Out & About
Blade, DC Brau host Pride Pils Dance Party
Celebration at Dacha to feature specialty craft beer
Craft brewery DC Brau will host “Pride Pils Dance Party & Launch” on Thursday, June 2 at 6 p.m. at Dacha Beer Garden (Navy Yard). This event will celebrate the release of two specially crafted beer cans in celebration of Pride Month.
The event is in partnership with Electric Rainbow, Dacha Beer Garden (Navy Yard) and non-profit organizations SMYAL and The Blade Foundation. This year’s party will feature the infamous Electric Rainbow DJs.
The 2022 Pride Pils, designed by Chord Bezerra, was created in direct response to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which limits what classrooms can teach about sexual orientation and gender identity, which disenfranchises vulnerable youth. This design seeks to counter the bill’s harmful message and celebrate Pride across the LGBTQIA+ community.
Guests are encouraged to RSVP in advance via Eventbrite. General admission tickets are free, with VIP tickets available for a donation of $20, which includes a complimentary can of Pride Pils and access to the VIP area near the DJ booth. All donations and event proceeds will go directly to The Blade Foundation and SMYAL. For more details, visit Eventbrite.
Supporters can also purchase Proud to Say GAY! merchandise, including T-shirts, sweatshirts, stickers, and more from District Co-Op. Proceeds from each purchase will benefit The Blade Foundation and SMYAL. For more details, visit District Co-Op.
Out & About
Equality Chamber hosts Pride in Business Expo and Profits & Pours
Entrepreneurs, business leaders, professionals to meet at Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs
The Equality Chamber of Commerce is bringing together LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs, business leaders, professionals, advocates, and community partners on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 2:30 p.m. at the D.C. Mayor’s Office for LGBTQ Affairs (899 N. Capitol Street, NE).
This is an afternoon and evening focused on one essential question: How do we build businesses and a business community that can thrive? The Pride in Business Expo and Profits & Pours with Stephanie will create a powerful forum for connection, practical knowledge, and economic opportunity at the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs. The Pride in Business Expo, taking place from 4-7 p.m., brings the region’s LGBTQ+ business community together to showcase businesses, build relationships, discover resources, and create new opportunities.
Out & About
Learn more about Virginia’s queer history
‘The Remarkable Visibility of Hannah Nokes’ event scheduled for Wednesday
Queer Virginia Contributor Amy Bertsch will host “The Remarkable Visibility of Hannah Nokes” on Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 6 p.m. at Sprouse Rare Book Room inside the Kate Waller Barrett Branch Library (717 Queen St., Alexandria, Va.).
Amy will share the story of Hannah Nokes, an African-American transgender woman who made headlines in 1933 when she testified in a high-profile murder trial. Learn about Nokes’s life, her place in history, and the broader social context of her remarkable story. Her story is among those featured in the book “Queer Virginia: New Stories in the Old Dominion.”
Register at the Alexandria Library website.
Out & About
Annapolis Pride arrives this weekend
Sixth annual LGBTQ celebration held in Maryland capital
The Sixth Annual Annapolis Pride Parade and Festival will be held on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 11 a.m. on the streets adjacent to St. John’s College.
The theme of this year’s Annapolis Pride Parade and Festival celebration is “United in Pride, Together We Thrive!” Saturday’s parade will begin on St. John’s Street adjacent to St. John’s College, continue along Calvert Street to Northwest Street, to Church Circle, and onto West Street. The parade route then turns onto Amos Garrett Boulevard and eventually ends on Constitution Avenue near Maryland Hall.
Those with disabilities will be able to watch the parade from a special viewing porch at the Graduate Hotel at 126 West St. An Annapolis Pride volunteer will be there and available to assist.
For more details, visit the festival’s website.

