The Washington Blade’s second day of Pride on the Pier at The Wharf DC ended with a fireworks show on Saturday, June 7. The fireworks show was presented by the Leonard-Litz LGBTQ Foundation.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

The nation’s capital welcomed WorldPride this past weekend, a massive celebration that usually takes place in a different city every two years. 

The Saturday parade attracted hundreds of thousands of people from around the world and the country. The state of Delaware, a few hours drive from D.C., saw participants in the parade, with CAMP Rehoboth, an LGBTQ community center in Rehoboth Beach, hosting a bus day trip. 

Hope Vella sits on the board of directors and marched with CAMP Rehoboth. Vella said that although the parade took a long time to start and the temperature was hot, she was “on a cloud” from being there. 

“It didn’t matter to me how long it took to start. With the current changes that are in place regarding diversity and inclusion, I wanted my face there,” Vella said. “My life is an intersection. I am a Black woman. I am a lesbian, and I have a disability. All of these things are trying to be erased … I didn’t care how long it took. I didn’t care how far it was going to be. I was going to finish that parade. I didn’t care how hot it was.”

The nearly two mile parade route didn’t feel as long because everyone was so happy interacting with the crowd, Vella said. The group gave out beads, buttons, and pins to parade watchers. 

“The World Pride celebration gave me hope because so many people came out. And the joy and the love that was between us … That gave me hope,” Vella said. 

Vella said that people with disabilities are often overlooked. More than one in four Americans have disabilities, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Vella said it was important for her “to be out there and to be seen in my wholeness as a Black woman, as a lesbian, as a woman with a disability and to not be hiding. I want our society to understand that we exist in LGBTQ+ spaces also.”

Retired Maj. Gen. Tammy Smith is involved with CAMP Rehoboth and marched with a coalition of LGBTQ military members. Smith said they were walking to give transgender military members visibility and to remind people why they are serving. 

“When we are not visible, what is allowed to take our place is stereotypes,” Smith said. “And so without visibility, people think all veterans are conservative and perhaps not open to full equality. Without visibility, they might think a small state with a farming background may be a place that’s unwelcoming, but when you actually meet the people who are from those places, it sets aside those stereotypes and the real authenticity is allowed to come forward.”

During the parade, Smith said she saw trans military members in the parade make eye contact or fist bump with transgender people in the crowd. 

“They were seen. Both sides were seen during that parade and I just felt privileged to be able to witness that,” Smith said. 

Smith said Delaware is a state that is about freedom and equality and is the first state for a reason. The LGBTQ community is engrained as part of life in the Rehoboth and Lewes areas. 

“What pride means to me is that we must always be doing what is necessary to maintain our dignity as a community,” Smith said. “We can’t let what people with negative messaging might be tossing our way impact us and the celebration of Pride. I don’t see it as being self-promoting. I see it as an act of dignity and strength.”

From Spain to Saint Lucia, Berlin to Brazil, travelers from around the globe began to arrive in Washington, D.C., for the biggest celebration of the LGBTQ community of the year. After two years of planning, over the course of nine days, one unified message of the strength of love against bigots that oppose the LGBTQ community emerged as WorldPride took over the city last week. 

The long road to the successful events wasn’t met with open arms, though. As Donald Trump was elected president the year prior, the political climate in the U.S. became even more polarized, with the LGBTQ community — and trans people specifically — becoming targets for far-right figures. 

This made it more difficult to ensure the safety of our transgender siblings within the LGBTQ community, especially while traveling to a city led by someone who has openly claimed them as enemies. InterPride, the group that runs WorldPride celebrations across the globe, even issued travel advisories for transgender and nonbinary people. 

Additionally, the U.S. Park Service fenced off Dupont Circle — one of the centers of Washington’s LGBTQ community — just days before the celebrations began. After massive pushback, they took down the fences and allowed people to use the circle as a place to celebrate. 

Despite the fears, scores of LGBTQ people poured into the capital just as rainbow banners, flags, posters, and messages of love and support covered every part of the city. 

The long list of celebrations was supposed to begin on May 31 with a concert from Colombian pop superstar Shakira at Nationals Park. 

“Due to circumstances beyond my control, I am sad and heartbroken that I will not be able to be in Washington, D.C., with you tomorrow,” said Shakira in a statement online. “I hope that I can come back to D.C. as soon as I am able.” 

The event was intended to serve as both a concert and the welcome ceremony for WorldPride Washington 2025. Yet, less than 48 hours before she was supposed to mark the beginning of the global LGBTQ festival, she abruptly canceled, citing issues with her stage. 

Despite the shaky start to the celebration, there was still music heard in the city — and not just Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club,” which jumped to 16 on the U.S. Spotify streaming charts. Singers from all backgrounds joined the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington to celebrate the “Freedom to Sing” in the International Choral Festival — spanning 17 days and numerous venues. 

Sports also had its moment at WorldPride this year. The Capital Cup Sports Festival, produced by Team DC, works to end discrimination against LGBTQ people participating in sports and awards scholarships to local LGBTQ student-athletes. The sports festival included 15 different sports competitions across three days — from rugby to rowing. 

There was also the WorldPride Film Festival, where filmmakers worldwide were encouraged to submit LGBTQ films of all genres and lengths to be screened during the WorldPride celebrations. From classic shorts like DC Gay Pride 1978 (1978), showcasing what Pride was like in the same city 46 years ago, to world premieres like Humans of Pride (2025), there was a myriad of motion picture art that showcased the LGBTQ community. 

As the fight for LGBTQ rights began to shift from the street with bricks to the halls of parliaments and presidents’ offices around the globe, the focus turned to fighting for legislatively ensured human rights. To ensure that LGBTQ and minority rights are preserved in countries where they exist and to attempt to expand them in places without protections, the WorldPride 2025 Human Rights Conference launched. 

For three days, upwards of 800 people — most of whom have devoted their careers to creating a world where “dignity, equality, and respect” are at the foundation of governments — gathered. Speakers like Jessica Stern, Spanish Sen. Carla Antonelli, Peruvian Congresswoman Susel Paredes, and Mariann Edgar Budde of the National Cathedral of Washington were just some of the notable attendees. 

The Pride celebrations really ramped up just as the Human Rights Conference started to wind down. On Friday, June 4, multiple parties began — including the sixth annual Pride on the Pier celebration (presented by the Washington Blade). This year, it was extended from one to two days in honor of WorldPride. On Friday, The Wharf in Southwest D.C. hosted a night of vendors, food, drinking, dancing, DJs, and — for the first time — a boat parade. Boats with LGBTQ people in their proudest outfits danced and waved up and down the river. 

Another highly anticipated event was the WorldPride Music Festival: Global Dance Party. This mega two-day event brought together LGBTQ icons from a slew of styles like house, pop, drag, circuit, and techno. Performers — some of which included headliners Jennifer Lopez and Troye Sivan, Reneé Rapp, Kim Petras, Purple Disco Machine, RuPaul, Betty Who, Tinashe, and local talent like Ed Bailey, Fish House Funk, Dickerman, and Miscalculated — performed at the RFK Festival Grounds. 

In addition to the Music Festival, there were two official WorldPride parties on Friday. “Full Bloom” brought together some of the East Coast’s most “iconic queer collectives and performers” — Flower Factory and Sweet Spot — with Capital Pride Alliance to host the dance party of the season. Floral outfits, carnival games, and a lot of sweaty dancing as far as the eye could see were the vibe of the night. 

“I am at Full Bloom having so much fun. It feels like a county fair, but for gay people, and I’m having a blast with my community,” said Henry Hicks, a journalist originally from Tennessee. 

“Queerness is about so much more than being able to get married and own property, queerness is about community. It’s about justice. It’s about liberation, and I feel like the ability to convene and express ourselves and really celebrate who we are outside of the confines of structures and institutions.” 

Also happening at the same time was the “Woven Together” party by Daryl Wilson Promotions, set to celebrate the Black LGBTQ community with “energy, the music, the fashion, and the men — all under one roof.” The party took place at The Park on 14th and, as advertised, was filled with energy, music, bold fashion, and men. 

On Saturday the 7th, Pride started just early enough to get a quick Bloody Mary in before the big events. The WorldPride Street Festival opened at 11 a.m., and included hundreds of booths — from vendors to nonprofits — and even a space for LGBTQ families to gather and allow their children to have their own space. The festival had something for everyone. 

As street festival attendees set up their booths hours before, people further northwest began to prepare for the biggest Pride parade in Washington’s history. With more than 300 contingents and 40,000 people marching in the parade alone, it’s safe to say 14th Street had never seen this many LGBTQ people and allies. 

Led by a 1,000-foot rainbow flag and Grand Marshals Renée Rapp and Laverne Cox, to say it was a party would be an understatement. It was a cacophony of sound and rainbow sights that included people shouting messages of love in nearly every language. Tequila shots were shared in flasks on the curb while people dressed in everything — from full leather outfits complete with pup masks to pasties, jockstraps, and fishnets. The parade was a true display of queer individuality and joy. 

A special local legend got married during the parade — Freddie Lutz of the Northern Virginia gay bar Freddie’s married his partner of 28 years, Johnny Cervantes, while riding down 14th Street in a chapel float. The couple celebrated their wedding shortly after at Freddie’s, where parade and WorldPride attendees were invited to join them. 

Another part of Washington’s Pride celebrations — the 17th Street Block Party — also began to ramp up as the parade made its way down 14th Street. The annual party, taking place in the city’s first “gayborhood,” was alive with drag performers, friends taking pictures and sipping drinks, and lovers wearing their queerness on their sleeves — or in many cases — sleeveless tank tops. 

“We are gangbusters on 17th Street — it is amazing,” said Georgia Katinas, whose family owns and runs Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse, a cornerstone of the Washington LGBTQ community since its opening 76 years ago. “It’s been hot like this since we opened at noon, packed full of the most diverse, wonderful people we’ve ever met. We are so happy.” 

Randy Downs, who soft-launched his and his boyfriend Rick Bennett’s pizza place, Protest Pizza, just for the Pride celebration, shared how he felt opening a queer-run restaurant at the peak of Pride. 

“It’s busy, non-stop, and incredible,” Downs said. “The energy is amazing and the block party is incredible as well. It hasn’t hit home yet.” 

As the sun dipped lower in the sky, the parade began to wind down—six hours after it kicked off at 2 p.m. The energy from the march spilled directly into the street festival, blending into one big, joyful queer celebration. Down Pennsylvania Avenue, performers delivered some of the greatest—and gayest—shows of their careers. Kristine W, CeCe Peniston, and David Archuleta lit up the stage, framed perfectly by the Capitol dome. The night wrapped with a show-stopping performance by Cynthia Erivo who, from afar, looked like she just might have been defying gravity. 

While Erivo lit up the Capitol Stage, fireworks burst over The Wharf for the second night of Pride on the Pier. Booms, “oooohs,” and “ahhhhhs” echoed along the river as the sky exploded in every color of the rainbow. Before and after the dazzling display, DJ Farrah Flosscett kept the energy high with a set full of queer pop anthems, spinning under the open sky. 

Later that night, the Sapphic side of the LGBTQ community came out strong for “Unraveled: Women’s Party” at The Park at 14th. An all-female DJ lineup took over the four-story bar, filling each level with music as Harlem star Jerrie Johnson hosted the event for a crowd of more than 5,000 queer women, femmes, trans, and non-binary baddies who showed up—and showed out. 

Kinetic Events have become a cornerstone of the D.C. circuit scene, so it was only fitting that the “Fabric of Freedom” party would close out the weekend with a bang. Hundreds of mostly scantily clad men—dressed in harnesses, jockstraps, and not much else—descended into Burhta for a night of sweat, bass, and liberation. Queer stars Pabllo Vittar and Alyssa Edwards (RuPaul’s Drag Race) headlined the night, alongside a stacked roster of DJs and go-go boys who kept the massive space—three dance floors and 10,000 square feet—alive until the early morning hours. 

The next day at 9:30 a.m., folks started to gather on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to get ready for the International Rally + March on Washington for Freedom. As the speakers began to arrive and check in, other event organizers started passing out signs. The rally and march, which lasted more than four hours despite the rain, had an impressive turnout. 

The L.O.V.E. WorldPride Chorus started the event, performing “Freedom” in bright pink shirts on the memorial’s steps, followed by Dee Crank of the Navajo Nation. There, she spoke about her experiences being a trans Indigenous woman and encouraged everyone to listen to those who are most oppressed. “The fight for freedom starts with listening,” Crank said. 

Ashley Smith, Capital Pride’s board president and a board member of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, followed. He spoke with ferocity as he explained that now is the time to stand up for what’s right—especially for our trans siblings who are being ostracized by people a few thousand yards away in the White House and Capitol. 

Multiple other speakers came up and spoke as the sky got darker and the rain began to fall, but amazingly—the crowd didn’t seem to dwindle.

Among the notable speakers, activist and comedian Mimi Gonzalez came out and sang a modernized version of “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor. 

“At first I was afraid. I was petrified. Kept wondering, ‘What in the world are they thinking? D.C. for WorldPride?’” Gonzalez sang-spoke as laughter rose from the crowd. “Consider this country’s leader who wants to rid the world of us—even he’s a little queer, having just broken up with Musk! Gay boys, lesbians, and trans. Look around the rainbow world, holding hands. So much love and unity, so much power when we’re one. There’s no stopping all of us. Our love outshines the sun,” she sang as cheers from the crowd grew louder. 

For four hours, speakers from all walks of LGBTQ life came and spoke—Tyler Hack from the Christopher Street Project emphasized the importance of supporting politicians who are looking out and working on behalf of trans Americans. Kamala Harris made a video telling the LGBTQ community to keep the faith and to keep fighting. Even multiple RuPaul’s Drag Race stars came out—including Mrs. Kasha Davis, who spoke with the Blade after getting off stage. 

“The political nature of this is that we’re in this period of negativity and of hate, and what we need to do is show up for one another,” the drag queen said as her rainbow leopard print dress and gigantic pink updo stood out against the marble of the monuments around her. “And what we really need is more of our allies to continue to show up. And I mentioned in my talk about painting your nails. I mean, any way that you can show up to support your family, your neighbors, your community. That’s what this is all about. Because we’re finding that more and more people are not siding with that hate. Yes, the conservatives are loud, but we can be louder.” 

As the group from the rally began to walk toward the Washington Monument, chants supporting trans kids and keeping LGBTQ people safe could be heard from yards away. The rainbow-clad group, holding umbrellas and signs, made their way down the Mall until they met up with Pennsylvania Avenue, as the final event of WorldPride took place. 

The closing concert took place at the end of the WorldPride Street Festival once again, as MkX, Parker Matthews, 2AM Ricky, and Brooke Eden sang their hearts out to the growing crowd. Just as the sky began to clear up, one of the headliners of the night, Khalid, started his set and performed his radio hits. 

Doechii, the Grammy-winning performer, sang and rapped her most popular songs from her mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal. She performed in true Doechii style, exuding confidence and love under the rainbow lights, ultimately finishing with an encore of “Nissan Altima.” 

“I love y’all,” she said into her alligator-green microphone, walking back into her swamp-inspired set. “What are y’all doing after this? Are y’all partying? I want to party! I’ll see y’all later!”