Local
Pride parade to march out of Mount Vernon
In switch, June 17 celebration heads north
This year’s Pride parade will kick off in Mount Vernon. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Breaking a decades-old tradition, the Baltimore Pride Parade, scheduled for June 17, will depart what had been considered the “gayborhood” in Mount Vernon and venture north to the Station North-Old Goucher neighborhood.
The parade this year will originate on the corner of Charles and Eager Streets, according to Donald Young, Pride Parade chair and Baltimore Pride main stage manager, and will begin at 2 p.m. In the past, the parade started several blocks south near the Washington Monument.
“Last year was the largest Pride Parade in Baltimore history,” Young told the Blade. He promises an even bigger and longer Pride Parade this year. The Block Party, he says, will take place between North Avenue and 22nd Street and between Maryland Avenue and St. Paul Street.
The new parade route was welcomed by Old Goucher leadership. “We are pleased to learn that this year’s 42nd annual Pride festivities will be centered on Charles Street in Old Goucher,” said Kelly Cross, president of the Old Goucher Community Association, in a statement.
“There’s no better place in the city for this event. Charles Street is Baltimore’s traditional ‘Main Street’ and we have ample venues to support the full range of activities included in the celebration.”
Cross noted that various neighborhoods in the city have at times claimed the title of “gayborhood,” such as Charles Village, Waverly and most recently Mount Vernon. However, in 2016, the GLBT Community Center of Baltimore (GLCCB), the organization that runs Pride, moved its headquarters from Mount Vernon to Old Goucher. The Pride Foundation of Maryland is also located there as well as the refurbished Baltimore Eagle.
For more information, visit baltimorepride.org.
Photos
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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