June is Pride Month, and the major events in D.C. are this coming weekend – the parade and festival. But this year it is an extra-special celebration because D.C. is hosting World Pride, so there are many more displays and events than in other years. Here’s some of what we have seen:
Rainbow Road Mural
A huge new mural has been painted in the bike lines on 15th Street, stretching 1/2 mile from V to O Street. The mural features designs from eight LGBTQ+ artists.
Rainbow History Project
The Rainbow History Project installed ten large cubes on Freedom Plaza, showing the history of gay pride activism in D.C. from 1965 to today.
AIDS Memorial Quilt
Panels from the AIDS Memorial quilt have been displayed at several locations around the city. The small details on the quilt squares contain so much grief and love.
The AIDS Memorial quilt began in 1985 and is the largest community art project in the world. The last time the quilt was displayed in its entirety was in 1996, when it stretched on the Mall from the Washington Monument to the Capitol. In 2012, it was displayed on the Mall as part of the Folklife Festival – but by then, there were 48,000 panels and it was too large to fit on the Mall, so it was displayed in sections of 1,500 panels at a time, rotating over the course of the 2-week festival.
Barbie Pond
The Barbie Pond on Q Street always has a great display for Pride
Check out the World Pride D.C. site to see all of the activities happening this coming weekend.