Local
D.C. Kings give final performance
Founder cites work, venue options as factors
The D.C. Kings, a local drag king troupe, had their final performance Sunday night at the Bier Baron Tavern. Founder Kendra Kuliga (who performs as Ken Vegas) said she could no longer keep the group operating at the same level with other demands on her time.
āThere were times when I had to really sacrifice work in order to really make the Kings continue,ā she said. āLooking at where I am in my life now, I really canāt do that anymore.ā
Kuliga has her own graphic design business and said she will focus more on that. The Kings, which celebrated their 15th anniversary in February, had about 25-30 active performers over the last year and performed monthly. Vegas credits the late Cheryl Spector with getting D.C. lesbians excited about drag king performance. In 1996, she suggested a drag king contest for the Dyke March event. Kuliga entered and won. Monthly shows started at Chaos after the Kings performed at Capital Pride in 1999.
More than 400 kings performed about 500 monthly shows since the groupās inception. For years, the group performed at Phase 1, D.C.ās well-known lesbian nightclub. When it closed for renovations early this year, the Kings started performing elsewhere. Although the bar reopened, Kuliga said it would have been hard to continue there without former Phase 1 manager Angela Lombardi.
āSheās the real reason we were able to stay there so long,ā Kuliga said. āShe always made sure we had our space at the Phase.ā
Kuliga said turning the group over to another organizer wasnāt feasible.
āI built a brand with the Kings ā¦ in a very intentional way,ā she said. āTo give that over to someone else would mean I could never really walk away.ā
She said sheās confident, though, that local kings will find other performance opportunities. She said most of the kings āwere very supportiveā of her decision. She will continue to produce other shows and said D.C. has not seen the last of Vegas, her drag alter ego.
About 160 people attended last weekendās final performance, Kuliga said.
Virginia
Parades, community events held to mark Pride Month in Va.
Upwards of 30,000 people attended PrideFest in Norfolk on June 22
Activists across Virginia last month held a series of events to mark Pride Month.
Hampton Roads Pride, a volunteer-run organization founded in 1997, held 37 different Pride events throughout the region in June.
Their biggest event, PrideFest, which is part of their larger three day event, Pride Weekend, celebrated its 36th anniversary on June 22. Pride Weekend took place from June 21-23 and began with a block party at NorVa in Norfolk.
PrideFest took place at Town Point Park, and an estimated 30,000 people attended. More than 70 venders participated, while Todrick Hall and Mariah Counts are among those who performed.
Another PrideFest event with a DJ in the afternoon and live music at night took place in Virginia Beach on June 23. Congressman Bobby Scott and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) are among those who attended Pride events in Suffolk on June 30.
Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Alexander, along with members of the Norfolk and Virginia Beach City Councils, also attended the Pride events in their respective cities. Jamar Walker, the first openly gay federal judge in Virginia, also took part.
āYou know people all throughout Pride Month, at all of our various events, tell me all kinds of stories about their own experiences and the past of this community … and some of our older folks especially, remember when we couldn’t have this,ā Hampton Roads Pride President Jeff Ryder told the Washington Blade on Monday during a telephone interview.
āIt was a great year,ā he added. “It was a big achievement for us to have unique celebrations in each of our seven communities. Each of these cities is so different from one another, but to be able to create a Pride celebration that’s unique in each of those places was really great, and I think really well received by folks who may not have felt represented previously. We’re always trying to do better, to embrace every aspect of our community, and take a big step forward there this year.ā
State Dels. Adele McClure (D-Arlington County) and Alfonso Lopez (D-Arlington County) are among those who spoke at Arlington Pride that took place at Long Bridge Park on June 29. The Fredericksburg Pride march and festival took place the same day at Riverfront Park in Fredericksburg.
Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on June 10 hosted a Pride Month reception in Richmond.
Youngkin in previous years has hosted Pride Month receptions, even though Equality Virginia and other advocacy groups have criticized him for supporting anti-LGBTQ bills.
The Republican governor in March signed a bill that codified marriage equality in Virginia. Youngkin last month vetoed a measure that would have expanded the definition of bullying in the state.
Baltimore
Baltimore street named in honor of trans activist
Iya Dammons is founder of support groups Safe Haven in Baltimore, D.C.
Baltimore city officials and LGBTQ activists participated in a ceremony on June 29 officially dedicating the renaming of a street in honor of transgender woman Iya Dammons, who founded and serves as executive director of the LGBTQ services organization Maryland Safe Haven.
A section of Baltimoreās 21st Street at the intersection of North Charles Street, where the Maryland Safe Haven offices are located, has been renamed Iya Dammons Way.
The ceremony took place six years after Dammons founded Maryland Safe Haven in 2018 and one year after she launched a Safe Haven operation in D.C.in 2023 located at 331 H St., N.E.
A statement on its website says Safe Haven provides a wide range of supportive services for LGBTQ people in need, with a special outreach to Black trans women ānavigating survival modeā living.
āThrough compassionate harm reduction and upward mobility services, advocacy support, and community engagement, we foster a respectful, non-judgmental environment that empowers individual agency,ā the statement says. āOur programs encompass community outreach, a drop-in center providing HIV testing, harm reduction, PrEP, medical linkage, case management, and assistance in accessing housing services,ā it says.
Among those participating in the street renaming ceremony were Baltimore City Council member Zeke Cohen, interim director of Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scottās Office of LGBTQ Affairs Alexis Blackmon, and Dominique Morgan, an official with the national foundation Borealis Philanthropy, which provides financial support for transgender supportive nonprofit organizations, including Safe Haven.
āThis is a significant achievement and historic moment for our city,ā a statement by Maryland Safe Haven announcing the ceremony says. āIya Dammons has been a tireless advocate for transgender rights and has worked tirelessly to provide safe spaces and resources for transgender individuals in our city,ā it says. āThis honor is well-deserved, and we are thrilled to see her contributions recognized in such a meaningful way.ā
Baltimore
Despite record crowds, Baltimore Prideās LGBTQ critics say organizers dropped the ball
People on social media expressed concern about block party stampede
BY JOHN-JOHN WILLIAMS IV | This yearās Baltimore Pride Week attracted 150,000 people ā record attendance that far exceeded initial projections of 100,000.
But some see room for improvement and want organizers to address safety issues and make changes so the annual event that celebrates the LGBTQ population is better run.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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