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Thousands expected at Capital Pride this weekend

Annual event began as block party outside Lambda Rising in 1975

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Capital Pride, Pride 2013, gay pride, gay news, Washington Blade
Capital Pride, Pride 2013, gay pride, gay news, Washington Blade

Last year’s Capital Pride. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Thousands are expected to attend Capital Pride’s annual parade and festival this weekend in the nation’s capital.

CHECK OUT ALL OF OUR PRIDE COVERAGE HERE!

Lynda Carter and Brigadier Gen. Tammy S. Smith of the U.S. Army Reserve, who became the first openly gay and lesbian flag officer to serve in the military, will serve as grand marshals of the parade that will start at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday at 22nd and P Streets, N.W., in Dupont Circle. It will end on 14th and R Streets, N.W., at Whitman-Walker Health.

The 17th annual Capital Pride Street Festival will take place on Pennsylvania Avenue between 3rd and 7th Streets, N.W., from noon to 7 p.m. on Sunday. Emeli Sandé, Icona Pop and Cher Lloyd will headline the main stage. Tom Goss and Eric Himan will also perform during the event.

NBC4 forecasts partly cloudy skies with a high temperature of 83 degrees on Saturday and a chance of thunderstorms on Sunday with an afternoon high of 83 degrees.

Pride committee chooses superhero theme

Capital Pride Executive Director Ryan Bos highlighted this year’s theme as he discussed the annual event.

“We wanted to have a little more fun with the theme and identified something that the community could rally around, dress up as a costume and participate,” he told the Washington Blade. “We thought it was really easy for folks to grab a hold of.”

What became known as Capital Pride traces its history to a one-day community block party that then-Lambda Rising bookstore owner Deacon Maccubbin first held on 20th Street, N.W., in Dupont Circle in 1975.

The P Street Festival Committee in 1980 took over what had become known as Gay Pride Day. It relocated the festival to Francis Junior High School, and became known as Gay and Lesbian Pride Day in 1981.

Pride of Washington succeeded the P Street Festival Committee in 1990.

The festival began to suffer from financial difficulties a few years later. One In Ten, the organization that produces the Reel Affirmations film festival, took over the Pride events. The group then moved the street festival to Freedom Plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Capital Pride culminates month of LGBT gatherings

The parade and festival will cap off a series of events over the last few weeks that celebrated the Pride season.

These include an immigration reform panel and a bilingual Mass that took place during the seventh annual D.C. Latino Pride on May 30 and June 2. Casa Ruby and 10 other Latino LGBT groups organized what they described as an alternative to D.C. Latino Pride with events that will take place from June 4-9.

The 23rd annual D.C. Black Pride took place from May 23-25. Capital Trans Pride took place at the National City Christian Church in Thomas Circle on May 18.

D.C. Frontrunners will hold its first annual Pride Run 5K in Congressional Cemetery in Southeast D.C. at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Brian Beary, race director for D.C. Frontrunners, said 750 participants have signed up to take part in the race. He said 50 percent of the event’s proceeds will go to Team D.C.’s scholarship fund for gay high school students who hope to attend college.

“This is a way to kick-off your Pride weekend,” Beary said.

Capital Pride Parade, gay news, Washington Blade

The 2013 Capital Pride Parade route.

Capital Pride Street Festival, gay news, Washington Blade

2013 Capital Pride Street Festival.

 

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Delaware

Wilmington, Del. leaders paint city’s first rainbow crosswalk

Mayor John Carney signs Pride proclamation

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A new rainbow crosswalk was painted at the intersection of 6th and Union Streets in Wilmington, Del.

Wilmington, Del. city leaders and community members gathered to paint the first rainbow crosswalk in the city on June 24, after Mayor John Carney signed a proclamation to declare June as Pride month. 

The crosswalk was painted at the intersection of 6th and Union Streets near Crimson Moon, the only LGBTQ bar in New Castle County.

“This is not just paint on pavement — it’s a statement,” said Mayor Carney. “This crosswalk is a symbol of visibility and belonging. It reflects our promise that Wilmington is a place where everyone, regardless of who they are or who they love, should feel safe, seen, and supported.”

After the signing, the mayor joined At-Large City Council members Latisha Bracy and James Spadola, the Public Works Department, LGBTQ leaders, and community advocates in painting the crosswalk vibrant rainbow colors. 

Mayor Carney said Council member Bracy helped “lead the charge” of this initiative in an Instagram post. At the event, Brady said the crosswalk was “a long time coming” and that it had been requested several years ago but did not get done until now. 

“There’s nothing more American than letting people be who they are,” Council member Spadola said during the proclamation ceremony.

The Delaware Pride Festival in Dover lost 57% of its corporate funding this year, according to The News Journal, due to backlash over diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.  

Delaware is currently pushing legislation to codify same-sex marriage into the state Constitution. The amendment passed through the Senate on June 10 and is awaiting consideration from the House. 

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District of Columbia

GLAA issues ratings in Ward 8 D.C. Council special election

Declines to rate ousted Council member Trayon White who’s seeking re-election

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Trayon White is seeking re-election after being expelled from the Council following his arrest on a federal bribery charge. (Washington Blade file photo by Lou Chibbaro, Jr.)

GLAA D.C., formerly known as the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, announced on June 22 its ratings for three of the four candidates running in the city’s July 15 Ward 8 D.C. Council special election, saying each of the three have records of support for the LGBTQ community.  

The election was called earlier this year when the Ward 8 seat became vacant after the Council voted unanimously to expel Ward 8 Council member Trayon White (D) following his arrest by the FBI on a federal bribery charge in August 2024.

White, who has denied any wrongdoing and was released while awaiting his trial scheduled for January 2026, is one of the four candidates running in the special election to regain his seat on the Council. Under D.C. law, he can legally run for office and serve again on the Council if he wins up until the time he is convicted of the criminal offense he is charged with.

While not mentioning White by name, in a statement accompanying its candidate ratings GLAA said it has a policy of not rating any candidates expelled or who resign from an elected position for ethics violations, including “malfeasance.”

The three candidates it rated – Sheila Bunn, Mike Austin, and Salim Adofo – are longtime Ward 8 community advocates who have been involved in local government affairs for many years and, according to LGBTQ activists who know them, have been supportive of LGBTQ rights. All three are running as Democrats.

White also has a record of supporting LGBTQ issues while serving on the Council since 2017.

GLAA rates candidates on a scale of -10, the lowest possible rating, to +10, its highest rating. Since it began candidate ratings in the 1970s it has based the ratings mostly on LGBTQ-related issues.

But in recent years, it has shifted gears to base the ratings mostly on non-LGBTQ specific issues, saying those issues — such as housing, healthcare, and a call for decriminalizing sex work — impact the LGBTQ community as well as all D.C. residents.

The following are the GLAA D.C. ratings for the three Ward 8 candidates it rated:

Sheila Bunn – 7.5

Mike Austin – 6.5

Salim Adofo – 4.5

Bunn is a former staff member for D.C. Congressional Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and has worked for former D.C. Mayor and later D.C. Council member Vincent Gray (D-Ward 7), a longtime strong supporter of the LGBTQ community.

Austin, an attorney, is a former chair of one of the Ward 8 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, served as chief of staff in the office of the D.C. Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, and worked on the staff of former Ward 7 Council member LaRuby May (D).

Adofo has served as a Ward 8 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner since 2018 and chair of his ANC since 2021. His campaign biographical information shows he  has been an advocate for affordable housing, improved health care and lower health costs in Ward 8. He is the only one of the Ward 8 special election candidates on the July 15 ballot to express support for LGBTQ rights on his campaign website.

“At the heart of our platform is a steadfast commitment to uplifting LGBTQ+ communities, ensuring that policy is shaped not just for them, but with them,” a statement on his website says.

As of early this week, White did not have a campaign website. He has won re-election for the Ward 8 Council seat in every election since 2017, including the November 2024 election following his August 2024 arrest.

The Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest local LGBTQ political group, which for many years has endorsed candidates running for public office in D.C., decided not to make an endorsement in the Ward 8 special election, according to the group’s president, Howard Garrett.

“We thought that this is best because this is a special election and in these unfamiliar times, we decided not to take a stand,” Garrett told the Washington Blade. But he said his group partnered with the Ward 8 Democrats organization in holding a candidate forum in which the Ward 8 candidates were asked questions “that related to our community.”

Longtime Ward 8 gay Democratic activist Phil Pannell, who is supporting Adofo, said he strongly feels GLAA’s 4.5 rating for Adofo does not reflect Adofo’s strong support for the LGBTQ community.

Fellow Ward 8 gay Democratic activist David Meadows said he is supporting Bunn, who he says also has a strong record of support for the LGBTQ community.

The Blade earlier this week asked each of the four Ward 8 candidates’ campaigns to provide a statement by the candidates explaining their position on LGBTQ issues. As of the end of the business day on June 24, the candidates had not yet responded. The Blade will report on those responses when they are received.   

The GLAA ratings and the group’s statement describing the responses to its questionnaire that each of the three candidates it rated submitted can be accessed here:  

The websites of the three candidates who have campaign websites, which provide full details of their positions and background, can be accessed here:

Sheila Bunn

Bunforward8.com

Mike Austin

Mikeaustin8.com

Salim Adofo

Salimforward8.com

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Maryland

Thousands expected at Pride in the Plaza in Silver Spring

Annual event celebrates love, authenticity, collective liberation

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Montgomery County Councilman Evan Glass is among those expected to attend Pride in the Plaza in Silver Spring, Md., on June 29. (Photo courtesy of Evan Glass)

Montgomery County’s annual Pride in the Plaza will take place from 12-8 p.m. on June 29 in Veterans Plaza in downtown Silver Spring. The new theme is “We Will Not Be Silenced. We Will Not Be Erased.”

Live In Your Truth, in partnership with MoCo Pride Center, Inc., Montgomery County Pride Family, and Montgomery County HHS, will organize the event that is expected to draw thousands of attendees and will celebrate love, authenticity, and collective liberation. 

“We have two stages, tons of wellness vendors, queer-owned businesses, and enabling partners who are all there, affirming our LGBTQIA+ community members,” Live In Your Truth CEO Phillip Alexander Downie. “And this year it is even larger.”

A multitude of events and activities are set for attendees to participate in, including a drag story hour, face painting, science activities, and community showcases, like The Emmy-nominated “Drag Duels Season 4” finale hosted by Live In Your Truth — a live competition of show-stopping performances, creativity, and queer excellence.

Prominent speakers like Montgomery Council President Kate Stewart, Council Vice President Will Jawando, and Councilmember Evan Glass will also be in attendance at the event. 

“Specifically, here in Montgomery County, our elected officials have your back,” Downie said. “The County Council voted unanimously to fund this work two years in a row, and so it’s like our leadership wants you to know that you absolutely belong in these spaces, in our classrooms and in our collective communities and futures.” 

There will also be special zones placed throughout the event, like the Family Fun Zone and Pride Cool Down Lounge, where attendees can take a chance to rest with cool air conditioning. There will also be free onsite STI testing, health screenings, and community resource stations. 

“If you go through the orgs, you’ll notice that even our sponsors are very mission-oriented, like our main stage sponsor, Gilead, who is always promoting prep and wellness within our LGBTQIA+ communities,” Downie said. 

With national federal funding cuts, Downie said these organizations want to show the LGBTQ community that they’re here for them. 

“(They’re) trying to prevent disease and outbreak within our communities, and especially focused on saying that Black LGBTQIA+ lives matter, that trans rights are human rights,” Downie said. “And that all of our queer siblings, especially our BIPOC siblings, who are under disproportionate attack right now, especially in trans and gender expansive communities, that they all absolutely matter and that they belong in these spaces and in the fabric of our society.”

Downie said within today’s political climate, it’s “essential” to provide access to resources and community. 

“I mean, for some it’s life-saving,” Downie added. “I hope that people feel very seen (and affirmed.) I hope that they walk away knowing that even if there is a national rhetoric that is seeking to silence them, seeking to erase them, seeking to dismantle human rights from our most vulnerable communities, that (they) absolutely belong in our spaces.”

During a tumultuous time with a lot of rhetoric, Downie said it’s important for the LGBTQ community to know people care. 

“And I always say this, ‘You have not met all of the people who are going to love you,’ yet you absolutely belong and always love the new truth,” Downie said. “And I really mean that for our community members. There is such a beautiful future ahead for them, where they can find community, love, and support, even amongst all of the crazy chaos that’s taking place. Hopefully, people will find tribes and community members here and just have a fantastic time.”

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