NATIONAL PRESENTING ADVOCATE
THE OFFICIAL GUIDE 2018 CAPITAL PRIDE
THE 2018 OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CAPITAL PRIDE
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NATIONAL PRESENTING ADVOCATE
UNAPOLOGETICALLY PROUD PRESENTING ADVOCATES
RAINBOW ADVOCATES
ADVOCATES
2 0 1 8 C A P ITA L P R I D E LOVE WINS PLATINIUM ADVOCATES
TRUE COLORS GOLD ADVOCATES
OUT AND PROUD SILVER ADVOCATES
COMMUNITY SPIRIT ADVOCATE
BE TRUE...BE YOU BRONZE ADVOCATE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
T H E O F F I C I A L G U I D E T O C A P I TA L P R I D E
43rd CAPITAL PRIDE 7
2018 Advocates
10
Table of Contents
12
Masthead | Contributors
ON STAGE Concert Stage Headliners 107 Alessia Cara 109 MAX 111 Troye Sivan 112 Asia O’Hara Kim Petras 113 Keri Hilson
WELCOME TO PRIDE 13
Ashley Smith, President, Capital Pride
15
Ryan Bos, Executive Director
19
Mayor Muriel Bowser
23
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes-Norton
25
Capital Pride Team
26
Capital Pride ProductionTeam
PRIDE INFORMATION
113 Dupont Stage Line Up 115 Capitol Concert Stage Line Up 117 Monument Stage Line Up
ELEMENTS OF PRIDE
33
THE ELEMENTS OF PRIDE
71
LGBTQIA:
95
SEX WORKER RIGHTS A Guest Editorial
55
Pride Heroes
61
Pride Honorees
63
Capital Trans Pride Engendered Spirits 139
50 Parade Map 52 Parade Information
104
144
11 Profiles
By Doug Rule The Safe Space Between Identities By Eleadah Clack By Guillaume Bagal & Daniel Bruner
TEST By Brock Yurich
PRIDE RADAR By Frank van Dalen
PRIDE MONTH
A Poem
By Kyle Lopex
75 Events Calander 85 Festival Map 86 Festival Guidelines 121 Particpants, Parade & Festival 132 Capital Pride Partners 143 Pride In The Nation’s Capital
Land Acknowledgement Let us take a moment to acknowledge that the land we are gathering on for Capital Pride events has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst a number of Indigenous peoples, specifically (but not limited to) the Accohannock, Pocomoke, Piscataway, Anacostank, Mattapanient, Nangemeick, Tauxehent, Nanticoke, Chickahominy, Monacan, Mattiponi, Pamunkey, Nansemond, Mattapon, Rappahannock, Ani-Stohini/Unami, and Assateague nations. We honor and respect the diverse Indigenous peoples connected to this territory on which we gather.
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ELEMENTS OF Us
CAPITAL PRIDE
THE OFFICIAL GUIDE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Bernie Delia ART DIRECTOR Al Pellenberg PHOTOGRAPHY Denis Largeron Tom Donohue Chelsea Bland EVENT LOGO DESIGN Al Pellenberg SALES TEAM Capital Pride Metro Weekly Washington Blade CONTRIBUTORS, Guillaume Bagal Daniel Bruner Eleadah Clack Frank van Dalen Kyle Lopez Doug Rule Brock Yurich Printed in the USA on recycled stock by: H. G. Roebuck & Son, Inc. Baltimore, MD Proud Supporter of 2018 Capital Pride
ROEBUCK & SON, INC. Quality Printers Since 1919
© 2018 Capital Pride Alliance, Inc. All Rights Reserved. “Capital Pride” is a registered trademark of the Capital Pride Alliance, Inc. All material in the Capital Pride Guide is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the Capital Pride Alliance, Inc. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, writers, and cartoonists published herein is neither inferred nor implied. The appearance of names or pictorial representation of individuals does not necessarily indicate the sexual orientation of such individual. The Capital Pride Guide is supported by many advertisers, however, the Capital Pride Alliance, Inc. cannot take responsibility for any claims made by advertisers.
Speak with our preplanning adviSor, Jamie arthurS at (202) 966-6400 or email Jamie.arthurS@dignitymemorial.com
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ELEMENTS OF Us 5130 Wisconsin Ave. NW • DC • (202) 966-6400 • www.JosephGawlers.com
WELCOME
T O C A P I TA L P R I D E
On behalf of the Capital Pride Alliance, I want to welcome you to Capital Pride 2018, the Nation’s Pride, to celebrate the “Elements of Us.” The members of our team, including our volunteers, staff, chairs, producers, executive producers, and board members, have been working diligently over the course of the last year preparing a great experience for you to celebrate Pride in our nation’s Capital. We truly hope your time with us will be like no other Pride experience you have had. And, if this is your first Pride celebration, we thank you for joining us and we hope that this is the first of many Prides that we share together. We have continued to persevere over the last few years in spite of increasing attacks on our community locally, nationally, and internationally by those who seek to suppress and oppress us. We have focused on creating an inclusive celebration that our city, nation, and everyone can be proud to be part of. We realize we are not perfect, however, our team is committed and focused on working collaboratively to bring our community together; we want to celebrate and unite so that we may overcome any attacks that might come our way. In keeping with our theme, “Elements of Us,” please take a moment to consider what elements make up who you are. Elements of a person can be both big and small, and each one represents a part of our life and the experiences that we share with each other. And every element is an important part what makes us who we are today. When reflecting on my personal elements, I think of those who have come before me to create a space for all of us. We can never forget those who have paved the way and given of themselves to help create the freedoms we have today. These include Marsha P. Johnson, Bayard Rustin, Eddie Windsor, Matthew Shepard, Jim Obergefell, Harvey Milk, Kris Perry, Sandy Steir, Laverne Cox, Barney Frank, Frank Kameny, Barbara Gittings, Gilbert Baker, RuPaul, Jose Sarria and a host of local LGBTQ+ leaders. These are just a few of the brave souls who played a role in the freedoms we enjoy today and sometimes take for granted.
AS
ASHLEY SMITH PRESIDENTBOARD OF DIRECTORS CAPITAL PRIDE ALLIANCE
Our community is large in one sense, and yet in another, truly small. Oppression, police brutality, social and economic classism, depression, addiction, a flawed criminal justice system, domestic violence, gun violence, and more will divide us if we allow them to. Through our collective efforts of educating and presenting reforms to protect us from these negative effects, we will make this country and the world a better place for everyone. No matter who you are, we promise to embrace one another as fellow members of our community. Although Pride celebrations happen once a year, we should celebrate Pride every day of the year. Let’s celebrate each other as one community full of the beautiful people we are. Pride is a celebration for us all, for all the elements that make us who we are. We are excited to host you this year as we celebrate the “Elements of Us!” All of the activities encompassed in Capital Pride 2018 would not be possible without the commitment and tireless efforts of our volunteers, staff, producers, executive producers, board members, and community partners. Pride could also not happen without you, and we sincerely appreciate your participation! Thank you for joining us as we stand united across our nation, ready to fight as a community against those who challenge us for who we are. We hope you have a great experience and look forward to seeing you again next year!
THE 2018 OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CAPITAL PRIDE
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WELCOME
T O C A P I TA L P R I D E
We are fortunate that Pride in the Nation’s Capital provides a variety of opportunities to bring our community together to experience “Pride” in a way each one of us feels most comfortable. This year‘s theme is particularly relevant in light of today’s current culture. I challenge everyone to take a look at the meaning of our theme to realize and acknowledge the various elements that have shaped your life and character and that continue to drive your experiences. It is critical for us to acknowledge that our diversity helps to expand our identities, experiences, and points of view. “Elements of Us” acknowledges the complexity of our individual and shared experiences as a community. We must not let fear and hostility cause us to forget the authentic nature we have in common—our history, depth of diversity, and the hope we must feel to strive for a more just society for all. This awareness has allowed us to persevere, survive, and inspire positive change. We must work hard to ensure our continued fight for social justice is an inclusive fight, one of inspiration, resilience, forgiveness, and understanding.
RB
RYAN BOS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CAPITAL PRIDE ALLIANCE
These are some of my elements: son, human, friend, brother, uncle, runner, man, shy, creative, listener, gay, spiritual, athlete, activist, curious… We must all take the time to appreciate the many elements that represent our community, and us as individuals. We must all challenge ourselves to share with others the many elements that have shaped our character and our experiences. The Capital Pride Alliance is just one organization involved in creating these amazing experiences. We find joy in the work of the Center for Black Equity which organizes DC Black Pride, the Latino GLBT History Project for its work with DC Latinx Pride, Youth Pride Alliance with Youth Pride Day, DC Leather Pride, and our volunteers who organize Capital Trans Pride and the Capital Pride Celebration. We support the work the API community is doing, and plans are underway for an API Pride event next year. Our community continues to explore new opportunities that speak to its rich diversity. The Capital Pride Alliance is committed to working with everyone as we constantly expand on the Pride experience. As I said last year, no one person or organization owns “Pride.” Pride represents how one chooses to show up, engage, be visible and inspired when challenged to be one’s authentic self. I hope that you can #HAVEPRIDE365, throughout the year, and will join me in acknowledging and sharing the many #ELEMENTSOFUS
THE 2018 OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CAPITAL PRIDE
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Proud to sponsor
CAPITAL
PRIDE 2018
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TS:
PRESEN
m
niu o m e d n a S
Purchase tickets at washingtonblade.com/tickets
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WASHINGTON, D.C. 20515 ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
June 7, 2018
GREETINGS!!! I extend my warmest greetings to the Capital Pride Alliance and friends gathered in our nation’s capital to celebrate Pride 2018. For years, the Capital Pride Alliance has been a stellar organization in D.C., building partnerships and working with allies to be a voice for our proud LGBTQ residents. Through organized events and outreach, the Capital Pride Alliance continues the vital role of bringing greater awareness to important issues affecting the community while celebrating its diversity. Your organization is a great asset not only to the District of Columbia but across the nation as well. My best wishes for a fantastic event and continued future success.
Sincerely,
Eleanor Holmes Norton
Not printed or mailed at government expense. (Facsimile)
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S TA F F
CAPITAL PRIDE ALLIANCE
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
2018 LEADERSHIP TEAM HIGHLIGHTED IN PURPLE
AF
AARON FISHBACH LOGISTI
AB
ANDRE BEZERRA PRODUCER
AL PELLENBERG ART DIRECTION
BD
BERNIE DELIA
PAST PRESIDENTBOARD OF DIRECTORS
AS
ASHLEY SMITH PRESIDENT-
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
BR
BIANCA HUMADY REY
BH
TRANS PRIDE CHAIR
BRIAN HORN
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CO
CASEY OAKES
CW
CB
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CHELSEA BLAND VOLUNTEER CHAIR
CA
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CEDRIC WILSON
Js
CS
DW
DH
JAY SARALNO PRODUCER
IB
COLIN STEWART
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
JF
IAN BROWN TRANS PRIDE
J. CLARENCE FLANDERS PRODUCER
JG
JB
JOSE GUTIERREZ
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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AP
JOSHUA BEESON TALENT MANAGER
DAVID ARWOOD PARADE STAGING
JV
JAMI VALLESTEROS FESIVAL CHAIR
CHRIS AVERY BACKSTSTAGE MGR
DEVIN HANSEN SPECIAL PROJECTS
JH
JERRY HOUSTON ENTERTAINMENT
KC
MP
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
KYLE COLLINS \
MARY PARADISE
HG
HOLLY GOLDMA
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
JB
JESSE BONALES
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MK
MATT KUDER HOSPITALITY
ELEMENTS OF Us
MC
MICHAEL CREASON ACCESSIBILITY
MIB
MICHELLE IRIMIA-BERNBE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OMAR CLARKE TRANS PRIDE
RC
ROB CORBETT
OPPERATIONS DIRECTOR
RC
RON CROGNALE BLOCK PARTY
PY
PAM YEE PARADE JUDGING
RY
ROBERT YORK
VICE PRESIDENT BOARD OF DIRECTORS
RW
RYAN WILLIAMS HOSPITALITY
PM
MIKE ALEXANDER
DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
NT
NB
RG
RP
NATALIE THOMPSON BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OC
MA
NICOLE BARNES CHIEF FINANCAL OFFICER
PETER MORGAN COMMUNICATIONS
RACHEL GLEISCHMAN VICE PRESIDENT BOARD OF DIRECTORS
RP
ROSS PERKINS
RB
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
RYAN VELANDRIA MCCARTHAY BOARD OF DIRECTORS
SW
TW
TLR
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
TAYLOR WALLACE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
YD
ZB
SAVANA WANZAR
RYAN BOS
RAYMOND PANAS BOARD OF DIRECTORS
RVM
TIFFANY LYN ROSTER
PARADE CHAIR
SF
SIOBHAN FISHER PARADE FLOAT
MG
MIKE GARCIA BLOCK PARTY
VW
VERNON WALL
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
THE 2018 OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CAPITAL PRIDE
VM
VINCE MICONE
VICE PRESIDENT BOARD OF DIRECTORS
YADIELL DEAUTRIELL
PARADE
ZACH BACHE LOGISTICS
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T H E
CAPITAL PRIDE 2018 TEAM V O L U N T E E R S
ENTERTAINMENT Chris Avery Destiny B. Childs Ophelia Bottoms Doug Bradshaw Alec Buckley Dana Butler Kellen Chad Byers Mattie Carson Connor Coleman Will Cruttenden Angelica Garcia Kurt Graves Jerry Jones Matt Kuder TC Lind Angela Love Keenan Orr Jonathon Sorge Melvin Thomas Henry Thrill Ryan Williams Sarah Worden Charles Wright FESTIVAL Zach Bache Christopher Barth Andre Bezerra Sarah Bryce Taylor Chandler Yadiell Deautriell David Delewski Aaron Fishbach Siobhan Fisher J. Clarence Flanders Robert Foster Matt Gillette Michael Graham Emily Martin Kelsey Martin Matt Rancourt Anna-Alexandra Rojo Jay Soriano Alan Thompson Jami Vallesteros William Hawkins Anthony Wisniewski
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T H A T
M A K E
MARKETING Brandon Barnett Andre Bezerra Taylor Chandler Leah Edwards Peter Morgan Garrett Scott PARADE David Arwood Christopher Barth Imani Brown Michael Creason Whittney Davis Yadiell Deautriell David Delewski Corey Fisher Siobhan Fisher Amanda Gamage William Hawkins Sean Holloway Sean Johnson Todd Jones Deonte Leach Tyler Lewis Randy Meck Caleb Nixon Pe’Trina Paxton-Thompson Rayceen Pendarvis Tiffany Royster Jonan Sayo Steve Sidewalk Kirk Sobell Jay Soriano Jai Syncere Brock Thompson Cat Trovato Drew Walter Jennifer Weber Andrew Wheelock David Williams Pam Yee TRANS PRIDE Jewel Addy Bryn Blanchard Steph Blease Ian Brown Ruby Corado Taylor Chandler Omar Clark
C A P I TA L
P R I D E
H A P P E N
Dee Curry Francesca DiSanto Leah Edwards Ted Eytan Holly Goldman Danielle Green Jessica Hawkins Eve Howe Paul Grace-Neal Diangalo Johnson Consuela Lopez Stephania Mahdi Ryan McKinley Monika Nemeth Jake Paiva Bianca Rey Rachelle Tepel Brendan Wright VOLUNTEERS Chelsea Bland J. Clarence Flanders Anna-Alexandra Rojo Maggie Larkin PRODUCTION PARTNERS Brightest Young Things Center Faith Cobalt DC Black Pride – Center for Black Equity DC Latinx Pride Dirty Goose Distrckt C Flashy Library of Congress LURe Queen Vic Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs Boi Drag
Nellie’s Sports Bar Rainbow Families SMYAL TAGG Magazine Town Dance Boutique Team DC The Cherry Fund Uproar Washington National Opera WERQ
ELEMENTS OF Us
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THE ELEMENTS OF US By Doug Rule This time of year, Miguel A. Ayala says, “I don’t think there’s anybody in D.C. who’s not aware that it’s Pride.” Indeed, everyone and their mother knows what time it is. “My neighbors across the street hang up a rainbow flag for the month of June, and it always just makes me smile,” Elliot Proebstel says. “As far as I know, they’re not queer at all; it’s a straight couple with a kid. It’s just a good reminder that the community is there and has your back.” And it’s not just locals. “I look forward to hearing the stories about the experiences of people who’ve come to the city from wherever, to watch the parade and go to the festival,” Kimberley Bush says. Speaking of stories, what follows are eleven local leaders, artists, and activists sharing their coming out experiences and illuminating what Pride means to them—capturing, in multiple ways, this year’s theme, “Elements of Us.” “It’s one of the happiest moments of the year, when you just feel like everybody is there in solidarity,” says Will Gartshore. And that’s as true now as ever, adds Rayceen Pendarvis: “Even in the present climate, with all the things that are going on politically, [it’s important] that we can still celebrate who we are, and affirm our greatness.”
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THE ELEMENTS OF US
Out of the church and into the clubs, to be exact. The 41-year-old Orr got his start in all things nightlife as an underage patron sneaking into D.C.’s former storied warehouse club Tracks. Since the turn of the millennium, Orr has made a name for himself as one of D.C.’s most versatile DJs, known for playing all types of uptempo genres and at all types of venues, both gay and straight, including sets of hiphop and dance-pop at Cobalt every Friday and R&B/disco/dance throwbacks on the rooftop of Marvin in the summer -- two gigs he’s had running for a solid decade now. One of his newer gigs is spinning chillout tunes and soul/pop classics on select Wednesdays during happy hour at El Techo, the intimate Mexican-themed rooftop lounge above Rita Loco’s in LeDroit Park between Shaw’s Tavern and Howard Theatre.
DJ
His favorite event of the moment, however, is Sleaze, the monthly Thursday night party with a playfully dirty name and sensibility that fellow DJ Steve “Lemz” Lemmerman started a year ago at Wonderland Ballroom in Columbia Heights and that recently expanded to include an occasional offshoot at famed subterranean club U Street Music Hall. “The vibe, the disco ball, the fog, the young kids coming out in full drag,” Orr says about why he loves the party. “It’s a great mix of people, and I get to play house, which is my first love.”
KEENAN ORR
“It took a little bit of an adjustment, but my family got on board pretty quickly and they’re very supportive,” continues Orr, who grew up going to a Baptist Church in Herndon. “But as soon as I got out of the house,” he laughs, “I was out of the church.”
AFRICAN-AMERICAN GAY
“I grew up in Vienna, Va., and I came out in my early ‘20s,” Keenan Orr says, “but it wasn’t a big coming out thing, I just thought everybody knew I was gay.
Of course, Orr is also well-known for volunteering his time and helping out by spinning tunes from one of the stages during the Capital Pride Festival. This year, he’ll be on the Dupont Stage at 6th and Pennsylvania. “That’s just basically music all day,” he says, with a preponderance of tunes by gay divas Madonna, Lady Gaga, and Beyonce. One of the things he values about Capital Pride is the sense of community the event engenders and encourages, which is especially important in our current era. “I’ve noticed in the past year or two, since Trump got elected,” he says, “there’s been a lot of expression of diversity and weirdness, and I appreciate that. That’s where I come from, the club scene, the rave scene, where people are free to be who they are. So I appreciate that about D.C.”
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THE ELEMENTS OF US
MIGUEL A. AYALA
ACTIVIST LATINO PROUD LEATHER DRAG
“I came out at the end of my freshman year of high school,” says Miguel Ayala, a 39-year-old Chicago native. “And sometime at the end of my sophomore year, we talked about starting a Pride Club, or a GSA.” School leaders at Whitney Young High School, which also counts Michelle Obama as an alum, weren’t keen on the idea, and the resulting fight birthed the political activist who would go on to work on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. “The school told us, ‘you can start a support group.” No dice, countered Ayala and his fellow students: “We want a club. We want to do events, we want to be a presence at the school. We’re not a group that needs counseling in the back corner.” Ayala reached out to various LGBTQ+ organizations, including Lambda Legal and Equality Illinois, as well as the local press. “We didn’t let them push us into the support group closet. And we eventually got a club off the ground” – making Young High one of the first schools in the country to have a GSA. Being out and proud, Ayala says, ‘is the ability to just be who I am, and not have to put any kind of veil over it. I don’t have to put a mask on for anybody. I run in circles where I can be myself.” There’s some irony in that definition for Ayala in particular, as the co-founder and spokesman for DC Leather Pride, and as someone who has been donning drag since high school as well. Of course, there’s a difference between wearing a veil to cover up one’s identity, and doing it to exaggerate or reveal a different layer to what is already visible. Through DC Leather Pride, for example, Ayala hopes to be a role model by letting his kinky side shine. “For me, it’s about just creating those conversations and those spaces where people feel comfortable asking about topics that might be taboo for some in our community.” And his drag alter ego Moka Loka Latte appears mostly just for charitable and fundraising events. Yet Ayala’s reach in the community extends well beyond the leather and the lace. He has a long history with the Latino GLBT History Project. In recent years, Ayala has also become active with TeamDC, as a board member, and as a participant in kickball and basketball leagues.
US ELEMENTS OF
Ayala always looks forward to the “exhilarating time” that is Capital Pride, an event that “really energizes the whole city,” he says. “I think it’s a great moment for folks who want to step out and really celebrate who they are and who they have been and who they want to be.”
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PHOTO: JULIAN VANKIM :
ELEMENTS OF Us
THE ELEMENTS OF US
Proebstel says his collaborators in Sweet Spot hope to soon reprise last summer’s Smoky Mirrors, which he describes as “our most overtly political and queer show that we’ve done to date, focused on a character who’s working to figure out their gender identity, and also exploring nuances of sexual orientation for that main character as well as for some others.” At the moment, however, the nonprofit organization is taking a hiatus. “We extended ourselves real hard last year,” Proebstel says, “and those of us on the board are taking a little bit of a breather right now, to figure out how do we restructure and make it sustainable.” In the meantime, Proebstel is looking forward to the best time of the year for LGBTQ people. “Pride is a great time for people to come together and celebrate who they really are, and to shed a little bit of the inhibitions that we tend to build up over the year. It’s a good opportunity to inspire ourselves and each other.” And nothing is more inspiring to Proebstel than the simple yet explicit displays of pride and solidarity. “I look forward to seeing all the rainbow flags in all the windows. I love seeing rainbow flags everywhere,” he says. “Even when I pass a place that I know is not a queer venue but has a rainbow flag in the window for the month, that means something to me,” adding later, “It makes me really happy.”
ELLIOT PROEBSTEL
These days, Proebstel has the full support of parents and two older sisters, but he makes his home in the other Washington with a boyfriend he calls “the light of my life.” “I originally came to D.C. for work on what was intended to be a one-year assignment,” says Proebstel, who works in network security and software development. “And I decided I could never leave, mostly because in that time I had fallen in love with the trapeze community here.” In addition to his day job, Proebstel has also become a trapeze instructor at TSNY Washington, DC in Navy Yard. He’s also a founder of -Sweet Spot Aerial Productions, a professional circus arts company that explicitly hires and highlights LGBTQ+ artists and themes.
QUEER AERIALIST ADVENTURER
“I grew up in a small town a couple of hours northwest of Seattle,” Elliot Proebstel says. “I went to school with basically the same people from day one to the last day. By middle school it seemed like everybody had a preconceived notion of who everybody else was, and breaking out of that mold didn’t even really feel possible. So it wasn’t until I was in college that I really started to figure out who I was. I did measures of coming out in undergrad and then again in grad school. And I would say I was probably finally out as transgender by the age of 25.”
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THE ELEMENTS OF US
JULIE VERRATTI
SMALL BUSINESS OWNER/ ADVOCATE
“I grew up in Silver Spring,” Julie Verratti says, “and I came out when I was 18 years old – to my immediate close friends and my sister. But I didn’t come out to my parents until I was in my early 20s. I don’t know why I waited so long…. My parents were absolutely wonderful and accepting and welcoming.” Her dad’s response after she came out? “You are wonderful and perfect just as you are. And quite frankly, I knew you were gay when you were eight years old.” These days, Verratti is back in her hometown, living with her wife Emily Bruno, whom she met while fundraising for the Democratic National Committee in 2004. The two then continued their political activism by working for MassEquality, the organization that successfully defeated legislative attempts in the state of Massachusetts to repeal same-sex marriage, in the process becoming a harbinger for the nation. In recent years, the couple has mostly set aside politics for business – chiefly by founding, with brewer Jeff Ramirez, Denizens Brewing Co. in downtown Silver Spring. And business is hopping so much at this rare woman-owned craft brewery and beer garden, they recently signed a lease to open a second, larger facility in Riverdale in Prince George’s County. And yet, that’s not even the biggest development of the year for Verratti, who has returned to politics in a big way: She’s a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Maryland as the running mate of Maryland gubernatorial candidate Alec Ross. “I never had plans to run for office,” the erstwhile activist and attorney says. “And the only reason I’m doing this is because Alec asked me to do it. “I’m a true believer in Alec Ross,” she continues. “I think he’s fantastic, and has amazing ideas, and he has the leadership skills and the background to actually implement them in Annapolis.” In the Democratic primary, set for late June, Ross, the best-selling author and former Obama and Clinton technology aide, and Verratti are in a crowded field of candidates, also including openly gay state senator Rich Madaleno, who is running for governor with Luwanda Jenkins. “[The fact] that you have two openly LGBT people on a ticket in this primary,” she adds, “I think is really, really cool.”
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Yet Capital Pride will hardly get short-shrift amidst all of Verratti’s campaigning. As ever, Denizens will host Pride-related events throughout June, and will also be well-represented in Pride festivities. “We march in Pride every year. We support Pride every year,” Verratti says. “I think it’s really important that LGBTQ+ people support pride, and come out, creating community for people. “Most people spend so much of their lives with their head down, just going to work Monday through Friday, and not really celebrating a lot,” she continues. “The whole focus of Pride is just celebrating who you are, and being proud of who you are. It’s a really, really important event.”
ELEMENTS OF Us
THE ELEMENTS OF US
Affirm your heart and amuse your ears is what the music of Be Steadwell will do, without a doubt. Steadwell has steadily self-produced and released original music that she calls “queerpop” for years now. The graduate of Oberlin College of Music and Howard University sings as well as raps, occasionally even beatboxing, and uses vocal looping technology to create intriguing, memorable, and full-sounding songs, live as well as recorded, encompassing genres as diverse as folk, hiphop, jazz, and soul.
BE STEADWELL
“As a consumer, I look for music and entertainment that affirms my identity and that affirms my humanity,” she continues. “And as a queer black woman, I don’t find a lot of that. Of course there’s much more now than there was. [Shoutout to Janelle!] I create what I want to see, I create work that I hope affirms other queer people’s hearts, and that’s my favorite part about it.”
QUEER BLACK MUSICIAN
“I grew up in D.C.,” Be Steadwell says. “I wasn’t every really in, so I didn’t exactly come out. I started dating a girl in high school, and my family was really cool with it. I was very lucky in that way. I identify now as queer and lesbian, and it’s a huge part of my work.
Yet as of May, she’s now made a proper studio record, Queer Love Songs, which was recorded with musicians at Tonal Park Studio per a grant from the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice. “All are love songs from my perspective -- some of them are sad, some of them are happy, some of them are funny, some of them are political. It’s a kind of nice fruit salad of content.” Queer Love Songs will be turned into a musical of sorts next February, through a special residency at Joe’s Movement Emporium in Mt. Rainier, Md. “I’ll be the writer/director and then I’ll also sing live…. The dancers and actors will build pieces around a narrative that includes the songs.” Another notable date on her schedule happens in July during this year’s Smithsonian Folklife Festival, in partnership with the Kennedy Center. Through a women’s folk-focused series Sisterfire, Steadwell will perform among a dozen of what organizers describe as “millennial women artists whose sounds lead us into the future.” As for her future, Steadwell betrays becoming modesty – and a playful sense of self. “I just hope that the audience will grow, and I meet more people who want cheesy love songs in their life.” Cheesy? “Yeah, they’re cheesy. They’re pretty sweet and cute…. Some of them are dark. But, you know, it’s all pop.” And it’s all pop to make queer people proud. “Pride, for me,” Steadwell says, “is celebrating love and celebrating the family – the chosen family that we can be as LGBTQ+ folks. It’s just cool. We’re so cool! I just think that we’re amazing that we find a way to love against all the odds and all of the people so against us.”
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WILL GARTSHORE
IMMIGRANT THEATRE ARTIST ENVIORNMENALIST
“I grew up in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, which is right on top of Michigan,” Will Gartshore says. “I grew up on the river that connects Lake Superior to Lake Huron.” Now 43, the Canadian has lived more than half of his life in the U.S. Gartshore has been a familiar presence in D.C. since the turn of the millennium, when Signature Theatre cast the acclaimed singing actor in Floyd Collins. A few years later, while performing at the Kennedy Center as part of its lauded Sondheim Celebration festival, Gartshore decided to make the move from New York to D.C. once and for all. Yet it wasn’t until last year that Gartshore took the plunge and became a full-fledged U.S. citizen. “It was a hard decision because it’s tied so close to identity,” Gartshore says. Ultimately, though, the admirer of the U.S Constitution, who has long been “really, really invested in American politics,” couldn’t bear to remain on the sidelines any longer as our national politics has gotten uglier and uglier. Yes, in a twisted way, we have Trump to thank for Gartshore’s decision. “Obviously, as a white male from Canada, I’m not in the same position as others,” he says, “but all the discussion around immigrants does resonate in a way: ‘What are my rights in this country?’ And I didn’t necessarily feel comfortable leaving that up to folks who are currently making those decisions.” Being a naturalized U.S. citizen is also a boon, to a certain degree, to the actor’s day job, as an environmental lobbyist on Capitol Hill—specifically, Deputy Director for Legislative Affairs with the World Wildlife Fund. “From actor to lobbyist, it’s really not that different,” explains Gartshore, who notes that acting in a musical such as Sondheim’s Assassins can be harder than lobbying for a cause he’s passionate about. “When you’re playing John Wilkes Booth, and you’re trying to convince the audience that it makes sense to shoot the President of the United States,” he says, “going in and talking about why we should save pandas is kind of easy.” Of course, juggling the two jobs simultaneously isn’t exactly easy, and definitely cuts into any free or down time—which is why Gartshore only takes on one to three acting gigs in a given season anymore. (Up next, starting in mid-August, is Signature’s production of Passion. “It’s hard to say no to Sondheim,” he says.) And yet, “I don’t know how often folks get to pursue dual passions over the course of their careers,” Gartshore says, adding, “I don’t know how many other cities outside of Washington I would have been able to lead this double life quite so fully.”
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Gartshore also appreciates D.C. for its thriving LGBTQ+ scene and Pride celebration. “There’s still a neighborhood quality to it even though the city has gotten bigger,” he says. “I’m looking forward to seeing how D.C.’s Pride continues to evolve and get sort of queerer—and less kind of monochrome. “I just feel like the city is in a really cool place,” he adds, “in terms of all the different elements of the LGBTQ+ community that may have been there in the past, but now are kind of fully expressing themselves.”
ELEMENTS OF Us
Soon after law school, Brabham met the man who is now his husband, Drew Porterfield. The two North Carolinians live in D.C., where Porterfield is executive director of Shaw’s Long View art gallery. Brabham eventually burned out on his job with a high-powered law firm and now runs a small but growing local restaurant chain that the couple co-owns with Aschara Vigsittaboot, including two locations of Beau Thai and BKK Cookshop. Every week, the Cookshop donates proceeds to a different charity through its Terrific Tuesdays promotion. “The charitable component to our business is a recurring theme,” Brabham says, “and the nonprofits and groups that we support are certainly LGBTQ-friendly/ supportive and affirming organizations. They’re aligned with our beliefs and our values.” During the month of July, for instance, all three restaurants will participate in a new charitable event dreamt up by the couple with friends that they’re calling War of the Rosés. To participate, each establishment will agree “to donate 10 percent of their rosé sales to charity, including five percent to a charity that they choose.” The other five percent will go to the charity chosen by whichever venue ends up selling the most rosé for the month. Although the charitable beneficiaries are still being finalized, participants in the event include such esteemed outfits as the Columbia Room, Estadio, Rappahannock Oyster Bar, and Primrose. And Beau Thai Shaw’s charity will be SMYAL.
RALPH BRABHAM
“I knew pretty much at a young age that I was gay, but I did not come out until after college in 2003, when I was 26,” says the native of Greensboro, North Carolina. “For a few years I had sought counseling to basically pray-the-gay away, to use a cliched expression. And I had gone down that route of trying to fix what I thought was wrong with me. And ultimately, when I was in law school, I began to realize that there was nothing to be fixed. And despite my efforts, nothing had changed in terms of how I felt.”
LAUGH SEEKER SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR HUSBAND
Ralph Brabham had a tortured route to living proudly and openly.
“We always hold ourselves out as an LGBTQ-owned and immigrant-owned business, so that’s something that we never hide from,” Brabham says. “It’s not something that we just showcase one time of year. During the month of Pride, we certainly run specials and hang the rainbow flag throughout the restaurants and other things to make it more obvious that time of year…. But all throughout the year, we try to support a variety of gay and gay-friendly organizations, through donations and what-not.” “For me,” Brabham adds, “Pride is about living your true self, and being confident in who you are, and being able to live out loud in the community.”
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Main Photo: William Waybourn Background Photo: Metro Weekly
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ALBAN ZAMORA SULEMA SALAZAR MOISÉS LINARES JOSEPH MARTÍNEZ
The Perfect Soundtrack to your PRIDE PARTY! “Alexa...play
on iHeartRadio”
“Hey Google...play on iHeartRadio”
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COMBAT VETERAN
JASON LINDSAY
SOUTHERN
“I grew up on a hog farm in the middle of nowhere—a very rural, very conservative area of North Carolina,” Jason Lindsay says. “It was very hard to be a gay kid growing up in that type of environment.” Understandably, Lindsay got out as soon as he could. He came out after going away to college. He also joined the US Army, fighting in the Iraq War and serving in the Army Reserves for 14 years. Eight years ago, Lindsay settled in D.C, which he now considers home. He spent several years working as a congressional relations officer with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, but gave up that cushy federal post almost overnight two years ago.
GUN
“On the day of the Pulse attack, I was just incredibly motivated, and so angry and frustrated at yet another gun tragedy,” Lindsay says, “and really wanted to do something to bring together the gay community and the fight for gun reform.” The murder of 49 mostly LGBTQ, mostly Latinx patrons of the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando compelled Lindsay to start the Pride Fund to End Gun Violence, the nation’s only LGBTQ organization solely focused on gun violence prevention.
CONTROL
“Our No. 1 mission is to elect candidates who support common-sense gun reform and are champions of LGBTQ equality,” says Lindsay, who is optimistic that that mission will be achieved in upcoming elections. “The polling data clearly shows that Americans are more supportive now than they ever have been for changes to our gun laws…. I think we’ve got a really big storm brewing that could be—hopefully will be—the turning point.”
&
If it’s not exactly the calm before said storm, Pride this year, as any other year, is an opportunity for Lindsay to celebrate all that he’s overcome as well as bask in the real sense of community he’s found here. “Growing up as a Southern closeted kid where there were no out people, there certainly was no honor or pride in being gay,” he says, “[to now] really being in a place where Pride is so huge and people can be who they are, and be proud about it, and be among our people, is really meaningful to me.
LGBTQ
“It makes me think about the 15-year-old kid who’s living in rural America,” he continues, “who doesn’t have access to a Pride, who can’t see that there’s such a loving, amazing community out there waiting for him.” His message for that struggling kid: “It really does get better. And there is another whole world out there [full of] people like you.”
ATIVIST
Visit pridefund.org to learn more or get involved in the organization’s dual fight against gun violence and for LGBTQ equality.
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Background Photo: Todd Franson
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Pendarvis grew up with “a nurturing mom, a nurturing dad, and wonderful brothers”—all told, “a wonderful family that loved and accepted me early on, and allowed me to be free, and allowed me to pursue the full LGBT experience.” He remains close to his family. He serves as one of the caretakers for his mom, who has dementia. “My mom has been my greatest ally,” says Pendarvis, who refuses to let negativity over her current mental state cloud the situation or his outlook. “I look at the joy—that she took care of me, now I’m honored to take care of her.” Around town, aside from being a nail technician at VSL Hair Design, Pendarvis is best known as a host of various cultural events, as well as of his own Ask Rayceen Show, held the first Wednesdays of every month at HRC. Pendarvis started the multi-genre variety program, now in its seventh year, because he saw a “need for a space where we could showcase our artists, our singers, our poets, our dancers, our activists. Bring all colors together, all genders together—and all for free.”
RAYCEEN PENDARVIS
Meet the Right Honorable “Goddess of D.C.” Rayceen Pendarvis, a native Washingtonian who has been called—and called himself—many things in his day. Today, Pendarvis stands happily, proudly as a Pride pioneer: “I was the original emcee for Black Pride, I was there for the first Capital Pride. I’ve been around a long time,” says Pendarvis, who styles himself as “the bridge” between the older LGBTQ generation and the new. “To see young people engage with older people, that inspires me,” he says. “We have a lot to offer, and a lot to be said, and I have a lot to learn from them [the younger generation]. They teach me to be better, and I teach them to be better, so it’s a fair exchange.”
GODDESS LOVE LIGHT
“I’m a human being, I’m a two-spirit person, I’m gay, proud and out. If you call me Sir, I will accept it. If you call me Ma’am, I’ll smile.”
All of that keeps him busy, if not rich. “Let me tell you, if I got paid for all of this, I’d be rich,” he teases, before adding: “There are a lot of things I do for free, but the things that I do for free are so much richer than anything [else].” And he gets his rewards in the end. And then there’s Pride. “I love everything about it. I love the feeling in the air, I love to see everybody get excited about it,” he says. The celebration always makes Pendarvis think of those who came before us—those “who marched and died so we could be free.” “When I go down and stand on the stage at the end of every Pride,” Pendarvis adds, “and look at all of the thousands of people out there, I cry, because it makes me think of those who are not [with us]. It makes me feel good to see where we are today. “My heart is so full.”
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Even her mother has taken it all in stride. “Her thing has always kind of been, ‘When are you getting married? When are you having kids?’ And the fact that I was dating a woman didn’t really phase her.” So, just when is the wedding, Love? “That is the ever-present question,” she teases. More seriously, she responds: “I find myself not a fan of the queer centering on marriage. I think that for a long time gay people made their own families in different ways, and I think that that was a really beautiful thing. And I think now there’s a pressure to assimilate into the heteronormative views of what family is. And I think that’s silly. So I’m not super-keen to get married. But you never know.”
SHARIFA LOVE
“I just kind of fell into a relationship with one of my teammates,” explains Love, who says that prior to falling for Brigid nearly five years ago at the age of 26, “I was always just attracted to men. I didn’t really have some sort of burning, tortured [lust for] any women that I went to school with.” And since? “Really nothing about my life changed by being queer, by being out.” Except, that is, it’s now become her profession: Two years ago, Love, who now identifies as bisexual, became “a professional queer,” working as the development and communications manager at SMYAL.
#BLACKLIVESMATTER RUGBY PLAYER FEMINIST
“I’ve always been very sporty, and I’ve been playing rugby for years,” Sharifa Love says, “and I think some people sort of viewed it as an inevitability.” If it was inevitable that Love, the “self-identified feminist,” would eventually become more than just a longtime ally of the LGBTQ+ community, it certainly took her by surprise.
She’s far more keen on team sports—and staying physically active. Having spent her formative years in Rockville playing soccer and running track, these days Love devotes her extracurricular activities to women’s rugby as well as darts—playing on two member clubs of TeamDC. In April, TeamDC bestowed its MVP Award on Love for her work in promoting the DC Furies, which she describes as a “very open, very inclusive, and very all-colors-of-the-rainbow” women’s rugby team. About the sport officially known as rugby football, Love says, “it’s very physical, and I love the physicality of it.” She was hooked the moment she learned the basics in college. “I went to a practice before the tournament, and it was hot and they were teaching another rookie and me how to tackle. And I made the other girl bleed and cry,” she says, adding a bit rascally, “I thought, ‘This is really fun!” The only downside to playing rugby for Love is that sometimes out-of-town tournaments are scheduled the same weekend as Capital Pride. “Pride is a wonderful time for people to come together and celebrate community,” she says. “For those who may live in a place that doesn’t have a Pride, or they’re in the closet, or they feel any sort of trepidation, Pride is a time for them to see that there’s community, and there are allies, and there’s a place for you in the world.”
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KIMBERLEY BUSH
ARTS CHAMPION APPRECIATOR BELIVER IN POSSIBILITY
“I grew up in Westchester County, New York. I did not come out until I moved to the D.C. area a good 20-plus years ago,” Kimberley Bush says. “My coming out to my family was not traumatic so to speak. But it did take a lot of growing, and a lot of getting used to on my mom’s part.” Today, Bush is as out as can be. “Pride to me means strength,” Bush says, “and it means owning all of your LGBTQness, and wearing it loudly and proudly. And essentially, that’s what I do. I am a lesbian, I am a black woman, and I am an advocate for the arts. And I’m going to do everything I can to be able to provide the platform and the venue to support our community artistically.” Bush oversees six programs as the Director of Arts and Culture Programs at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. Among these is the film festival Reel Affirmations, which she once ran as a volunteer director in its earliest days. “This year is our 25th anniversary, which is absolutely extraordinary,” she says. “We have been through two organizations, we’ve been through financial challenges. We went dark for a couple of years.” This year’s festival will take place the first weekend in November. Later that month comes another iteration of the DC Queer Theatre Festival, which will present “two nights of queer short plays,” and selected playwrights “will have an opportunity to work with professional directors and dramaturgs to help them develop and produce their plays.” A year ago, Bush started Center Arts, a makeshift, unconventional gallery with artworks on full display to passersby on 14th Street. “My vision and what I wanted was to have a venue where LGBTQ artists could display their work because we often get overlooked by [other] art galleries here in the city.” The gallery is booked with planned artist exhibitions through 2019. But it’s the displays throughout the city that inspire Bush the most at this time of year. “I feel like Pride month gives so many individuals the opportunity, and sometimes almost permission, to embrace themselves and their LGBTQ-ness,” she says. “When they’re able to descend upon the city, and wear their flags, wear their makeup, wear their wigs, wear their heels, wear their ties, wear their suits, wear whatever they want to wear that makes them feel their best.”
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“There’s so much happening in the world,” she continues, “that just makes a lot of our young people—especially our young people of color, and those people who are on various spectrums of our LGBTQ-ness—not want to be who they are. I know that Pride month, especially here in D.C., allows for that space.” Come one, come all, Bush says: “I look forward to hearing how Pride has uplifted and created change in yet more people’s lives.”
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Background Photo: Todd Franson
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Active. Visible. Amazing. We believe that living authentically can help you be your healthiest—in mind, body, and spirit. Kaiser Permanente is a proud supporter of the LGBTQ community and Capital Pride and remains committed to total health for all.
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States, Inc. 2101 E. Jefferson St., Rockville, MD 20852 60961408 MAS 6/1/18 – 6/30/18
We take pride in connecting people to the ones who matter most. Choice Hotels proudly welcomes the LGBTQ+ community.
When it comes to connecting to the people who matter most, there’s nothing like being there in person. That’s why you’ll find us anywhere your friends, families, clients and coworkers are. With 11 brands in over 6,800 locations worldwide, you can always find the right room for your trip, and genuine staff who make you feel welcome, wanted and respected. Visit us at ChoiceHotels.com THE 2018 OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CAPITAL PRIDE
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CAPITAL PRIDE PARADE GUIDELINES K I C K
S A T U R D A Y J U N E 9 T H O F F 4 : 3 0 P M
Embrace your next adventure. Don’t let money get in the way of living your life. Whatever your next step is, we can help you take it with confidence.
Stop in, call 800.SUNTRUST or visit suntrust.com
To ensure all Parade and Festival attendees have a great time, the Capital Pride team suggests participants consider the following:
TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF:
Wear comfortable shoes and sunscreen. Some attendees are limited in their ability to walk long distances. If you think you might need assistance, consider renting a wheelchair or scooter; or reserve a pedi-cab through national pedi cabs (nationalpedicabs.com).
RECYCLE/REUSE
Capital Pride is committed to sustaining our planet. Please do your part and recycle or reuse.
PARKING
Consider using Spot Hero to reserve and pay for your guaranteed parking space. Check them out at: www.spothero.com.
MPD AND YOU
Be advised, members of the Metropolitan Police Department are responsible for enforcing all applicable laws and ordinances. Such statutes include, but are not limited to, public decency, alcohol, controlled substances, public safety, and standard vehicle insurance requirements. Please note that the recent relaxation of the District’s marijuana laws does not extend to outdoor spaces.
©2018 SunTrust Banks, Inc. CONFIDENCE STARTS HERE, SUNTRUST and the SunTrust logo are trademarks of SunTrust Banks, Inc. All rights reserved.
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BE SAFE- ALWAYS!
Have fun and be safe. If you see something, say something! Notify event management volunteers, vendors, or law enforcement officers immediately.
BLOCK PARTY
The 2nd Annual Parade Block Party will be held at 15th and P Streets, NW, between 4:00 and 10:00 p.m. The block party will feature DJs and dancing, food trucks, beverages, and facilities including port-a-pots, cooling stations, and medical care.
KICK OFF
The parade kicks off on Saturday, June 9, at 4:30 P.M. From the corner of 21st & P NW. The last float should pass the finish line at 14th and NWby 7:30 p.M.
REVIEW STAND
Emcee Brock Thompson will be joined by fellow Emcee Rayceen Pendarvis at the review stand.
BLEACHER SEATS & ASL
Ticketed bleacher seating returns with a new, more accessible location—it will now be located at New Hampshire Avenue at Q St NW Accessible space is reserved and American Sign Language interpreters are available at all stages.
FAMILY FRIENDLY
The Family Zone, in partnershp with Rainbow Families, is located in Stead Park near the parade route on 17th and P streets. The Pride Family Zone offers families with children a break from the heat and the street between 3:00 p.M. And 7:30 p.M. Fun for kids of all ages, bring your family and make memories with lawn games, inflatables, and more! PHOTO: TMD Enterprises Page 54
ELEMENTS OF Us
PRIDE. EMPOWERED BY YOU. We are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. We are gender-creative. We are allies. At Booz Allen, we give you the resources to solve the world’s toughest business, government, and military challenges. In exchange, we expect you to bring your full self to dream big, drive hard, and do right. Join us. The world can’t wait. BoozAllen.com/Pride
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HERO: GREGORY A. CENDANA
FIERCE INTERSECTIONAL FILIPINO
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Gregory A. Cendana - Organizer, strategist, and performer, Gregory A. Cendana is the President and Co-Founder of Can’t Stop! Won’t Stop!, a consulting firm of and for people of color, and proud DC resident by way of Sacramento, CA. Gregory’s life work is dedicated to forging political, cultural, and social change through progressive campaign strategies and organizational development towards the empowerment of people of color. Previously, Gregory was the youngest and first openly gay Executive Director of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance and Institute for Asian Pacific American Leadership and Advancement. He proudly held positions as the President of the United States Student Association, Chair of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, co-founder of the diversity initiative Inclusv, and serves on the board of directors for United We Dream and 18 Million Rising. Gregory also co-authored Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) Behind Bars: Exposing the School to Prison to Deportation Pipeline, a first of its kind report on the impact mass incarceration and mass criminalization in the AAPI community. Gregory has spent years cultivating relationships, building coalitions and advocating for the representation, dignity and rights of LGBTQ+ folks and other marginalized communities across the globe. He is also a staunch advocate for immigrants and refugees, including those who are undocumented, and is proud to be a part of the movement for Black lives. Gregory has worked within civil rights, labor, youth, and other movements to push for change and always brings an intersectional lens to his work. While unapologetic about his identity and motivation to dismantle white supremacy, systematic racism, and discrimination—he approaches his work with a smile, positive attitude, and if you’re lucky, with a body roll and other Hip Hop dance moves. Gregory has been named one of Metro Weekly’s Next Generation Award recipients, one of Washington DC’s most influential 40-and-under young leaders, 30 Most Influential Asian Americans Under 30, DC’s Inaugural Power 30 Under 30™ Award Recipients and the “Future of DC Politics.” Follow him on Instagram and Twitter: @GregoryCendana
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PHOTO: Denis Largeron
HERO: JESSE GARCIA
VOLUNTEER LEADER COMMUNICATOR
Jesse Garcia grew up in rural South Texas, born and raised in the border town of Brownsville. He was the first in his family to go to college, earning a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in communications. After graduate school, Jesse was hired by the U.S. government. Throughout his 20-year career, he has worked for agencies promoting commerce, national defense, international development, and anti-poverty programs. On nights and weekends, Jesse has volunteered his time to advance LGBTQ civil rights and immigration reform. Because of his activism in Texas, the Obama Administration appointed Jesse to the Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF). Arriving in Washington, D.C., in 2011, he helped start an LGBT employee resource group at ACF and chaired the agency’s LGBT taskforce in charge of implementing the Supreme Court’s marriage equality ruling in its family and child welfare programs. In the last seven years, Jesse has volunteered with several DC organizations, including the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, Latino GLBT History Project, and Stonewall Kickball. He co-founded LULAC Lambda—an LGBT council of the League of the United Latin American Citizens, the oldest and largest Hispanic civil rights organization. This council has allowed Jesse to continue building bridges between the Latinx and LGBTQ communities. In addition, it has given him the opportunity to volunteer with the DC Center, Fisher House, Food and Friends, Potomac Conservancy, and Capital Area Food Bank. Through LULAC Lambda, Jesse has raised funds for Shrine of the Sacred Heart Food Pantry, Latin American Youth Center, and Whitman Walker Clinic. When his political appointment ended in 2016, Jesse decided to call the District his permanent home. Because of the current political climate—which has seen the Latinx and LGBTQ+ community directly criticized and targeted by the Trump Administration, Jesse launched a weekly program in 2017 that showcases LGBTQ+ and Latinx leaders, social justice warriors, and artists. Jesse wants to combat racism with positive images of our community and give our younger generation examples that they, too, can become leaders. “The Jesse Garcia Show” is a relaunch of his public radio show that ran in 2010-2011 in Dallas, Texas, before he came to Washington, D.C. The new format involves weekly 30-minute podcasts on Mondays. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Soundcloud and at jessegarciashow.com. THE 2018 OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CAPITAL PRIDE
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HERO: PATRICK GRADY
VOLUNTEER LEATHERMAN ORGANIZER GAY
Patrick moved to the DC area in 1984 and has been working in the hospitality industry for the past 34 years. While employed at the Washington Plaza Hotel in 1987, Patrick’s eyes and mind would be opened to the exciting and wonderful world of Leather. This introduction to Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend and Centaur Motorcycle Club (CMC) left Patrick aroused, fascinated, questioning, lusting at first sight and, yes, a bit confused. Patrick was welcomed by CMC as a groupie, embraced as an associate member, and ultimately given the honor of full membership. Later in 2003 Patrick entered and won the Mr. Double L Leather contest in Rehoboth Beach. What a rush. Who would have thought that – despite frequent moves around the country, an early childhood in England, and a frustrated puberty in West Germany – an Indiana boy born into an Air Force family would compete in a Leather contest in Rehoboth Beach and become as Mr. Marcus once pronounced, “a jewel in the crown of the Washington DC Leather Community”? Patrick has held various offices within the CMC and has organized and led the Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend for the past 12 years. Patrick has also led charitable efforts, such as the Scarlett’s Bake Sale, and a number of charity events produced by CMC. Patrick’s passion to give back, and his unyielding work ethic, have helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for numerous LGBTQ+ non-profits throughout the DMV. He has also helped to engage the leather community into the wider LGBTQ+ community. He is the ultimate “behind the scenes” person – the one every organization needs but who rarely receives the proper accolades.
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Sylvanna opened the doors for Jorge to embrace his talents and express his/herself freely. Sylvanna represented La Clinica Del Pueblo Youth Group, Centro Empoderate, as the first Ms. Empoderate Drag in 2011. During that year, Sylvanna volunteered as a health educator informing youth about the importance of getting tested and of taking steps to prevent HIV. Sylvanna also paved the way for other youth to represent La Clinica Del Pueblo’s Youth Center through the art of drag. Sylvanna held the Title of Miss Centro America in 2012 from The Carrillo Production LLC. Throughout her years of involvement and leadership in the Latinx community in the DMV, Sylvanna has been very active volunteering at various events, such as helping LULAC and the Latino History Project with fundraising. She has also volunteered as a performer at the Youth Pride for three consecutive years to promote self-acceptance among young people. Sylvanna Duvel is the youngest event and club promoter in the DMV, bringing to the area the first ever Latino Drag Brunch held at Haydees Restaurant beginning in 2017. She also brought the Latinx presence to Dupont Italian Kitchen Bar and the Green Lantern in order to create an environment where the Latinx culture could be embraced and celebrated. Sylvanna Duvel has been a performer at Rumba Latina at Cobalt for five consecutive years where she started to use her voice to fight the stigma against HIV u ndetectable people and to bring awareness about HIV treatment. Sylvanna now holds the Title of Miss Majestic 2018 from the Carrillo Production LLC and is a co-founder, co-promoter, and host for Sassy Drag Brunch at Bar Roubaix in Columbia Heights. Through her charisma when performing, volunteering at events, or promoting a club or event, Sylvanna constantly encourages her fans to love and express themselves freely through any form, artistic or otherwise.
HERO: JORGE HERNANDEZ
LATINIX ACTIVIST PERFORMER
Jorge Hernandez, a Guatemalan native, has been involved in the Washington, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) Latinx Community for the past six years as a performer, a leader, and an activist. He created the character of Sylvanna Duvel, a fierce and beautiful drag queen.
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HERO: SAMANTHA MASTER
VOLUNTEER LEADER COMMUNICATOR
Samantha Master is a writer, organizer, and educator from Prince George’s County, Maryland and coorganizer of the DMV Black Mamas’ Day Bail Out. She is a member of the Black Youth Project 100’s DC chapter, and a board member of Serving and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders (SMYAL)–a safe space for queer and trans youth in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. She currently serves as the director of strategic initiatives at Black Women’s Blueprint, an organization dedicated to ending sexual and interpersonal violence in Black communities through a human rights framework.
Participating in the Legacy Circle will help the LGBTQ+ community in the National Capital Region celebrate, educate, support, and inspire our multi-faceted communities to grow and preserve our history and protect our rights for current and future generations.
Legacy CAPITAL PRIDE
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Your contribution will guarantee that the Capital Pride Alliance will have the resources necessary to incorporate new and innovative ideas, suggestions, and efforts into our programming. Ryan Bos Bernie Delia Rachel Gleischman Jeffrey Horn & Cary Jasgur Vince Micone Raymond Panas & Robert Barndt
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LARRY STANSBURY AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO THE LGBTQA+ COMMUNITY
PIXIE WINDSOR
CITY/COUNTRY GIRL FUN DETERMINED
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Pixie Windsor was born and raised on the eastern shore of Maryland, studied art history in college, and moved to DC in 1985. Invigorated by DC’s diversity and creative atmosphere, Windsor explored the DC drag and burlesque scene, recovery at the Triangle Club, politics and marches around the AIDS crisis, and all the diversity and strength that the city had to offer. After a few years in the restaurant business, she decided to open a tiny 500 square foot vintage furnishing store in Adams Morgan in 1997. Her circle of friends and customers became wider and more diverse through those she met in her shop, including restaurateurs, musicians, politicos, diplomats, designers, new folks in town, college students, writers, actors; she also enjoyed strong support from women, entrepreneurs, and the LGBTQ+ community. Windsor moved to 14th street NW to a huge 4000 sq ft space in 2008, just as the neighborhood was changing. She received tremendous support from the neighborhood and especially from the LGBTQ+ community. She considers herself a southern “hostess of furnishings” and stocks the place with an ever changing selection of fun, functional, well priced, and fast moving inventory. From the fresh baked cookies at the door to the smiles and laughter of the staff (and cute delivery staff!) Miss Pixie wants everyone to feel at home. As a way to give back to the community that gives her so much, Miss Pixie supports Casa Ruby, N St Village, Story District, Food Rescue US, Martha’s Table, Whitman Walker Health, Capital Pride, HRC, Central Mission, DC Kitchen, SMYAL, We Are Family, and lots of others! Education and support about HIV, breast cancer, homelessness, transgender struggles, and other issues that affect the LGBTQ+ community are very important to Windsor. MW Magazine, the Washington Blade, and Tagg Magazine are the mainstay of her advertising efforts, because she believes that these publications bring important LGBTQ+ information to DC and must be strongly supported. Windsor was recently named one of Tagg Magazine’s entrepreneur women of 2018. She hosts fundraisers, movies, art exhibits for her staff, craft classes, plays, and pop ups for local businesses. She has even had receptions, weddings, and a memorial at Miss Pixie’s. “Do all you can, whenever you can, with whatever you have” is her motto when it comes to community.
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BILL MILES AWARD OUTSTANDNG VOLUNTERER SERVICE TO PRIDE
Bianca is also one of the Collective Hosts at Inside OUT Radio on WPFW 89.3 FM where she discusses issues surrounding the transgender community. Bianca was recognized at one of Tagg Magazine’s Enterprising Women in 2017. Bianca has also worked with Equality Virginia’s Transgender Advocacy Speaker Bureau Program as a speaker/facilitator for three years.
BIANCA HUMADY REY
Bianca’s passions include a devotion to the normalizing and visibility of the transgender community. She has volunteered with the Capital Pride Alliance as an Executive Producer for Capital Trans Pride for the past three years. In 2018, Bianca was appointed as Chair for Capital Trans Pride.
ADVOCATE TRANSGENDER VOLUNTEER
Bianca Humady Rey was born and raised in the Philippines. She moved to the United States in the fall of 1998, and began working in the healthcare field in 1999. She is currently a Facilitator/Trainer at Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic States Region. Bianca is also one of the chairs for Kaiser Permanente’s KP Pride Business Resource Group both in this region and nationally.
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ENGENDERED SPIRIT
KAREN KENDRA HOLMES
VOLUNTEER SERGEANT VETERAN
Karen works as a Safety Officer for the federal government. On May 19, 2018, Karen was a speaker on TEDx Asbury Park, NJ Live Show about her life in a speech entitled “40 Years and Wandering No More.” In April 2017 at the Black Trans Advocacy Conference she received the 2017 Monica Roberts Advocacy Award. Karen was selected in January 2017 by LGBTQ Nation as one of the “Top 50 Successful Transgender Americans You Need to Know.” She volunteers with the U. S. Veteran’s Reserve Corps as Sergeant First Class, Unit Force Protection, and the Chaplain’s Unit as a Chaplain’s Assistant. Previously, she volunteered with the DC Military Reserve as a Staff Sergeant and the Chaplain’s Unit as a Chaplain’s Assistant. Karen retired from the Maryland Defense Force under the Maryland National Guard as a Staff Sergeant with Force Protection, the Chaplain’s Unit as a Chaplain’s Assistant, the Honor Guards, and the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) unit. She has been doing volunteer work with the American Red Cross for the National Capital Region since 2009 on the Disaster Action Team (DAT). For several years, she has been volunteering with Community Emergency Response Team (CERTs) in Prince George’s County, MD, and also with the Medical Reserve Corps. She currently sits as a board member with the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Karen use to serve on the board for DC Metro PFLAG working with the Transgender Community. She currently is the chapter president of the Transgender Veterans Support Group (TVSG)—Maryland. Karen believes whole heartedly in the importance of giving back to her community.
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Linda supports through charitable giving over 30 organizations annually. Locally these include Casa Ruby, the community center and shelter for the transgender community, the National Center for Transgender Equality, the Human Rights Campaign, SMYAL, Capital Area Food Bank, Manna Food Center, House of Ruth, Bread for the City, CAMP Rehoboth, Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, Food for the Poor, and Central Union Mission. In addition to her three adult children and three grandchildren, Linda sponsors two young girls in India through Unbound. In 2013 Linda was voted Capital Queer Prom Queen.Linda had a long career in finance and accounting for DC-based companies. She holds a BS degree in Commerce from Washington & Lee University, where she was inducted into the academic honor societies of Phi Beta Kappa and Beta Gamma Sigma.
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ENGENDERED SPIRIT
LINDA ROBERTS
Linda is also an active member of Dignity/Washington, currently serving on the Committee on Church Integration, and was the recipient of a Community Service Award in 2017. Linda has participated in four volunteer trips with Global Volunteers, including delivering lectures on Transgender 101 and her personal story in Costa Rica and Appalachia in West Virginia. In the spring of 2017 her volunteer efforts were profiled in an article in SAGE magazine, an organization that provides support and advocacy for LGBTQ+ elders and partners with Global Volunteers. She also volunteers locally with the Manna Food Center, assisting with food boxing and sorting for local needy families.
CATHOLIC FAITH TRANSGENDER VOLUNTEER
Linda serves as Board Member and Treasurer of DignityUSA and Co-Leader of the Transgender Support Caucus. She has authored documents on Catholicism and Gender Identity/Theology and Recommendations for Dignity Chapters and Other Catholic Churches to Provide a Welcoming and Inclusive Environment for Transgender Persons and Their Families. Linda has provided her story to several bishops who were signatories to an open letter entitled Created Male and Female, and challenged them to understand what it means to be transgender and how one’s faith can actually be enhanced by living in the gender with which one truly identifies. Linda led a workshop at DignityUSA’s national conference in July 2017 entitled Trans Catholic Voices, where the panelists shared their stories and faith journeys, and she recounted both biblical passages and recent Catholic Church pronouncements regarding gender theory.
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EMPOWER MOC EDUCATION LGBTQIA:
I was gifted a Vanity fair Lena Waite cover edition, and seeing her big gorgeous face on that cover filled me with a lot of emotion. It was pride mostly, I kind of felt childish again, not as if I had a crush but I experienced a longing like you really want those extra Oreos, or the two-wheeler bike for Christmas, the one with the racing stripe. It was something pure.
reading meaningful life experiences of other MOC folks it was so easy to relate to them. For me the stories open up a similar longing, loneliness, and angst. And so many of the problems we talk about in chapters highlight the ways that queer identities are treated differently and the toll it took on our lives.
Along with celebrating blackness, America’s white women’s magazine featured two gay black women on the front page. The cover article was penned by Jacqueline Woodson, another black queer woman! I hope today all our folks are proud to cross that cover, but more than anything I want our youth to feel that they can one day grace any cover or create the movie or magazine or work of art that does.
It moved me to read these stories of bruises to masculinity and insecure patriarchy parts on the metro and in open spaces where patriarchy is the rule of land. I was scared to death reading in the barbershop. In my experience dudes have never been keen on being called out for anything, but they’re quick to joke on others for the easy points. But no one noticed, nor asked about the content of the manuscript in my hands. And as I waited I couldn’t help but feel that I was somehow exposing those men, with what I knew from our shared queer masculinities.
Something about a cover story feature takes up a lot of space in a magazine. There are multiple interviews, and photo shoots. There are multiple edits, and fact-checking. Front cover invites for black women come miles apart and millions in between, and, for queer folks, each time one of us dies. There are pictures of her gay married life and her slay-mazing fashion. And it makes you feel part of her world, her community. The story is in the center, like melted goodness waiting for you to turn the page. It’s a big fucking deal.
As young MOC folk we were a wreck; we were bruised and emotionally traumatized by parents, relationships, the state, and systems that had really disposed of our purpose because of our identities. We have all dealt with challenges to our identities, character, and choices. We were free to go and do, but when we ask for safety that includes mental health, emotional health issues, and acceptance, then we are faced with a backlash. That’s a big deal.
Organizing safer spaces started with civil rights in the 60s and progressed into this century with work on ability rights, access to healthcare and workers’ rights. Fighting for the right to get a milkshake at the bar, and to come through the front door like any paying patron is community liberating public space. This same battle has been extended to include things people don’t all agree on like expressions of gender and cultural norms about marriage.
Good thing our community knows much about this kind of vulnerability. I spoke with Jay Barber of JayWalking Productions, and we talked about the need for common understanding of queer students’ needs in school institutions and within our community. Jay and I were present at an April D.C. Public School resource fair for LBGTQ youth with our own student mentees.
I want to keep working to organize spaces that are free of stigma, violence, and prejudice against us, because I haven’t been innocent of violating safer spaces for my femme and gender non-binary friends. The needs of our community have changed in the short time since then. Back when the only thing I was focused on was getting away with “gay selfies” in the bathroom mirror, the issues were overcoming the epidemic of grief and rebuilding a sense of vibrancy.
There are so many spaces in the District now that empower and wrap around queer identities, for service, leisure, and wellness. Thanks to groups like Georgetown’s BRAVE, the DC Center, and the acceptance of GSAs in public schools we’ve carved enough space to be seen and heard. We’ve got a great drag brunch scene and kink shows that tantalize and teach. People of all walks join our marches, parties, and share queer spaces. The LGBTQIA identity demands respect. We must also consistently show up to create and defend those spaces.
When I got my copy of Outside the XY—an Anthology produced by a group of Masculine of Center (MOC) folks doing the work of undoing patriarchy—that thick, army green modern artifact of queer identity challenged me to make the most of what I could control in the spaces in my life. I’ve found when I was
We party together in droves, we leverage education, and are employed in queer services. The queer economy includes business owners, statesman, and hustlers. When Jay told me about speaking to venue owners it was a conversation about their establishment capacity: “can you even accommodate the amount of folks
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THE SAFE PLACE BETWEEN IDENTITIES By Eleadah Clack who are about to roll through here? It’s not the conversation every promoter is having,” he adds. It makes sense, and it adds up ya’ll—we rain dollars wherever we go. When we also make room for wellness and community on our terms we force the world to be safer. When we find ways to shine and glow in the face of brutal murders and harassment we are reinforcing our community’s resilience. We know we’re the shit. We are building a close-knit web of identities so potentially powerful that the rest of the world would be liberated on our terms. Back at the school resource fair, there was a heavy police presence. Uniformed officers stood talking in small groups blocking doorways, resource tables and generally standing awkwardly near the doors throughout the day. Just as a person with anxiety it was mentally exhausting. As a black person, it was disastrous. And like the standing room full of adults present with eager smiles and handshakes were longing to support youth in the schools, there was a feeling of exhaustion at the work that still needs to be done to fully liberate our current systems. After the event we discussed that police presence on the youth of color who filtered in and out of the event. Maybe those students were being targeted or disciplined by school officials instead of mistreated by school bullies. Maybe those officers were queer and could identify with the shared experience of being ostracized. In the same breath we know why those officers were there that day. They came to show unity, to represent the “good within the bad.” They came to be on our side but the uniforms created a barrier, almost like they are gay cops—but they are cops first. That might not be the way they operate, but in their career feelings are not the priority.
LGBTQIA
YOUTH
Any community that only builds on those negative experiences to be united is already weak. But in that space of anti-LBGTQ trauma there was some kind of barrier to building community with them beyond the handcuffs and harassment. Our first battle is to overcome our community’s self-destruction. We have gay police officers, homeless youth, dead black trans women, and lack of healthcare access, a community with serious health needs, and trauma from police and state violence. That’s our reality and it’s kind of hard to accept. We’ve got a lot of battles going at once. But we’re also in Trump’s America, and we have all accepted that. At the resource fair, the Six Color Support Circle facilitated a wellness planning workshop for youth. Young adults and a few grown folks, including Anthony Green, joined us to map and draw our own personal wellness toolboxes. “Even we as a marginalized people have a hard time relating to each other. . . there are reflections we might not like about ourselves.” Anthony imagines our liberation from these truths through storytelling and theater. He’s hooked up with the Brave Soul Collective to “imagine our vulnerability, and what it would feel like to let all that armor down.” Anthony is a recent DC transplant who advocates for our physical health needs with stakeholders outside the community. He recently began working with the PUSH initiative to help researchers find HIV treatments. “It’s easy to build an animosity toward a person rather than fighting the [negative] ideas that are being reinforced.” Anthony and I talked a great deal about our need to heal the gay community itself. With relief this wasn’t a new conversation for him, and he had “often had frank conversations about perceptions [of each other]” with gay men. “There were times we thought we’d all feel the same or will THE 2018 OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CAPITAL PRIDE
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Our internal differences put our mental and emotional selves at harm, and once the dust settles the result weakens us. Then our queer, trans, and POC youth become even more vulnerable to the physical danger from street and state violence. State violence for queer youth, looks like rising rates of homelessness and being pushed out of school for fighting-back-is-the-last-straw against the gay-bashing bully. But those threats exist everywhere. In DC we have healthy networks of CFS and private local agencies that address this issue. We have a system that uses national statistics and health standards to address the LBGTQIA community. For rural queers safe spaces are most often the one gay club in town. And when school, family, and sexuality all collide on a young queer life many end up in a city like DC, exposed to the edges of those institutions with resources that were not meant for the LBGTQIA community but not enough to take on everything that comes with it. The likes of Jaywalking Productions help to give so many more options for those spaces here in Washington, DC. But even those come into compromise at times. Violence in DC’s own gay scene has been escalating in the last few months, and calling into question the commitment of these establishments to be safe gathering spaces for all LBGTQIA intersections. Anthony recalls one past community discussion that erupted into violence and prompted trainings into problem solving, and conflict resolution amongst community in his work. I remember fights at Nellies and tending to community beef.
get along...and while we might have [had] experiences in common we’re not all the same.” We’re human and those same stigmas can get stuck in our community just like they get stuck in our representation. When state violence intersects with queer identities there is a physical element at play. This is how access to healthcare has become political. Our identities, our bodies, and everything from age to employment, determine health insurance premiums. And since healthcare is a human right we can’t be denied it. It’s easy to be strung along with the idea that we are just more susceptible and that our surgeries are just too expensive. It is harder to hold the state responsible for discrimination so as to allow its sick citizens to suffer in pain. So that’s why we need more safe spaces. Our bodies and minds are on the chopping blocks. We need room to safely deal with queer police identities, and queer education, and all the health and wellness for all the millions of LBGTQIA bodies that have dealt with trauma and discrimination since birth. We need room to unlearn harmful coping, and to make mistakes, to reclaim emotional wellness. I’ll never forget the first time I realized what a safe space for LBGTQIA folks means. Working on gentrification and police violence campaigns in Central Brooklyn our issues were clearly about space and who had a right to be there. We began almost every meeting with check-ins and community norms establishing the expectations that are open to anyone’s contribution. We’d created a ritual of experiencing ourselves in the moment, and space to figure out what our safety and liberation would look like in the real world.
Internal strife can lead to this and we end up “fighting each other in small spaces” rather than gaining safety in the world. Interpersonal and intimate partner violence rupture our sense of safety and community. Even as we’re fired on the job, harassed in bars, and isolated in our adult spaces, queer youth have it much worse. The pronouns tripped over, the uncomfortable family moments at restaurants, and the barbaric gendered restrooms. The shit adds up, eats up, and eats away. Anthony serves on the front lines in our community. And it can be hard to find success in these primarily white institutions. He struggled when his workplace needs weren’t met “they were hiring mostly straight white women, and I needed people of color to come on.” He was still on the front lines of the work, expanding access to healthcare and services for the community that would have none otherwise. This country’s institutions are violent and aggressive to everyone, but they always discriminate. The working world has gendered norm expectations that disadvantages POC. Queer students experience discrimination and are pushed out of high school or preyed upon in colleges. Our social norms in spaces like these create a special threat to us. Our community has to work and live within their rules and expectations and as long as we are distracted by internal violence, we can be easily destroyed. Safe spaces are so important because they’re intended for community to join, heal and honestly, plot our liberation. In Lena’s and my perspective that means creat-
There were house parties, and block parties, and BedStuy Pride, and workshops, trainings on safety, and a very strong sense that the hundreds of other community members who were mainly POC artists and organizers also wanted this liberation. We created safe spaces in numbers and in corners, basements, and on the street— and when we left them they were changed. We were organizing in the basement of a historic old church that had been a stop on the Underground Railroad, in the Fort Greene neighborhood where gentrified bars stayed open later than when our meetings ended. When you come up the stairs and exit the building you’re no longer in a safe space. When we’d enter the karaoke bar together after meetings, we were completely exposed, and I was often shocked at how different it felt to not be “in community.” I hate to imagine that there are queer people who have never felt what it feels to be held, seen, and have your identity validated, reflected back. And I know that there are. I’m still misgendered in straight spaces, they still pretend it’s a task to ask instead of assuming, and although I’ll correct them it might happen again and I’m really on my own for explaining why it’s so fucked up. And while that’s going on, there are real LGBTQ+ lives in those crosshairs—fired or abused, mistreated or taken advantage of in spaces that are not safe for our different identities.
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ing spaces for more folks to do great things. Her production team helps aspiring writers and she’s consistently acknowledging her queer identity for all of us to see. As a writer and actor her community includes the likes of Hollywood and within her audience she’s also helping black women, straight folks, and writers of all walks of life. Some of the folks Anthony counseled “often bragged about not having gay friends not associating with people like them.” I want to see a world where we know that our liberation is liberation for all. I want more places and shows, and businesses dedicated to my dollars and concerns. Not just for me, obviously, but because everything that I wanted when I was a queer teen exists—but as for the state of community now, queer identities are still at jeopardy. I help operate one of the only LBGTQIA safe space groups in DC east of the river. Being behind the scenes in queer life, the safety nets that we expect to be there rarely support everyone. Spaces like the Wanda Alston House, SMYAL, DC Center, The Six Color Support Circle, and the GENout Gay Youth Chorus can’t support everyone. There are needs beyond what traditional care can do for youth services and beyond what GSAs and social services can provide. I could tell just by the way I felt exposed by and at the same time severely intimate to Waithe in that magazine, that the safety gaps in our community are deeper, wider, and farther away than we’d like. She looks like me, I’ve had loc’d hair before. And, folks in my community have said we dress alike, we look alike, we remind them of. And we do, but that’s also common in the queer community. The beauty in queer identities is that we can look alike, dress alike, and still be vastly different. Even in the millions of us there is still so much individuality. We’ve all got to find ways to either give back or “lift as we climb.” The more exposure that our community gains and the more attention to our needs, then the more we’ll be challenged to really strengthen our web. As we experience environmental racism, political targeting, and global economic meltdowns I want to know that at very least I’m safer with my folks.
14th STREET CORRIDOR: 1318 14th St. NW • 202-299-9148 BUFFALOEXCHANGE.COM •
As a community we embrace the material world abreast of the possibilities left by great queer, trans, and gay leaders, designers, activists, writers; beings so extraordinary they left a legacy in us. Our status as trend-setters, and a willingness to break barriers, and to live outside of boxes is why we get targeted. Without the LBGTQ+ community, who else is creating safe and intentional spaces? Safe spaces can be anywhere and be made anywhere. Two people create safer spaces between them with a shared understanding. Jay is originally from Detroit but now has years of experience making space for the DC gay scene. He and others have talked to bar owners, and venue spaces about the needs we experience as queer, trans, femme, and in-between LBGTQI. “We make sure the staff are accepting and ask straight up if they’re going to have problems with the people who are coming.” For Jay it’s all worth it for the people who come to enjoy themselves, all for the “love of creating community.” “I love for the community to come around and meet more folks.” And sitting at a small round table in his kitchen I nod and agree. We have every right to enjoy this world and take joy and pride in our Identities. Our work is to take back our agency one day at a time by enforcing our need for safety in community spaces, in work, outdoors, leisure, in our homes and in the street.
Eleadah Clack is the author of The World Without Racism; A How-to Guide for White Culture. Eleadah is a queer and black organizer, writer and researcher who is passionate about creating effective change and becoming a leader in her community. She organizes with queer youth at The Future Foundation, the Six Color Support Circle, and the DC Center’s Youth Working Group. Eleadah writes The Fashion Agenda monthly at Argotmagazine. com. You can find more of her writing at WriteTheWorldFree. com or in the BK Boihood anthology of queer masculinity OUTside the XY.
THE 2018 OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CAPITAL PRIDE
Page 75
TICKETED
INVOKE YOUR PRIDE: A NIGHT AT THE AFRICAN ART MUSEUM
FREE EVENT
SATURDAY, JUNE 2
TICKETED
8:00pm – 11:00pm Kick-off the annual Capital Pride Celebration at this exclusive after-hours event at the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution. Get special access to spectacular exhibitions, including Jim Chuchu’s stunning “Invocations,” and enjoy curators’ talks, music, dancing, cocktails, and more. National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution 950 Independence Avenue SE Metro: Orange/Silver/Blue – Smithsonian
DONATION APPRECIATED
FRIDAY, JUNE 1
35TH ANNIVERSARY PRIDE INTERFAITH CELEBRATION
COORDINATED BY CENTER FAITH CENTER FAITH INTERFAITH INTERSECTIONAL FORUM 1:00pm The Legacy and Future of LGBTQ/SGL & Allies Interfaith Work 2:30pm Finding our Collective Voice via Interfaith Action LGBTQ/SGL & Allies
FREE EVENT
RAINBOW HISTORY EXHIBIT: LGBT WELCOMING CHURCHES HISTORY
FREE EVENT
DC LATINX PRIDE - LA FE 2018
TICKETED
TRANSAMERICA
TICKETED
10:00pm – 3:00am Take advantage of one of few remaining Saturday night’s to dance at Town Danceboutique. Capital Pride Volunteers who attend volunteer orientation will enjoy this night with free entry courtesy of Town. Town Danceboutique 2009 8th St., NW Metro: Green/Yellow—U Street/African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo
DC LATINX & CAPITAL PRIDE: LGBTQ+ HISTORICAL WALKING TOUR
3:00pm – 5:00pm Capital Pride Alliance and the Latino GLBT History Project invite you to join historian and board member Jose Gutierrez in this educational, bilingual, and FREE walking tour. Walking tour highlights: Salud Inc. one of the first DC Latino HIV/AIDS organizations, El Faro the first DC Latinx bar, Bar Noa Noa, Restaurant Perry’s, Restaurant El Migueleno, Centro Empoderate LCDP, Restaurant Haydees, the 1991 DC Latino Riots, La Clinica del Pueblo, Casa de la Cultura, and the Latin American Youth Center. The tour will finish at the Columbia Heights Metro. Adams Morgan, corner of Columbia Rd. and 18th St. NW Metro: Red – Dupont Circle Page 76
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BUSBOYS AND POETS 8:00pm – 10:00pm Join Busboys and Poets and Capital Pride Alliance for the annual Women’s Spoken Word FULL-STORE pride event. Enjoy the live DJ music of DJ Diyanna Monet, special performances by DC’s very own CheerDC Squad and Pretty Boi Drag performer Majik Dyke, plus 2 hours of mic open to women-identified folks of all backgrounds to share their story through words or music. The Spoken Word Host/Emcee is Charity Joyce Blackwell. Busboys and Poets 1025 5th St., NW Metro: Green/Yellow—Mt. Vernon Square/7th Street/Convention Center
TEAM DC: NIGHT OUT AT THE NATIONALS
7:10pm – 11:00pm Come celebrate the largest LGBTQ+ Community Night in professional sports with more than 3,500 Pride goers. Get there early!!! Gates will open at 4 PM with Happy Hour fun until game time. Pre-game ceremonies start at 6:30 PM with game start at 7:10PM. Proceeds from ticket sales contribute to Team DC’s Student-Athlete Scholarships. Nationals Park 1500 S Capitol St SE Metro: Green – Navy Yard/Ballpark
CELEBRATE PRIDE WEEK GAY MEN AND BISEXUAL SEATED SPEED DATING
7:00pm – 9:00pm Professionals in the City is partnering with Capital Pride Alliance for Pride Week! All gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer men are invited, for a night of speed dating. Guests will participate in a classic seated dating event, with the opportunity to meet several new people in an intimate and romantic setting! Use promo code “PRIDE” for $5.00 off. Finn and Porter 900 10th St., NW Metro: Red/Blue/Orange—Metro Center
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6 FREE EVENT
FREE EVENT
SUNDAY, JUNE 3
REGISTRATION REQJUIRED
VOLUNTEER KICK-OFF
WOMEN’S SPOKEN WORD: A NIGHT OF EXPRESSION
TUESDAY, JUNE 5
CAPITAL PRIDE WOMXN’S KICK-OFF CELEBRATION
PRESENTED BY WHITMAN-WALKER CO-HOSTED BY TAGG MAGAZINE AND LURE 7:00pm – 11:00pm Paint the Rainbow at the annual Pride Womxn’s Kickoff Celebration! Help honor the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer womxn of greater Washington with night of fun, friendship, and dancing! Big Chief 2002 Fenwick St. NE
3:00pm Join The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington for a gorgeous, powerful, and uplifting celebration of the transgender, non-binary, and genderqueer communities. With dancers, costumes, vocal ensembles, the GenOUT Chorus, videos, and music from Broadway and pop music, we will be joined by several special guests, including transgender soprano Breanna Sinclairé. Prior to the Saturday 8pm performance, there will be a panel discussion with guest speakers led by Bishop Gene Robinson. Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U Street NW Metro: Green Yellow— U Street - African American Civil War Memorial
*ASL interpreter present
TICKETED
*ASL interpreter present
TRANSAMERICA
MONDAY, JUNE 4
5:00pm – 7:00pm Celebrate La Fe 2018 with a dynamic program lineup of community leaders emceed by Ana Gomez and Jose Gutierrez. Refreshments will be provided Metropolitan Community Church of Washington D.C. 474 Ridge St. NW Metro: Red – Dupont Circle 8:00pm Join The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington for a gorgeous, powerful, and uplifting celebration of the transgender, non-binary, and genderqueer communities. With dancers, costumes, vocal ensembles, the GenOUT Chorus, videos, and music from Broadway and pop music, we will be joined by several special guests, including transgender soprano Breanna Sinclairé. Prior to the Saturday 8pm performance, there will be a panel discussion with guest speakers led by Bishop Gene Robinson. Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U Street NW Metro: Green Yellow— U Street - African American Civil War Memorial
3:00pm This annual tradition may be the ultimate Sunday Funday post-brunch event you’ll ever attend! The gurls of Stonewall Kickball don drag and have an all-out kickball battle. Grab your best heels, perhaps a new wig, and meet at Stead Park for an afternoon you won’t soon forget. Stead Field 1625 P St., NW Metro: Red—Dupont Circle
*ASL interpreter present
TICKETED
1:00pm – 4:00pm Metropolitan Community Church 474 Ridge Street, Northwest, Washington, D0001
DRAG BALL KICKBALL
12th DC LATINX PRIDE: LA PLATICA
6:00pm – 9:00pm La Platica will focus on resources available to the elder LGBTQ community and access to financial security, health, and housing. There will be a panel of experts, food & beverages, and a timely conversation. HRC 1640 Rhode Island Ave. NW Metro: Red – Farragut North
ELEMENTS OF Us
CAPITAL PRIDE CELEBRATION MARQUEE
OFFICIAL
7:00pm – 8:00pm In partnership with the Library of Congress, join best-selling author André Aciman as he discusses his critically acclaimed novel, Call Me By Your Name. Aciman reflects on the success of the book and the movie, the possibility of a sequel and reaction from readers. A book signing will follow discussion. Library of Congress 10 First St. SE, Thomas Jefferson Building, Coolidge Auditorium, Ground Floor Metro: Blue/Orange – Capital South
FLASHY PRESENTS THURSDAY PRIDE CELEBRATION KICKOFF PARTY
9:00pm – 4:00am Flashy Sundays presents a special THURSDAY night kickoff party with DJ TWiN and DJ Sean Morris spinning on the main floor until 4am, and WESSTHEDJ on the Rooftop until 2am. 645 Florida Ave. NW Metro: Green/Yellow – U St./African American Civil War Memorial
FRIDAY, JUNE 8 FREE EVENT
REGISTRATION REQJUIRED
CELEBRATE PRIDE WEEK: LESBIAN AND BISEXUAL SEATED SPEED DATING
TICKETED
FREE EVENT
A CONVERSATION WITH Call Me By Your Name AUTHOR ANDRE ACIMEN
R E L AT E D E V E N T S C A L E N D A R
6TH IN THE CITY SHABBAT: NATIONAL PRIDE EDITION 6:15 Happy Hour, 7:15pm Service, 8:30pm Dinner One weekend a year, Pride takes over DC, and it takes over Shabbat at Sixth & I, too. On the night before the Capital Pride Parade, Rabbi Shira, Aaron Shneyer, Rabbi Laurie Green of Bet Mishpachah, and members of GLOE lead an inclusive service celebrating the diversity of DC Jewish life as we stand together, unapologetically proud. Enjoy drinks and light refreshments prior to services, followed by a home-cooked meal. Sixth & I 600 I St. NW Metro: Red/Green/Yellow – Gallery Place/China Town
THE ASK RAYCEEN SHOW
DC FRONT RUNNERS PRIDE RUN 5K
7:00PM Rayceen Pendarvis hosts. Comedy Showcase with standup comedy, improv, and more featuring The Improv Imps, Anthony Oakes, Curt Mariah, and other special guests. There will also be live music by singer Cecily, burlesque by GiGi Holliday, interviews, vendors, exhibitors, a cash bar, and more. (Monthly event, first Wednesdays, March
SOLD OUT
FREE EVENT
7pm - 9pm Professionals in the City is partnering with Capital Pride Alliance for Pride Week! All lesbians, bisexual, transgender, and queer women are invited, for a night of speed dating. Guests will participate in a classic seated dating event, with the opportunity to meet several new people in an intimate and romantic setting! Use promo code “PRIDE” for $5.00 off. Finn and Porter 900 10th St., NW Metro: Red/Blue/Orange—Metro Center
through November.)
HRC Equality Center 1640 Rhode Island Ave NW Metro: Red – Farragut North 8:15pm – 10:15pm Please join Capital Pride and actor/filmmaker Brock Yurich for a reception and fundraiser to support production of Brock’s upcoming film, TEST. His film proposal placed among the top three entrants in last fall’s “Hometown Heroes Rally” held by SeedandSpark. com. The screenplay for this full-length feature LGBTQ+ film is done and now Brock is in the process of securing the funds necessary to turn his words into a reality. Brock wrote an article for the 2018 Capital Pride Guide detailing what went into the development of this work. We will screen a short promo and a brief documentary, and Brock will talk about his hopes and expectations for the film and take questions from the attendees. 8:15pm – 10:15pm Address: TBA
HEROES GALA
7:00pm – 10:00pm Capital Pride’s Heroes Gala honors outstanding individuals, leaders, and activists who have furthered the causes important to the LGBTQ+ community in the national capital region and beyond. The Heroes Gala will offer an elegant evening, with amazing views, where you’ll enjoy great entertainment, an open bar, and the best food-tasting stations in DC 880 P Street NW Metro: Green/Yellow - Mt. Vernon Square/Convention Center *ASL interpreter present
9:00pm – 2:00am La Fiesta is the DMV’s largest Latinx LGBTQ party! Dance the night away with D.J. Joe El Especialista from El Zol, and exciting community performances! 18+ event! Town Danceboutique 2009 8th St. NW Metro: Green/Yellow – U St./African American Civil War Memorial THE 2018 OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CAPITAL PRIDE
Salvation CHA CHA PRIDE with DJ ABEL
10:00pm – 5:00am La Fantasy Productions and Hilton Wolman Events have teamed up, in partnership and supporting Capital Pride, to bring DJ Abel Aguilera to DC for one night only. Miami’s notorious SALVATION party comes to D.C. for Gay Pride, the annual celebration of our diverse community. The Living Room 1008 Vermont Ave NW Metro: Orange/Silver/Blue – McPherson Square
SATURDAY, JUNE 9 TICKETED
TICKETED
12th DC LATINX PRIDE OFFICIAL DANCE PARTY: BELLEZA LATINX
CAPITAL PRIDE & BYT PRESENT: EARTH, WIND, GLITTER, & FIRE – Official Capital Pride Opening Party. 9:00pm – 3:30am One of the most amazing music and dance parties of the year. Kick off Pride weekend with some Earth, Wind, GLITTER, and Fire – the Elements of US at the Official Pride 2018 Celebration Opening Party. Featuring out of this world DJs and performers: DJ Alex Lo (Mexico City / Presented by WERQ / PAPA Party), Naomi Smalls (Rupaul), DJ Kitty Glitter (Sydney), Marquis Clanton, Live visuals by Robin Bell, and much more! As always there is no dress code, but we recommend staying on theme: THE ELEMENTS / CAPTAIN PLANET / PERIODIC TABLE Echostage 2135 Queesns Chapel Rd NE
TICKETED
TICKETED
THURSDAY, JUNE 7
TICKETED
TICKETED
MEET THE FILMMAKER
PRESENTED BY CHOICE HOTELS & LYFT 7:00pm Run for a cause and show your pride. This chip-timed 5K race will be followed by a Finish Line Party, DJ, entertainment, and more. The year’s race benefits Team DC Student-Athlete Scholarship, The Wanda Alston Foundation, Casa Ruby LGBT Community Center, and SMYAL. Congressional Cemetery 1801 E St., SE Metro: Blue/Orange/Silver—Potomac Ave
WERQ PRESENTS IGNITE
3:30am – 9:00am The official Pride After Hours party following Friday night’s Capital Pride & BYT Opening Party. Your Pride journey continues at Tropicalia for WERQ’s After Hours. Your night will IGNITE with DJ Kenneth Rivera and DJ Serving Ovahness. Tropicalia 2001 14 St. NW Metro: Green/Yellow - U St./African-American Civil War Memorial Page 77
PRIDE YOUTH DANCE WITH SMYAL
FREE BUT TICKET REQUIRED
11:30am – 2:30pm Enjoy a delicious gourmet brunch tasting stations and complimentary mimosas and bellinis. Attendees will dine and hobnob with our parade marshals, pride honorees, and other special guests, including you. Human Rights Campaign 1640 Rhode Island Ave. NW Metro: Red – Farragut North
FREE EVENT
TICKETED
“CRACK OF NOON” PRIDE BRUNCH
TRANS PRIDE POOL PARTY
*ASL interpreter present
FREE EVENT
PRIDE ON THE PIER AT THE WHARF
12:00pm – 3:00pm The Washington Blade in partnership with LURe DCEvents and Wharf DC are excited to announce the inaugural Pride on the Pier celebration during DC Pride. Pride on the Pier extends the city’s annual celebration of LGBTQ visibility to the bustling Southwest waterfront with an exciting array of activities and entertainment Wharf DC 1100 Maine Ave. SW Metro: Green - Waterfront
1:00pm – 5:00pm Enjoy Capital Pride’s new partnership with Daryl Wilson Promotions at Pride - The Day Party, an afternoon celebration event that includes an Absolute & Martell cocktail Open Bar from 1pm-2pm. The Park 920 14th St. NW Metro: Blue/Orange - McPherson Square
4:00 pm – 10:00 pm The 2nd Annual Capital Pride Block Party will be adjacent to the Pride Parade presented by Marriott International, and include entertainment, food, and a beer garden. Entry is FREE! Spinning the beats will be Vodkatrina, DJ Honey, and more! 15th St. NW between P St. and Church St. Metro: Red—Dupont Circle
TICKETED
FREE EVENT
BLOCK PARTY
TICKETED
TICKETED
PRIDE DAY AT THE PARK
The annual Pride Parade steps off at 22nd & P Streets, NW, and travels 1.5 miles through Dupont Circle and 17th Street, passes by the Logan Circle neighborhood and ends along the 14th Street corridor at R Street. For a Parade map, see Page 50. A sign language interpreter will be available at both announcement stands. Dupont & Logan Circle Neighborhoods Metro: Red—Dupont Circle
TICKETED
PRESENTED BY MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL 4:30 PM Join more than 150,000 people and watch the Capital Pride Parade This landmark event is one of Washington, DC’s, favorite parades with nearly 200 contingents—floats, vehicles, walkers, entertainment— consisting of local businesses, Capital Pride Heroes and Engendered Spirit awardees, politicians, community groups, dancers, bands, and much more. This year’s Capital Pride theme is “Elements of US,” so dress accordingly! Floats will be decorated theme-appropriately and judged by local celebrities and leaders. The community is always extremely creative when it comes to the Pride theme, so come out to see how they show the “Elements of US.”
TICKETED
FREE EVENT
CAPITAL PRIDE PARADE
6:00pm – 9:00pm Come out and bust a move at Capital Pride’s Youth Dance with SMYAL! Food and drinks will be provided to rejuvenate you from a day of parading in the sun, and you’ll be good to go with some fancy footwork! Open to all folks ages 24 and under who are proud to be LGBTQ+ National City Christian Church 5 Thomas Circle NW Metro: Blue/Orange - McPherson Square PRESENTED BY VIDA FITNESS AND PENTHOUSE POOL CLUB 7:00pm – 10:00pm Join Capital TRANS PRIDE for the 2nd Annual Trans Pride Pool Party hosted by VIDA Fitness and Penthouse Pool Club. Come out for an evening of sipping, splashing, sunsets, and more! Light food will be provided, and the First 100 entrants get a free drink ticket. Full PENTHOUSE POOL menu and bar will be available (guests need to pay) VIDA/Penthouse Pool U ST. 1612 U St., NW Metro: Red—Dupont Circle
DC BLACK PRIDE POOL PARTY PRESENTED BY VIDA FITNESS AND PENTHOUSE POOL CLUB 7:00pm – 10:00pm Join DC Black Pride and Capital Pride for an evening sunset party. Take a dip in the pool under the stars on the roof deck of The Yards VIDA Fitness. DJs will be spinning while you enjoy some cocktails, amazing views, old friends, and perhaps make some new ones. VIDA/Penthouse Pool at The Yards 1212 4th St., SE Metro: Green—Navy Yard/Ballpark
FUSE CAPITAL PRIDE WOMEN’S MAIN EVENT
9:00pm – 3:00am Tagg Magazine, LURe DC, and Capital Pride team up once again for the inimitable dance party. This year you get to party both inside and outside as we take over the entire venue of Biergarten Haus. Groove to DJ Jai Syncere and DJ Honey while enjoying drink specials all night long. Biergarten Haus 1355 H St. NE
DISTRKT C | SIN CAPITAL PRIDE’S OFFICIAL MEN’S PARTY
10:00pm – 6am The official Saturday Night Men’s Party, with the sinfully DJs The Perry Twins and Deane will have you dancing ‘til dawn. Special performance by Suzanne Palmer. The DC Eagle 3701 Benning Rd. NE
CHERRY PRESENTS PAGANO AT DC PRIDE!
9:00pm – 3:00am CHERRY brings you DJ Pagano (UK) & DJ Paulo Fragoso (Miami) who will proudly heat up the dance floor. Both DJs bring their extensive global experience to Washington DC for a sense of Pride like no other. UMAYA DC 733 10th Street NW -Metro: Red/Orange/Silver/Blue – Metro Center
*ASL interpreter present (Announcement stands)
Page 78
ELEMENTS OF Us
CAPITAL PRIDE CELEBRATION MARQUEE
OFFICIAL
CHERRY PRESENTS THE OFFICIAL CAPITAL PRIDE AFTER HOURS
FREE EVENT
PRIDE FESTIVAL
FREE EVENT
CAPITAL PRIDE CONCERT
SPECIAL ACCESS PASSS AVAILABLE
PRESENTED BY HOT 99.5 | PRIDE RADIO BROUGHT TO YOU BY AMERICAN AIRLINES & BILLBOARD 1:00pm – 8:00pm What better way to top off your Pride Celebration weekend than on America’s Main Street, Pennsylvania Ave., in front of the U.S. Capitol, experiencing entertainment from international headliners, and our best local and regional LGBTQ+ talent.
Metro: Red Line—Dupont Circle
DISTRKT C: REPENT
Oscar Valezquez, Matt Bailer, Christopher Lenel, Strike Stone, Devon Trotter, Omar Martinez, Wade Hammes & Friends. 9:00pm – 2:00am Ultrabar 911 F St NW Metro: Red/Blue/Orange—Metro Center
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13
35TH ANNIVERSARY PRIDE INTERFAITH CELEBRATION COORDINATED BY CENTER FAITH 7:30 - 9:00pm Theme: “Looking Back Looking Forward” Featured Founders: Joe Pomper; Allan Armus, Charles Keener Featured Choirs: LOVE Gospel Choir and Interfaith Community Choir Metropolitan Community Church, DC 474 Ridge Street, Northwest, Washington, DC 20001
FREE PLEASE RSVP
PRESENTED BY LIVE! CASINO Join us on America’s Main Street, historic Pennsylvania Avenue, at the 2018 Pride Festival presented by Live! Casino. There’s a day full of entertainment, music, food, drink, education, inspiration, and celebration. The Festival is open to everyone, and there is no fee for entry, however, donations are very much encouraged and appreciated! The Pride Festival includes three stages of national and local talent, more than 300 exhibitors, a waterslide for kids, plus acrobatic entertainment, live art exhibits, and many surprises. The Festival is family-friendly. Due to large crowds and very hot asphalt, we recommend that pets stay at home. Pennsylvania Ave., NW Between 3rd St. and 7th St., NW Metro: Green Line—Archives/Navy Memorial/Penn Quarter
FREE EVENT
3:30am – 9:30am Revelry continues at this after-hours event with DJ Cindel (Chicago) starting the late train and then it’s ALL-ABOARD for DJ Nina Flowers (Denver). Dance until dawn with love and pride in our hearts. Club Flash 645 Florida Ave., NW Metro: Green—Shaw/Howard
TICKETED
FREE EVENT
SUNDAY, JUNE 10
R E L AT E D E V E N T S C A L E N D A R
FRIDAY, JUNE 15 DISTRICT OF PRIDE
8:00pm The Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs in conjunction with Sleepy Lee Productions and Pretty Boi Drag will be featuring Washington DC’s premier LGBTQ performance artists at this inaugural event. Seating is on a first come, first served basis. Lincoln Theatre 1215 U ST Metro: Green/Yellow – U ST
Join us for the Capital Pride Concert presented by HOT 99.5 | Pride Radio and brought to you by American Airlines & Billboard on the Capitol Concert Stage, plus two additional stages – the Monument Festival Stage and the Dupont Dance Stage. Enjoy the concert headliners –Alessia Cara, Troye Sivan, MAX, and Keri Hilson, with Rupauls Drag Race contestant Asia O’Hara and more. The Pride Concert is free, but special access passes can be purchased. Capitol Stage, in Front of U.S. Capitol Pennsylvania Avenue & 3rd St., NW Metro: Green Line—Archives/Navy Memorial/Penn Quarter *ASL interpreter present (Capitol & Monument Stages)
FREE EVENT
CAPITOL SUNSET DANCE PARTY
COVER CHARGE
COBALT PRESENTS THE CAPITAL PRIDE OFFICIAL CLOSING PARTY
8:00pm – 10:00pm The celebration continues with music and dancing in the street to the unapologetically fantastic sounds of music dynamo DJ Tracy Young, as the sun sets in front of one of the most iconic American buildings, the U.S. Capitol.\ Capitol Stage, in Front of U.S. Capitol Pennsylvania Avenue & 3rd St., NW Metro: Green Line—Archives/Navy Memorial/Penn Quarter
10:00pm – 2:00am Keep the celebration going and your dancing shoes on for DJ POWER INFINITY. Cobalt 1639 R St., NW THE 2018 OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CAPITAL PRIDE
Page 79
Photo by Kevin Berne
June 19–July 22 Eisenhower Theater
July 31–August 26 Eisenhower Theater Adrianna Hicks (Celie) and the North American tour cast of THE COLOR PURPLE. Photo by Matthew Murphy, 2017.
TICKETS ON SALE NOW! KENNEDY-CENTER.ORG (202) 467-4600 Tickets also available at the Box Office. Groups call (202) 416-8400. For all other ticket-related customer service inquiries, call the Advance Sales Box Office at (202) 416-8540.
THE 2018 OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CAPITAL PRIDE
Theater at the Kennedy Center is made possible by
Major support for Musical Theater at the Kennedy Center is provided by
Kennedy Center Theater Season Sponsor
Additional support is provided by Ambassador Elizabeth Frawley Bagley.
Page 80
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TODAY TO MAKE YOU FEEL PROUD? AT TO R N E YS
2101 L Street NW, Suite 440 Washington, DC 20037 202 393 5428
ackermanbrown.com
OUTthinking | OUTspoken | OUTdoing THE 2018 OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CAPITAL PRIDE
Page 81
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INTERSECTIONAL.
OUR FUTURE IS
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THE 2018 OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CAPITAL PRIDE
Page 87
CAPITAL PRIDE FESTIVAL S U N D A Y ,
J U N E
1 0 T H
Pennsylvania Ave, NW between 3rd and 7th Streets, NW
Every year the United States Capitol serves as the iconic backdrop for the last day of the Pride Celebration Weekend in Nation’s Capital. Enjoy the Festival with the DC metropolitan community and visitors from around the country and the world on June 10th from 12:00 noon to 7:00PM, and then dance the evening away at the SUNSET DANCE PARTY on the Capitol Stage until 10:00PM. For more than four decades, we’ve had the honor of working with hundreds of performers, including local and national entertainers, politicians, and activists. We’ve been extremely lucky to have the steadfast support of our dedicated volunteers, benefactors, and community leaders through the years. Although the FESTIVAL IS FREE, please consider supporting the Capital Pride Alliance with either a $10 or $20 DONATION as you enter the Festival. HELP US KEEP CAPITAL PRIDE FREE FOR ALL!
NEW THIS YEAR: THE SPORTS + CULTURE VILLAGE,
presented in partnership with Team DC. The newly reimagined experience in John Marshall Park includes performances and activities with some of DC’s most beloved athletes, entertainers, and community members. We are also excited that the Family Area and Kids Fun Zone—brought to us in partnership with Rainbow Families—are returning again this year!
TRAVEL:
We recommend using METRO The shortest walking distance: Archives/Navy Memorial (Yellow/Green), Gallery Place (Red/Yellow/Green), Federal Triangle (Orange/Blue/Silver).
FOOD:
We have a record number and variety of food partners (below) in the Food Courts this year! Both the Capitol North Food Court and Monument Food Court include Beverage Gardens that are open to people of all ages.
BEVERAGES, ALCOHOL & THE LAW
Be aware that alcohol is being served, and therefore ALL beverages must stay within the fenced area. Persons under 21 years of age who illegally consume alcohol are subject to ticketing, prosecution, and removal from the Festival. Please drink responsibly! Beverages are sold only at the Beverage Gardens within the Festival grounds. Beverages purchased inside the Gardens must be consumed inside the fenced area; absolutely no beverages (including water) may be taken into or outside the fenced area.
RESTROOMS:
Located inside each Food Court, north of Pennsylvania Avenue on 6th Street, NW, and north of Pennsylvania Avenue near 4th Street, NW.
WATER:
We’re committed to keeping everyone cool and hydrated! We have free water stations, in addition to multiple cooling tents around the Festival grounds. Who knows, maybe you’ll even see a firetruck showering Festival-goers with a rainbowproducing mist! Visit the FESTIVAL INFORMATION BOOTHS on Pennsylvania Avenue at three locations: at the 7th St Entrance, and at 6th and 4th Streets. VOLUNTEERS will do their best to answer your questions and get you headed in the right direction.
MONUMENT FOOD COURT
CAPITOL FOOD COURT
12pm - 7pm
12pm - 10pm
YUMMY FOOD CORNER & GRILL
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sexual services for money or goods between consenting adults – is probably as old as human history. The United States has some of the harshest and most far-reaching criminal laws against sex work in the world, resulting in nearly 50,000 arrests each year, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Like the rest of the country except for Nevada, the District of Columbia criminalizes sex work. The LGBTQ+ rights movement should take a strong stand in favor of abolishing or substantially reforming laws that criminalize behavior by consenting adults. Similar to “sodomy” laws that criminalize oral and anal sex and target gay men, sex work criminalization laws are incompatible with our movement’s advocacy of sexual autonomy. They cause real harm, particularly for the most marginalized members of our community: lowincome transgender people and LGBTQ+ homeless youth, and especially those who are black and brown.
Sex Worker Rights
Sex Work – the exchange of
Why The LGBTQ+ Movement Should Be In The Fight!
The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the Capital Pride Alliance, Inc., its Board, staff members, or volunteers.
By Guillaume Bagal and Daniel Bruner
GUEST EDITORIAL:
Sex work often is a means of survival for people living in poverty. Due to systemic discrimination and stigma, LGBTQ+ people, especially those who are black and brown and/or transgender, disproportionately experience joblessness, unstable housing or homelessness, lack of education and other opportunities, making them more likely to engage in sex work and other underground economies. The National Center for Transgender Equality report, Meaningful Work: Transgender Experiences in the Sex Trade, based on a 2015 survey of more than 27,000 transgender adults across the U.S., confirmed that transgender individuals are more vulnerable to discrimination, impoverishment, unemployment, and housing instability, and more likely to trade sex for survival than cisgender people. Another important recent study, Access Denied: Washington, DC Trans Needs Assessment, based on a survey of more than 500 transgender individuals in DC, reported that nearly half of all transgender persons in D.C. earned below $10,000 a year, compared to approximately 11 percent of the District’s general population, and that 20 percent of respondents were experiencing homelessness at the time of the survey. Roughly half of respondents who were unemployed reported engaging in underground or “grey economy” work to earn income, and over a third of all respondents were currently trading sex for money, housing and/or drugs, or had done so in the past. Laws criminalizing sex work have a disproportionately negative impact on groups already facing discrimination. The enforcement of these laws occurs within a larger context of racial profiling and over-policing of low-income communities THE 2018 OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CAPITAL PRIDE
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S e x Wo r k e r R i g h t s and communities of color, most severely impacting Black and Brown transgender women and LGBTQ+ youth. Sexual and gender minorities have a history of being targeted by law enforcement with sex-related charges. Law enforcement regularly profiles transgender women as suspects for solicitation and prostitution, and disproportionately charges them with offenses like loitering and disorderly conduct – particularly those who are black and brown – and over-polices areas where men seek other men for sex. Research shows that the criminalization of sex work causes sex workers to experience high levels of stigma and violence. This reinforces their sense of exclusion, perpetuates their distrust of the police, and discourages them from accessing necessary health services. The enforcement of these laws also makes it harder to find other employment due to their criminal records, and the accompanying stigma and discrimination can lead to loss of occupation and housing. Moreover, criminalization of sex work undercuts the ongoing fight against HIV. Two 2015 studies published in The Lancet found sex work criminalization to be harmful to public health: laws criminalizing sex work make HIV prevention and treatment more difficult, and decriminalizing sex work would likely result in significant reductions in new HIV infections. Many in the LGBTQ+ community often forego needed health, legal, and social services due to stigma and discrimination, and LGBTQ+ people engaging in sex work are further marginalized. They are at higher risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, and are understandably more reluctant to engage with the health care system and/or to be entirely honest with health care providers. An Urban Justice Center report found that in places that criminalize sex work, people trading sex have greater difficulty negotiating safer sex practices with clients, which is further complicated by documented practices like police confiscating condoms and using them as evidence of engaging in prostitution. Furthermore, laws criminalizing HIV create additional barriers and stigma for sex workers and people living with HIV. Criminalization of sex work has a particularly harsh impact on many LGBTQ+ youth. Queer and gender-nonconforming youth are often rejected by their family and peers, and are forced to become independent at a very young age. Columbia Law School’s Center for Gender and Sexuality Law reports that these traumatic experiences can trigger a lifetime of social isolation, housing instability, behavioral health issues, violence, and encounters with the criminal justice system. While LGBTQ+ youth are only about seven percent of the
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total youth population in the United States, they account for approximately 40 percent of all young people experiencing homelessness in the country. In DC, LGBTQ+ youth comprise 43 percent of all homeless young people. Family rejection and homelessness are predictors that a young person will engage in survival economies such as drug sales, sex work, and other illegal activities that enable disenfranchised individuals to survive. Moreover, as documented by a 2014 study in Psychology, Public Policy, and Law by Jessica Salerno, Mary Murphy, and Bette Bottoms, LGBTQ+ youth who are swept into the criminal justice system are more likely to be placed on sex offender registries in many jurisdictions than their non-LGBTQ+ peers. Hidden Injustice: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth in Juvenile Courts, a report issued in 2009 by Legal Services for Children, the National Juvenile Defender Center and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, documented that LGBTQ+ youth are frequently charged and adjudicated for sex offenses, required to undergo sex offender treatment, and asked to submit to sex offender risk assessments even in situations unrelated to sex offenses. Harms to sex workers are exacerbated by recent increased efforts of federal and state authorities to shut down online platforms that sex workers use to protect themselves from many dangers that are inherent in street work. These platforms enable sex workers to negotiate rates and other terms with clients prior to meeting in person, they help sex workers screen for dangerous clients, and decrease the likelihood of being assaulted by predators. A 2017 study from West Virginia University and Baylor University found the use of Craigslist’s erotic services correlated with a 17.4 percent reduction in the female homicide rate. The 2015 raid of Rentboy.com, a gay male escorting website, and the criminal charges brought against its CEO and employees, involving the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York, and the New York City Police Department, seemed like a gross overreaction to many. Organizations that publicly criticized the Rentboy raid included Human Rights Watch, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the National LGBTQ Task Force, and the Global Forum on MSM & HIV. Some LGBTQ+ activists found this case to be reminiscent of bathhouse raids and gay bar roundups from decades ago, while others focused on the negative impact this would have on sex workers. Unfortunately, attacks on online platforms have continued. In April of this year, the Justice Department, working with law enforcement in California,
ELEMENTS OF Us
GUEST EDITORIAL
Texas, and Arizona, shut down Backpage. Also in April, President Trump signed a bill targeting online sex work-related platforms, based on bills that had been passed by the Senate (the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act or SESTA) and by the House (the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act or FOSTA). Although these actions are allegedly efforts to address sex trafficking, they also strike at consensual arrangements between adults. Research has shown that criminalizing consensual sex work actually makes the fight against non-consensual sex trafficking more difficult. Fortunately, there is a growing movement for reform. Public health experts, Amnesty International, and other international and national authorities have spoken out on the need to decriminalize consensual sex work or at least to move from a punitive approach to providing much-needed services for marginalized persons who turn to sex work for survival. HIPS, a DC-based organization that has provided essential services to sex workers for more than 20 years, launched a Sex Worker Advocates Coalition (SWAC) in 2016 to advocate for the rights of sex workers through legal and policy changes. Members of this coalition include Whitman-Walker Health, Amara Legal, the ACLU of the District of Columbia, and Casa Ruby. Last year, District of Columbia Councilmember David Grosso introduced the groundbreaking “Reducing Criminalization to Promote Public Safety and Health Amendment Act of 2017,” Bill No. 22-516, which would repeal existing laws that criminalize consenting behavior between adults and would establish a task force to make recommendations for needed supports for persons engaged in commercial sex work. The LGBTQ+ rights movement must take a stronger stance on sex worker rights. We must prioritize issues that our communities face through an intersectional lens and ensure that laws and policies take into account people living with multiple minority identities. There is no room in our movement for respectability politics when so many in our LGBTQ+ family remain oppressed. As we contemplate the disproportionate representation of LGBTQ+ and HIV+ people in the criminal justice system or living in poverty, we must understand the discriminatory mechanisms in our society that create access barriers to employment, education, social and legal services, and basic healthcare, and force many into sex work or other underground economies. We should reject moralistic approaches that exacerbate stigma and marginalization, and remain true to our roots as advocates for sexual and gender autonomy. We also should support Councilmember Grosso’s Bill 22-516 and reform DC laws that are antiquated and harmful.
Guillaume Bagal is Lead Diversity and Inclusion Consultant at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island; formerly he was Assistant Director of Policy at Whitman-Walker Health and President of GLAA. Daniel Bruner is Senior Director of Policy at Whitman-Walker Health.
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2018 Pride Guide Media Kit After the largest issue in 15 years, NYC Pride is proud to offer two editions of the NYC Pride Guide for 2018. NYC Pride will be offering a June (Pride) and December (Holiday) issue of the Guide in 2018 that will speak to NYC Pride 2018 and our plans for WorldPride 2019.
B R OA D WAY AT T H E N AT I O N A L
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MAR. 26 - 31, 2019
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ACTOR
FI BODYBUILDE
My name is Brock Yurich and I’m the writer and creator of TEST, a feature film screenplay based on my time as a young, gay competitive bodybuilder.
As a child, I was exposed to the world of bodybuilding through my father. I would do my homework in the lobby of the Firehouse Gym in Dover, Ohio, while my father would train with the other “meatheads” in town. He would take our family to his competitions where we cheered him on, while he more often than not won first or second place. I was 14 years old when my father had a heart aneurism. He thankfully made it through, but it was a huge wake up call for him. A year later, he moved our family to Florida in an attempt to help ease his stress and avoid another attack. As a typical, selfish 15 year old, I wasn’t happy about the move, but I found my place in Gold’s Gym, where my dad and I would train together before he dropped me off at school. Eventually, needing to pay for car insurance and gas, I took a job at the front desk. I became obsessed with the gym. I read every magazine, talked to every bodybuilder, and between making protein shakes and stocking the fridge, I was doing pull ups and bench presses when the gym was slow. My high school career was split between my involvement in the school drama club and weight training at the gym. The older I became, the more I realized that I was looking at the bodybuilders around me differently. I developed crushes, and knew in the back of my mind that I was gay, but like so many of us, I was too terrified to ever admit it to myself. In 2007 I went to Orlando to study musical theater at the University of Central Florida. The theater program was fantastic, and I was excited to continue acting as I had done in middle school and high school. However, it was the UCF gym that sold me on the school. I had never seen a gym so big and new. And, it was there, in college, that I was finally able to open up and be honest about my identity as a gay man. I was starting to own my sexuality and no longer felt the weight of my secret anymore. Telling my family was terrifying. I knew how they felt about homosexuality from years of church and social standards. My parents had a hard time coping with it, especially my father. Today, it is not an issue, and I am very fortunate to have loving parents who accept me for who I am. But it was a long road, and took a lot of time, love, and patience. I entered my first bodybuilding competition in Cape Coral, Florida in 2009. I trained hard, dropped body fat, and practiced my routine. At that time, my father and I were still at serious odds about my sexuality, but regardless of what he felt, he was still there to support me in my first competition. The preparation was grueling: long hours in the gym, a strict diet of tasteless food, and many hours practicing for the stage. But the physical anguish is only a part of it. Competing in bodybuilding Page 106
is mentally draining. Thoughts of inadequacy and the desire to give up were constantly creeping in. After an exhausting yet exhilarating day of competition, my name was called as the first-place winner in my division, and the first voice I heard in the audience was my father’s, cheering louder than anyone else.
But, as accepting as I had been of myself, a few years down the road my coming out was still proving to be difficult. Like so many others, my own homophobia was deeply ingrained in me, from years of conditioning in small-town Ohio. I felt that if I was going to be gay, I was going to be the biggest, toughest gay man I could be. So steroids became a part of my life. I was injecting without caution, and I wasn’t monitoring myself. Some people become addicted to alcohol and some cocaine. I was addicted to Deca and Test. And it didn’t help that I was in Florida, in my early twenties, and surrounded by a lot of muscular gay men with ideal bodies. When everyone you see has a six-pack and biceps like grapefruits, you look at yourself in the mirror and begin to feel inadequate, as if you will never measure up to the perceived perfection surrounding you. That engendered in me a great deal of pressure to have the best body in the room. And that is what fueled the steroid abuse. Knowing that I had to make a change if I wanted to get serious about my acting career, I moved to New York City and worked every day towards finding my tribe. With time, I became less concerned with a superficial lifestyle and more concerned with perfecting my craft. I received a scholarship to the Stella Adler Studio of Acting where I became good friends with my professor. He introduced me to a woman who would later become my manager. She saw in me what I couldn’t see in myself and helped set me on the right path. I took every class I could and read every play I could get my hands on. I began going to more auditions. Slowly, my career was blossoming. And over the years my resume began to grow. I’ve since had the privilege of working with Tyler Perry, Adam Sandler, James Franco, and Titus Burgess, among other incredibly talented and successful actors and directors. I was inspired when I was on set, but I felt as if I needed to do more. I wanted to be proactive, to make my own opportunities, but I didn’t know how. One day at lunch, a close friend told me “Brock, you need to write your own material. Stop waiting for the perfect role and write it.” That friend would later play a large part in my first short film, “T-County.” I wrote, directed, and starred in the short, which I filmed in Ohio. I spent months working on the script, gathered some friends to travel with me to my hometown, and filmed for five days at locations around the beautiful countryside of Ohio. Those five days became an incredibly important part of my life because I knew then that filmmaking was what I was meant to do. After watching T-County, a friend told me I should write a bodybuilding feature film. I had wanted to do something like that, but didn’t know how. I then realized that I could turn T-County into a full-length movie. So I studied every screenplaywriting book I could find. I learned about the structure of movies and how to ELEMENTS OF Us
by BROCK YURICH
A close friend invited me to a seminar for SeedandSpark.com, a crowd-funding website for independent filmmakers. It was here that I learned out about a competition the website was holding called the “Hometown Heroes Rally.” They had teamed up with independent filmmakers Mark and Jay Duplass to find screenplays that were set in the creator’s hometown and needed producers. It was as if this competition had been designed for me! I, and the team I had assembled, decided to enter the contest, and after a month of constant campaigning and fundraising, we became finalists, taking third place out of 73 campaigns, and we raised a total of $37,000. Mark and Jay Duplass ultimately chose two other films to produce, but we weren’t about to let that stop us. We realized that we could now make our film on our own terms. The Hometown Heroes Rally took our project from black-and-white to Technicolor. We had a large start-up fund, and gained a lot of exposure. I feel passionate about making this film because it represents several important aspects of my life. I am a gay man, an actor, a filmmaker, and a bodybuilder who was born and raised in Ohio. At its core, this is a coming out story because that fact informs every other aspect that follows throughout the narrative. I grew up in the 1990s and 2000s long after Stonewall. I had the benefit of seeing positive gay role models on the news, in film, and on TV. But, those influences aside, I was still hesitant to accept myself for who I am. And my experience is shared by many others no matter where they grew up or when. Since launching my campaign, I’ve received countless messages from people with whom my story resonates. With every message of encouragement and love, my passion to make this film only grows stronger. I’m determined to tell our story in a raw, powerful, and yet beautiful way with TEST. This film belongs in Ohio because the characters I’ve written about represent the gritty, resilient, passionate people I know and love from my home state. They helped form the basis for who I am. I want to film in Ohio not only to honestly portray the area, or because of the advantages that filming in my hometown will afford us, but also to give back to the community I grew up in. I will be able to use local talent and give real-life experience to young artists who might not otherwise have that chance.
a feature film screenplay
successfully tell a story in 110 pages. I watched and re-watched my two favorite films, Black Swan and The Wrestler (both directed by the brilliant Darren Aronofsky); I carefully deconstructed and studied those movies. If a mechanic wants to learn how a car runs, he takes it apart. It’s the same with a script. I broke down each film, moment by moment, scene by scene. I found other great scripts of movies I enjoyed, and read and re-read those scripts. Finally, after three years and countless re-writes, the screenplay for my feature was finished. But now what? How would I take the words on those pages in front of me and make them into a reality?
TEST
WRITER ILMAKER LGBT ER
We are working very hard to put together a strong team of filmmakers and producers. Reaching our fundraising goal is currently my major focus. Filming a movie can be costly. We will be paying the cast and crew for a 25-day shoot, which includes housing, food, travel, equipment, props, hair, makeup, costumes, location fees, and permits. Filming a feature has a lot of expenses, and it all adds up very quickly. I know the only way this film will be successful is if I am completely truthful and honest with my story, and that can be intimidating for investors and producers. As with any project of this type, there will be some who will try to push back against a film that touches on such raw subjects. I’m absolutely certain, however, that this film will be able to reach past a niche audience and touch the lives of many people. The visual arts have the ability to transform not only those involved in the creative process but also to make viewers see the world differently and with a broader perspective. I hope that in my own small way, I will have the opportunity to make that happen.
Meet Brock Yurich on Wednesday, June 6, 2018, at 8:15 p.m. on Capitol Hill, location to be annonced, when Capital Pride hosts a “Meet the Filmmaker” event. There will be a screening of the TEST promo and a short documentary about the film, as well as a brief talk about the project by Brock followed by Q&A. Tickets are $25 and are available at the capitalpride.org website. Proceeds from all ticket sales go to a non-profit fund for production of the movie. For more information about the film and to donate to the fund, visit www.testthemovie.com. THE 2018 OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CAPITAL PRIDE
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For once, Alessia Cara’s voice betrays her; it breaks in the anecdote’s retelling. And why not? The unassuming 20-yearold from Brampton, Ontario has captured the hearts and minds of listeners worldwide: four JUNO [Canadian Music Award] nominations in 2016, including a win for Breakthrough Artist of the Year; a tour with Coldplay; a performance with Taylor Swift after which Taylor proclaimed herself an Alessia fan; the cover of Billboard Magazine’s Grammy issue; a 2016 AMA nomination for New Artist of the Year. “It’s kind of ironic,” Alessia waxes, hours before she takes the stage at New York’s iconic Radio City Music Hall -- a stop on her Know-It-All: Part 2 tour. “My pride in not having a brand has become my brand.” Indeed, Alessia has found the most precious of spaces, the thing many artists agitate for their entire careers: a niche. She is, by her own admission, “a regular person who makes songs. There’s nothing glamorous about me.” Relatability has become her calling card, first imprinted by the improbable smash single, “Here.” Alessia recounts that a listener approached her at a radio station meet-and-greet and confided in her that she, the listener, would be coming out of the closet. Further, it was Alessia’s music that had given her the courage to embrace her true self. This girl had yet to share the news even with her family; Alessia was the first to know. The fan had been moved by “Scars to Your Beautiful,” Alessia’s gut-wrenching take on female identity, on body image, on deleterious behaviors in the name of beauty. Alessia walks listeners through heartache but concludes with strains of promise: “So to all the girls that’s hurting / Let me be your mirror, help you see a little bit clearer” and the touching refrain: “There’s a hope that’s waiting for you in the dark / You should know you’re beautiful just the way you are.” The words arrive with a poise and poignancy that belie her years. And they soar over a rousing drum track, one which Alessia thumps out during her live show. In fact, the lyrics have transcended the liner notes to become manifesto. Alessia has partnered with I AM THAT GIRL, a national initiative to empower young women. “Scars to Your Beautiful” serves as IATG’s anthem and also underpins the organization’s curriculum: five talking points, each culled from a song lyric, aim to bring women together in a community of self-love. Alessia Cara manages to own the dichotomy of understated pop star. The big voice in the small frame. The small town charm gracing big city stages. Perfection in imperfection. The irrepressible smile and the timeless message that we all have something to offer. Alessia Cara has invited us all in. “I’ll be over here,” she reminds us. And we’re all rushing to meet her. THE 2018 OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CAPITAL PRIDE
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ALESSIA CARA “Three years before I performed on ‘The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,’ I visited NBC Studios with my high school drama club. We toured the ‘Tonight Show’ set. I remember the guide not letting me touch Jimmy’s desk. So I ran to his monologue mark—the little X he stands on when he delivers the monologue—and told myself ‘I’m going to be here one day.’ I shared this story with Jimmy when I first performed on his show. He walked me to the monologue mark and said, ‘Alessia, you’ve made it.’ It proved to me that all of my dreams are valid.”
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2015 was a banner year for MAX – in February 2015, he signed with Pete Wentz’s DCD2 Records, and in March he released the single Gibberish featuring Hoodie Allen. The song was one of the selected tracks featured by YouTube for the 2015 YouTube Music Awards alongside songs by Ed Sheeran and Charli XCX. The groundbreaking music video accumulated over 4.5 million views in just one week and has racked up more than 12 million views to date. Additionally, MAX was one of MTV’s 2015 Artists to Watch Summer Class list, named Elvis Duran’s Artist of the Month (June), KISS-FM’s Artist of the Week, performed on NBC’s TODAY show, and was nominated for Best Breakthrough Artist and Original Song for the 2015 Streamy Awards. MAX spent the summer on the road as a featured performer on the Boys of Zummer tour with Fall Out Boy & Wiz Khalifa before releasing his DCD2 Records-debut EP Ms. Anonymous in September. In October, MAX embarked on his first headline tour across the U.S., which included multiple sold out dates. A lifelong entertainer, music is not his only talent – MAX starred in the Beach Boys biopic, “Love & Mercy,” as Van Dyke Parks. Currently, MAX is celebrating the release of his newest album, Hell’s Kitchen Angel.
CAPITOL CONCERT STAGE HEADLINER
MAX MAX is a New York City born pop-soul singer, actor and dancer, known for his powerful acrobatic tenor, which commands attention. His devoted fan-base and original voice have given him an incredibly strong social media presence with over 1.2 million followers on YouTube, 400,000 followers on Twitter, and over 940,000 likes on Facebook.
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Sivan was recently selected by designer Pierpaolo Piccioli to be the face of the Valentino Spring 2018 menswear advertising campaign
THE 2018 OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CAPITAL PRIDE
CAPITOL CONCERT STAGE HEADLINER
TROYE SIVAN Australia-based singer and actor Troye Sivan was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1995; Sivan moved to Perth, Australia with his family when he was two years old. His big break came when he appeared as a young Wolverine in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine. A year later, he appeared in the South African film Spud. Starting in 2007, Sivan began making videos of himself singing, and uploaded them to various social media sites, eventually garnering over two million subscribers. Sivan also released two independently produced EPs: 2007’s Dare to Dream and 2012’s June Haverly. In 2013, he signed a recording contract with EMI Australia, and one year later released his third EP, TRXYE. In 2015, Sivan returned with his fourth EP, WILD, which he described as an “opening installment” of the music he planned to release in the subsequent months. His 2015 debut album, Blue Neighbourhood (Capitol Records), topped the iTunes charts in 66 countries. It has sold more than two million adjusted albums worldwide and is certified Gold in the U.S. Streams across all platforms exceed 1.5 billion, while video views have surpassed 500 million. In 2016, Blue Neighbourhood (The Remixes) was issued. After touring behind his debut, he returned to the studio and earlier this year issued the singles “My My My!” and “The Good Side.” Both songs are from his forthcoming album, which will be out on Capitol Records.
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CAPITOL CONCERT STAGE HEADLINER
CAPITOL CONCERT STAGE HEADLINER
ASIA O’HARA
KIM PETRAS
Asia O’Hara exudes a sense of power and legacy, drawing inspiration from the glamorous goddesses of ancient Egypt and Aztec cultures.
Somewhere between 90s American pop and 80s European disco rises the undeniable voice of Kim Petras. Nodding to influences as diverse as Britney Spears, Baltimore, and the “Brat Pack,” the side-bun sporting German-born, Los Angeles-based songstress powers up a new pop paradigm, sharing intimate lovelorn storylines over explosive production.
She commands the attention of any environment with her deliverance of bold and powerful performances that transcend the most glamorous periods of human history.
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THE 2018 OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CAPITAL PRIDE
Kim is known for breaking boundaries in the LGBTQ community; making headlines in 2009 for being the youngest person to undergo gender reassignment surgery at age 16. Her bravery quietly and subconsciously punctuates her music.
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The album spawned the platinum single Pretty Girl Rock, which enjoyed 14 weeks at number one following its release. Gracing the stage for top shows such as VH1 Divas, Dancing With The Stars, The Ellen Degeneres Show and Late Night With David Letterman among others, she has earned awards and nominations across The Grammys, American Music Awards, Teen Choice Awards, BET Awards, and NAACP Image Awards to name a few. Delving into acting, Hilson has also appeared in films such as “Riddick” staring Vin Diesel, a cameo appearance in Steve Harvey’s box office hit “Think like a Man.” And now in the Will Packer produced, David Talbert directed “ Almost Christmas”. She has partnered in the past with MTV Staying Alive, Fashion Against AIDS, the “Do Something Organization” as well as Ludacares. Keri is fervently working to promote community involvement and help those less fortunate and is starting her own non-profit, “The Keri Hilson foundation,” with an emphasis on female empowerment and higher education. Having graced the pages of major publications such as Instyle, Elle, Glamour, Allure, People, and US Weekly, her career started as an acclaimed songwriter penning hits for such notable singers as Britney Spears, Usher, and Mary J. Blige. Hilson is currently working on her much anticipated third studio recording album.
THE 2018 OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CAPITAL PRIDE
CAPITOL CONCERT STAGE HEADLINER
KERI HILSON Award winning singer, songwriter, and actress Keri Hilson is known for chart topping #1 hits such as “Knock You Down” ft. Kanye West and Ne-Yo. Keri’s studio projects include her debut album “In A Perfect World...” and the critically acclaimed “No Boys Allowed,” which was a deeply personal album designed to empower women.
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THE 2018 OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CAPITAL PRIDE
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BILLY WINN
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BRODY RAY
(TN) Band/Pop, Rock, Country.
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CHRIS URQUIAGA
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COBALT PRIDE IDOL WINNER (DC) Solo Singer.
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KRISTEN FORD
(TN) Solo Singer/Rock.
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CAPITAL PRIDE 2018 WA S H I N G T O N D C
THE 2018 OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CAPITAL PRIDE
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TICKETED
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ELEMENTS OF Us
AARP.ORG/DC
@AARPDC
AARPDC
AARP www.aarp.org Festival
ARGOT PUBLICATIONS INC www.argotmagazine.com Festival
BLOOMBERG BNA www.bna.com/ Festival
ABC 7 www.wjla.com Parade; Festival; Advocate
ARLINGTON-ALEXANDRIA GAY & LESBIAN ALLIANCE (AGLA) www.agla.org Festival; Parade
BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON www.boozallen.com Parade; Festival; Advocate
ACCENTURE www.accenture.com Parade; Advocate ACLU-DC www.acludc.org Festival; Parade ADAS ISRAEL CONGREGATION www.adasisrael.org Festival AES ESSENTIALS, LLC Festival AFGE www.afge.org Parade; Festival; Advocate AIDS HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION www.aidshealth.org Parade; Festival; Advocate
ASSOCIATION OF WELCOMING & AFFIRMING BAPTISTS: A WAB-DC METRO www.awab.org Parade AT-LARGE COUNCILMEMBER ANITA BONDS www.anitabonds.com Parade AT-LARGE DC COUNCILMEMBER ELISSA SILVERMAN www.elissa2018.com Parade ATLASVET www.atlasvetdc.com Parade
AIRBUS www.airbus.com Festival; Advocate
AUGUSTANA LUTHERAN CHURCH, V & NEW HAMPSHIRE, NW www.augustanadc.org Festival; Parade
AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD LLP www.akingump.com Parade; Advocate
AVALANCHE SHAVED ICE & SNOBALLS www.capitalpride.org Festival Food Vendor
ALL AMERICAN FOOD Festival Food Vendor
AXIOS/DC www.axiosdc.org Festival
AMAZON www.amazon.com Festival; Advocate AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION - NATIONAL CAPITAL AREA CHAPTER www.afsp.org/ncac Festival; Parade AMERICANS UNITED FOR SEPARATION OF CHURCH & STATE www.au.org Festival; Parade ANCHOR STUDY www.anchorstudy.org Festival ANGELS IN AMERICA www.roundhousetheatre.org Festival ARC www.arccorp.com Parade ARENA STAGE www.arenastage.org Festival Page 122
BAE www.baesystems.com/us Parade; Advocate BALANCE GYM www.balancegym.com Parade BANK OF AMERICA www.bankofamerica.com Parade; Advocate BAREFOOT WINE & BUBBLY www.barefootwine.com Festival; Advocate BEATNIK RC Parade BELLA BRIDESMAIDS www.bellabridesmaids.com Parade BET MISHPACHAH www.betmish.org Festival BILLBOARD www.billboard.com Festival; Advocate
BREAST CERVICAL COLON HEALTH PROGRAM PHSW www.peacehealth.org/freecancerscreenings Festival BROOKINGS www.brookings.edu Parade CAPITAL AREA GAY AND LESBIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (CAGLCC) www.caglcc.org Festival; Partner CAPITAL CITY CARE www.capitalcitycare.com Festival CAPITAL CLIMBERS www.capitalclimbers.com Festival CAPITAL ONE www.capitalone.com/inclusion Parade; Festival; Advocate CAREFIRST www.carefirst.com Parade; Advocate CARLOS ROSARIO INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL www.carlosrosario.org Parade CASA RUBY www.casaruby.org Festival; Parade; Partner CENTAUR MC www.centaurmc.org Parade CENTER CITY PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS www.centercitypcs.org Parade CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY www.cia.gov Festival; Partner CHARLES JOSEF SWIMWEAR / THE CHARLES JOSEF COMPANY www.charlesjosef.com Festival CHARLES SCHWAB & CO., INC. www.schwab.com Festival; Advocate CHECK IT www.checkitenterprises.com Festival; Parade ELEMENTS OF Us
DARCARS www.darcars.com Parade; Festival; Advocate
CHESAPEAKE AND POTOMAC SOFTBALL (CAPS) www.capssoftball.org Festival; Parade
DC BEN & JERRYS www.Dcbenjerry.com Festival Food Vendor
CHIPOTLE www.chipotle.com Parade; Advocate
DC BLACK PRIDE / CENTER FOR BLACK EQUITY www.dcblackpride.org Parade; Partner
CHOICE HOTELS www.choicehotels.com Parade; Festival; Advocate
DC BRAU BREWING www.dcbrau.com Parade
CHURCH OF THE PILGRIMS www.churchofthepilgrims.org Festival
DC CHAPTER OF THE SIERRA CLUB Sierraclub.org/dc Festival
CHURCHESUNITEDINPRIDE www.mccdc.com Festival; Parade
DC COUNCILMEMBER CHARLES ALLEN, WARD 6 www.charlesallenward6.com Parade
CITI online.citi.com/US Parade; Festival; Advocate CLACK THAT FAN www.clackthatfan.com Festival CLOSET AMERICA www.closetamerica.com Festival COBALT www.cobaltdc.com Parade; Partner COLDWELL BANKER www.coldwellbanker.com Festival; Advocate COMPASSION OVER KILLING www.cok.net Festival
DC FRONT RUNNERS www.dcfrontrunners.org Festival; Parade DC GAY FLAG FOOTBALL LEAGUE www.dcgffl.org Festival; Parade DC LATINX PRIDE / THE LATINO GLBT HISTORY PROJECT www.LatinoGLBTHistory.org Festival; Parade; Partner DC LEATHER PRIDE www.dcleatherpride.org Festival; Parade; Partner DC LOTTERY www.dclottery.com Festival; Advocate
CONCESSIONS WORLD Festival Food Vendor
DC PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION www.dcpsychology.org Parade
CONGREGATION ETZ HAYIM www.etzhayim.net Festival
DC PUBLIC LIBRARY www.dclibrary.org Festival
COUNCILMEMBER BRIANNE K. NADEAU www.briannefordc.com Parade
DC QUEER ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS UNITED (QAPU) Parade
COVENANT BAPTIST UCC www.covenantdc.org Festival; Parade CUTCO CUTLERY www.cutco.com Festival THE 2018 OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CAPITAL PRIDE
PRIDE PARTICIPANTS:
CHEH 2018 www.cheh2018.com Parade
PARADE FESTIVAL ADVOCATES PARTNERS
DAFTBOY www.daftboy.com Festival
Includes registrations received by April 30th
CHEER DC www.cheerdc.org Festival; Parade
DC STROKES ROWING CLUB www.dcstrokes.org Festival; Parade DC VAMC Festival; Parade DC’S DIFFERENT DRUMMERS www.dcdd.org Festival; Parade; Partner
US ELEMENTS OF
CAPITAL PRIDE 2018 WA S H I N G T O N D C
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DEAR LEZZIE www.dearlezzie.com Festival DELOITTE www.deloitte.com Parade; Advocate DENIZENS BREWING COMPANY www.denizensbrewingco.com Parade DIGNITY/WASHINGTON www.dignitywashington.org Festival; Parade; Partner
Diversity and inclusion is a vital part of what we do at Fannie Mae. We’re proud to help open doors for millions of people and better serve the needs of an increasingly diverse housing market. Want to join a company that values diverse backgrounds and perspectives? Visit fanniemae.com/careers to explore our jobs. Follow us on: Instagram @OfficialFannieMae Twitter @FannieMaeJobs to find out what it’s like to work at the #HeartOfHousing! © 2018, Fannie Mae. All rights reserved. Fannie Mae and the Fannie Mae logo are registered marks of Fannie Mae. Fannie Mae is an equal opportunity employer.
DISTRICT KARAOKE www.districtkaraoke.com Parade DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AQUATICS CLUB www.swimdcac.org/ Parade DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE, SECURITIES AND BANKING www.disb.dc.gov Festival DOJ PRIDE / FBI PRIDE www.dojpride.org Parade DSW INC. http://dsw.com Parade; Festival; Advocate DULLES TRIANGLES www.dullestriangles.com Festival DUMP TRUMP DEMS 4 ACTION www.demsforaction.nationbuilder.com Parade DUPONT CIRCLE CITIZENS ASSOCIATION-DCCA www.dupont-circle.org Parade EASTERN STAR CATERIN Festival Food Vendor EATON AEROSPACE GROUP www.eaton.com Parade; Advocate EDMUND BURKE SCHOOL www.burkeschool.org Parade EDWARD JONES FINANCIAL ADVISOR: PAUL SEXTON www.edwardjones.com Festival EEOC- EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION www.eeoc.gov Festival EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA www.usa.embassy.gov.au Parade
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ELEMENTS OF Us
EMBASSY OF CANADA www.international.gc.ca Parade EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION www.eeoc.gov Festival
FREEMASONS, SHRINERS & FRIENDS OF WASHINGTON DC www.almasshriners.org Parade FRIENDSHIP PLACE www.friendshipplace.org Festival
HUMANE RESCUE ALLIANCE www.humanerescuealliance.org Festival IBM www.ibm.com Parade; Festival; Advocate IKEA www.ikea.com Parade; Festival; Advocate
EQUITY RESIDENTIAL www.equityapartments.com Parade; Advocate
GAMMA www.GAMMAinDC.org Festival; Parade
ERIE INSURANCE www.erieinsurance.com Parade; Festival; Advocate
GAP INC www.gapinc.com Parade; Advocate
IMPERIAL COURT OF WASHINGTON DC www.imperialcourtdc.org Festival; Parade
ERNST & YOUNG LLP www.ey.com Parade; Advocate
GAYS AGAINST GUNS - DC www.gaysagainstguns.net Parade
INOVA JUNIPER/GMHC/MAAETC www.inova.org/juniper Festival
FACEBOOK www.facebook.com Parade; Advocate
GC2B www.gc2b.co Festival; Advocate
INSIDE OUT LGBT RADIO www.facebook.com/InsideOutLGBTradio Festival
FAIRFAX COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police Parade
GEORGE MASON HIGH SCHOOL -GSA CLUB Parade
IONA SENIOR SERVICES www.iona.org Festival
GIANT FOOD www.giantfood.com Parade; Festival; Advocate
KAISER PERMANENTE www.kp.org Parade; Festival; Advocate
GLIFAA LGBT+ PRIDE IN FOREIGN AFFAIRS AGENCIES www.glifaa.org Festival; Parade
KENT BOESE FOR WARD 1 DC COUNCIL www.boese2018.com Parade
FAIRFAX CRYOBANK AND FAIRFAX EGGBANK www.fairfaxcryobank.com Festival FAIRNESSWV www.Fairnesswv.org Festival; Parade FANNIE MAE www.fanniemae.com Festival; Advocate FCKH8 www.fckh8.com Festival FCPS PRIDE www.fcpspride.org Festival FEDERAL TRIANGLES SOCCER CLUB www.federaltriangles.com Festival FIRE GRILL www.shishkabobnc.com Festival Food Vendor FOUNDATION ANGIE LGBTQ www.foundationangie.org Parade FREDDIE MAC www.freddiemac.com Festival; Advocate FREDDIE’S BEACH BAR www.freddiesbeachbar.com Parade FREE STATE ROLLER DERBY www.freestaterollerderby.com Festival
THE 2018 OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CAPITAL PRIDE
GLOE - THE KURLANDER PROGRAM FOR GLBTQ OUTREACH & ENGAGEMENT AT THE EDLAVITCH DCJCC www.edcjcc.org/gloe Festival; Parade GW HEALTH AND HUMAN SEXUALITY LAB Festival
KENYAN MCDUFFIE 2018 www.kenyanmcduffie2018.com Parade KIPP DC PUBLIC SCHOOLS www.kippdc.org Parade KITCHEN SAVER www.kitchensaver.com Festival
HEINEKEN www.heineken.com Parade; Festival; Advocate
KOREAN AMERICAN QUEER AND TRANSGENDER ORGANIZATION OF DC Festival; Parade
HILTON www.goout.hilton.com Parade; Festival; Advocate
LA AUTENTICA INC Festival Food Vendor
HONEYMOON ISRAEL DC www.honeymoonisrael.org Festival
LA CLINICA DEL PUEBLO, INC./ EMPODERATE CENTER www.lcdp.org Parade
HOP DIGGITY DOG Festival Food Vendor HOT 99.5/PRIDE RADIO www.hot995.iheart.com Parade; Advocate HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN www.hrc.org Parade; Festival; Advocate
LAMBDA SCI-FI www.lambdascifi.org Festival LASIKPLUS www.lasikplus.com Festival; Advocate LEE MONTESSORI PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL www.leemontessori.org Parade
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LEIDOS www.leidos.com Parade; Festival; Advocate LESBIAN & GAY BIG APPLE CORPS MARCHING BAND www.lgbac.org Parade
MARRIOTT www.lovetravelswithme.com Parade; Festival; Advocate
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE www.nps.gov Festival
MARY’S CENTER www.maryscenter.org Festival; Parade
NBC 4 www.nbcwashington.com Parade; Festival; Advocate
LGBT CONGRESSIONAL STAFF ASSOCIATION INCLUDING LCGLOBE AND SENATE GLASS Parade
MATH4CURE www.math4cure.com Festival
NELLIE’S SPORTS BAR www.nelliessportsbar.com Parade; Partner
LGBT DEMOCRATS OF VIRGINIA www.lgbtvadem.org Festival
MAUI WOWI HAWAIIAN SMOOTHIES AND COFFEE www.mauiwowimaryland.com Festival Food Vendor
NICK BENTON’S GAY SCIENCE PROJECT www.nfbenton.com Parade
LGBTQ COUNSELING www.lgbtc.com Festival
MCDONALD’S www.mcdonalds.com Parade; Advocate
NISSAN www.choosenissan.com Festival; Advocate
LGBTQ RESOURCES AND WOMEN & GENDER STUDIES AT GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY www.lgbtq.gmu.edu Festival
MEDSTAR WASHINGTON HOSPITAL CENTER www.medstarwashington.org Parade
NORDIC EMBASSIES www.usa.um.dk Parade NORDSTROM wwww.nordstrom.com Parade; Advocate
LIBERATION DC Parade
MESSYUNICORN www.Messyunicorn.com Festival
LIBERTARIANS OF THE WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA Festival
METRO www.wmata.com Festival
LIVE! CASINO & HOTEL www.livecasinohotel.com Festival; Advocate
METRO WEEKLY www.metroweekly.com Parade; Festival; Advocate
NORTHROP REALTY, A LONG & FOSTER COMPANY www.NorthropRealty.com Festival; Parade
LMI www.lmi.org Parade
MICROSOFT www.microsoft.com/diversity Parade; Advocate
NOVA PRIDE www.novapride.org Festival; Parade; Partner
LOG CABIN REPUBLICANS OF DC www.lcrdistrictofcolumbia.nationbuilder.com Festival
MID ATLANTIC BATH SOLUTIONS LLC DBA BATH FITTER www.Bathfitter.com Festival; Advocate
NYC PRIDE | STONEWALL 50 | WORLD PRIDE 2019 nycpride.org/2019 Parade; Festival; Partner
MITRE CORPORATION www.mitre.org Festival
OASIS ICE & EAST COAST MELTS www.oasisentertainmentdc.com Festival Food Vendor
MLK HOLIDAY DC COMMITTEE www.MLKholidaydc.org Parade NADER’S EVENTS Festival Food Vendor
OFFICE OF WARD 7 COUNCILMEMBER VINCENT C. GRAY www.dccouncil.us/council/vincent-gray Parade
LOVE LEGISLATION ACTIVEWEAR www.lovelegislation.com Parade; Advocate LOWELL SCHOOL www.lowellschool.org Parade LULAC LAMBDA www.lulaclambda.org Festival; Parade LYFT www.Lyft.com Parade; Festival; Advocate M&T BANK www.mtb.com Parade; Advocate MAC AIDS FUND www.macaidsfund.org Parade MARET SCHOOL QUEER/STRAIGHT ALLIANCE www.maret.org Parade Page 126
NARAL PRO-CHOICE AMERICA www.prochoiceamerica.org Festival NATIONAL CENTER FOR TRANSGENDER EQUALITY www.transequality.org Festival NATIONAL CITY CHRISTIAN CHURCH (DISCIPLES OF CHRIST) www.nationalcitycc.org Festival NATIONAL GAY PILOTS ASSOCIATION www.ngpa.org Festival; Parade
NORTHROP GRUMMAN www.northropgrumman.com Parade; Advocate
OLDE TOWNE PET RESORT www.oldetownepetresort.com Festival ONE MEDICAL GROUP www.onemedical.com Parade; Advocate ONEVIRGINIA2021: VIRGINIANS FOR FAIR REDISTRICTING www.onevirginia2021.org Festival OUT & EQUAL WORKPLACE ADVOCATES www.outandequal.org Festival ELEMENTS OF Us
OUTER PEACE Festival OUTRIDERS WOMENS MOTORCYCLE CLUB www.outriderswmc.com Parade OUTSPORTS www.outsports.com Parade PAIGES PROMOTIONS (WYNDHAM) Festival PEACE CORPS www.peacecorps.gov Parade PEPCO www.pepcoholdings.com Parade; Festival; Advocate PETAR DIMTCHEV FOR WARD 3 www.petarforward3.com Parade PNC BANK www.pnc.com Parade; Festival; Advocate POLE PRESSURE www.polepressure.com Parade POTOMAC ASSOCIATION -UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST www.potomacucc.org Festival; Parade PRIDE EXTRAVAGANZA Festival PRIDE FUND TO END GUN VIOLENCE www.pridefund.org Festival; Parade PRIDE IN FEDERAL SERVICE Parade PRIME TIMERS OF DC www.primetimersdc.org Festival PROUD PROFESSIONALS NETWORK www.proudprofessionals.org Festival PUBLIC JUSTICE www.publicjustice.net/ Festival PULSE HOUSE OF FITNESS www.pulsehousefitness.com Festival QUEETA’S PALACE @ CHATEAU REMIX www.adragsalutetothedivas.com Parade RAINBOW FAMILIES www.rainbowfamilies.org Festival; Parade; Partner Page 128
RAINBOW HISTORY PROJECT FOUNDATION www.rainbowhistory.org Festival REI www.rei.com Parade; Advocate RESPONSIBLE LINEN www.responsiblelinen.com Festival RIGHT PROPER BREWING COMPANY www.rightproperbrewing.com Parade RIGHTEOUSLY OUTRAGEOUS TWIRLING CORPS (ROTC-DC) Parade ROCK CREEK CONSERVANCY www.rockcreekconservancy.org Festival SACRED BROTHERS OF DC www.sacredbrothersdc.org Festival SAINT MARGARET’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH www.stmargaretsdc.org Parade SALESFORCE www.Salesforce.com Parade; Advocate SARIN GRILL Festival Food Vendor SCIENCE APPLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION www.saic.com Festival; Advocate SCOUTS FOR EQUALITY www.scoutsforequality.org Festival; Parade SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST KINSHIP INTERNATIONAL www.SDAKinship.org Parade SHADY GROVE FERTILITY www.shadygrovefertility.com Festival; Advocate SHAKESPEARE THEATRE COMPANY www.shakespearetheatre.org Festival SIBLEY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, JOHNS HOPKINS MEDICINE www.sibley.org Festival; Parade SIGNATURE THEATRE www.sigtheatre.org Festival SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION www.si.edu Festival
SMYAL www.smyal.org Festival; Parade; Partner SODEXO www.sodexousa.com Parade; Advocate SPARTAN MOTORCYCLE CLUB www.spartanmc.com Parade ST. GEORGE’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH, ARLINGTON, VA www.saintgeorgeschurch.org Festival ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH, LAFAYETTE SQUARE www.stjohns-dc.org Parade ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH, NORWOOD PARISH www.stjohnsnorwood.org Parade START TALKING. STOP HIV. www.fhi360.org Parade STATE FARM INSURANCE www.statefarm.com Parade; Festival; Advocate STUDENTS FOR D.C. STATEHOOD www.studentsfordcstatehood.org Parade STUDIO V / GUERRILLA MUSIC, INC www.mviator.com / www.gmusic.org Parade STYLE IS FREEDOM - TOMBOI www.STYLEISFREEDOM.com Festival SUNTRUST suntrust.com Parade; Festival; Advocate TAGG MAGAZINE taggmagazine.com Parade; Festival; Advocate TARGET www.target.com Parade; Advocate TD BANK www.tdbank.com Parade; Advocate TEAM DC www.teamdc.org Festival; Parade; Partner TEMPLE EMANUEL, KENSINGTON MD www.Templeemanuelmd.org Festival TEMPLE RODEF SHALOM www.TempleRodefShalom.org Festival ELEMENTS OF Us
THE ASEXUAL AWARENESS PROJECT www.asexualawarenessproject.org Parade
THE STUDIO THEATRE www.studiotheatre.org Festival; Advocate
THE BARKER ADOPTION FOUNDATION PROJECT WAIT NO LONGER www.barkeradoptionfoundation.org Festival
THE TREVOR PROJECT www.thetrevorproject.org Festival; Parade
THE BRITISH EMBASSY www.gov.uk/world/organisations/britishembassy-washington Parade THE CHANGE PROJECT www.embodyprogress.org Festival THE CHICAGO SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGYWASHINGTON D.C. www.thechicagoschool.edu/washington-dc Festival THE CRUCIBLE www.the-crucible.com Festival; Parade
THE WASHINGTON BLADE www.washingtonblade.com Parade; Festival; Advocate THIS FREE LIFE www.thisfreelife.betobaccofree.hhs.gov Festival; Advocate THOMPSON CREEK WINDOWS www.thompsoncreek.com Festival TIKI GRILL Festival Food Vendor TOMBOYX www.tomboyx.com Festival TRANS MELANIN SOULS Festival
THE DC CENTER FOR THE LGBT COMMUNITY www.thedccenter.org Festival; Parade
TRANSGENDER AMERICAN VETERANS ASSOCIATION www.transveteran.org Parade
THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA OFFICE ON AGING www.dcoa.dc.gov Festival
TRANS-LATIN@COALITION DMV www.translatinacoalition.com Parade
THE FIELD SCHOOL www.fieldschool.org Parade THE GAY MEN’S CHORUS OF WASHINGTON, D.C. www.gmcw.org Festival; Parade; Partner
TRUNKERS LLC www.trunkers.com Festival
THE KENNEDY CENTER www.kennedy-center.org Festival; Partner THE LATIN AMERICAN YOUTH CENTER www.layc-dc.org Festival THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES www.nccf-cares.org Festival; Parade THE NATURE CONSERVANCY www.nature.org/pride Parade THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION www.phillipscollection.org Festival THE RELIGIOUS ACTION CENTER OF REFORM JUDAISM www.rac.org Parade THE 2018 OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CAPITAL PRIDE
TROUPE 7892 Festival; Parade
UBER www.uber.com Parade; Festival; Advocate UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS OF DC, MARYLAND VIRGINIA AND THE WASHINGTON ETHICAL SOCIETY Festival; Parade UNITED AIRLINES www.united.com Parade; Advocate UNITED METHODIST CHURCHES OF THE NATIONAL CAPITAL AREA www.foundryumc.org Festival; Parade UNITED STATES CENSUS BUREAU www.census.gov Festival VEG SOCIETY OF DC www.vsdc.org Festival
UNITED STATES TENNIS ASSOCIATION MID-ATLANTIC www.usta.com/midatlantic Festival VEG SOCIETY OF DC www.vsdc.org Festival VERIZON www.verizon.com Parade; Advocate VIIV HEALTHCARE www.viivhealthcare.com Festival; Advocate VIRGINIA TECH EX LAPIDE ALUMNI SOCIETY www.alumni.vt.edu Festival VISA www.visa.com Parade; Festival; Advocate WASHINGTON AREA BICYCLIST ASSOCIATION www.waba.org Festival WASHINGTON CAPITALS www.nhl.com/capitals Parade; Festival; Advocate WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL www.cathedral.org Parade WEDDINGWIRE www.weddingwire.com Festival; Advocate WEGMANS www.wegmans.com Parade; Festival; Advocate WHITMAN WALKER HEALTH www.whitman-walker.org Parade; Festival; Advocate WOLF TRAP www.wolftrap.org Festival WORLD BANK GLOBE AND IMF GLOBE www.worldbank.org Parade YUMMY FOOD CORNER & GRILL Festival Food Vendor ZIEGFELDS SECRETS NIGHTCLUB Parade ZOKLE FOR MARYLAND DELEGATE (SILVER SPRING/TAKOMA PARK) www.georgezokle.com Parade
VERIZON www.verizon.com Parade; Advocate Page 129
JIM OBERGEFELL and EDIE WINDSOR 2017 Grand Marshals
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STOP TRANS MILITARY BAN
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THE PRIDE PARADE 2017 PHOTO: CHELSEA BLAND
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THE MARCH FOR OUR LIVES PHOTO: TED EYTAN
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PRIDE PARTNERS 2 0 1 8 N O N - P R O F I T O R G A N I Z AT I O N S
CAPITAL AREA GAY AND LESBIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (CAGLCC) The Capital Area Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (“the Chamber”) is the nonprofit organization of hundreds of LGBTQ members, with a network of several thousand LGBT professionals and business leaders in Washington, DC and the surrounding region. The Chamber is an affiliate of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), and has been ranked Chamber of the Year, and in the top 20 of the Washington Business Journal’s List of Chambers of Commerce. CASA RUBY Queer centered space addressing the social services needs of LGBTQ people facing poverty in DC. Most of our clients make less than 15K per year. We are also the largest provider in the DC Metro Area for LGBTQ Homeless beds. CENTER FOR BLACK EQUITY | DC BLACK PRIDE The mission of DC Black Pride is to increase awareness of and pride the diversity of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender in the African American community as well as support organizations that focus on health disparities, education, youth and families. D.C.’S DIFFERENT DRUMMERS D.C.’s Different Drummers is a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender music organization welcoming ALL musicians as it fosters pride, inclusivity, and engagement with the greater Washington, D.C. region through music. DC LEATHER PRIDE DC Leather Pride will support and promote the Leather community of the DC Metropolitan Area. This will be accomplished through organizing and promoting regular social events for the Leather Community and its allies, and donating the profits of such events back into the Leather and LGBT Communities. DC Leather Pride strives to create a safe and inclusive environment for the Leather Community and its Allies, to promote and preserve the values, interests, history and culture of that community. DC Leather Pride is a personally and sexually affirming organization. We do not discriminate based upon actual or perceived sexual identity, gender identity, age, race, ethnicity, disability, religion or affiliation. DC PRESERVATION LEAGUE The mission of the DC Preservation League is to preserve, protect, and enhance the historic and built environment of Washington, DC, through advocacy and education. DIGNITY/WASHINGTON Dignity/Washington is a Faith Community of LGBTQ Catholics, family and friends. FOOD & FRIENDS Food & Friends is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization that provides home-delivered, specialized meals and nutrition counseling to people living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other lifechallenging illnesses. Food & Friends’ services are free of charge to recipients who qualify solely based on their health status and nutritional need. With the help of over 9,000 volunteers each year, we deliver to 5,300 square miles of the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. FOUNDRY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Foundry is a historic, progressive United Methodist Church that welcomes all--celebrating the diversity of gender/gender identities, race, sexual orientation, immigration status, ability or socio-economic status--worships passionately, challenges the status quo, and seeks to transform the world through God’s love. Foundry is innovative and pioneering in our efforts to be a place of positive change within Christianity, our denomination, & in the world. Page 134
HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN The Human Rights Campaign and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation together serve as America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve LGBTQ equality. By inspiring and engaging individuals and communities, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBTQ people and realize a world that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all. HRC represents a force of more than 1.5 million members and supporters nationwide — all committed to making HRC’s vision a reality. LATINO GLBT HISTORY PROJECT | DC LATINX PRIDE The Latino GLBT History Project (LHP) is a non-profit volunteer-led organization founded in April 2000 to respond to the critical need to preserve and educate others about Latinx LGBT history. Our mission is to investigate, collect, preserve and educate the public about the history, culture, heritage, arts, social and rich contributions of the Latino GLBT community in metropolitan Washington, D.C. Host of DC Latino Pride, Mujeres en Movimiento, and various year-round activities. NATIONAL CITY CC National City seeks to help everyone toward a fuller commitment to Christ by being an inclusive church family which fully embraces in its life and ministries people of every race, gender, sexual orientation, age, economic circumstances, family configuration, physical or mental condition, and all other distinctions which are the rich tapestry of God’s Creation. NOVA PRIDE NOVA Pride is a 100% volunteer-run 501(c)3 nonprofit with a mission to cultivate and grow a coalition to educate, advocate and celebrate in service to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) community of Northern Virginians and our straight Allies. NYC PRIDE | STONEWALL 50 | WORLD PRIDE 2019 NYC Pride is the 501c3 non-profit responsible for producing the annual LGBT Pride events in New York City that draw 2.1 million people annually. These 15+ events will take place June 16 - June 25 for 2017 and range from a Family Movie Night to a Pride Luminaries Brunch to the largest March in the country. RAINBOW FAMILIES Rainbow Families supports, connects, and empowers lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) parents and prospective parents by providing educational programs, social events, and discussion forums for LGBTQ+ parents and prospective parents in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. REEL AFFIRMATIONS Reel Affirmations is both an international film festival and monthly film series. Reel Affirmations is for filmmakers to present LGBTQ life stories to our community in a effort to instill a sense of affirmation, create diverse and vital dialogue and promote effective and positive change. SMYAL SMYAL improves the lives of LGBTQ youth throughout the region through direct service programs. SMYAL is committed to ensuring that LGBTQ youth gain influence over the trajectory of their lives by equipping them with the leadership skills and development they need to be leaders in their communities. Our camps and conferences such as, Activist Camp, provide the opportunities for youth to explore and build strategies to positively impact their lives.
ELEMENTS OF Us
START TALKING. STOP HIV Start Talking. Stop HIV., a new phase of CDC’s Act Against AIDS initiative, seeks to reduce new HIV infections among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men* by encouraging open discussion about a range of HIV prevention strategies and related sexual health issues between sex partners. Effective partner communication about HIV can reduce HIV transmission by supporting HIV testing, HIV status disclosure, condom use, and the use of medicines to prevent and treat HIV. THE STUDIO THEATRE Studio Theatre is Washington’s premier venue for contemporary theatre, “where local audiences will find today’s edgiest playwrights” (Variety). Studio produces the work of today’s greatest writers, augmented by occasional productions of modern classics. Studio’s work is marked by its emphasis on excellence in acting and design, and the signature intimacy of its four theatres, all of which seat fewer than 225 patrons. The quality of this work has been recognized over its 39-year history by sustained community support and 60 Helen Hayes Awards for excellence in professional theatre. TEAM DC Team DC is the association of LGBT sports clubs in the Washington Metropolitan area. Activities include the Team DC College Scholarship program, the Night OUT Sports Series, the annual Night of Champsion Awards Dinner and numerous other events. THE CHERRY FUND The Cherry Fund, established in 1996, and located in Washington, DC, is a not-for-profit independent, allvolunteer organization that serves as a spark to ignite the dance music community for a greater good. The Cherry Fund actively raises funds to support the HIV/AIDS service and prevention community via charity dance events. Over the years, CHERRY has collaborated with the biggest, most progressive names in dance music, to host some of the largest parties in the mid-Atlantic. THE DC CENTER FOR THE LGBT COMMUNITY The DC LGBT Center educates, empowers, celebrates, and connects the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. To fulfill our mission, we focus on four core areas: health and wellness, arts & culture, social & peer support, and advocacy and community building. THE GAY MEN’S CHORUS OF WASHINGTON The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC sings to inspire equality and inclusion with musical performances and education promoting justice and dignity for all. Led by Artistic Director Thea Kano, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC is now in its 37th season with a mission that is dynamic and socially-relevant: The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC sings to inspire equality and inclusion with musical performances and education promoting justice and dignity for all. GMCW has more than 250 singing members, five select ensembles, 100 support volunteers, more than 400 subscribers, 500 donors, and an annual audience of more than 10,000 people. WASHINGTON BLADE FOUNDATION The Washington Blade Foundation was founded in 2010 initially to fund the digitization of the full 47-year print and photo archive of the paper to make it free and publicly accessible. With that work well underway, the Foundation is shifting its focus to raising money to fund enterprise journalism projects in Latin America and other areas where LGBT advocacy work and visibility remain limited. WHITMAN-WALKER HEALTH At Whitman-Walker, we see you. To us this means that regardless of how or why you came to us, we will welcome you with open arms and treat you with the dignity, respect and love that you deserve. Since 1973, Whitman-Walker has been a place where people can just be themselves without fear of judgement or retribution. We have provided care with patience, kindness, humility and as much empathy as humanly possible. Each day, we recommit to those principles and to you. We stand by your side. We See You. THE 2018 OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CAPITAL PRIDE
2017 Headliner
MILEY
PHOTO: TMD ENTERPRISES
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Pride events—whether they take the form of celebrations, protests, or marches— are intended to raise the visibility of LGBTQ+ people as an oppressed minority. Pride Radar, the inventory compiled by InterPride of almost 1200 Prides, is proof of how vibrant the global pride movement is. Each event, wherever it is held, is a profound statement. And it is true, where the LGBTQ+ equality movement has enjoyed substantial success, such as in North America, Western Europe, Australia, and South America, the Pride movement is gaining strength. At the same time, we see blank spots on the world map where Pride events are absent. In Africa, Asia, Russia, and the Middle East, because of an unwelcome social climate and laws criminalizing homosexuality, it takes a great deal of bravery to organize a Pride event. “For the Pride movement there is work to do,” Frank van Dalen, co-author of Pride Radar and vice-president of InterPride, says. Page 140
Recently, the Human Rights Committee from InterPride has been identifying Pride events around the world and exposing mechanisms behind the Pride movement. In time, one mechanism became clear: the existence of a Pride event, the format of a Pride event, and the role of Pride in society is strongly related to the local political, social, and legal situation for LGBTQ+ persons. “A powerful asset of Pride events is the visibility that they enjoy,” van Dalen says. “What is seen cannot be ignored and has to be dealt with.” However, there is a dark side as well. In Russia, for example, visible displays of homosexuality or support for the LGBTQ+ community are viewed unfavorably because of the prevailing but erroneous perception that they have a negative influence on the values of the country. That many nearby European Prides have a strong political agenda is not without reason. The effect that Pride events have varies by location. For example, in Europe, a recent survey of 100 Pride organizations revealed that only 20 percent believed that that their events have little impact on the wider perception of the LGBTQ+ ELEMENTS OF Us
PRIDE RADAR
Global Trends Within The Pride Movement
(c) InterPride 2018 | PrideUnited 2018
community. In the United States that number jumped to 57 percent, with one explanation being that the battle for equal rights has often taken place through the court system. In Africa the situation is different. In South-Africa, for example, where the constitution protects equal rights for its LGBTQ+ citizens, there has been an increase of Pride events in the black community. While it is a token of strength and self consciousness of black power in South Africa, it is, sadly enough, also a manifestation of the growing gap between black and white, rich and poor. Where the poor, black LGBTQ+ people feel excluded from existing Pride events, they have organized their own Prides. Pride events can make a difference. In South and Central America there has been an increase of small Pride events that complement the mega-Prides in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and Mexico City. They help pave the way for more equal rights in many countries. The impact that a Pride will have on society and the LGBTQ+ community is a decision that will be made by the organizers of each Pride event. It is a question of what they want Pride to be: a celebration, protest or march. But whatever it is, the number of Prides worldwide is growing and that alone will create an ever emerging impact on the world as we know it today. Frank van Dalen is former chair of the Dutch LGBT movement COC and gaypride in Amsterdam. He is now vice-president of InterPride and chair of Pride United. He co-authored Pride Radar as \ co-chair of the human rights committee of InterPride.
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PHOTOGRAPHS BY TODD FRANSON & JULIAN VANKIM
Our Lives. Our Stories.
celebrAting 24 YeArs of incredible
Q&As (and portraits)
Revisit these interviews and more at MetroWeekly.com Washington’s LGBTQ Magazine since 1994 editor@metroweekly.com
PRIDE 2018 I N T H E N AT I O N ’ S C A P I TA L
DC LEATHER PRIDE
CAPITAL TRANS PRIDE
May 10-13, 2018 dcleatherpride.org *DC Leather Pride
May 19-20, 2018 capitaltranspride.org *Capital Pride Alliance
DC BLACK PRIDE
DC LATINX PRIDE
May 25-28, 2018 dcblackpride.org *Center for Black Equity
June 2, 3, 5, & 7, 2018 latinoglbthistory.org *Latino GLBT History Project
CAPITAL PRIDE CELEBRATION
YOUTH PRIDE DAY Fall 2018 youthpridealliance.org *Youth Pride Alliance
June 7 – 10, 2018 capitalpride.org/celebration *Capital Pride Alliance
Stay Tuned:
API PRIDE FAMILY PRIDE GET READY FOR PRIDE 2019 IN THE NATION’S CAPITAL
PRIDE2019.ORG
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*Producing Organizations Page 145
PRIDE MONTH a poem by Kyle Lopez
Queer Afro-Latino, Pro-Black Artist Brother
A function more fun than the type overrun by queer folks free to be all of who they be joined with ones given temporary permission to live their fantasies Does. Not. Exist: Its dance floor Queer Audiotopic Elysium, its Gods enby soft butch O P U L E N T trans high femme stud genderfuck QPOC swirls whose twirls for their lives her lives our life conjure just enough pluck from party beat-pounds for the late night trek back home Exiting shrinks worlds back to one. Pride month don’t change how it feels to leave the club looking dangerously gay. Some Brooklyn creep follows 3 of my friends for blocks till he yells about his box cutter and they yell about cops Some D.C. dweeb glares at my sunflower crop asks why I have on a woman’s top so I pick up the pace. Chop-chop. All those LGBT.V. shows could make you forget that blurry gender still screams threat that none should stress about donning a dress that fear of any harmless “weird” is weird Sometimes I hear we should just be grateful, you know gays are thrown off rooves elsewhere, as though Western soil lies unfertilized in queer torment erasure murder like routine by forces eyeing weeds where we eye faces Pride month don’t change a year of queer. Some of us damn near die just to spectate and be washed pink in beads pins fans, selfie fodder spoils. Still, better worlds can spring out from the right party of dance dance dance the room streaked with our sweat molten quartz lustrous in flashing beams a constant in change raised and To-Raise
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Pride Month
by Kyle Lopez was originally published on ArgotMagazine.com, a non-profit queer publication dedicated to to the intersection of queer stories and experiences.'
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Whatever kind of weekender you are,
THERE’S A HILTON
for you National Presenting Sponsor of Capital Pride 2017
Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront, Virginia, USA
Š 2017 Hilton. All trademarks of the Hilton Portfolio are owned by Hilton or its subsidiaries.
ELEMENTS OF US Every person’s life is composed of a kaleidoscope of extraordinary parts, including identity, race, sexuality, gender, spirituality, experience, beliefs, goals, and so much more. These elements influence who we are and help sustain and balance us in what can be an otherwise perplexing and difficult world. Who we are also links us to each other and to our exceptional LGBTQ+ community. We are constantly challenged to celebrate and appreciate what makes each of us unique, while at the same time we are called to recognize that our common elements bind us together, each to the other. Thus, collectively through Pride we are able to create a powerful foundation that will help us advance the cause of human dignity, equal rights, and a world free from discrimination and prejudice. Together let us stand tall, look forward, take a deep breath, and become who we are meant to be – confident, supportive, resilient, compassionate, and glorious. Let’s celebrate the many ELEMENTS OF US
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