District of Columbia
Where things stand with WorldPride just 10 weeks until kickoff
Amid some criticism, D.C. retains event management company to assist
In a little-noticed development, the office of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser in November arranged for a prominent local event planning company to help organize WorldPride D.C. 2025, which is expected to be the city’s and possibly the nation’s largest LGBTQ Pride celebration.
Dozens of WorldPride 2025 events, including an International LGBTQ March on Washington and Rally, an LGBTQ Human Rights Conference, a Music Festival and Global Dance Party, and multiple sporting events, are scheduled to take place in D.C. May 17-June 8.
Capital Pride Alliance, the organization that plans most of D.C.’s Pride celebrations, was awarded the WorldPride contract in 2022 by the international LGBTQ organization InterPride after an LGBTQ organization in Taiwan dropped out after winning the initial competition to host WorldPride 2025.
Mayor Bowser has since earmarked — and the D.C. Council has approved — $5 million in city funds to support the WorldPride celebration and events. Capital Pride Alliance Executive Director Ryan Bos told a D.C. Council hearing earlier this year that the WorldPride budget was set at $20 million, with most of the funding coming from private corporate donors.
At least two knowledgeable sources, who spoke on condition of not being identified, said the mayor’s office began looking for another entity to help organize WorldPride last fall when questions arose over Capital Pride Alliance’s ability to manage the budget, funding, and events associated with WorldPride. Another source said lower than expected yields from fundraising had prompted Capital Pride Alliance to cut the budget in half, a claim that Bos disputes and said was not credible.
“The budget, like any budget, is a guide,” Bos told the Blade. “And we budgeted between $15 million and $20 million, which included a lot of in-kind support as well,” he said. “And like we do every year for an organization like ours, which is event based, we do our best every year to come under budget.”
Bos added, “So, we are doing our best to save whenever we can and to ensure that we have a safe and successful WorldPride.”
It was around that time when Linder Global Events, a prominent minority and woman-owned D.C. event management company, was awarded a city contract to assume responsibility for several aspects of the WorldPride planning and organizing.
In a Nov. 21 statement sent to the D.C. Council, Bowser outlined the specific roles that Linder Global Events and Capital Pride Alliance would have under the city’s $5 million funding allocation for WorldPride.
The mayor’s statement says the Linder company would receive $1.4 million for “strategic partnership development, fundraising coordination, sponsorship fulfillment, financial oversight reporting, and management.” It says Capital Pride Alliance would receive $3.1 million for “event execution and community engagement” and an additional $500,000 for the issuance of “competitive grants for community supported events.”
Both Bowser and Nina Albert, the D.C. Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, told the Washington Blade at a Feb. 12 press conference on an unrelated subject that the decision to retain the Linder company to help organize WorldPride is something the city often does for this type of event. Albert said it was not brought about due to any problem with Capital Pride Alliance.
“Look, this is a big event. It requires coordination across a lot of different organizations,” she said. “Capital Pride is kind of the point for that event. It is very typical that we would bring on consultants to help,” she told the Blade. “So, this is very typical, and we’re very excited to host hopefully two million people to the District of Columbia.”
Anthony Hesselius, a spokesperson for Capital Pride Alliance, said it was the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs that selected the Linder company, which he said would oversee the city’s $5 million funding allocation for WorldPride.
“In addition, Linder is one of the many collaborators working with Capital Pride Alliance to make WorldPride a success,” Hesselius told the Blade.
Despite those assurances, others have expressed concern over Capital Pride Alliance’s management of WorldPride.
Zar, the founder and former creative director of Team Rayceen Productions, a local LGBTQ events group that is currently on hiatus, wrote an op-ed in the Blade critical of his interactions with Capital Pride during the planning of WorldPride. Among other things, he said Capital Pride was reluctant to share information and listen to suggestions for proposed WorldPride events.
“I know countless bits of miscellaneous information that cause me trepidation,” he wrote. “I have had contact with numerous people, including performers, leaders of organizations, and subcommittee members, and not once has anyone said anything that assuaged my concerns,” he added.
Another source who spoke on condition of anonymity said they met with Capital Pride officials several times in 2024 to propose WorldPride events, but Capital Pride failed to respond to subsequent calls and emails.
“My organization was prepared to work with Capital Pride on a series of events, but they stopped communicating with us months ago,” the source said. “This is something I have heard from multiple community leaders, activists, and bar owners, that Capital Pride is not engaged with the local community.”
Hope Giselle, a prominent D.C. trans activist, posted a highly critical video commentary on Instagram last month denouncing the WorldPride Music Festival lineup of Jennifer Lopez, Troye Sivan, and RuPaul for the lack of Black inclusion.
“Jennifer Lopez? That was the best y’all could do,” Giselle said in her video, asserting that Lopez can’t sing live and has limited appeal to LGBTQ audiences.
She also assailed the inclusion in the WorldPride Music Festival of the singer Grimes, who is the mother of three children of Elon Musk, the billionaire conservative Republican activist who President Trump appointed to head the newly created office to fire thousands of federal government workers.
“Grimes literally has children with Elon fucking Muskrat, the person that is making us all feel this fucking small, or at least attempted to make us feel this fucking small,” Giselle said in her video. “It is essential that Pride remains a protest for inclusivity, not an exclusionary event that upholds the status quo for a select few,” she wrote in a comment accompanying her video.
Bos, the Capital Pride Alliance executive director, points out that the WorldPride Music Festival, which will take place outdoors on the city’s RFK stadium grounds June 6-7, is being produced by an entertainment event promoter in partnership with Capital Pride Alliance. Bos notes that the promoter, who is identified on the WorldPride website as Jake Resnicow, is the one who selected the performers, including Grimes.
“Some events for WorldPride, like the free two-day Street Festival and Concert, are organized and curated by the Capital Pride Alliance and other events like the [WorldPride Music Festival and] Global Dance Party, the Anthem’s Grace Jones and Janelle Monáe show, the Lincoln Theater’s show with Bob The Drag Queen and Monet X Change, and others, are independently curated by partner producers,” Bos told the Blade in a statement.
“The Capital Pride Alliance remains committed to listening to the community and fostering inclusive and celebratory spaces for all,” he said. “WorldPride’s mission is to unite and uplift the LGBTQ+ community through music, art, and advocacy. We value our community’s diverse voices and look forward to an incredible celebration of Pride and resilience,” he said.
Yet another source familiar with WorldPride 2025 organizing, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not dispute Bos’s claims that WorldPride organizers were doing all they could to ensure a full diversity of events, including participation of African-American, Latino, transgender, and other members of the LGBTQ community.
However, the source indicated that WorldPride organizers, possibly due to the extensive work required to organize an event of WorldPride’s scale, initially fell short in robustly soliciting community collaboration. For example, community activists like Hope Giselle were not informed in advance that outside promoters hosting partner events (like the Music Festival at RFK) were responsible for selecting their performers. However, community members are beginning to feel more reassured due to new funding opportunities, programming announcements, and direct stakeholder engagement efforts, the source said.
According to the source, WorldPride organizers could have done more to inform the community that, overall, highly acclaimed African-American performers, including Janelle Monáe, were among those scheduled to perform at WorldPride marquee and partner events.
Bos also said in his statement to the Blade that Capital Pride Alliance was pleased to bring back the WorldPride Closing Ceremony and Concert to Pennsylvania Avenue, which is the site for the two-day WorldPride Street Festival and Concert.
The Closing Ceremony and Concert had initially been slated to take place on the National Mall. Bos told the Blade a higher cost for holding that event on the National Mall played a role in the decision to move it to Pennsylvania Avenue.
But Bos did not say whether the possibility that the Capital Pride application for a permit to hold that and several other events on the National Mall or in federal parks would be turned down was a factor in moving the closing event to Pennsylvania Avenue.
In response to a request from the Blade, a spokesperson for the U.S. National Park Service, which has jurisdiction over the National Mall and other federal parks in D.C., provided the Blade with a list of eight separate permit applications submitted by Capital Pride Alliance for use of federal parklands for WorldPride events.
Among the parks or spaces included in the applications in addition to the National Mall are Dupont Circle park, Thomas Circle, Franklin Park, Freedom Plaza, the Lincoln Memorial Parkway Beach volleyball courts, the Rock Creek Park Tennis Center and Stadium, West Potomac Park, and Anacostia Park.
The National Park Service spokesperson, Mike Litterst, didn’t respond to a question from the Blade about whether any of the multiple executive orders targeting LGBTQ issues and DEI by President Donald Trump might result in denial of the WorldPride permit applications.
“We continue to work with the organizers of WorldPride on the details of the event required to allow for issuing the final permits,” Litterst said in an email message. “We do not anticipate conflicts or overlap with any other proposed events,” he said.
Capital Pride Alliance on Feb. 17 issued a five-page press release announcing the launch of a new WorldPride 2025 website that it says includes, among other things, a list of all the WorldPride events, all of which are moving ahead as planned.
The updated website includes information about hotel availability for out-of-town visitors and announces that Cynthia Erivo will be one of the lead performers at the street festival and concert on Pennsylvania Avenue on June 7.
“With the full support of the mayor’s office, its office of LGBTQ Affairs, and additional financial backing from legacy sponsors, alongside a growing list of committed corporations, community businesses and individuals, WorldPride 2025 is expected to be the largest international event in Washington, D.C. this year,” the press release says.
“Three million attendees (inclusive of two million visitors and one million regional participants) are expected from May 17 through June 8, 2025, during which the Welcoming Concert featuring Shakira, the Capital Cup Sports Festival, D.C. Black Pride, an International March and Rally on Washington, and much more will take place,” it says. Visit worldpridedc.org for more information.
District of Columbia
JR.’s hosts meet & greet for mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George
Event organized by Capital Stonewall Democrats, Queers for Janeese
D.C. mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George spoke to a crowd of LGBTQ supporters on June 1 at a meet & greet event held at JR.’s on 17th Street in the Dupont Circle neighborhood.
The event, organized by Capital Stonewall Democrats, which has endorsed Lewis George for mayor, with support from a group called Queers for Janeese, was followed by a “get out the vote” canvassing endeavor in which several of those attending the meet & greet visited the homes of nearby residents known to be Lewis George supporters.
The purpose of the canvassing was to remind Lewis George supporters to return their mail-in ballots or go to the polls on June 16 to elect Lewis George as the city’s next mayor, according to Matthew Kavanagh, one of the leaders of Queers for Janeese who attended the meet & greet event at JR.’s.
Local political observers consider Lewis George, a Ward 4 D.C. Council member, and former At-Large D.C. Council member Kenyan McDuffie, to be the two leading candidates in this year’s race for mayor. The two are among seven mayoral candidates competing in the city’s June 16 Democratic primary.
Lewis George told those attending the meet & greet, which was held on the JR.’s outdoor patio, that she has a long record of advocating for and initiating city polices and laws in support of the LGBTQ community. She said large corporate donors were backing her opponents and urged her LGBTQ supporters to help raise funds for her in the remaining days of the campaign.
Among those attending the meet & greet was gay longtime Dupont Circle civic activist Randy Downs who last November opened a nearby eatery called Protest Pizza. “I am queer and I am a Janeese supporter,” Downs told the Blade.
Stevie McCarty, president of Capital Stonewall Democrats, who also spoke at the meet & greet event, said his group would organize events in support of Lewis George in the remaining days of the campaign. Among them, he said, was an LGBTQ bar crawl in which supporters of Lewis George, including the candidate herself, would visit LGBTQ bars to promote her candidacy.
District of Columbia
D.C. kicks off Pride month with flag raising ceremony
Mayor, Council members join LGBTQ activists in 4th annual event
Members of the D.C. Council joined Mayor Muriel Bowser and a crowd of LGBTQ activists and supporters on June 1 for the city’s fourth annual LGBTQ Pride flag raising ceremony held outside the John A. Wilson Building, which serves as the D.C. City Hall.
Since its inception four years ago by Mayor Bowser, the event has served as the official kickoff of D.C. Pride month, which culminates this year with the annual Capital Pride Parade on June 20 and Pride festival on June 21, which takes place on Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. near the U.S. Capitol.
“As I like to say, we’re celebrating Pride month in the gayest city in the world,” Bowser told a crowd that included city officials and Council members joining her on the front steps of the Wilson Building.
“Fifty-one years of Pride in the future 51st state,” she said, adding, “And both movements are rooted in the same belief – every person deserves to be seen, heard, and fully represented.”
Among those who spoke at the event in addition to Bowser were Japer Bowles, director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs; D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb; and D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large).
“This year is special,” Bowles told the gathering. “It’s special because we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs,” he said. “For two decades this office has helped make Washington, D.C. one of the most welcoming and affirming cities in the world.”
He added, “We have expanded LGBTQ services across agencies, invested millions of dollars into community organizations, championing culturally competent care and training, supporting LGBTQ supportive businesses and workers and celebrated our history.”
Schwalb said his Office of the D.C. Attorney General continues to safeguard the city’s laws protecting residents against discrimination but expressed concern about “high court” rulings that he said continue to roll back civil rights, voting rights, and human rights.
He said, “We’re seeing cases limiting medical care for transgender youth while at the same time green lighting so-called conversion therapy.” He pointed to cases or policies “excluding transgender girls from participating in sports and excluding story books with LGBTQ characters from our school libraries.”
He said his office is committed to protecting all residents, including LGBTQ residents, from all forms of discrimination. “And that includes the right to be our authentic selves, to freely express our identities and ourselves to be who we are and to love who we love.”
Mendelson, who also expressed strong support for the LGBTQ community and for the upcoming Pride events, said 10 of the Council’s 13 members were attending the Pride flag raising event, including gay Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5).
“I’m just here with gratitude,” Parker told the Washington Blade. “There’s a lot to be grateful for and a lot more to fight for,” he said. “And so, raising this flag is a reminder that our government is here to serve all of our residents regardless of how you identify or who you love.”
Shortly after Mendelson spoke, D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4), who is running for mayor in the city’s June 16 primary, arrived at the event, becoming the 11th Council member to turn out for the event.
Among those also attending the event were Ryan Bos and June Crenshaw, the two top officials of the Capital Pride Alliance, the group that organizes D.C.’s annual LGBTQ Pride events.
Bowser, who is not running for re-election this year and will be stepping down as mayor in January 2027, thanked those attending the Pride flag raising event for playing a role in an all-inclusive city.
“We speak with one clear voice – that D.C. is a welcoming city,” she said in her remarks. “But also, we know that our work has been robust, but it is not done. We fly this flag in front of the John A. Wilson Building because it tells a story,” she said.
“It tells a story of a city that takes care of itself,” she added. “And we take care of each other. We are a city that is diverse and welcoming.”
Serving as the event’s master of ceremony and who introduced Bowles as the first speaker was longtime D.C. drag performer Tara Hoot.
District of Columbia
D.C. Pride flag raising ceremony set for June 1
Mayor, council members to participate
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs is inviting the LGBTQ community and friends to attend the city’s annual Pride flag raising ceremony scheduled for 4 p.m. Monday, June 1, outside the John Wilson Building that serves as the D.C. City Hall.
Like in prior years, members of the D.C. Council and officials with the Office of LGBTQ Affairs were expected to join Bowser in delivering remarks on the front entrance steps at the Wilson Building before raising the Pride flag atop one of the tall flagpoles next to the building’s entrance.
Gaby Vincent, a spokesperson for the LGBTQ Affairs Office, said attendees of the flag raising ceremony will be invited to attend a reception immediately following the ceremony in the main lobby of the Wilson Building, which is located on Pennsylvania Avenue at 14th Street, N.W.
She said the reception will feature a DJ, dancing, and refreshments provided by the D.C. LGBTQ bar and café Spark Social House.
Vincent said the flag raising event will also mark the 20th anniversary of the opening of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
In its official announcement of the flag raising event the LGBTQ Affairs Office also announced it is hosting the 7th annual District of Pride Showcase event to be held Friday, June 17, at 7 p.m. at the Lincoln Theater.
The announcement says LGBTQ community members, families, and allies are also invited to walk with Bowser in the Capital Pride Parade scheduled for Saturday, June 20. It says the mayor’s parade contingent will assemble at 2 p.m. at the parade’s starting location at 14th and U Streets, N.W.
“As we also celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, we invite residents, community members, families and allies to join us throughout June for moments of pride, connection, visibility, and joy,” the announcement says.
Federal appeals court rules White House illegally banned trans troops
Outright International honors Cyndi Lauper at annual NYC gala
Results from key Tuesday primary races
AIDS Healthcare Foundation announces 3 million people globally in its care
10 HIV/AIDS activists arrested on Capitol Hill
Time travelers from the AIDS era
Books for a pre-Pride celebration
Barney Frank’s powerful legacy for LGBTQ federal employees
Claudia López comes up short in Colombian presidential election
