Local
Stage is set for Baltimore Pride
Big Freedia headlines Saturday block party

Baltimore Pride 2017, dubbed “Pride Unleashed,” will culminate this weekend with the parade and block party on Saturday in the Station North area and on Sunday with the festival in Druid Hill Park. Baltimore Pride, which originated in 1975, is run by the GLBT Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland (GLCCB).
A plethora of events and parties have already taken place during “Pride Week” that began on June 9, such as a Pride Bar Crawl, Feeding the Homeless Community Outreach, King & Queen of Pride Revue, Remembering the Pulse victims vigil, Pride Interfaith Celebration, Queer People of Color Party, a GLCCB open house, the mayor’s reception at City Hall, Twilight on the Terrace fundraiser and many others.
This year, the parade on Saturday will not terminate in the Mount Vernon neighborhood as had been the tradition but instead will wind up in the Station North area. It will originate at Charles and Eager streets, and the parade, billed as the longest ever in terms of distance and the number of contingents participating, will proceed north on Charles Street beginning at 2 p.m., traverse North Avenue and end up at 22nd Street.
Prior to the parade at 12:30 p.m., there will be a “pre-Pride extravaganza show” at City Stage (Charles St. and North Ave.) followed by the traditional High Heel Race at the same locale.
The popular block party that will run from 4-10 p.m. has similarly moved from Mount Vernon. Its footprint is located between 23rd Street on the north (where the Main Stage will be situated at Charles Street) and North Avenue on the south. Morton Street forms the western boundary and St. Paul Street is on the east. Charles Street runs up the center of the footprint.
In addition, there will be a Youth Zone within the area for those between ages 14 and 20 with its own set of entertainers, such as Bunns of Steele, Summer Heights, Damon, Positive Voices and Keyayshia among others.
This year’s block party headliner is Big Freedia, a New Orleans-based rapper and ambassador of Bounce music, known as the Queen of Bounce. Big Freedia is scheduled to perform on the main stage at 9 p.m.
Other scheduled performers include King of Pride, Miss MD P.O.A., Azra, Tara Evans, a show from the Baltimore Eagle’s Nest, Jessica Sutter, Tan Estintric Odom, Coco Wilson, Queen of Pride, George Lovett and more.
On the Dance Stage, scheduled performers are Life on Planets, Carolyn Victorian & DJ Oji, DJ Pope, FAQ, Malphunction, and The OGS.
There will also be special parties that night at local gay bars including the Baltimore Eagle, G•A•Y Lounge, Flavor, Grand Central, Leon’s/Steampunk and The Drinkery.
The Sunday festival at Druid Hill Park is typically more subdued than the block party and welcoming to families with its Family Zone. An innovation this year is an Elder Tent for older LGBT folks and allies to hang out.
Visitors will meander through the festival visiting a multitude of vendors representing shops, organizations and political groups as well as enjoying the food and beverages.
Pride-goers sit on grassy areas at various locations to soak up the entertainment on the Main Stage, the Dance Stage, and the Lady Lisa Drag Stage that features local drag performers.
Some of the performers include Girl Named Chuck, Pretty Boi Drag, Moo Jack, Rue Pratt, Black Asset, Ultra Nate as well as DJ Deezy, DJ Alex Funk, DJ Figment, DJ Powerline and DJ Cover.
Noting its significance, Mimi Demissew, co-executive director of the GLCCB, says, “Baltimore Pride is indeed one of the greatest celebrations of SGL/LGBTQ culture held in our city. Equally important, Baltimore Pride helps the Center stay open to continue serving its Baltimore and Central Maryland residents.”
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)










