Local
Capital Pride organizers report increased attendance
Attendees undeterred by massacre in Orlando
Capital Pride Festival attendees observe a moment of silence on Sunday. (Blade photo by Hugh Clarke)
Although the atmosphere at D.C.’s Capital Pride Festival on Sunday was subdued following the shooting rampage at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., earlier in the day that claimed the lives of 49 people, the overall attendance at the annual festival was greater than in past years, according to Capital Pride officials.
Despite hot and humid weather, the section of Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. between 3rd and 7th Street reserved for the festival was packed with people who circulated around the more than 200 booths set up by LGBT organizations and LGBT-friendly businesses and government agencies.
“Our attendance did not decline. If anything, it increased,” said Bernie Delia, Capital Pride’s president. “I believe that the tragedy in Orlando strengthened the resolve of the members of the LGBT community to come together to show support and unity in the face of unspeakable tragedy and horror,” he said.
“We have usually estimated the number to be about 250,000,” said Delia. “We likely went to 275,000 over the course of the nine hours we were there.”
As if the shooting by lone gunman Omar Mateen in Orlando were not enough, news media outlets on Sunday morning reported that police in Los Angeles arrested a man whose car was packed with firearms and a container of explosive chemicals and who said he planned to attend the L.A. Pride parade in West Hollywood.
Authorities have since said the arrested man, 20-year-old James Wesley Howell, had no connection to the Orlando incident. But law enforcement officials say they have yet to determine what Howell planned to do with the weapons and the container of an explosive chemical found in his car.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and District Police Chief Cathy Lanier announced that the city had stepped up security at the D.C. festival and at local LGBT clubs as an extra precaution, even though no credible threat existed to indicate the festival or other LGBT venues were in danger.
“Today, as always, we will not be deterred by hate as we gather to celebrate love,” Bowser said on Sunday.
As the Capital Pride Festival’s main stage near the U.S. Capitol was opened for a full day of entertainment, Delia asked the crowd to observe a moment of silence to commemorate those who lost their lives in the Orlando shooting incident.
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington then sang the National Anthem and dedicated its performance of subsequent songs to the Orlando shooting victims.
Similar to past years, dozens of LGBT community groups and supportive businesses, large and small, marched or rode in floats in the Capital Pride Parade on Saturday, June 11, and set up booths to promote their message or products at the festival on Sunday.
Participating in the parade this year were contingents from eight foreign embassies, including those from Canada, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Iceland.
Among the sports-related parade contingents was the Washington Capitals National Hockey League team led by their star goal tender Braden Holtby.
Gay Emmy Award-winning actor and comedian Leslie Jordan served as the parade’s grand marshal.
Baltimore
‘Heated Rivalry’ fandom exposes LGBTQ divide in Baltimore
Hit show raises questions about identity, cultural representation
By JOHN-JOHN WILLIAMS IV | “Heated Rivalry,” the surprise gay hockey romance that has captivated global audiences and become a cultural phenomenon, has inspired sold-out parties celebrating the characters from the steamy series, including in Baltimore.
For some, love of the show has exposed the loss of a once-vibrant gay nightlife in Charm City and splintered its LGBTQ community. It also brings up layered questions about identity, cultural representation, and the limits of identity politics.
In Baltimore, the majority of the parties also appear to be missing a key ingredient that has been a part of the show’s success: gay men at the helm. Last month, women hosted a dance party at Ottobar, a straight establishment.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Virginia
McPike wins special election for Va. House of Delegates
Gay Alexandria City Council member becomes 8th LGBTQ member of legislature
Gay Alexandria City Council member Kirk McPike emerged as the decisive winner in a Feb. 10 special election for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates representing Alexandria.
McPike, a Democrat, received 81.5 percent of the vote in his race against Republican Mason Butler, according to the local publication ALX Now.
He first won election to the Alexandria Council in 2021. He will be filling the House of Delegates seat being vacated by Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-Alexandria), who won in another Feb. 10 special election for the Virginia State Senate seat being vacated by gay Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria).
Ebbin is resigning from his Senate next week to take a position with Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s administration.
Upon taking his 5th District seat in the House of Delegate, McPike will become the eighth out LGBTQ member of the Virginia General Assembly. Among those he will be joining is Sen. Danica Roem (D-Manassas), who became the Virginia Legislature’s first transgender member when she won election to the House of Delegates in 2017 before being elected to the Senate in 2023.
“I look forward to continuing to work to address our housing crisis, the challenge of climate change, and the damaging impacts of the Trump administration on the immigrant families, LGBTQ+ Virginians, and federal employees who call Alexandria home,” McPike said in a statement after winning the Democratic nomination for the seat in a special primary held on Jan. 20.
McPike, a longtime LGBTQ rights advocate, has served for the past 13 years as chief of staff for gay U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and has remained in that position during his tenure on the Alexandria Council. He said he will resign from that position before taking office in the House of Delegates.
Local
Local LGBTQ groups, activists to commemorate Black History Month
Rayceen Pendarvis to moderate Dupont Underground panel on Sunday
LGBTQ groups in D.C. and elsewhere plan to use Black History Month as an opportunity to commemorate and celebrate Black lives and experiences.
Team Rayceen Productions has no specific events planned, but co-founder Rayceen Pendarvis will attend many functions around D.C. this month.
Pendarvis, a longtime voice in the LGBTQ community in D.C. moderated a panel at Dupont Underground on Feb. 8. The event, “Every (Body) Wants to Be a Showgirl,” will feature art from Black burlesque artists from around the country. Pendarvis on Feb. 23 will attend the showing of multimedia play at the Lincoln Theatre that commemorates the life of James Baldwin.
Equality Virginia plans to prioritize Black voices through a weekly online series, and community-based story telling. The online digital series will center Black LGBTQ voices, specifically trailblazers and activists, and contemporary Black queer and transgender people.
Narissa Rahaman, Equality Virginia’s executive director, stressed the importance of the Black queer community to the overall Pride movement, and said “Equality Virginia is proud to center those voices in our work this month and beyond.”
The Capital Pride Alliance, which hosts Pride events in D.C., has an alliance with the Center for Black Equity, which brings Black Pride to D.C. over Memorial Day weekend. The National LGBTQ Task Force has no specific Black History Month events planned, but plans to participate in online collaborations.
Cathy Renna, the Task Force’s director of communications, told the Washington Blade the organization remains committed to uplifting Black voices. “Our priority is keeping this at the forefront everyday,” she said.
The D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center is also hosting a series of Black History Month events.
The D.C. Public Library earlier this year launched “Freedom and Resistance,” an exhibition that celebrates Black History Month and Martin Luther King Jr. It will remain on display until the middle of March at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library at 901 G St., N.W.
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Unconventional love: Or, fuck it, let’s choose each other again
McPike wins special election for Va. House of Delegates
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