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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.
WorldPride 2025 concluded with the WorldPride Street Festival and Closing Concert held along Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. on Sunday, June 8. Performers on the main stage included Doechii, Khalid, Courtney Act, Parker Matthews, 2AM Ricky, Suzie Toot, MkX and Brooke Eden.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Celebrating the transgender community, Baltimore Safe Haven, an organization committed to empowering LGBTQ individuals in Baltimore City, plans to host their fourth annual Baltimore Trans Pride on Saturday.
Instead of the usual parade and march, this year’s Trans Pride will be a block party on Charles Street and between 21st and 22nd Streets. The event will start at 1 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and last until 10 p.m.
Community members can go on guided tours, enjoy refreshments by local vendors, listen to presenters, and watch performances by special guests.
Sukihana, the event’s headliner, plans to take to the stage to entertain the crowd, along with a variety of local performers, according to Melissa Deveraux, Baltimore Safe Haven’s executive assistant to Executive Director Iya Dammons.
“Some (are) prominently known, some (are) just making a name for themselves,” Deveraux said. Iya is always making sure that community talent is showcased at all of our functions.”
In company with Pride on Saturday, Baltimore Safe Haven will be opening its new building on Friday from 1-4 p.m.
“That is sort of going to be the prelude to pride,” Lau said. “Thanks to Sen. Mary Washington and the Weinberg Foundation, we were able to purchase the building outright, and it’s going to be a community hub of administrative buildings and 12-bedroom apartments.”
Renee Lau, administrative assistant for special projects coordinator for Baltimore Safe Haven, said the planning process for Baltimore Trans Pride began in January, and putting it all together was a collaboration of multiple city agencies and organizations.
“Safe Haven is an LGBT community organization, but we service the entire community, and that’s the message we try to spread,” Lau said. “We’re not just here for the LGBT community. We’re here to spread goodwill and offer harm reduction and housing to the entire community.”
Lau said the organization’s biggest goal for the event is to gain exposure.
“(We want) to let and let people know who we are and what our community is about,” she said. “Right now, because of what’s happening in DC, there’s a lot of bad untruths going on, and the total thing is bringing out the truth.”
Deveraux said having a place of inclusivity, acceptance, and togetherness is important in today’s political climate and the current administration.
“This event will have people seeing the strength and resilience of the transgender community, showing that no matter what we are going through, we still show up,” Deveraux said. “We are here, we will not be erased.”
The 2025 WorldPride Parade was held in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, June 7. Laverne Cox and Renée Rapp were the grand marshals.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key and Robert Rapanut)
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