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Ring out Pride Month with a virtual bang, from ‘Pose,’ Revry, and more

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Tel Aviv Pride, 2019 (Image courtesy of Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, Guy Yechiel)

Let’s face it: Pride Month without the ability to celebrate in our traditional ways doesn’t feel very much like Pride.

For many of us, the festivals, concerts, parades and parties, where we gather with our friends to proudly proclaim our queerness to the world, are an annual rite of passage; being cheated of it by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is an undeniable disappointment.

Even so, Pride is more than just a party (even if it’s a really fabulous one), and while the usual festivities may be cancelled, the spirit behind them is not. The LGBTQ+ community has risen to the challenge of 2020 with inventive ways to re-channel the Pride Experience for the physically-distanced needs of our time, and although a virtual event can never deliver quite the same visceral thrills as an in-person celebration, it’s worth noting that this year’s proliferation of internet and broadcast events has made Pride accessible to millions of people who might otherwise never have had the opportunity to participate, or to hear the messages of hope and acceptance that queer people in oppressive social environments around the world need to be able to hear.

Chances are good you’ve already experienced one or more of these livestreamed or broadcasted extravaganzas, but if you are still looking to get your Pride on before the month slips away next week, there are still some big ones coming your way.

One of the biggest is sure to be “Live, Work, Pose-A-Thon!” As a part of Pride month, Disney Television Studios and FX are presenting a commercial-free one-hour virtual event, showcasing the cast and producers of “Pose” to raise awareness for GLSEN, Hetrick-Martin Institute, and Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, three notable organizations that work to support LGBTQ+ education, social change for sexual and gender minority people of color, and transgender equality through legal services and policy efforts.

The special will be emceed by Emmy, Grammy, and Tony-award winning actor and activist Billy Porter along with co-star Mj Rodriguez, and unites the voices behind the critically-acclaimed drama series “Pose.” Featured will be music and anecdotes from Porter, Rodriguez, Angel Bismark Curiel, Sandra Bernhard, Dyllón Burnside, Steven Canals, Dominique Jackson, Jeremy McClain, Janet Mock, Indya Moore, Our Lady J, Jason Rodriguez, Angelica Ross, Hailie Sahar, Ryan Jamaal Swain, Charlayne Woodard, and Patti LuPone.  “Pose” supervising producer Tanase Popa serves as producer of the special.

“I’m so proud of our cast and producers for coming together to present an uplifting hour of song and stories,” said co-creator, executive producer, writer, and director Steven Canals.  “In the spirit of ‘Pose,’ our goal is to celebrate joy, love and, of course, pride, from our family to yours.”

Executive producer, writer, and director Janet Mock added, “Since we’ve been unable to shoot the show we love, we jumped at the chance to reunite our ‘Pose’ family and partner with the studio and network to raise spirits and awareness about the plight of LGBTQ+ people of color during such a turbulent time.  This Pride month special is a commemoration of our forebears’ efforts, a memorial for trans lives lost, and a celebration of the life-saving work of LGBTQ+ organizations.”

“Pose-a-Thon!” will air Friday, June 26 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on FX and Freeform.  Viewers can also tune-in same day starting at 7:00 p.m. PT at www.poseathon.com.

If you’re someone who likes to make Pride an excuse for world travel, it goes without saying that this is not a good year for that – but you can at least grab a taste. Tel Aviv Pride takes place every year in June, with a surge of gay-friendly events taking place across the city and a Pride Parade that has become the largest one among all in the Middle East. In light of the Corona pandemic, that parade has been cancelled (or at least postponed), along with the rest of the four largest pride parades in Israel – Haifa, Jerusalem, Be’er Sheva and Tel Aviv-Yafo – but that doesn’t mean the whole celebration is shut down.

According to Ron Huldai, Mayor of Tel Aviv-Yafo, “Even if we cannot hold the traditional pride parade this year, we will mark pride month with alternative events. Tel Aviv, which has already been acknowledged as the world’s most gay-friendly city, will continue to be a lighthouse city – spreading the values of freedom, tolerance and democracy to the world.”

Those “alternative events” taking place live in the city will involve over 100 drag queens and queer artists taking over the city’s streets in honor of pride month. Throughout the day on June 25, live shows will surprise passersby in central locations around the city, including open spaces, restaurants, local businesses and rooftops.

While it may not be possible for you to experience these pop-up Pride events in person, you can still experience Tel Aviv Pride vicariously through its Pride Month Virtual Tour, which will visit some of the city’s queerest landmarks and explore its queer history and culture, engaging with some of the local divas and discussing some of the open questions around LGBTQA life in Tel Aviv.

The tour takes place on Thursday June 25th at 8pm, and you can join it through this Zoom Link.

Finally, for an even more expansive experience of Pride around the world, you can join the festivities for Global Pride 2020, produced by Interpride and available through several streaming partners – including Revry, the first LGBTQ+ virtual cable network, which has teamed up with Littlstar (the livestreaming platform for PlayStation 4, PlayStation VR, and Android TV) to launch the first VR streaming channel for the queer community just in time for this season of Pride. You can join this spectacular worldwide event on June 27th and 28th, when Revry will livestream it for 24 hours on the Revry Now channel (available on the Revry apps) as well as on the Littlstar platform – creating a first-of-its-kind VR Pride Festival experience!

“Littlstar is excited to partner with Revry to redefine how LGBTQ+ audiences view content. Viewers can now interact with each other remotely in virtual reality, or if there is no VR headset available they can live stream it directly to their TV via PlayStation 4 which currently reaches over 100M homes,” said Tony Mugavero, CEO & Co-Founder of Littlstar.

“We’re thrilled to have Revry as one of our official streaming partners,” says Julian Sanjivan, Co-President of Interpride. “Partnering with Revry gives Global Pride 2020 an opportunity to access audiences and community members who may not otherwise be able to participate in the programming, especially where our other platforms are not accessible or allowed. Revry’s new live VR Channel on the Littlstar app brings our event live on PlayStations across the globe and universally available to anyone with an internet connection.”

More than 500 Pride organizations around the world have submitted more than 1,000 pieces of content for Global Pride which will include messages from former US Vice-President Joe Biden, Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and artists Laverne Cox, Adam Lambert, Kesha and Todrick Hall amongst many more. You can see the full line-up here.

Viewers with a PlayStation VR will be able to watch the stream in a custom virtual world, and viewers without VR headsets can view the stream on billions of mobile device at live.littlstar.com. If you’d rather opt for a “normal” 2D livestream broadcast, you can do it on the Revry Now channel on the Revry network available online (watch.revry.tv) and in all major app stores.

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Arts & Entertainment

Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier returns bigger than ever with two-day WorldPride celebration

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The Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier will be extended to a two-day celebration in honor of WorldPride coming to D.C. this year. Taking place on Friday, June 6 and Saturday, June 7 at The Wharf, this year’s event promises more entertainment, more community, and more pride than ever before — all set against the stunning waterfront backdrop of our nation’s capital.

With the addition of Friday, the party kicks off at 3 p.m., with the inaugural WorldPride Boat Parade at 7 p.m. As an Official WorldPride Partner event, the boat parade will feature 30 decorated boats parading along the Washington Channel. For information on signing up for the boat parade contact Stephen Rutgers at [email protected].

Saturday’s signature Pier Party kicks off at 12 p.m., featuring a drag show, DJ’s, streaming of the WorldPride Parade, and the iconic Fireworks Show Presented by the Leonard-Litz Foundation — one of D.C. Pride’s most anticipated spectacles.

“We’re expanding Washington Blade Pride on the Pier to reflect the excitement and momentum building for WorldPride in D.C.,” said Blade publisher Lynne Brown. “It’s a celebration of our community’s progress and a powerful reminder of the joy and visibility Pride brings to the heart of our city.”

Now in its seventh year, Washington Blade Pride on the Pier extends the city’s annual celebration of LGBTQ visibility to the bustling Wharf waterfront with an exciting array of activities and entertainment for all ages. The District Pier will offer DJs, dancing, drag, and other entertainment. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase for those 21 and older.

Pride on the Pier is free and open to the public, with VIP tickets available for exclusive pier access, hosted bars, and private viewing areas for the boat parade and the fireworks show. To purchase VIP tickets visit www.prideonthepierdc.com/vip

Friday VIP: 5-9 p.m., enjoy an air-conditioned lounge, private bathroom, cash bar and complimentary drink.

Saturday VIP Session #1: 2-5 p.m., enjoy an air-conditioned lounge, private bathroom, catered food, and an open bar.

Saturday VIP Session #2: 6-9 p.m., enjoy the air-conditioned lounge, private bathroom, catered snacks and dinner, and open bar with a front-row view of the fireworks.

Event Details:

📍 Location: District Pier at The Wharf (101 District Sq., S.W., Washington, D.C.)
📅 Dates: Friday, June 6 & Saturday, June 7, 2025
🛥️Boat Parade: 7 p.m. (June 6). 🎆 Fireworks Show: 9 p.m. (June 7)
🎟️ VIP Tickets: www.PrideOnThePierDC.com/VIP

Event sponsors include Absolut, Capital Pride, DC Fray, Infinate Legacy, Heineken, Leonard-Litz Foundation, Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, Relish Catering,  Washingtonian, and The Wharf. More information regarding activities will be released at www.PrideOnThePierDC.com

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Arts & Entertainment

Win a pair of tickets to Grace Jones & Janelle Monáe @ The Anthem on June 5, 2025!

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Enter by filling out the form below or by clicking HERE. Purchase tickets HERE.

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PHOTOS: Cherry ‘Fire’

Detox of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ meets with fans

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Cherry's "Fire" party is held at Betty on Saturday, April 12. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The Cherry Weekend main event party was “Fire” at Betty (1235 W Street, N.E.) on Saturday, April 12. Detox of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” met with fans.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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