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Queery: David Chalfant

The Whitman-Walker staffer answers 20 gay questions

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David Chalfant (Blade photo by Michael Key)

David Chalfant and his partner, Brian Hegedus, live in D.C. but sometimes feel they’re in a remote area — near the Fort Totten Metro station, they’re isolated enough that no Washington take-out spots will deliver to them and those in Takoma Park, Md., won’t cross the line.

“We’re kind of way out there,” he says.

It’s still close enough, though, that he can bike to work at Whitman-Walker Health where he’s director of development. Though relatively new in the position — he’s been there a year and a half — he believes fully in its mission.

“I heard a couple the other day say they come here not only to be healthy but to be whole,” he says. “There’s a great sense of pride that comes in helping make people’s lives better.”

There are a few tickets remaining for “Be the Care!,” the organization’s annual spring gala slated for Thursday at the Carnegie Institution for Science where the Partner for Life award will be given to U.S. Secretary of Health Kathleen Sebelius. It starts at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $150. Visit Whitman-walker.org for details.

Chalfant, a 47-year-old Suffern, N.Y., native, has spent most of his life in or near Washington with long stints in Arizona (1984-1991) and Los Angeles (1996-2004) and even a couple years in Shanghai. He’s worked in fundraising for several organizations and also worked in landscape architecture.

He and Hegedus have been together about two years. He enjoys restoring vintage cars and sharing dinners with his family in his free time.

How long have you been out and who was the hardest person to tell?

Over 20 years. My ex fiancé because I didn’t want her to think my love for her was not true.

Who’s your LGBT hero?

Elizabeth Birch

What’s Washington’s best nightspot, past or present? 

The Kennedy Center

Describe your dream wedding.

Just the two of you, with an officiate and family on the beach in Oregon with no one else around for miles.

What non-LGBT issue are you most passionate about?

Conservation of our oceans

What historical outcome would you change?

Gore v Bush

What has been the most memorable pop culture moment of your lifetime?

When texting replaced a friendly voice on the phone.

On what do you insist?

That people in my life bring their A game and understand that it doesn’t cost anything extra to be kind.

What was your last Facebook post or Tweet?

My brother Mark and sister Julie are the finest people I know!

If your life were a book, what would the title be?

What’s Next?

If science discovered a way to change sexual orientation, what would you do?

Ask them to keep it to themselves.

What do you believe in beyond the physical world? 

That we were all put here for a reason and that since there is no absolute proof of what is beyond the physical world — we better do our best job while we are here.

What’s your advice for LGBT movement leaders?

That LGBT issues are basic human rights issues and when we let opponents divide us with hate, everyone loses.

What would you walk across hot coals for?

A person in need.

What LGBT stereotype annoys you most?

The very fact that LGBT stereotypes exist.

What’s your favorite LGBT movie?

“Big Eden”

What’s the most overrated social custom?

“Let’s do lunch” — nobody ever means it.

What trophy or prize do you most covet?

A happy life.

What do you wish you’d known at 18?

That people are irreplaceable and that there is nothing two smart people can’t figure out together.

Why Washington?

Smart is sexy.

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Equality Chamber hosts Pride in Business Expo and Profits & Pours

Entrepreneurs, business leaders, professionals to meet at Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs

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(Photo by auremar/Bigstock)

The Equality Chamber of Commerce is bringing together LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs, business leaders, professionals, advocates, and community partners on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 2:30 p.m. at the D.C. Mayor’s Office for LGBTQ Affairs (899 N. Capitol Street, NE).

This is an afternoon and evening focused on one essential question: How do we build businesses and a business community that can thrive? The Pride in Business Expo and Profits & Pours with Stephanie will create a powerful forum for connection, practical knowledge, and economic opportunity at the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs. The Pride in Business Expo, taking place from 4-7 p.m., brings the region’s LGBTQ+ business community together to showcase businesses, build relationships, discover resources, and create new opportunities.

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Learn more about Virginia’s queer history

‘The Remarkable Visibility of Hannah Nokes’ event scheduled for Wednesday

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(Image by larich/Bigstock)

Queer Virginia Contributor Amy Bertsch will host “The Remarkable Visibility of Hannah Nokes” on Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 6 p.m. at Sprouse Rare Book Room inside the Kate Waller Barrett Branch Library (717 Queen St., Alexandria, Va.).

Amy will share the story of Hannah Nokes, an African-American transgender woman who made headlines in 1933 when she testified in a high-profile murder trial. Learn about Nokes’s life, her place in history, and the broader social context of her remarkable story. Her story is among those featured in the book “Queer Virginia: New Stories in the Old Dominion.”

Register at the Alexandria Library website.

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Annapolis Pride arrives this weekend

Sixth annual LGBTQ celebration held in Maryland capital

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Annapolis Pride is set for Saturday. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

The Sixth Annual Annapolis Pride Parade and Festival will be held on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 11 a.m. on the streets adjacent to St. John’s College. 

The theme of this year’s Annapolis Pride Parade and Festival celebration is “United in Pride, Together We Thrive!” Saturday’s parade will begin on St. John’s Street adjacent to St. John’s College, continue along Calvert Street to Northwest Street, to Church Circle, and onto West Street. The parade route then turns onto Amos Garrett Boulevard and eventually ends on Constitution Avenue near Maryland Hall.

Those with disabilities will be able to watch the parade from a special viewing porch at the Graduate Hotel at 126 West St. An Annapolis Pride volunteer will be there and available to assist.

For more details, visit the festival’s website. 

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