Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on June 4 officially declared June as LGBTQ+ Pride month to celebrate the commonwealth’s LGBTQ+ communities, their achievements and contributions, and their fight for inclusion and equality.

“This Pride month, we are reminded of the resilience of LGBTQ+ Americans and their fight for inclusion and acceptance and equal access to services and opportunities,” said Northam. 

Northam further encouraged Virginians to participate in Pride month activities that are to be hosted by his administration and community organizations taking place online and in-person throughout the Commonwealth. 

A comprehensive event schedule is available on the governor’s website.

Friday, June 4

DC Public Library will host “DISdance Pride Edition — Still We Dance” at 6:30 p.m. Show your Pride by dancing with the Library’s Freegal music collections. You can dance to one or all 30-minute playlists. Post a video or photo of you and your crew dancing or lip-syncing to Instagram and tag DC Public Library on Instagram using the tags #DCPLDanceParty and #StillWeDance. DC Public Library will share its favorite videos and crown the video with the most likes the virtual Queen of Pride. You can find all four Pride playlists on Freegal with the names Still We Lead, Still We Live, Still We Laugh, and Still We Love. 

“Friday Tea Time,” a social hour for older LGBTQ+ adults, begins at 2:00 p.m. on Zoom. For access to the Zoom link and more information, contact [email protected].

Saturday, June 5

Join Prince George’s County Memorial Library System for “Viewer’s Advisory: Rainbow Cartoons” virtually at 11 a.m. This event will dive into a discussion on positive and problematic LGBTQ+ representation in cartoons, anime, and graphic novels for teens and tweens.

Cheverly Pride will host a car parade at 3 p.m. The parade begins at the Community Center for a flag raising, some words of welcome, and a remembrance for lives that have been lost. Cars will proceed from there in a parade (decorations encouraged and a prize will be awarded) to the Legion, with a quick stop at Legion park to raise another flag. At the Legion there will be food, music, and fun. For more information, visit Cheverly Village online.

Sunday, June 6

The DC Center for the LGBT Community, TERRIFIC, Inc., Capitol Hill Village, and the DC Department on Aging and Community Living (DACL) will host a virtual drag show and discussion panel moderated by Devon Trotter at 2 p.m. The event will begin with performances by Pussy Noir and Blaq Dynamite followed by a conversation with them moderated by Devon Trotter. For more information, reach out to [email protected].

Virtual Travel Adventure Show has an LGBTQ travel segment at 5 p.m. The event will explore top vacation options from around the world catering specifically to the LGBTQ community at the Virtual Travel & Adventure Show. You’ll find thousands of vacation options from top destinations, cruise lines and tour operators, expert travel content, and thousands of dollars in travel savings all in one place. The event is free and tickets are available online on Eventbrite. For more information, visit virtual.travelshows.com.

Queen City Kings Drag will host “Flame: A Worldwide Pride Show” virtually at 9 p.m. This event will feature 16 performers who were selected from a worldwide pool of submissions to entertain and inspire. Be prepared to laugh, cry, party, and rejoice when drag artists Interrobang the Dragon, Dik Carrier, Lottie Flick, Semicolon, Rye, Fannie Fullenweider, Fox Squire, Black Battie, Mercury Divine, Just JP, Nick D’Cuple, Nitrix Oxide, Perka $exx, Shea Hazard, Camden Summers, and Fly-Guy Shawn hit the virtual stage with Myster E as your host. For more information, visit the Facebook event page. 

Monday, June 7

The Center Aging Coffee Drop-In will still take place virtually at 10 a.m. via Zoom. LGBT Older Adults (and friends) are invited to have friendly conversations about current issues they might be dealing with. For more information, click here.

Join the DC Center for their virtual job club, a weekly job support program to help job entrants and seekers, including the long-term unemployed, improve self-confidence, motivation, resilience and productivity for effective job searches and networking. The event begins on Zoom at 6 p.m. For more information, email [email protected]. 

Tuesday, June 8

Meryl Wilsner on “Something to Talk About,” co-presented with DC Public Library, will be hosted virtually at 7 p.m. Author Meryl Wilsner will discuss their work and hit debut novel, “Something to Talk About” (2020), with staff from PGCMLS and DC Public Library in commemoration of LGBTQ+ Pride Month. More information is available here.

The Trans Support Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. All who identify under the trans umbrella or are unsure, and seek to continually reinforce our principles of respect, acceptance and protection through ongoing input from our attendees are welcome to attend. Email [email protected] to access the Zoom link. 

Wednesday, June 9

Join Prince George’s County Memorial Library System for “Lenny Duncan ‘United States of Grace’ with Teddy Reeves” virtually at 7 p.m. United States of Grace is a love story about America, revealing the joy and resilience of those places in this country many call “the margins” but that Lenny Duncan has called home. The event will be livestreamed on Youtube and Facebook on the @PGCMLS account. For more information, click here.

Join the DC Center for their virtual job club, a weekly job support program to help job entrants and seekers, including the long-term unemployed, improve self-confidence, motivation, resilience and productivity for effective job searches and networking. The event begins on Zoom at 6 p.m. For more information, email [email protected]. 

Thursday, June 10

Join The Residences at Thomas Circle for “Let’s Flamingle!” at 4 p.m. on 1330 Massachusetts Ave., N.W. This event will celebrate silver pride with a rooftop barbecue. Guests are encouraged to dress as flamboyantly as they can. To RSVP, contact Denise by calling 202-628-3844 or send an email to [email protected].

FreeState Justice will host a storytelling night virtually at 6 p.m.  The event will include LGBTQ storytellers who will provide personal takes on what Pride means to them. Tickets are available on Eventbrite. General admission to this event is free, however, you can donate $10 to the organization through the Eventbrite link as well. For more information, visit freestate-justice.org.

The Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) will be updating its current “Virginia is for Lovers” Pride Heart logo and adopt the Progress Pride Flag design that reflects the many different identities within the queer community. VTC initially introduced the Virginia is for Lovers Pride logo in 2016, with the traditional red heart being replaced with a rainbow heart.

The new design better acknowledges both the diversity of the people and cultures that make up Virginia’s tourism industry including business owners and communities, and vendors involved in the arts, food, beverages, music, and culture. The flag’s design will also more accurately represent the travelers that come to Virginia to explore the history, outdoors, restaurants, Pride festivals and events, and their favorite queer-centric attractions.

For more information, visit virginia.org.