson St., N.E.) featuring R&B singer Ashanti. Doors open at 9 p.m.

May 26 brings the “Tropical Heat Rooftop Party” at Ibiza (1222 1^st St., N.E.) from 3 to 8 p.m. Admission is $10. That night is the annual Manhunt party at Layla Lounge from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. featuring a surprise celebrity performance.

May 27 starts with the “Insomniac After-Party” at Lace Nightclub (2214 Rhode Island Ave., N.E.) from 3:30 to 7:30 a.m. Then there’s the annual “Island Inferno Pool Party” at Cameron Run Regional Park (4001 Eisenhower Ave., Alexandria) from 3 to 8 p.m. Admission is $10 but the first 500 get in free. The day ends with the “Klimax Mega Party” at Love (1350 Okie St., N.E.) from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m.

The last day of Chocolate City Pride is May 28 and starts with a cookout for all pass holders at Fort Dupont Park (3600 F St., S.E.) from noon until 7 p.m. That night is “The Apocalypse” at Layla Lounge from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Admission is $10.

For more information and to purchase passes, visit omegapartydc.net.

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Last year, Baltimore Center Stage refused to give up its DEI focus in the face of losing federal funding. They've tripled down. (Photo by Ulysses Muñoz of the Baltimore Banner)

By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.

Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.

“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.

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Books

Susan Lucci on love, loss, and ‘All My Children’

New book chronicles life of iconic soap star

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April 13, 2026

Terri Schlichenmeyer

(Book cover image courtesy of Blackstone Publishing)

‘La Lucci’
By Susan Lucci with Laura Morton
c.2026, Blackstone Publishing
$29.99/196 pages

They’re among the world’s greatest love stories.

You know them well: Marc Antony and Cleopatra. Abelard and Heloise. Phoebe and Langley. Cliff and Nina. Jesse and Angie, Opal and Palmer, Palmer and Daisy, Tad and Dixie. Now read “La Lucci” by Susan Lucci, with Laura Morton, and you might also think of Susan and Helmut.

When she was a very small girl, Susan Lucci loved to perform. Also when she was young, she learned that words have power. She vowed to use them for good for the rest of her life.

Her parents, she says, were supportive and her family, loving. Because of her Italian heritage, she was “ethnic looking” but Lucci’s mother was careful to point out dark-haired beauties on TV and elsewhere, giving Lucci a foundation of confidence.

That’s just one of the things for which Lucci says she’s grateful. In fact, she says, “Prayers of gratitude are how I begin and end each day.”

She is particularly grateful for becoming a mother to her two adult children, and to the doctors who saved her son’s life when he was a newborn.

Lucci writes about gratitude for her long career. She was a keystone character on TV’s “All My Children,” and she learned a lot from older actors on the show, and from Agnes Nixon, the creator of it. She says she still keeps in touch with many of her former costars.

She is thankful for her mother’s caretakers, who stepped in when dementia struck. Grateful for more doctors, who did heart-saving work when Lucci had a clogged artery. Grateful for friends, opportunities, life, grandchildren, and a career that continues.

And she’s grateful for the love she shared with her husband, Helmut Huber, who died nearly four years ago. Grateful for the chance to grieve, to heal, and to continue.

And yet, she says of her husband: “He was never timid, but I know he was afraid at the end, and that kills me down to my soul.”

“It’s been 15 years since Erica Kane and I parted ways,” says author Susan Lucci (with Laura Morton), and she says that people still approach her to confirm or deny rumors of the show’s resurrection. There’s still no answer to that here (sorry, fans), but what you’ll find inside “La Lucci” is still exceptionally generous.

If this book were just filled with stories, you’d like it just fine. If it was only about Lucci’s faith and her gratitude – words that happen to appear very frequently here – you’d still like reading it. But Lucci tells her stories of family, children and “All My Children,” while also offering help to couples who’ve endured miscarriage, women who’ve had heart problems, and widow(ers) who are spinning and need the kindness of someone who’s lived loss, too.

These are the other things you’ll find in “La Lucci,” in a voice you’ll hear in your head, if you spent your lunch hours glued to the TV back in the day. It’s a comfortable, fun read for fans. It’s a story you’ll love.

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