Local
The big 4-0
Capital Pride to celebrate with Color Guard, dignitaries and more
Thousands flock to Pennsylvania Avenue each year for Capital Pride. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
The 40th annual Capital Pride Parade and Festival this weekend culminate a month of events that included Black Pride, Latino Pride and Trans Pride.
According to Capital Pride organizers, an estimated 250,000 attendees are expected to come to the milestone Capital Pride Parade and Capital Pride Festival making it the largest LGBT-focused event of the year in the District. (Complete coverage of Capital Pride begins on page 40.)
“We’ve tried to make sure that this is as special a Pride celebration as we could possibly make it to acknowledge the fact that we have had 40 years of Pride celebrations in the nation’s capital,” said Bernie Delia, Capital Pride’s board president.
Four decades ago, the event was called Gay Day. It was a one-day event that was part street festival and part block party. Since then, Capital Pride has transformed from a one-day event to a week-plus series of events culminating with this weekend’s two-day affair with the theme of “Flashback.”
On Saturday, the Capital Pride Parade will be held from 4:30-7:30 p.m. The parade begins at 22nd and P streets, N.W. and continues through the Dupont Circle and Logan Circle neighborhoods, ending at the 14th Street corridor at S Street.
For the second year in a row, an Armed Forces Color Guard will march in the parade. Following them will be Scouts for Equality, comprised of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, who will be marching for the first time ever in the Capital Pride Parade.
Actor and LGBT activist Wilson Cruz and Deacon Maccubbin, founder of D.C. Pride, will serve as grand marshals. Actor Daniel Franzese will also be a judge at the parade review stand and Internet star Max Emerson will march in the parade. Capital Pride Heroes and Engendered Spirit awardees will also be present along with various politicians and community leaders.
In addition to the typical parade festivities, this year E! Network’s Ross Matthews will officiate a wedding between George Carrancho and Sean Franklin. Carrancho and Franklin won a contest held by Marriott to have their dream wedding at the Pride parade. The couple, originally from Texas, and their families will travel to D.C. for the nuptials at the parade.
This year’s Capital Pride Festival on Sunday starts at a slightly later time and will be held from noon-7 p.m. on Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., between 3rd and 7th streets. There will be 300 exhibitors and vendors that include local businesses, national sponsors and local and community groups. The Washington Blade will be giving away pairs of tickets to see Madonna in concert at its festival booth every 15 minutes from 3-5 p.m. in partnership with 107.3 radio.
A Pride concert will take place on three stages from 1-9 p.m. This year’s performers include Carly Rae Jepsen, En Vogue, Katy Tiz, Wilson Phillips and Amber.
The festival will also have three beverage gardens including Capitol Beverage Garden, Monument Beverage Garden and Dupont Beverage Garden. The gardens will have DJs, entertainment and drinks. There will also be a family and educational activity area and fun zone with a 30-foot inflatable water slide, face painters, food vendors and mist tents.
For more information on Capital Pride weekend, visit capitalpride.org.
A gay man was murdered in Petersburg, Va., on March 13.
Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray, who was also known as Saamel and Mable, was a drag queen who won the Miss Mayflower EOY pageant in 2015. Reports also indicate Sanchez-McCray, 42, was a well-known community activist in Virginia and in North Carolina.
Local media reports indicate police officers found Sanchez-McCray shot to death inside a home in Petersburg.
Sanchez-McCray’s brother, Jamal Mitchell Diamond, in a public statement the Washington Blade received from Equality Virginia and GLAAD, said Sanchez-McCray was not transgender as initial reports indicated.
“Our family has always embraced the fullness of who he was. He used the names Saamel, Shyyell, and Mable interchangeably, and we honor all of them. There is no division within our family regarding how he is being represented — only a shared commitment to preserving his truth with love and respect,” said Diamond.
“He was also deeply committed to community work through Nationz Foundation, where he worked and completed multiple state-certified programs to support marginalized communities,” added Diamond. “That work meant a great deal to him.”
Authorities have not made any arrests.
The Petersburg Bureau of Police has asked anyone with information about Sanchez-McCray’s murder to call Petersburg-Dinwiddie Crime Solvers at 804-861-1212.
District of Columbia
Trans Day of Visibility events planned
Rally on the National Mall scheduled for Saturday
The Christopher Street Project has a number of events planned for the 2026 Trans Day of Visibility, including a rally on the Mall and an “Empowerment Ball” at the Eaton Hotel. Plenaries, panel discussions and meetings with members of Congress are scheduled in the three days of programming.
Announced speakers include N.H. state Rep. Alice Wade; Commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Precious Brady-Davis; activist and performer Miss Peppermint (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”); Lexington, Ky. Councilwoman Emma Curtis; Rabbi Abby Stein; D.C. activist and host Rayceen Pendarvis; Air Force Master Sgt. Logan Ireland; among other leaders, advocates and performers.
Conference programming on Thursday and Friday includes an educational forum and a Capitol Hill policy education day. Registration for the two-day conference has closed.
The “Trans Day of Visibility PAC Reception” is scheduled for Thursday, March 26 from 7:30-9 p.m. at As You Are (500 8th St., S.E.). Special guests include Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nevada) and Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.). Tickets are available at christopherstreetproject.org starting at $25.
The National Council of Jewish Women and the Christopher Street Project host a “Trans Day of Visibility Shabbat” on Friday, March 27 from 7-8 p.m. at Sixth & I (600 I St., N.W.). The service is to be led by Rabbi Jenna Shaw and Rabbi Abby Stein.
The “Now You See Me: Trans Empowerment Social & Ball” is scheduled for Friday, March 27 from 6-11 p.m. at the Eaton Hotel (1201 K. St., N.W.). The trans-themed drag ball is hosted by the Marsha P. Johnson Institute with support from the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs, the Capital Ballroom Council, the Christopher Street Project, the Center for Black Equity, Generation for Common Good, and Parenting is Political. RSVP online at christopherstreetproject.org.
The National Transgender Day of Visibility Rally is scheduled for Saturday, March 28 on the National Mall at 11 a.m. The rally will include speakers and performances. Following the rally, attendees are encouraged to participate in the “No Kings” rally being held at Anacostia Park.
Virginia
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
Voters in November will consider repealing marriage amendment
The Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ended on March 14.
Lawmakers have yet to approve a budget, but they did pass a resolution that paves the way for a referendum on whether to repeal the state’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Lawmakers also advanced House Bill 60, which would protect PrEP users from insurance discrimination.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has until April 13 to decide to pass, amend, or veto legislation before it goes back to the House of Delegates on April 22.
Spanberger on Feb. 6 signed the bill that sets the stage for the marriage amendment referendum. Voters will consider whether to “remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?”
Equality Virginia has been working during this legislative cycle to urge lawmakers to allocate funding towards LGBTQ rights. The budget would expand funding for schools, competency training for the 988 suicide hotline, and funding to provide gender affirming care to LGBTQ youth.
“As the budget moves through conference and the Reconvene Session approaches on April 22, Equality Virginia remains focused on ensuring our victories this session translate into durable protections,” Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Progress on marriage equality, nondiscrimination protections, and HIV care funding was essential, but Virginia must do more.”
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Gay man murdered in Va.
Trans Day of Visibility events planned
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
Polish court rules country must recognize same-sex marriages from EU states
Queer American in Israel discusses Iran war’s impact
‘How We Survived’ panel set for March 25
Calendar: March 21-26
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