Local
Wheelchair theft prompts support for D.C. gay man
Social media fundraiser yields $7,300
D’Arcee Neal (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
A 28-year-old gay man who is wheelchair bound due to cerebral palsy became the beneficiary of an outpouring of community support last week after his custom-made, lightweight wheelchair was stolen outside the Logan Circle home of a friend.
D’Arcee Neal, who works for the national disability group United Cerebral Palsy and sings with the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, said the theft of his wheelchair effectively left him immobilized, unable to perform basic daily tasks and unable to travel to and from work at his downtown D.C. office.
He said the customized wheelchair, which gave him both mobility and the dignity of being self-sufficient, would cost about $5,000 to replace.
Knowing the predicament he faced, his friend Nicole Marissa Yates took it upon herself to create a page on the fundraising website GoFundMe without telling Neal she had done so.
“I don’t know what it feels like to have your mobility taken away from you, but I imagine that even though he’s a strong, vibrant individual, he feels violated,” Yates wrote in a message posted on the fundraising site. “As his friends and family, we can come together to show him that we love and support him by funding his new chair,” Yates wrote. “Thank you for your contribution – anything helps!”
According to a report on the website, 155 people contributed a total of $7,300 in five days. Yates said the effort received a boost when Channel 4 News reporter Jackie Benson did a story about the wheelchair theft that included an interview with Neal on the evening news.
Neal told the Blade he’s grateful for the support he received from members of the community along with friends who contributed to the fund. He said the funds enabled him to purchase a temporary $400 wheelchair for his immediate use while he arranges for another custom made, lightweight and high-speed chair to be made. That could take as much as a month or more, he said. He plans to donate the temporary chair to a local charity.
He said he left the chair that was stolen in what he thought was an inconspicuous spot near the steps to the basement apartment at his friend’s place while apartment sitting for the friend. He isn’t able to drag or move the chair up or down steps, he said, in a world in which very few private residences are wheelchair accessible.
According to Neal, he prides himself on keeping in good physical shape by crawling up and down entrance steps – both at his friends’ homes and his own basement apartment in Anacostia, where he keeps his wheelchair outside in a concealed location.
“There are handicapped accessible apartments and homes but the rent is thousands of dollars a month more than I can afford,” he said.
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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