Out & About
Creating Change starts this week
National LGBTQ Task Force holds 33rd annual conference
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The 33rd annual Creating Change Conference hosted by the National LGBTQ Task Force is Jan. 28-31 and this year will be its first-ever virtual conference due to the pandemic.
Creating Change is the largest LGBTQ activist conference in the country, drawing participants nationally to connect and share knowledge, skills, and a commitment to ensuring equity for the LGBTQ community.
This year’s event features keynote speeches by award-winning queer Latina and Mojave-American poet Natalie Diaz, the Tobagonian-American entertainer and activist best known for her role as “Elektra Abundance” on the FX-series “Pose,” Dominique Jackson, and Black feminist author and women’s rights activist, Adrienne Maree Brown.
The diverse group of honorees this year include transgender advocate “Mama Gloria” Allen, self-described Puerto Rican butch dyke labor organizer Lisbeth Melendez Rivera, immigrant rights activist Javier Hernandez and leather leadership awardee Gayle Rubin.
To register for this event, which also includes featured talent Big Freedia, visit thetaskforce.org.
Out & About
Celebrate July 4 with area fireworks displays
Festivities planned for National Mall, Baltimore, Rehoboth Beach
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The National Mall is the most popular place to watch the D.C. fireworks display; spread a blanket near the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, or the Lincoln Memorial. The 17-minute display starts at 9:09 p.m. and will be launched from both sides of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
In Baltimore, the Inner Harbor Fourth of July festivities will begin at 6 p.m. and the fireworks and drone show will begin at 9:30 p.m. downtown at the harbor.
The fireworks in Rehoboth Beach, Del., will be held on Saturday, July 6.
Out & About
Smithsonian Folklife Festival underway
‘Indigenous Voices of the Americas’ program held on the Mall
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The 2024 Smithsonian Folklife Festival takes place on the National Mall June 26–July 1, with the program “Indigenous Voices of the Americas: Celebrating the National Museum of the American Indian.”
Since 1967, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival has been held on the National Mall; events are free. Festival hours are 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m., with evening concerts Friday through Sunday from 5:30-7 p.m. For details on specific events, visit festival.si.edu/visit.
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The 2024 Arlington Pride Festival will be held Saturday, June 29 at 12 p.m. at Long Bridge Park.
This event will be a gathering of the community showcasing local talent, food, and vibrant entertainment. The event will be a celebration of diversity and love.
Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
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