Arts & Entertainment
Rainbow Families conference returns in person this weekend
‘Inspiration, togetherness and a feeling of empowerment’
A Washington D.C.-based non-profit organization that works to empower LGBTQ-headed households will host its annual conference for the first time in person since the COVID-19 pandemic began, on Saturday, May 14 at Barrie School in Silver Spring, Md.
Rainbow Families will host a daylong event —themed “Together Again”— that will feature informative workshops, community building activities and speakers such as Democratic state Sen. Zach Wahls from Iowa.
There will also be an award ceremony where CEO of Whitman-Walker Health Naseema Shafi will be named “Hero of the Year,” in recognition of her leadership and service to improving and growing health services for LGBTQ people in the D.C. area, according to a press release from the organization.
Shafi will be the fourth recipient of the award, following past winners, including Michele Zavos, one of the organization’s founders, and Ellen Kahn, senior director of programs and partnerships at the Human Rights Campaign.
“[We choose] someone who has been instrumental in leadership and change, and [given] more hope and inspiration in the past year or so,” said Darren Vance, executive director of Rainbow Families. “While our lane is all things families, we also include trailblazers for helping expand our rights and our laws.”
The main attraction at the conference will be the educational seminars. There will be as many as 30 workshops that discuss timely LGBTQ issues such as parenting and legislation, including what the leaked draft opinion on the future of Roe v. Wade —a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that protects a woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction— could mean for the LGBTQ community.
Vance acknowledges that this topic is pertinent for discussion at the conference and it will be included in the opening ceremony. However, because the conference’s program was planned months ago and information about the fate of Roe v. Wade is new, reorganizing the conference to primarily focus on it would be challenging.
“We really plan to focus on that topic once we have all the information,” he said. “Everybody right now is seeing a barrage of news and social media posts about it and we want to be able to come at it with some real analysis.”
One of the educational seminars, however, will focus on the legal aspects of creating a family, and it will be led by Jennifer Fairfax, a Maryland-based adoption attorney who has worked on LGBTQ family planning.
“She will certainly be incorporating [issues about same-sex marriage],” said Vance.
With the conference just days away, Vance is focused on the LGBTQ community’s ability to gather and celebrate itself. However, he hopes for conference attendees to gain three things.
“I want them [to leave with] inspiration, togetherness and a feeling of empowerment,” he said.
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The Freddie’s Follies drag show was held at Freddie’s Beach Bar in Arlington, Va. on Saturday, Jan. 3. Performers included Monet Dupree, Michelle Livigne, Shirley Naytch, Gigi Paris Couture and Shenandoah.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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Queer highlights of the 2026 Critics Choice Awards: Aunt Gladys, that ‘Heated Rivalry’ shoutout and more
Amy Madigan’s win in the supporting actress category puts her in serious contention to win the Oscar for ‘Weapons’
From Chelsea Handler shouting out Heated Rivalry in her opening monologue to Amy Madigan proving that horror performances can (and should) be taken seriously, the Critics Choice Awards provided plenty of iconic moments for queer movie fans to celebrate on the long road to Oscar night.
Handler kicked off the ceremony by recapping the biggest moments in pop culture last year, from Wicked: For Good to Sinners. She also made room to joke about the surprise hit TV sensation on everyone’s minds: “Shoutout to Heated Rivalry. Everyone loves it! Gay men love it, women love it, straight men who say they aren’t gay but work out at Equinox love it!”
The back-to-back wins for Jacob Elordi in Frankenstein and Amy Madigan in Weapons are notable, given the horror bias that awards voters typically have. Aunt Gladys instantly became a pop culture phenomenon within the LGBTQ+ community when Zach Cregger’s hit horror comedy released in August, but the thought that Madigan could be a serious awards contender for such a fun, out-there performance seemed improbable to most months ago. Now, considering the sheer amount of critics’ attention she’s received over the past month, there’s no denying she’s in the running for the Oscar.
“I really wasn’t expecting all of this because I thought people would like the movie, and I thought people would dig Gladys, but you love Gladys! I mean, it’s crazy,” Madigan said during her acceptance speech. “I get [sent] makeup tutorials and paintings. I even got one weird thing about how she’s a sex icon also, which I didn’t go too deep into that one.”
Over on the TV side, Rhea Seehorn won in the incredibly competitive best actress in a drama series category for her acclaimed performance as Carol in Pluribus, beating out the likes of Emmy winner Britt Lower for Severance, Carrie Coon for The White Lotus, and Bella Ramsey for The Last of Us. Pluribus, which was created by Breaking Bad’s showrunner Vince Gilligan, has been celebrated by audiences for its rich exploration of queer trauma and conversion therapy.
Jean Smart was Hack’s only win of the night, as Hannah Einbinder couldn’t repeat her Emmy victory in the supporting actress in a comedy series category against Janelle James, who nabbed a trophy for Abbott Elementary. Hacks lost the best comedy series award to The Studio, as it did at the Emmys in September. And in the limited series category, Erin Doherty repeated her Emmy success in supporting actress, joining in yet another Adolescence awards sweep.
As Oscar fans speculate on what these Critics Choice wins mean for future ceremonies, we have next week’s Golden Globes ceremony to look forward to on Jan. 11.
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