Postponed Pride celebration a ‘huge loss’; big plans for 2021

capital pride stonewall
With Pride postponed due to the pandemic, organizers throw their support behind demonstrations in D.C. (WTOP/Liz Anderson)

The start of the Capital Pride Celebration would have been Friday, but with the event postponed by the pandemic, some would-be participants are putting their efforts into the ongoing D.C. protests.

“As LGBTQ+ community, we need to be supportive of our black and brown brothers and sisters, our trans brothers and sisters, that are targets every single day,” said Ashley Smith, president of Capital Pride Alliance. “We’re not coming up with a new, different event, but we’re going to be doing things to support what is being conducted already.”

When it comes to the pride celebration, Smith said to expect some socially distanced and virtual pride events this month and into the fall.

But, Smith added, “Whatever phase we’re at, at that time, will determine what events we will actually have.”

“The coming together, the unity, those types of things is definitely a huge loss, but we will rebound and we will be able to see people again,” he said, “and, hopefully, next year we’ll be able to really have a celebration similar to what we’ve had in the past, but even better.”

John Aaron

John Aaron is a news anchor and reporter for WTOP. After starting his professional broadcast career as an anchor and reporter for WGET and WGTY in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, he went on to spend several years in the world of sports media, working for Comcast SportsNet, MLB Network Radio, and WTOP.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up