Local
Ride Alto in DC during Pride month
Catch the Alto Pride Car at Pride on the Pier, and on the road in DC this June. Get $15 off 2 rides with promo code BladePride.
GET $15 OFF 2 RIDES WITH PROMO CODE: BladePride
Founded in 2018, Alto is the first employee-based, on-demand rideshare company rethinking a traditionally inconsistent, gig-based industry. By hiring vetted, uniformed drivers and managing a dedicated fleet of 5-star crash rated luxury SUVs, Alto offers the safest, most consistent, and personalized passenger experience on the market today.
Alto classifies its drivers as W-2 employees, provides in-depth training, manages its owned vehicle fleet and brings advanced logistics and optimization to the ridesharing ecosystem. Setting the standard in cleanliness in the rideshare industry, Alto cleans and disinfects vehicles with EPA-registered disinfectants between every ride and shift.
Celebrate Pride on any Alto ride with an in-car Vibe, music curated by the Alto team and in-app for the month of June.
Currently available in Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Washington D.C., and Silicon Valley, Alto has plans to bring its elevated rideshare experience to even more cities in the future. For more information, visit www.ridealto.com.
GET $15 OFF 2 RIDES WITH PROMO CODE: BladePride
Promo Code: BladePride
Offer: $15 off 2 rides (valid for Alto members only)
Valid thru 6/30/22
To redeem your promo code:
1.Open or download the Alto app.
2.Create an account and join as a member – your first 14 days of membership are free!
3.Select the profile section of the app and tap promotions.
4.Enter the promo code and enjoy your ride!
To preschedule your rides:
1. In the Ride section of the app, enter your pick up and drop off locations and click Confirm.
2. Tap the clock on the bottom right part of the screen to see available pickup times.
3. Select your pick up time. Allow for a 15 minute pick up window from your selected time.
4. Complete your booking. You will be able to track your ride in your app when it’s on the way.
5. To confirm the prescheduled ride, go to the Profile section in the app and click on Prescheduled Rides. You should see yours there.
*Please note prescheduled rides must be booked at least one hour in advance and can only be booked by Alto members.
Photos
PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony
The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.
A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.
The annual awards ceremony honors achievement in D.C.-area theater productions and is produced by Theatre Washington.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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)
PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
House passes reconciliation with gender-affirming care funding ban
PHOTOS: D.C. Trans Pride
Men convicted of murdering two men in NYC gay bar drugging scheme sentenced
Looking back at 50 years of Pride in D.C
WorldPride events round-up
Pope Leo XIV: Family based on ‘stable union between a man and a woman’
Wes Moore signs HIV decriminalization bill
