Pride Month: Every DC-area Pride event to keep the celebrations going
June and July offer people in the DMV plenty of opportunities to celebrate their LGBTQ identity
Sad that Capital Pride is over? Feeling the need for even more celebrating? Never fear — there are at least 12 local Pride festivals scheduled in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area within the next month. You can also join the millions expected to attend New York Pride/World Pride on the weekend of June 28-30, marking the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots that sparked the modern-day LGBTQ rights movement.
Local festivities start on Saturday, with the 4th Annual Pride in the Park, hosted by BloominGays, an LGBTQ group in D.C.’s Bloomingdale neighborhood. The afternoon features a party that moves among six houses surrounding Crispus Attucks Park, between U and V Streets NW and 1st and North Capitol Streets NW. Tickets cost $30 per person and can be purchased online at the group’s website at www.bloomingays.com. Also on Saturday, Sandy Spring Adventure Park in Montgomery County, Md., hosts Keep it Lit Pride Night from 6-11 p.m. Attendees can climb, zipline, and balance their way through an obstacle course aglow with neon and rainbow lights while music plays over loudspeakers nestled in the trees.
That same weekend, Charm City will celebrate its Pride celebration, with a “high heel race” at 12:30 p.m. near 25th and N. Charles Streets, followed by a parade running 11 blocks down N. Charles Street from 1-3 p.m. and a block party kicking off at 4 p.m. The following day, the Baltimore Pride Festival, featuring musical acts, entertainers, exhibitors, and a variety of food trucks, takes place at Druid Hill Park from 12-6 p.m. Visit www.baltimorepride.org.
On Saturday, June 22, Frederick Pride takes place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Carroll Creek Linear Park in downtown Frederick. That same day, Hampton Roads will hold its PrideFest from 12-8 p.m. at Town Point Park. Part of the festival includes the ninth annual Pride Boat Parade, the only event of its kind in the United States. Later in the day, the Hampton Roads’ Pride Block Party will kick off at 7 p.m. at Norfolk Scope. The following afternoon, Sunday, June 23, the first annual Pride at the Beach will be held at Neptune’s Park in Virginia Beach from 2-7 p.m.
On Saturday, June 29, various pride celebrations will be held in Howard County, Annapolis, and Winchester, Va., and Rockville Town Square, in Montgomery County, Md.
Heading out to western Maryland, the city of Cumberland will hold a Pride kickoff luau at The Churchill Pub and Restaurant at 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 6, followed a week later by its official Pride Festival on Sunday, July 14 at the McCoury Family Stage from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. And nearby Hagerstown will hold its Pride celebration on Saturday, July 13, from 12 to 6 p.m. at The Central Lot and Elizabeth Hager Center Lot in downtown Hagerstown.
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