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LGBT contingent cheered in St. Patrick’s Parade
‘People were so surprised to see us’
An LGBT contingent in last Sunday’s St. Patrick’s Parade was cheered by the crowd. (Photo courtesy of Dignity Washington)
Crowds that lined Constitution Avenue, N.W., on Sunday, March 13, to watch D.C.’s 45th Annual St. Patrick’s Parade greeted an LGBT contingent with enthusiastic cheers and applause, according to D.C. LGBT Center official Pat Hawkins and Dignity Washington President Daniel Barutta.
Hawkins, who describes herself as a proud Irish lesbian, served as chief organizer of the LGBT contingent, which was sponsored by the D.C. LGBT Center. Barutta, who says he’s a proud gay Catholic, helped organize Dignity Washington’s participation in the contingent. The group, among other things, sponsors a weekly Sunday Catholic Mass for LGBT Catholics and their families and friends.
“We had a really good reception,” Hawkins told the Washington Blade. “People were so surprised to see us. When they realized who we are they clapped and cheered. They were really nice.”
Hawkins said 30 to 40 people marched in the LGBT contingent. She noted that the LGBT contingent this year was placed in the middle of the parade.
Barutta said he and fellow Dignity members were moved by the positive reaction to the LGBT contingent from crowds that lined the parade route along Constitution Avenue between 7th Street and 17th Street, N.W.
Dignity members wore bright green clothing and rainbow colored sashes. They carried the group’s large banner that, among other things, says “DC’s LGBT Catholics.”
“We got a really good reaction from the crowd from kids to elderly people giving us the thumbs up,” said Barutta.
Sunday’s parade marked the second year in a row that the D.C. LGBT Center organized a contingent in the parade.
In a little-noticed development, parade organizers last year named the D.C. Center’s LGBT contingent as one of 14 contingents out of a total of over 100 to receive a trophy for special recognition. According to parade organizer Susan Sullivan, a panel of judges designated the D.C. Center contingent in the 2015 parade as the “Best Novelty Group.”
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PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony
The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.
A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.
The annual awards ceremony honors achievement in D.C.-area theater productions and is produced by Theatre Washington.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
District of Columbia
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade
WorldPride organizers announced Thursday that actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, powerhouse performer Reneé Rapp, and LGBTQ trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade.
The Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., revealed the honorees in a press release, noting that each has made a unique contribution to the fabric of the LGBTQ community.
Cox made history in 2014 as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category for her role in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She went on to win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for her documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” which followed seven young trans people as they navigated coming out.
Rapp, a singer and actress who identifies as a lesbian, rose to prominence as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” She reprised the role in the 2024 film adaptation and also stars in Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” portraying a character coming to terms with her sexuality. Rapp has released an EP, “Everything to Everyone,” and an album, “Snow Angel.” She announced her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” on May 21 and is slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds.
Deacon Maccubbin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of Washington’s LGBTQ+ history, helped organize D.C.’s first Gay Pride Party in 1975. The event took place outside Lambda Rising, one of the first LGBTQ bookstores in the nation, which Maccubbin founded. For his decades of advocacy and activism, he is often referred to as “the patriarch of D.C. Pride.”
“I am so honored to serve as one of the grand marshals for WorldPride this year. This has been one of the most difficult times in recent history for queer and trans people globally,” Cox said. “But in the face of all the rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, to celebrate our beauty, resilience and bravery as a community. We refuse to allow fear to keep us from ourselves and each other. We remain out loud and proud.”
“Pride is everything. It is protection, it is visibility, it is intersectional. But most importantly, it is a celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.
The three will march down 14th Street for the WorldPride Parade in Washington on June 7.
2025 D.C. Trans Pride was held at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Saturday, May 17. The day was filled with panel discussions, art, social events, speakers, a resource fair and the Engendered Spirit Awards. Awardees included Lyra McMillan, Pip Baitinger, Steph Niaupari and Hayden Gise. The keynote address was delivered by athlete and advocate Schuyler Bailar.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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