Local
D.C. AIDS Walk expected to draw 10,000
Mitchell Gold, Bob Williams to serve as grand marshals
AIDS Walk 2012 (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
An estimated 10,000 people on Saturday are expected to participate in the 27th annual AIDS Walk Washington in downtown D.C.
The 5K walk and run that will benefit Whitman-Walker Health and 13 other HIV/AIDS service providers will begin and end at Freedom Plaza. NBC 4 anchor Eun Yang will emcee the event for the second consecutive year.
“So many people with HIV and AIDS in our community are living strong lives thanks to the good work of Whitman-Walker Health,” Yang told the Washington Blade. “This walk celebrates that work and helps ensure it will continue, all the while remembering those we have lost to this horrific disease.”
Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams will serve as grand marshals for the event.
“Since we opened our store on 14th Street, we’ve been proud to work with Whitman-Walker to help provide world-class HIV care and outstanding health care to the residents of D.C.,” Gold said.
The AIDS Walk will take place less than a month after D.C. officials issued their annual HIV/AIDS epidemiology report.
It noted 15,056 Washingtonians — or 2.4 percent of D.C. residents — were living with the virus at the end of 2011. Men who have sex with men and heterosexual sexual contact were the two leading modes of transmission among newly diagnosed HIV cases, but the report found they decreased 46 percent in D.C. from 2007.
The report noted the number of HIV/AIDS-related deaths in D.C. dropped from 425 in 2007 to 251 in 2011. It also said 80 percent of those who learned they were living with the virus in 2011 were linked to HIV-specific care within three months of their diagnosis.
“Our city has borne a disproportionate burden during the HIV/AIDS epidemic and, although things have improved in recent years, we still have a long way to go,” D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray told the Blade. “By participating in the walk, District residents can get us a few steps closer to the day when events like AIDS Walk Washington will no longer be necessary.”
D.C. Congressional Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton is among those who are expected to take part in the AIDS Walk alongside Gray.
Whitman-Walker will honor Sean Sasser, an HIV/AIDS advocate who married Pedro Zamora of MTV’s “The Real World: San Francisco” in 1994, during this year’s AIDS Walk.
“On Saturday, we gather together with much hope, promise and scientific knowledge about how our community may ultimately end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Washington, D.C.,” Whitman-Walker CEO Don Blanchon said. “Until there is a cure, we will rally annually for AIDS Walk Washington and ask more from our community in the fight against HIV/AIDS.”
World Pride 2025
D.C. liquor board extends drinking hours for WorldPride
Gay bars, other liquor-serving establishments can stay open 24 hours
D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board, which regulates liquor sales for the city’s bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and other establishments licensed to serve alcoholic beverages, has approved extended hours for alcohol service and sales during the days when most WorldPride events will be held in the nation’s capital.
In a May 2 announcement, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration, which works with the board, said the extended liquor serving and sales hours for WorldPride will take place beginning Friday, May 30, through 4 a.m. Monday, June 9.
Although the official schedule for WorldPride events shows the events will take place May 17-June 8, most of the large events, including a two-day Pride street festival, parade, and concert, were expected to take place between May 30 and June 8.
According to the ABCA announcement and an ABCA spokesperson, liquor servicing establishments with the appropriate license can stay open for 24 hours and serve alcoholic beverages from 6 a.m. through the day and evening until 4 a.m., with no liquor sales allowed from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. during the May 30-June 9 period.
The ABCA announcement says liquor serving establishments must apply for the extended hours option and pay a $100 registration fee by a deadline on May 27.
Sources familiar with the liquor board have said the board has for many years approved the extension of liquor serving and sales hours for important events and for certain holidays such as New Year’s Eve.
At the time it approved the extended hours for WorldPride the liquor board also approved extended hours during the time when games for a World Cup soccer tournament will be held in the city on June 18, June 22, and June 26.
It couldn’t immediately be determined how many of D.C.’s 22 LGBTQ bars plan to apply for the extended drinking hours. David Perruzza, owner of the Adams Morgan gay bar Pitchers and its adjoining lesbian bar A League of Her Own, said he will apply for the 4 a.m. extended hours option but he does not intend to keep the two bars open for the full 23 hours.
Under the city’s current alcoholic beverage regulations, licensed liquor serving establishments may serve alcoholic beverages until 2 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends.
World Pride 2025
Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference
Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde is among those who are scheduled to speak at the WorldPride 2025 Human Rights Conference that will take place from June 4-6.
Budde, who is the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, in January urged President Donald Trump “to have mercy” on LGBTQ people, immigrants, and others “who are scared right now” during a post-Inauguration service that he and Vice President JD Vance attended at the Washington National Cathedral. Trump criticized Budde’s comments and demanded an apology.
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde speaks at the Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 21, 2025. (PBS NewsHour clip)
A press release the Washington Blade received notes Icelandic Industries Minister Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, UK Black Pride founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, and Bob the Drag Queen are among those who are also expected to participate in the conference.
The conference will take place at the JW Marriott (1331 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) and registration is open here.
World Pride 2025
Pabllo Vittar to perform at WorldPride
Brazilian drag queen, singer, joined Madonna on stage in 2024 Rio concert
A Brazilian drag queen and singer who performed with Madonna at her 2024 concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach will perform at WorldPride.
The Capital Pride Alliance on Thursday announced Pabllo Vittar will perform on the Main Stage of the main party that will take place on June 7 at DCBX (1235 W St., N.E.) in Northeast D.C.
Vittar and Anitta, a Brazilian pop star who is bisexual, on May 4, 2024, joined Madonna on stage at her free concert, which was the last one of her Celebration Tour. Authorities estimated 1.6 million people attended.
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