Capital Pride and Black Pride prepare to reveal their annual themes
Two pride reveal parties offer a sneak peek at events that celebrate and honor the local LGBTQ community
“This being DC Black Pride’s 30th anniversary, we wanted to do things a little bit differently,” says Kenya Hutton. As such, the organization is hosting its first-ever “reveal” party on Monday, Jan. 27 at Number Nine, where it will be announcing this year’s theme and anchor activities, such as the annual awards reception.
As DC Black Pride’s program director, Hutton says it’s all part of ongoing efforts to increase community involvement so that more people will take on leadership roles and invest in seeing DC Black Pride flourish. As an example of those efforts, he points to expanded events in recent years to appeal to certain segments within the LGBTQ community.
“Last year was the first year we actually had a gender-nonconforming event,” he says. “And we had specific events for men, women, older individuals, and individuals who are nonbinary. We are just creating more spaces for all aspects of our community.”
DC Black Pride, which coincides with Memorial Day Weekend, has always offered an informational or educational component — a tradition that will continue this year. “DC Black Pride is more than just parties,” says Hutton. “So we’re creating and building up all of our non-party activities. We want to create opportunities for individuals to learn and network with other individuals from around the world who are coming here to take part in the celebration.”
It might be DC Black Pride’s first reveal party, but for the Capital Pride Alliance, such events are old hat. That doesn’t mean that organizers are mailing it in on Thursday, Feb. 6, when the group reveals its 2020 Pride season theme at City Winery. And expectations are high, as the annual reveal parties have “turned into a tradition to get people pumped and excited for all of Pride throughout the year,” says executive director Ryan Bos.
The nine days of Pride festivities kick off Friday, June 5 with the Capital Pride Honors at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and conclude Sunday, June 14 with the Capital Pride Festival and Concert on Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Capital Pride will continue to support a number of pride-themed celebrations geared toward specific segments of the LGBTQ community, such as Youth Pride, Capital Trans Pride, Silver Pride, API Pride, and Latinx Pride.
Says Bos, “We’re working together to provide folks within the national capital region — and beyond — spaces to show up and experience pride the way they feel comfortable.”
The DC Black Pride 2020 Reveal party is Monday, Jan. 27, from 6-8 p.m. at Number Nine, 1435 P St. NW. Visit www.dcblackpride.org.
Capital Pride’s Reveal party is Thursday, Feb. 6, from 7-11 p.m. at City Winery, 1350 Okie St. NE. Bronze tickets are $30 per person, with silver, gold, rainbow and platinum options also available. Visit www.capitalpride.org/pride-reveal-2020.
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