With WorldPride just days away from kicking off in Washington, D.C., Capital Pride Alliance organizers are pushing back against misinformation — and clarifying what really happened with the Kennedy Center.
Three WorldPride events initially planned at the Kennedy Center — a display of panels from the AIDS Memorial Quilt, a Drag Story Hour, and the Reading Room — have been relocated to the WorldPride Welcome Center in D.C.’s Chinatown-Gallery Place neighborhood. Despite headlines suggesting the Kennedy Center canceled the events, Capital Pride Alliance Executive Director Ryan Bos told The Advocate that organizers proactively pulled events from the “inhospitable” environment once it became clear the venue would not be a safe or inclusive space.
“We would not be allowed to have any official drag programming,” Bos said. “That defeats the purpose of Pride — in terms of creating a welcoming and safe environment for anybody to feel comfortable being their true, authentic self, which is what Pride’s about.”
Bos added, “If someone doesn’t feel comfortable being their true, authentic self, then that’s not the venue or space where we want to have an event.”
In a widely circulated April 25 story, the Associated Press reported that “organizers and the Kennedy Center have canceled a week’s worth of events” tied to the Tapestry of Pride program. Some artists and producers told the AP their events were abruptly dropped.
However, Bos says that the organizers decided to move three WorldPride events.
The Kennedy Center has not responded to requests for comment from multiple news organizations, including The Advocate.
Still, Trump loyalist and former ambassador Richard Grenell, who is gay, accused The Advocate, which cited the AP report, of lying in a social media post tagging this reporter’s inactive account. “@CWNewser you lie. We didn’t cancel any of the shows. They cancelled. But you don’t care about facts,” Grenell tweeted after the story was published.
WorldPride’s International Pride Orchestra concert, originally slated for June 5 at the Kennedy Center, has also been moved to the Strathmore in nearby Bethesda, Maryland. Bos said that while Strathmore is outside D.C. proper, it reflects the regional character of the event. “A rich part of WorldPride is about showcasing the DMV [D.C., Maryland, and Virginia], not just D.C.,” Bos said.
The Welcome Center, opening May 17, will serve as a hub throughout WorldPride, offering art exhibits, official merchandise, and visitor info in partnership with Destination DC.
Since the Trump takeover, the Kennedy Center has quietly removed major LGBTQ+ programming. The National Symphony Orchestra’s highly anticipated WorldPride concert A Peacock Among Pigeons vanished from the venue’s website and ticketing system without explanation earlier this year. The concert was based on the anti-bullying children’s book by Tyler Curry-McGrath and had been set to include the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C. (which confirmed that it was shown the door) and works by LGBTQ+ composers.
The backdrop to the venue shuffle is no secret. As The Advocate has reported, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in office, declaring the federal government would no longer recognize transgender people. The sweeping directive, which defines sex strictly as male or female at birth, has already erased gender identity from federal IDs, housing protections, and health care access and is part of a broader, government-wide rollback of LGBTQ+ rights.
Bos told The Advocate that relocating events was also about protecting that visibility. “Just because we’re having a concert and parties does not mean we’re not protesting,” he said. “These are all forms of protest because our community continues to be told we’re not of value. So anytime we can create a safe space for members of our community to be their authentic selves and do it — it’s a form of defiance.”
Organizers say the June 8 International March on Washington will move forward as planned, with a rally beginning at 9:30 a.m. on the National Mall and marching through downtown D.C. “This is the only venue we removed events from,” Bos said. “And the ability to move things says a lot about what truly makes D.C. amazing — we are welcoming.”
Bos kept it simple when asked what allies can do to support the community during WorldPride: “Show up. Pride is universal. It’s for everybody to come to a space that is created to allow people to be their authentic selves, no matter how you identify.”
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