Arts & Entertainment
Trans Pride is this weekend
Main events held Saturday simultaneously at Foundry and Stead Park
Last year’s Capital Trans Pride. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Capital Trans Pride
May 19-20
Saturday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Foundry United Methodist Church
1500 16th St., N.W.
and simultaneously at Stead Park
1625 P St., N.W.
Networking Happy Hour
Studio Theatre
5 p.m. Saturday
1501 14th St., N.W.
Sunday service
New Hope Baptist United Church of Christ
309 E St., N.W.
‘A Fantastic Woman’ screening
8 p.m. Sunday at Stead Park
Capital Trans Pride returns this weekend.
Based on feedback from previous years, organizers this year have designed Saturday’s main event for attendees to be able to float back and forth between Foundry United Methodist Church, where there will be exhibits and workshops, and nearby Stead Park, where entertainment and booths will be set up.
“We’re hoping that creates some visibility in the park,” says Holly Goldmann, a longtime Capital Pride board member and Trans Pride organizer. “It’s in a safe neighborhood and we’re not closing the park off so we’re excited about that. Ten years ago, people were still a little scared to attend something outdoors but we’ve now reached a point where we can be visible.”
A networking happy hour will be held on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Studio Theatre.
On Sunday, May 20, a spiritual service will be held at 2 p.m. at New Hope Baptist United Church of Christ and at 8 p.m. that night, the Oscar-winning film “A Fantastic Woman” will be screened at Stead Park.
About 25 trans-supportive organizations will provide services and opportunities at the main event at Foundry Saturday. The keynote speaker (also at Foundry) will be Tiq Milan, a trans man who is a spokesperson for GLAAD as well as a speaker, activist and journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Rolling Stone and other high-profile outlets. The time is TBD.
Confirmed workshops for Capital Trans Pride include: “Tell Your Story to Change the World,” “Gender Queer 101: a Panel Discussion,” “Name and Gender Change Clinic,” “Improving Wellness in the Trans-Community, Creating a Plan for Washington,” “Transgender Health Services at Kaiser Permanente,” “Resume Writing,” “Introduction to Government Consulting,” ”Uplifting the Download Lover,” “Transgender Military Service in the Trump Era,” “PrEP and Trans Bodies” and “Dance Your Story.”
About 600-650 attended last year throughout the day. Organizers say the event has grown about 25 percent each year the past few years. About 12 folks are on the planning committee which stays in touch year round to plan each year’s event.
Full details are under the Trans Pride tag at capitalpride.org.
Celebrity News
More than 1 million people attend Madonna concert in Rio
Free event took place on Copacabana Beach on Saturday
An estimated 1.6 million people on Saturday attended Madonna’s free concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach.
The concert, which was the last one as part of Madonna’s Celebration Tour, included a tribute to people lost to AIDS.
Bob the Drag Queen introduced Madonna before the concert began. Pabllo Vittar, a Brazilian drag queen and singer, and Anitta, a bisexual pop star who was born in Rio’s Honório Gurgel neighborhood, also joined Madonna on stage.
Congresswoman Erika Hilton, a Black travesti and former sex worker, and Rio Municipal Councilwoman Mônica Benício, the widow of Marielle Franco, a bisexual Rio Municipal Councilwoman who was assassinated in 2018, are among those who attended the concert.
“Madonna showed that we fight important fights for the human rights of Black (people), young (people), women and LGBTQIA+ people, and against all injustice, discrimination, and violence,” said Associaçao Nacional de Travestis e Transexuais (National Association of Travestis and Transsexuals), a Brazilian trans rights group known by the acronym ANTRA, on its X account. “What they call identitarianism’ is our subversion to the retrograde and conservative tackiness that plagues the country.”
The Associated Press reported the concert was Madonna’s biggest ever.
The DC Center for the LGBTQ Community, SMYAL and Rainbow Families sponsored Gay Day at the Zoo on Sunday at the Smithsonian National Zoo. The Smithsonian observed International Family Equality Day with special exhibits and an event space.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Covering Gay Day at the Zoo for @WashBlade . Here at @NationalZooDC pic.twitter.com/LqgGNOOAiM
— Michael Patrick Key (@MichaelKeyWB) May 5, 2024
Photos
PHOTOS: Taste of Point
Annual fundraiser held for LGBTQ youth scholarship, mentorship organization
The Point Foundation held its annual Taste of Point fundraiser at Room & Board on May 2.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
200 turn out for ’Love Fest’ Drag Story Hour at Freddie’s
More than 1 million people attend Madonna concert in Rio
Another successful Taste of Point fundraiser
Out in the World: LGBTQ news from Europe and Asia
PHOTOS: Gay Day at the Zoo
Judy Shepard to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom
Pride journey: Las Vegas
United Methodist Church removes 40-year ban on gay clergy
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