Local
D.C. Pride street fair, block party set for Oct. 17
Live entertainment planned; proof of vaccination required
Capital Pride Alliance, the group that organizes D.C.’s annual LGBTQ Pride Parade and street festival, has announced it will hold the city’s first annual “Colorful Fest” LGBTQ Pride events on Oct. 17 that will include a Street Fair and Block Party.
The announcement, posted on the Capital Pride Alliance website, says the Street Fair will take place from 12-6 p.m. on 15th Street, N.W. between P and Q Streets.
The Block Party, according to the announcement, will take place from 12-8 p.m. at the Northwest corner of 15th and P streets, N.W. next to the site of the street fair.
“The Street Fair will feature small independent businesses, community groups, artisans, and food along 15th Street,” the Capital Pride announcement says. “The lively Block Party will include entertainment, an As You Are Bar pop-up, and dancing throughout the day for guests 21 and over,” says the announcement.
It says part of the Block Party will take place in the parking lot of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, which is acting as a host for the event.
“Join us as we once again celebrate our vibrant and colorful LGBTQ+ community!” the announcement says.
Facemasks will not be required during the outdoor events, the announcement adds. But it says, “only individuals with proof of vaccination may enter the Colorful Fest Block Party.” And according to the announcement, “Capital Pride Alliance staff, volunteers, performers, and vendors are required to show proof of vaccination to participate in the event.”
Capital Pride Alliance Executive Director Ryan Bos said the organization would issue a press release later this week officially announcing the Oct. 17 Colorful Fest events.
“This is the start of what we hope will become a new annual fall event,” Bos told the Washington Blade.
The announcement on the Capital Pride Alliance website says Nissan and Xfinity have signed on as the Colorful Fest’s lead sponsors. Other sponsors include Amazon, Booz Allen Hamilton, the Human Rights Campaign, CareFirst, Tito’s, Heineken, and Wegman’s.
The Oct. 17 events will follow by four months a June 12 Capital Pride Walk from Dupont Circle to Freedom Plaza in downtown D.C. in which Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, joined in an unannounced appearance. Harris became the first U.S. vice president to participate in an LGBTQ Pride event.
In addition to the Pride Walk, Capital Pride Alliance organized on that same day a small-scale Pride celebration at Freedom Plaza and a Pridemobile Parade in which about 50 vehicles decorated with Pride related signs and banners traveled through all four of the city’s quadrants.
The Pride Walk, Pridemobile Parade, and the Freedom Plaza gathering marked the first in-person, post-COVID Pride events in D.C. following the decision by Capital Pride to cancel all large in-person events in 2020 due to the city’s COVID restrictions.
In past years, prior to COVID, the Capital Pride Parade and street festival, which was held on Pennsylvania Avenue near the U.S. Capitol, drew over 250,000 people from the D.C. area and the mid-Atlantic region.
Capital Price Alliance’s decision to put on the Oct. 17 events comes at a time when LGBTQ Pride organizations in close to a dozen U.S. cities, including Annapolis, Baltimore, and Richmond, have cancelled or postponed planned in-person Pride events for the late summer or fall of 2021 due to COVID concerns.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser lifted the city’s restrictions on large outdoor events in May of this year, as the city’s COVID-19 cases declined significantly following a large-scale vaccination campaign. However, Bowser has said she and the city’s public health officials will be monitoring the recent uptick in COVID cases due to the Delta variant strain of the coronavirus. She said additional restrictions such as a limit on large outdoor gatherings could be put in place if the caseload rises.
Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth Summer Kickoff Party set for May 15 with Ashley Biden
The Washington Blade’s 19th annual Summer Kickoff Party is scheduled for Friday, May 15 in Rehoboth Beach, Del.
Ashley Biden, daughter of President Joe Biden, has joined the list of speakers, the Blade announced. She will accept an award on behalf of her brother Beau Biden for his LGBTQ advocacy work as Delaware attorney general. (Her appearance was rescheduled from last year.)
The event, to be held this year at Diego’s (37298 Rehoboth Ave. Ext.) from 5-7 p.m., is a fundraiser for the Blade Foundation’s Steve Elkins Memorial Fellowship in Journalism, which funds a summer position reporting on LGBTQ news in Delaware. This year’s recipient will be introduced at the event.
The event will also feature remarks from state Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall. New CAMP Rehoboth Executive Director Dr. Robin Brennan and Blade editor Kevin Naff will also speak. The event is generously sponsored by Realtor Justin Noble, The Avenue Inn & Spa, and Diego’s.
A suggested donation of $25 is partially tax deductible and includes a drink ticket and light appetizers. Tickets are available in advance at bladefoundation.org/rehoboth or at the door.
District of Columbia
Curve magazine honors Washington Blade publisher
Lynne Brown named to 2026 Power List
Washington Blade Publisher Lynne Brown has been named to the 2026 Curve Power List celebrating LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary individuals in North America who are blazing trails in their chosen fields.
“From sports and entertainment icons to corporate leaders and lawmakers, these individuals are breaking barriers, challenging norms, and shaping the future,” Curve Foundation/Curve magazine said in announcing this year’s list, which includes ABC newscaster Robin Roberts, comedian/actress Hannah Einbinder, and singer/actress Renee Rapp, among others.
Brown has worked for the Washington Blade for nearly 40 years. She was named publisher in 2007 before becoming a co-owner in 2010.
“I am honored to be recognized by Curve magazine during Lesbian Visibility Week,” Brown said. “Receiving this Curve honor is twofold. I was an early subscriber to Curve. I enjoy the product and know its history. Its journalism, layout and humorous features have inspired me.
“As an owner/publisher, receiving recognition from a similar source acknowledges my work and efforts, with a sincerity I truly appreciate. Franco Stevens, the publisher of Curve, is a business person of duration, experience, and purpose. The fact that they are in the media business, and honoring me and my publication makes it a tiny bit sweeter.”
Nominations for the Curve Power List come from the community: peers, mentors, fans, and employers.
Curve explained the significance of the list in its announcement: “An annual, publicly nominated list of impactful LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary changemakers is crucial in current times to counter discrimination, legislative rollbacks, hostility, and the invisibility of queer women within mainstream and marginal spaces and endeavors. Such a list also fosters encouragement and solidarity, and elevates voices and achievements—from high-profile roles to under appreciated areas of life.”
Rehoboth Beach
Auction of Rehoboth’s Blue Moon canceled
Details on sale of iconic bar, restaurant not disclosed
The Blue Moon in Rehoboth Beach, Del., has been an iconic presence in the local LGBTQ community for four decades but its status remains murky after a sheriff’s auction of the property was abruptly called off on Tuesday.
The property was listed for sale in December. At that time, owner Tim Ragan told the Blade that he is committed to preserving its legacy as a gay-friendly space.
“We had no idea the interest this would create,” Ragan said in December. “I guess I was a little naive about that.”
Ragan explained that he and longtime partner Randy Haney were separating the real estate from the business. The two buildings associated with the sale were listed by Carrie Lingo at 35 Baltimore Ave., and include an apartment, the front restaurant (6,600 square feet with three floors and a basement), and a secondary building (roughly 1,800 square feet on two floors). They were listed for $4.5 million.
The bar and restaurant business is being sold separately; the price was not publicly disclosed.
But then, earlier this year, the Blue Moon real estate listing turned up on the Sussex County Sheriff’s Office auction site. The auction was slated for Tuesday, April 21 but hours before the sale, the listing changed to “active under contract” indicating that a buyer has been found but the sale is not yet final. As of Wednesday morning, the listing has been removed from the sheriff’s auction site.
Ragan didn’t respond to Blade inquiries about the auction. Back in December, he told the Blade, “It’s time to look for the next people who can continue the history of the Moon and cultivate the next chapter,” noting that he turns 70 this year. “We’re not panicked; we separated the building from the business. Some buyers can’t afford both.”
The identity of the buyer was not disclosed, nor was the sale price.
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