Washington, DC Gay and Lesbian Parade

History

Washington, D.C., the nation's capital, began as a one-day block party and street festival on June 28, 1975, on P Street, NW. Organized by the local LGBTQ+ community, the event featured speeches, music, and dancing. While most sources suggest that the D.C. LGBTQ+ March was founded by Frank Kameny and Barbara Gittings, two prominent figures in early LGBTQ+ activism, it was actually started by local residents such as Jack Nichols and Lilli Vincenz, both of whom have long advocated for LGBTQ+ equality and increased the visibility of the LGBTQ+ community. They have both been long-time advocates for LGBTQ equality and visibility in the LGBTQ community. But the addition of Kameny and Gittings, both gay activists, did make the D.C. LGBT March more visible.

In the 1980s, an independent organization called The P Street Festival Committee was formed to take over the planning of the gay and lesbian parade. That same year, they changed their name to Gay & Lesbian Pride Day, reflecting the fact that the event celebrated gay and lesbian independence (the original name was Gay Pride Day.) In 1991, the members decided to place their annual festival closer to Father's Day so that it would be easier to organize the event on the calendar. This made it easier to organize the event in the back office, so they moved it up a week on the calendar. By 1997, financial difficulties led another group called One In Ten-which was formed specifically to organize LGBT events-to become a co-sponsor of Capital Pride. Capital Pride was co-sponsored by the Whitman-Walker Clinic shortly thereafter. Two years later, Whitman-Walker became the sole sponsor when One In Ten disbanded due to internal disputes among the leadership team; however, since that time, several other organizations have worked together under Whitman-Walker's name, including PFLAG (Parents Families & Friends Of Lesbians & Gays), the Parents of Lesbians & Gays Association, the Parents of Lesbians & Gays Association and the Parents of Lesbians & Gays Association. These included PFLAG (Parents Families & Friends Of Lesbians & Gays) and SMYAL (Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League). By 2000, they officially changed their name from Lesbian & Gay Pride Day to Capital Pride, which continues to this day and is the One of the longest-running LGBT festivals in the U.S. From its tiny beginnings in 1975, when it was just a small group of local homosexuals getting together on P Street in Washington, D.C., for a block party, "Capital Pride" has grown into a big event, attracting hundreds of thousands of participants from around the world each year.

City Profile

Dupont Circle, a traditional gay community, is filled with interesting stores, cafes, bookstores, bars, and restaurants; Columbia Heights, an emerging gay community, is a predominantly Latino area with a weekly farmers' market, the GALA Spanish Theatre, and the Mexican Cultural Institute.

Processions

During the gay tour, the party brand Kinetic will hold parties at various locations.