Local
The kink must go on
MAL Weekend in full swing, despite COVID surge
The chair of Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend affirmed the event is still scheduled to take place in D.C. this weekend.
“We’re following the guidelines,” Patrick Grady told the Washington Blade during a telephone interview. “We’re going to make the most of it.”
The event, organized by the Centaur Motorcycle Club, takes place at the Hyatt Regency from Jan. 14-17.
All MAL attendees are required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination. A statement on the event’s website also notes masks “will be mandatory at all indoor venues during MAL 2022” in accordance with the D.C. indoor mask mandate.
The Hyatt Regency has agreed to refund the cost of the room of anyone who chooses not to attend MAL. BoxOffice Tickets will also refund the registration costs of any participant who has decided not to come.
The BOOTCAMP dance party was scheduled to take place at Soundcheck on Jan. 13 at 10 p.m.
The Official MAL Weekend Closing Dance is slated to begin at the 9:30 Club on Jan. 16 at 7 p.m. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination is required to enter the venue.
The decision to proceed with the MAL events came at a time when some prominent local LGBTQ community advocates expressed concern about attending the MAL events due to D.C.’s rising infection rate of the Omicron strain.
Among those raising concern was Dr. Stephen Abbott, the Medical Site Director of D.C. ‘s Whitman-Walker Health’s Max Robinson Center.
“I’ve attended MAL several times in the past,” Abbott said in a statement released by Whitman-Walker. “People will be gathering in close proximity, masks will come off to drink a cocktail or kiss a new friend, the lobby of the host hotel and the market space will have hundreds of people coming and going,” he said. “The risk of exposure to the highly transmissible Omicron variant is extremely high and an event like this can contribute to the current surge in cases.”
Gay retired D.C. Police lieutenant Brett Parson, who served as director of the D.C. police LGBT Liaison Unit, expressed similar concerns.
“After personally consulting with several trusted epidemiologists and public health experts, I have decided not to attend MAL events this year,” Parson told the Blade. “I don’t want to unwittingly contribute to the growing spread of COVID-19 in the nation’s capital and around the world,” he said.
“Hopefully, anyone planning to attend MAL understands D.C. is a COVID hotspot,” said D.C. LGBTQ rights advocate Peter Rosenstein. “Personally, I would have recommended canceling out of caution,” Rosenstein said in a Jan. 5 message to the Blade. Other community members expressed similar views in Facebook postings this week.
The host hotel is the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill (400 New Jersey Ave., N.W.). The exhibitor hall is open Friday from 4-10 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday’s Leather cocktails event begins at 7 p.m. in the Regency Ballroom. Sunday’s brunch is from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. in Capitol A&B and Congressional A&B. The annual Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather contest is set for Sunday from 1-4 p.m.; there will be no parade of titleholders this year. And the official MAL closing dance REACTION is from 7 p.m.-3 a.m. at 9:30 Club.
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)
a&e features
Looking back at 50 years of Pride in D.C
Washington Blade’s unique archives chronicle highs, lows of our movement
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of LGBTQ Pride in Washington, D.C., the Washington Blade team combed our archives and put together a glossy magazine showcasing five decades of celebrations in the city. Below is a sampling of images from the magazine but be sure to find a print copy starting this week.
The magazine is being distributed now and is complimentary. You can find copies at LGBTQ bars and restaurants across the city. Or visit the Blade booth at the Pride festival on June 7 and 8 where we will distribute copies.
Thank you to our advertisers and sponsors, whose support has enabled us to distribute the magazine free of charge. And thanks to our dedicated team at the Blade, especially Photo Editor Michael Key, who spent many hours searching the archives for the best images, many of which are unique to the Blade and cannot be found elsewhere. And thanks to our dynamic production team of Meaghan Juba, who designed the magazine, and Phil Rockstroh who managed the process. Stephen Rutgers and Brian Pitts handled sales and marketing and staff writers Lou Chibbaro Jr., Christopher Kane, Michael K. Lavers, Joe Reberkenny along with freelancer and former Blade staffer Joey DiGuglielmo wrote the essays.
The magazine represents more than 50 years of hard work by countless reporters, editors, advertising sales reps, photographers, and other media professionals who have brought you the Washington Blade since 1969.
We hope you enjoy the magazine and keep it as a reminder of all the many ups and downs our local LGBTQ community has experienced over the past 50 years.
I hope you will consider supporting our vital mission by becoming a Blade member today. At a time when reliable, accurate LGBTQ news is more essential than ever, your contribution helps make it possible. With a monthly gift starting at just $7, you’ll ensure that the Blade remains a trusted, free resource for the community — now and for years to come. Click here to help fund LGBTQ journalism.
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