District of Columbia
How will Trump impact D.C.’s plans for World Pride?
Organizers say events moving ahead as planned
Organizers of World Pride 2025, the international LGBTQ celebration scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C. May 17-June 8, 2025, say plans for the many events associated with World Pride are moving ahead without any signs of problems caused by the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.
Although many LGBTQ activists saw President-elect Donald Trump’s positions on LGBTQ rights as far less supportive than losing Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, LGBTQ Republicans point out that Trump did not take steps to oppose Pride events in the nation’s capital during his first term as president. As president-elect, Trump recently nominated Scott Bessent, who’s gay, as Treasury Secretary. If confirmed, Bessent would become the “highest-ranking openly gay U.S. government official in American history,” according to the Equality Forum, since the Treasury Secretary is fifth in the line of presidential succession.
Officials with the Capital Pride Alliance, the group that organizes most of D.C.’s annual Pride events and that is playing a lead role in organizing World Pride 2025, note that World Pride is expected to draw more than two million visitors to D.C. and the events are being embraced by local businesses.
Theresa Belpulsi, senior vice president for Tourism and Visitor Services for Destination D.C., an organization that promotes tourism and business-related events in D.C. and that is working with Capital Pride Alliance to support World Pride, said the outcome of the presidential and congressional elections has so far not had a negative impact on World Pride.
“People are very excited about coming to D.C.,” she told the Washington Blade. “We’re looking at anywhere from two and three million people coming in over World Pride over the course of those three weekends that will be generating over $780 million in economic impact,” she said.
A spokesperson for the Trump presidential transition team couldn’t immediately be reached to determine whether the president-elect has taken a position on World Pride 2025.
Charles Moran, president of the national LGBTQ organization Log Cabin Republicans, said he expects the incoming Trump administration to be supportive of World Pride.
“Donald Trump has consistently reinforced a policy platform bolstered by economic opportunity for people to improve their quality of life, and travel/tourism is one of America’s leading economic generators,” Moran told the Blade in a statement.
“Anyone who adheres to Donald Trump’s America First agenda would clearly welcome people from around the world – and even those who don’t support him – to visit America to celebrate World Pride, bolster our regional economy, and celebrate freedom with us in the most free place in the world to be gay,” Moran said.
Ryan Bos, executive director of Capital Pride Alliance, said the organization fully agrees with reports by local business advocates that World Pride will have a positive economic impact on the D.C. area.
Among other things, Bos said his organization has submitted applications for permits with the U.S. National Park Service for use of the National Mall for World Pride events.
“With the event about six months away, we are fully moving ahead with planning the celebration that is expected to attract 2 million overnight visitors and an estimated $787 million in spending,” he told the Blade. “It is expected to take place on the National Mall but also throughout D.C. and its neighborhoods,” Bos said in referring to World Pride events.
Mike Litterst, a spokesperson for the National Park Service’s National Mall and Memorial Parks division, said the Park Service has received at least one permit application from Capital Pride Alliance for World Pride events.
He said that under longstanding Park Service policy, permits are approved based on the applicant’s ability to ensure “the preservation of park resources and the safety of all participants, park visitors, and community members.” According to Litterst, “It is a deliberate process that does not consider the content of the message presented.”
In the week following the U.S. presidential election, a few people, including some from Europe, posted messages on a World Pride 2025 Facebook page saying they would not come to D.C. for World Pride because of Trump’s election as president. Those messages were no longer on the World Pride Facebook page as of early in the week of Nov. 24.
LGBTQ rights advocates from D.C. are expected to point out that the locally elected D.C. government, including the mayor and City Council, have for many years and continue to be highly supportive of the LGBTQ community and are supportive of World Pride.
A full list of the World Pride 2025 events can be accessed at worldpridedc.org.
District of Columbia
D.C. parties with a purpose for Cherry Weekend
LGBTQ community to benefit from money raised
Washington’s queer community will have the opportunity to party with a purpose this weekend as Cherry Weekend returns to raise money for LGBTQ organizations in D.C.
Cherry Weekend is an annual celebration of parties, DJs, and drag that gives the LGBTQ community a chance to let their hair down, dance, drink and be merry-while supporting some of the city’s most vulnerable queer residents through the Cherry Fund.
This year’s Cherry Weekend runs April 11-13, with four parties, eight DJs and one iconic drag performance from Detox, a former “RuPaul’s Drag Race” contestant, all in support of the Cherry Fund.
Founded in 1996 by local LGBTQ residents, the Cherry Fund raises money to make Washington a safer and more inclusive place for LGBTQ people to live, grow and thrive. Cherry Weekend is the nonprofit’s flagship fundraising event, supporting LGBTQ community members living with HIV and those struggling with mental health challenges.
The Cherry Fund has donated to a wide range of D.C.-based organizations over the years. This year, proceeds will support the DC LGBTQ+ Community Center, and the ReelAbilities Film Festival of Greater Washington, which promotes “awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with disabilities.”
As the longest-running 501(c)(3) nonprofit circuit party organization in the U.S., the Cherry Fund has a reputation to uphold-and in 2025, it’s doing so with four “CHERRY ELEMENT”-themed dance parties across the city.
The weekend kicks off at 11 p.m. Friday with the “AIR” party at DC9 Nightclub (1940 9th St., N.W.) in Shaw. DJs Orel Sabag (Israel) and Jake Maxwell (U.S.) will spin music to “elevate your spirit and unite your soul in a celebration of the CHERRY element.”
Saturday night brings the main event: The “FIRE” party at Betty in Brentwood (1235 W St., N.E.), featuring Detox, along with DJs Tezrah (U.S.) and Las Bibas from Vizcaya (Brazil). From 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., “scorching beats” and a fiery atmosphere will heat up the dance floor.
After the smoke clears, Flash Nightclub in Shaw (645 Florida Ave., N.W.) will host the “EARTH” after-party from 4-8 a.m. Sunday, with DJs Calagna (U.S.) and Ed Wood (Puerto Rico) providing the soundtrack.
The weekend wraps Sunday night with the “WATER” party at Bunker (2001 14th St., N.W.), where DJs Chord (U.S.) and Jesus Montanez (Mexico) will play “cool, flowing beats” from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Tickets and a full schedule are available at CherryDC.com. To learn more about the Cherry Fund, visit CherryFund.org.
District of Columbia
WorldPride organizers may warn trans people from abroad not to attend event
Capital Pride official cites anti-trans policies of Trump administration
One of the lead organizers of WorldPride 2025, set to take place in D.C. May 17-June 8, told members of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, known as COG, on April 9 that due to the recently implemented anti-trans policies of the Trump administration, it may be dangerous for trans people traveling from abroad to attend WorldPride in D.C, according to a report by WTOP News.
The WTOP report says the message of concern was delivered by Ryan Bos, executive director of D.C.’s Capital Pride Alliance, which is the lead organizer of WorldPride 2025. The news report says Bos spoke at a meeting of COG, which consists of local government officials from D.C. and the surrounding suburban counties in Maryland and Virginia.
“It’s possible that we may actually issue a statement telling trans folks internationally not to come, or if they come, they come at their own risk,” WTOP quoted Bos as saying.
“So, these are the things that we will be discussing with the D.C. government and our partners to determine how best to communicate that to ensure that we’re getting the resources to the folks that need it,” Bos said according to the WTOP report.
WTOP reported that some members of the COG board expressed concern over the news that it may be harmful for trans people to travel to the D.C. area for WorldPride.
“It’s really shameful that you all are having to consider making statements like that,” WTOP quoted Frederick County, Md., Executive Jessica Fitzwater as saying. “It’s really heartbreaking.”
D.C. Council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), who attended the COG meeting, told Bos, “I’m disheartened to hear that, but I hope you also recognize you’ve got partners in this room that want to be right there with you to make sure this is a wonderful, successful event, a safe event, that’s going to take place across the whole region,” WTOP reports.
Capital Pride Alliance, in response to a request for further comment on Bos’s remarks at the COG meeting, said in a brief statement that Bos’s presentation was limited to what “may happen.” The statement said no official decision has been made regarding a possible warning for trans people considering attending WorldPride.
District of Columbia
Capital Jewish Museum announces LGBT exhibition
‘LGBT Jews in the Federal City’ set to open during WorldPride
D.C.’s Capital Jewish Museum has announced plans to open a special exhibition called “LGBT Jews in the Federal City” on May 16 that will remain at the museum at 575 3rd St., N.W. until Jan. 4, 2026.
“This landmark exhibition explores a turbulent century of celebration, activism, and change in the nation’s capital led by D.C.’s LGBTQ+ Jewish community,” according to a statement released by the museum.
“This is a local story with national resonance, turning the spotlight on Washington, D.C. to show the city’s vast impact on LGBTQ+ history and culture in the United states,” the statement says.
The statement notes that the exhibition will take place as D.C. hosts WorldPride 2025, which is scheduled to be held in locations across the city from May 17 through June 8. It points out that the LGBT exhibition will also take place during Jewish American Heritage Month in May and Pride Month in June.
“‘LGBT Jews in the Federal City’ will present more than 100 artifacts and photographs, representing the DMV region’s Jewish LGBTQ+ celebrations, spaces, joys, and personal stories,” the statement adds.
It says a centerpiece of the exhibition will be The Bet Mishpachah Collection, a new museum acquisition focusing on the LGBTQ supportive synagogue founded in D.C. in 1975 that is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
“This assemblage represents one of the most extensive archives of an LGBTQ+ Jewish congregation in the nation,” the statement says. “Selections from the collection will be on view for the first time.”
Other aspects of the exhibition, the statement says, include campaign posters and photos related to D.C. gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny; archival records from the Washington Blade, the exploring of “the wide variety of changes made at area synagogues,” and a panel from the AIDS Memorial Quilt that features a prominent Jewish Washingtonian who was lost during the AIDS epidemic.
“Through prompts, questions, and thoughtful design throughout the exhibition, visitors will be encouraged to ponder new ways to understand Jewish teachings and values as they relate to gender and sexuality,” the statement points out.
“After leaving the exhibition, visitors can contribute to the Museum’s collection and storytelling by sharing photographs, personal archives, or by recording stories,” it says.
“As board president at the Capital Jewish Museum and longtime member of both the Jewish and the LGBTQ communities in D.C., I am very proud that we are the first museum to bring to life the stories of the LGBTQ Jewish community in the federal city,” said Chris Wolf, president of the museum’s board of directors.
“We are deeply honored to present this show, our first self-curated special exhibition – adding Jews into the rich, proud history of LGBTQ+ D.C.,” said Beatrice Gurwitz, the museum’s executive director. “This exhibition will help write the local, regional, and national history of the Jewish LGBTQ+ community.”
Among the “Premier Sponsor” financial supporters of the LGBT exhibition, according to the museum statement, is Jeffrey Slavin, who’s gay, and has served as the mayor of Summerset, Md., in Montgomery County, since 2008.
“I think it’s so important for us to tell our stories,” said Slavin, who said he was honored to help support the exhibition in his role as a gay elected official who grew up in the Jewish community in the D.C. area.
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