Happy LGBTQ+ Pride Month 2024!
Happy Pride! June marks the LGBTQ+ community’s month of celebration and visibility and, with 2024 being the first year without a pandemic emergency declaration since 2019, the events schedule this year is getting crowded!
Capital Pride: The 800-lb Gorilla
The two main events of the Capital Pride festivities come next weekend, June 8-9, with the Capital Pride Parade on Saturday and the Festival on Sunday. If you’ve never been to a Pride, this one is on the larger side (though one tenth the size of the festivities in Toronto or New York), with just over 200,000 in attendance last year — and with the U.S. Capitol and monuments as a backdrop, the event has a really impactful vibe.
Family In, Booze Out at Herndon Pride
As the parade proceeds through the streets of DC, with packed crowds partying along streets and a steady roar of cheers ranging in decibels roughly between a helicopter and a jet engine, some may find a refreshing change of pace at Herndon’s first ever Pride festival next Saturday, June 8.
Many were shocked last December when the Town of Herndon announced that the annual Herndon Festival, held every summer since 1981, would no longer be held. In its place, the Town launched a “Community Cultural Festival Donation Program,” asking local nonprofits to submit applications to receive funding for up to 50 percent of the costs of holding a smaller festival, with the town reimbursing up to $5,000 in costs for each approved event.
Soon after the launch of the program, Joanna Ormesher — Herndon resident and CEO and President of Arts Herndon — submitted an application to hold the town’s first ever Pride festival this year. With enthusiastic support from the office of Fairfax County Dranesville Supervisor Jimmy Bierman, the application was approved, and Herndon Pride is a go!
Despite the event being held the same day as the Capital Pride Festival, vendors and community organizations have lined up to participate, including at least four food concessions serving everything from typical festival fare to barbecue to bundt cakes.
Herndon Pride will be “an exhilarating and fun celebration of color,” said Ormesher, who says the event’s goals include creating “a safe and joyous space for queer Hendon students and young people” and offering “a diverse array of opportunities to gather in activism, in celebration, and in advocacy.”
Unlike most Pride festivals, where alcohol — often the only revenue source beside sponsor and vendor fees — is a central component, Ormesher and others have a different vision for Herndon Pride, which will not serve alcohol. Instead, those looking to imbibe are encouraged to walk to one of the bars easily walkable from the festival grounds, including Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern, Sully’s Pour House, and Aslin Beer Company.
Ormesher says that Arts Herndon has become a safe haven for LGBTQ+ youth in recent years, allowing them to come as they are and meet their peers, and that knowing the space will be free from alcohol or tobacco products provides them (and their parents) with additional peace of mind.
Having organized multiple Pride festivals across Virginia, I’ve consulted with Ormesher, and NOVA Pride is providing as much support as possible to help promote the event and ensure its success.
The event is free to attend, and will take place from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 8, at the Lawn at Arts Herndon (750 Center St., Herndon, VA). Check it out!
A Sober Pride Festival Is A Great Idea
Substance use and abuse among those who identify as LGBTQ+ is significantly higher than among heterosexuals — with the National Survey on Drug Use and Health finding roughly double the prevalence of all categories of substance use (alcohol, marijuana, opioids), and three times that use of nicotine products, within the community.
Stonewall was a bar. Most LGBTQ+ community connections form at gay bars. Alcohol is extremely present, which can range from unpleasant to untenable for those in recovery.
Our community needs more events catered towards “rainbow families,” and it also needs more events for those who wish to be in a sober environment. Those who live throughout the DMV interested in a sober atmosphere to celebrate Pride should consider a trip out to Herndon for their event.
The LGBTQ+ Reach: May 30 – June 5, 2024
Brian Reach
Happy LGBTQ+ Pride Month 2024!
Happy Pride! June marks the LGBTQ+ community’s month of celebration and visibility and, with 2024 being the first year without a pandemic emergency declaration since 2019, the events schedule this year is getting crowded!
Capital Pride: The 800-lb Gorilla
The two main events of the Capital Pride festivities come next weekend, June 8-9, with the Capital Pride Parade on Saturday and the Festival on Sunday. If you’ve never been to a Pride, this one is on the larger side (though one tenth the size of the festivities in Toronto or New York), with just over 200,000 in attendance last year — and with the U.S. Capitol and monuments as a backdrop, the event has a really impactful vibe.
Family In, Booze Out at Herndon Pride
As the parade proceeds through the streets of DC, with packed crowds partying along streets and a steady roar of cheers ranging in decibels roughly between a helicopter and a jet engine, some may find a refreshing change of pace at Herndon’s first ever Pride festival next Saturday, June 8.
Many were shocked last December when the Town of Herndon announced that the annual Herndon Festival, held every summer since 1981, would no longer be held. In its place, the Town launched a “Community Cultural Festival Donation Program,” asking local nonprofits to submit applications to receive funding for up to 50 percent of the costs of holding a smaller festival, with the town reimbursing up to $5,000 in costs for each approved event.
Soon after the launch of the program, Joanna Ormesher — Herndon resident and CEO and President of Arts Herndon — submitted an application to hold the town’s first ever Pride festival this year. With enthusiastic support from the office of Fairfax County Dranesville Supervisor Jimmy Bierman, the application was approved, and Herndon Pride is a go!
Despite the event being held the same day as the Capital Pride Festival, vendors and community organizations have lined up to participate, including at least four food concessions serving everything from typical festival fare to barbecue to bundt cakes.
Herndon Pride will be “an exhilarating and fun celebration of color,” said Ormesher, who says the event’s goals include creating “a safe and joyous space for queer Hendon students and young people” and offering “a diverse array of opportunities to gather in activism, in celebration, and in advocacy.”
Unlike most Pride festivals, where alcohol — often the only revenue source beside sponsor and vendor fees — is a central component, Ormesher and others have a different vision for Herndon Pride, which will not serve alcohol. Instead, those looking to imbibe are encouraged to walk to one of the bars easily walkable from the festival grounds, including Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern, Sully’s Pour House, and Aslin Beer Company.
Ormesher says that Arts Herndon has become a safe haven for LGBTQ+ youth in recent years, allowing them to come as they are and meet their peers, and that knowing the space will be free from alcohol or tobacco products provides them (and their parents) with additional peace of mind.
Having organized multiple Pride festivals across Virginia, I’ve consulted with Ormesher, and NOVA Pride is providing as much support as possible to help promote the event and ensure its success.
The event is free to attend, and will take place from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 8, at the Lawn at Arts Herndon (750 Center St., Herndon, VA). Check it out!
A Sober Pride Festival Is A Great Idea
Substance use and abuse among those who identify as LGBTQ+ is significantly higher than among heterosexuals — with the National Survey on Drug Use and Health finding roughly double the prevalence of all categories of substance use (alcohol, marijuana, opioids), and three times that use of nicotine products, within the community.
Stonewall was a bar. Most LGBTQ+ community connections form at gay bars. Alcohol is extremely present, which can range from unpleasant to untenable for those in recovery.
Our community needs more events catered towards “rainbow families,” and it also needs more events for those who wish to be in a sober environment. Those who live throughout the DMV interested in a sober atmosphere to celebrate Pride should consider a trip out to Herndon for their event.
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