Local

Baltimore Pride transcending generations

Van Hollen, Mary Washington to serve as grand marshals

Published

8 years ago

May 31, 2017

Steve Charing

Mary Washington, gay news, Washington Blade, Baltimore Pride

Del. Mary Washington will serve as one of Baltimore Pride’s grand marshals.
(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

As has been the case the past few Baltimore Pride celebrations, a safe space for LGBTQ youth ages 14 to 20 has been set aside during the block party. Youth Pride will be operational on Saturday, June 17 from 4-8:30 p.m. in its very own Youth Pride Zone within the Pride block party footprint.

Youth Pride, says Mimi Demissew, Pride co-chair, the alcohol-free area will be sectioned off with its own stage, performers and vendors.

In addition, this year will mark the first time in which Baltimore’s LGBT older adults will meet, share memories and make new connections at Elder Pride for those who attend the festival at Druid Hill Park on June 18.

In partnership with the GLBT Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland (GLCCB), the inaugural Elder Pride tent will be hosted by the LGBT Health Resource Center of Chase Brexton Health Care from 12-6 p.m. Participants will have the opportunity to identify and locate themselves along a historical LGBT timeline, and add their initials along the timeline for the year that they came out.

Elders will also be able to take a photograph honoring the number of years that they have been out, for inclusion in a photo collection. Community resources and advocacy will be available, and participants may sign up for the CareAct, which empowers elders in medical environments.

“So much of the equality that younger queer people enjoy has come from the head work, heart work, and hard work of our LGBT elders,” said Nate Sweeney, executive director of the LGBT Health Resource Center. “That is not to say that we do not still have much work to do, and new battles to fight, but it has to be done with the acknowledgment of hearts and minds that our elders have impacted.”

To help improve access to the festival, Action in Maturity’s Elder Express will shuttle individuals from Chase Brexton’s Mt. Vernon Center at 1111 N. Charles Street to Druid Hill Park and back.

For more information about Elder Pride, contact the LGBT Health Resource Center at [email protected]; 410-837-2050 ext. 1049.

In other Pride news, the 2017 parade grand marshals have been announced. U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Baltimore Del. Mary Washington will serve in that capacity.

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Photos

PHOTOS: WorldPride Street Festival and Closing Concert

Doechii, Khalid among performers

Published

2 hours ago

June 11, 2025

Michael Key

Doechii performs at the WorldPride Closing Concert on Sunday, June 8. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

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)

Baltimore

Baltimore Trans Pride to take place Saturday

Baltimore Safe Haven hosts annual event

Published

5 hours ago

June 11, 2025

Daniela White

Baltimore Trans Pride in 2022. Baltimore Safe Haven's annual event will take place on Saturday. (Washington Blade photo by Linus Berggren)

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.”