Local
SMYAL forms new area youth Pride committee
D.C.’s Youth Pride Alliance postpones 2018 event
Youth Pride (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
WASHINGTON — SMYAL has formed a new Regional Youth Pride Committee comprised of D.C., Maryland and Virginia LGBT youth 13-21 to “come together and plan a youth-driven, youth-focused Pride celebration.”
The group will meet monthly to plan smaller events culminating with a youth Pride-type event. Applications are currently being accepted. SMYAL is reaching out to area youth through D.C. public schools, area charter and private schools and other avenues through which SMYAL gets in touch with teens for its various activities such as Activist Camp, its Youth Leadership Award Scholarships and more. SMYAL is working with Capital Pride on the committee.
“As youth come out younger and younger and use technology to connect with peers across the region, there are more opportunities for LGBTQ youth to develop programming that crosses traditional boundaries,” SMYAL Executive Director Sultan Shakir said in an e-mail. “Regional Youth Pride is equipping young people with the resources to develop and roll out new youth-led programming.”
He also said the committee is “an outgrowth” of the kind of work SMYAL already does both on its own and with other agencies in the region such as Arena Stage, The Trevor Project and more.
So why is this agency forming when D.C. already has a Youth Pride? Shakir didn’t say exactly but The Youth Pride Alliance — the agency behind D.C. Youth Pride — has been difficult to reach in recent years and hasn’t updated its website (youthpridealliance.org) in more than a year. Its homepage has no 2018 information available and is still plugging its last event, held in Dupont Circle on Oct. 7, 2017.
For years, the volunteer-run Alliance (founded in 1996) held Youth Pride annually every May. It was bumped to October in 2017. Sarah Blazucki, board secretary, said a fall 2018 event was tentatively planned but the board is now hoping to move it back to spring 2019 instead.
“We’re looking at April or May,” Blazucki said in an e-mail. “We are trying to reserve the date in the next month.”
Youth Pride Alliance board President Nikisha Carpenter sent a brief statement by e-mail.
“Youth Pride Alliance and SMYAL have partnered in the past and hope to continue,” she said.
Shakir said he hopes to have the Committee in place by mid-November with 10 youth and three adult, non-SMYAL staff members. They hope to have three-four events planned by January, one each in D.C., Maryland and Virginia. They plan a Pride-type event with the Capital Pride Alliance in late spring/early summer 2019.
District of Columbia
Blade welcomes fall intern
Alexis McLean is student at University of North Florida
The Washington Blade this week welcomed Alexis McLean as its fall intern.
Alexis is studying political science at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla. She is interning with the Blade as part of a continued partnership with the Washington Center.
“I am looking forward to spending my time in the fall with the Washington Blade, as this is a new experience for me,” said Alexis. “I have not experienced any journalist jobs in the past so this would be my first time, and I am excited to better my writing and communications skills with this internship.”
Alexis’s internship with the Blade ends in early December.
Rehoboth Beach
SUNFESTIVAL takes center stage as Rehoboth Beach closes out summer
Labor Day Weekend bustling with events, including David Archuleta performance
Labor Day Weekend marks the unofficial end of summer in Rehoboth Beach, but there will be no shortage of LGBTQ events, with CAMP Rehoboth’s annual SUNFESTIVAL taking over town this weekend.
Thursday (9/3)
Get your Labor Day Weekend started early Thursday night with happy hour from 5-7 p.m. at Diego’s Bar & Nightclub, followed by Naughtee Bingo hosted by Magnolia Applebottom at 8:30 p.m.
After bingo, the party continues with Dancing at Diego’s from 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.
Aqua Bar & Grill will also kick off its Labor Day Weekend festivities Thursday with a DJ spinning from 9 p.m.-1 a.m.
Friday (9/4)
The weekend ramps up Friday night at Aqua, where DJ Matt Bailer will keep the dance floor moving from 9 p.m.-1 a.m.
Over at Diego’s, DJ Steve Sidewalk will then take over Diego’s for Freedom Friday from 9 p.m.-1:30 a.m.
Saturday (9/5)
The main event of the weekend arrives Saturday with the opening night of CAMP Rehoboth’s SUNFESTIVAL.
Billed as the ultimate party to close out the summer, SUNFESTIVAL has become one of Rehoboth’s signature Labor Day Weekend events. The annual celebration sells out each year, with proceeds benefiting CAMP Rehoboth.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with refreshments available at the cash bar while attendees are invited to socialize and find their seats.
Saturday night will feature local singer Ashley Williams as the opening performer, followed by headliner David Archuleta. The event will also feature a live auction.
Back across town Saturday, Aqua will continue its Labor Day Weekend DJ lineup from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Diego’s will also have plenty happening, with ‘Splash Party’ hosted by Magnolia Applebottom at 5 p.m., followed by a Saturday Dance Party with Brett Oosterhaus from 9 p.m.- 1:30 a.m.
The Blue Moon hosts its popular Legends Show at 9 p.m. It’s an all-live singing show by the Blue Moon cast of celebrity impersonators.
Etienne Pilon has taken Rehoboth by storm this summer. Check out the talented singer/pianist at The Pines from 7-10 p.m.
Sunday (9/6)
Sunday’s SUNFESTIVAL event will shift the focus to the dance floor, with globally renowned DJs Robbie Leslie and James Anthony scheduled to perform. Doors open at 7 p.m., with dancing continuing until 1 a.m.
On Sunday, Aqua will throw its annual White Party, with DJs spinning from 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Guests are encouraged to dress in white for the holiday weekend celebration.
Diego’s will host its Sunday High T-Dance with Pamala Stanley at 5 p.m. Later that evening, DJ Tannr will be spinning at 9 p.m.
John Flynn is on the piano from 6-8 p.m. at the Blue Moon.
Monday (9/7)
The final day of Labor Day Weekend brings one last chance to hit the dance floor before summer officially winds down.
Aqua will close out its five-day Labor Day Weekend celebration with DJ Biff from 3-7 p.m.
Maryland
Anne Arundel schools now need parent permission to call trans students by preferred names
Conservative groups challenged system’s policy
By JESSICA CALEFATI | Anne Arundel County Public Schools staff cannot use transgender students’ preferred names if their parents oppose it, according to an internal document reviewed by the Banner, a change that comes after conservative groups challenged the school system’s approach to gender identity.
Teachers union president Kristina Korona told members in an Aug. 20 email that the new guidance undermines district policy on acceptance and inclusivity and “will begin harming affected students immediately.”
Previously, the district didn’t require parental permission to use a high school student’s chosen name and pronouns corresponding to their gender identity, the internal document says. Now it does. The change comes as parents challenge the suburban school system’s gender identity policy and regulation in court and the Trump-Vance administration threatens the district’s funding.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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