Happy WorldPride, DC!
There’s no shortage of ways to celebrate Pride month in the DC area. This week, some of WorldPride’s biggest events are happening across town including music festivals, block parties, and more entertainment.
Best Things to Do This Week and Weekend
June 2–June 8
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- WorldPride Music Festival. Pop stars Jennifer Lopez and Troye Sivan headline this festival, collaborating with major artists including Zedd, Kim Petras, Sofi Tukker, and Tinashe. There will be three stages of simultaneous performances, which means plenty of space to follow JLo’s lyrical lead on Dance the night away / Live your life and stay young on the floor (Fri-Sat, $119+ for single-day pass, $259+for two-day pass, RFK Festival Grounds).
- Pride on the Pier. The Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier is back—and bigger. On opening night, spectators can wave celebratory flags along the District Pier as a fleet of 30 glammed-up boats cruise the Potomac in the first-ever WorldPride Boat Parade. The excitement continues the next day at an all-ages party featuring DJ Honey, drag performances, and fireworks (Fri-Sat, free, Wharf).
- WorldPride Parade. The Capital Pride Parade’s rich history of LGBTQ+ activism dates back to the 1970s. This year, the tradition expands to the WorldPride Parade, championing the theme “freedom to be visible.” Hundreds of participants will march down the 14th Street corridor to Freedom Plaza alongside elaborate floats and grand marshals (Sat, free, Freedom Plaza).
- WorldPride 17th Street Block Party. The annual celebration is a neighborhood-wide gathering. Restaurants and bars offer food and drink deals as neighbors and visitors listen to live music and enjoy drag performances from area artists. Past events have included games and story time for children (Fri-Sat, free, Dupont Circle).
- WorldPride Street Festival and Concert. Check out goods from vendors along Pennsylvania Avenue while taking in views of the Capitol at this two-day outdoor extravaganza. Hungry? Enjoy frozen desserts, pizza, and drinks from local makers and restaurants at food courts and beverage gardens. Wicked actress Cynthia Erivo and rapper Doechii headline the post-parade and closing concerts on the Capitol Concert Stage (Sat-Sun, free, VIP prices vary).
- “The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical.” Tony-winning director Christopher Ashley depicts the adventurous and political life of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson through a rock-and-roll songbook (Tues through June 11, $47+, Arlington).
Want More Things to Do?
Arts and culture:
- Join a live conversation on politics and truth-telling with veteran journalist Jim Acosta and two special guests: former DC police officer Michael Fanone, and national security expert Olivia Troye (Mon, $35, Lincoln Theatre).
- Play word-themed puzzles and sing karaoke at Planet Word’s Wordplay Wednesday museum parties (Wed, $5+, Downtown).
- Molly Jong-Fast will discuss her candid new book How to Lose Your Mother—a narrative about her relationship with her mother, feminist Erica Jong (Wed, free, Northwest DC).
- For a drag performance, gallery talks about LGBTQIA+ artists, and refreshments, you can spend a Thursday evening at Phillips After 5 (Thurs, $20, Dupont Circle).
- Take in views of the sunset atop Yotel’s rooftop in between lively sets of drag performances by Arrietty, Acacia Forgot, and others (Fri, $53, Penn Quarter).
- Explore more than 60 paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints by Black artists in the new collection “With Passion and Purpose” (Sat through October 5, free, National Gallery of Art).
Community and heritage:
- Commemorate Black Music Month unpacking the melodies of soul artist and DC native Marvin Gaye with professor Dr. I. Augustus Durham (Thurs, free, but timed-entry pass required, Library of Congress).
- There’s a curry cook-off and pet fashion show at Cleveland Park Day (Sun, free, Cleveland Park).
Theater and shows:
- Attend six in-development Pride Plays based on LGBTQIA+ experiences at Woolly Mammoth (Tues-Fri, free, donations welcome, Penn Quarter).
- Birmingham Royal Ballet debuts a heavy metal ballet experience (Wed-Sun, $59+, Kennedy Center).
- Reston’s Ravel Dance portrays the story of classic comic ballet Coppelia (Sun, 45+, Tysons).
Music and concerts:
- Music duo Tennis plays a farewell tour show at the Anthem (Tues, $57+, Wharf).
- Square dance, waltz, two-step, and more at an all-inclusive gay country dance workshop (Wed-Fri, $29+, Eastern Market).
- Twirl all night to the femme-positive tunes of three of pop’s biggest recording artists: Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX, and Chappell Roan (Thurs, $36+, Howard Theatre).
- For Pride month, out-of-this-world duo Grace Jones and Janelle Monáe team up for a three-city tour, kicking off at the Anthem (Thurs, $170+, Wharf).
- The International Pride Orchestra—composed of LGBTQ+ instrumentalists and allies from around the globe—performs in support of the District’s Whitman-Walker health center (Thurs, $35+, Bethesda).
- Commemorate WorldPride across three stages of live, curated beats, featuring a variety of genres including disco and house at Fabric of Freedom (Sat, $120+, Northeast DC).
- Fans of gospel music will love this Washington Performing Arts concert headlined by renowned vocalist Karen Clark Sheard at Lisner Auditorium (Sat, $39+, Northwest DC).
- Singer Betty Who performs at the 9:30 Club for WorldPride (Sat, $70+, Shaw).
- Violinist Jennifer Koh plays a daring concert of Johann Sebastian Bach’s complete works solo (Sun, $57, Kennedy Center).
Sports:
- Celebrate Pride while cheering on the Nationals as our favorite baseball team takes on the Chicago Clubs (Thurs, $27+, Nationals Park).
- Watch golf champions compete in LIV Golf Virginia at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club; there’s post-golf concerts featuring Holy Roller and Dylan Gossett (Fri-Sun, free+, Gainesville).
Plan ahead:
- Visit the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden next week to listen to jazz, Latin fusion, and zydeco concerts (every Fri in June, free with lottery registration, National Gallery of Art).
Get involved
- Savor curated courses prepared by Ceibo’s chef Juan Olivera to help benefit the James Beard Foundation as part of Joon’s Live Fire Guest Chef Dinner Series (Wed, $125+, Vienna).
Things to do with kids:
- Watch a movie screening of Wonka with the family on The REACH lawn (Fri, free, Kennedy Center).
- Families can ride tractors, play corn hole, zoom down giant slides, and eat celebratory cake at Butler’s Orchard’s 75th Anniversary weekend (Sat-Sun, free, Germantown).
If you enjoyed these events, please don’t forget to share this post with a friend on social media, and sign up for our newsletter for more things to do.
Briana A. Thomas is a local journalist, historian, and tour guide who specializes in the research of D.C. history and culture. She is the author of the Black history book, Black Broadway in Washington, D.C., a story that was first published in Washingtonian in 2016.
