Dupont's Guide to World Pride 2025

1. The NAMES Project

The Dupont Circle BID is partnering with the National AIDS Memorial to display 20 panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt. The exhibition is free and open to the public. Made by friends and loved ones, the quilt is a tribute to those lost to AIDS.  
 
The AIDS Memorial Quilt is the largest community arts project in the world.  Its first panels were created during the darkest days of the AIDS crisis. Today, the Quilt consists of 50,000 individually-sewn panels with the names of more than 110,000 people who have died of AIDS. 

Saturday, May 31 — 10AM-5PM
Sunday, June 1 — 12PM-5PM

 
2. National AIDS Memorial Quilt 
 
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC, St. Thomas’ Parish Episcopal Church, and the National AIDS Memorial will present a display of 45 panels from the AIDS Memorial Quilt during WorldPride to honor Chorus members lost to AIDS.

Founded in 1981, the Chorus lost over 100 singers to the disease, and panels made for thirty-three members will be displayed.​

For additional information (including the scheduled hours each day), visit: https://www.gmcw.org/aids-memorial-quilt-display/

Every First Friday is Art Walk in Dupont!
 
Come and explore the art galleries, museums, and embassies on a self-guided art walk. Free! 
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For more details visit First Friday Dupont, here.

Join us for WorldPride DC’s Official Block Party! Tree-lined streets, award-winning restaurants and bars, and stages bustling with entertainment — what more could you ask for? Get ready for a funk band, fire performers, a mermaid tank, street murals, and some of DC’s best drag performers and DJs. This is the can't-miss celebration locals love (just blocks away from the Pride Parade and adjacent to the Stead Park Family Festival). 

This event is made possible through the partnership and collaboration of the 17th Street businesses, Capital Pride Alliance, Historic Dupont Circle Main Streets, and the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs.

Step back in time and walk through the rich, groundbreaking history of LGBTQ+ life in Washington, D.C.
 
This guided walking tour will take you through the city's historic gay neighborhoods, iconic bars, and legendary clubs central to the evolution of LGBTQ+ culture and activism. 
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Whether you're an LGBTQ+ history enthusiast, an ally, or someone curious to learn more, this walking tour will leave you with a deeper appreciation for D.C.'s enduring LGBTQ+ heritage. A portion of proceeds are donated to Rainbow History Project and Capital Pride Alliance.
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To begin your tour visit, UNSCRIPTED.tours

Celebrate Pride on a walking tour of queer historic places with representatives from the Rainbow History Project, the DC Preservation League, and the DC Office of Planning, Historic Preservation Office. This history is local, but by nature of being in the nation’s capital, ties into larger narratives, debates, and attacks on the queer community.
 
The tour will be about one mile on flat ground. It will start in Dupont Circle (up Connecticut Avenue, along S Street, down 17th Street) and end at 17th and P Streets.
 
This tour is open to all people with a ticket cost of $10.00, paid online. Registration required to participate. For more details and registration click here.
 

Celebrate Pride on the block where it all started. Deacon Maccubin, the originator of the first DC Pride will lead the ceremony! Come dressed in your best 70s outfit, and let's boogie.

This year marks a monumental milestone — the 50th anniversary of DC's Pride, and we’re celebrating the way all great anniversaries should be celebrated: with disco, cake, community, and a whole lot of love. 🌈

For more details visit The Throwback World Pride Block Party page here.

This event is made possible through the partnership and collaboration of Dupont Circle BID and Historic Dupont Circle Main Streets.

DC’s original “Gayborhood” is kicking up its heels! Made famous by the High Heel Race, which has been running for 39 years, this neighborhood is where DC’s finest strut. Join kings and queens for an evening of drag performances on multiple stages, with DJs at every corner of this three-block-long event. 

As a vibrant hub for food and nightlife, Dupont Circle is celebrating Capital Pride with special Taste of Pride offerings from local businesses. Look for Taste of Pride logos from the venues below:

·Annie's Paramount Steakhouse
·Dupont Italian Kitchen (DIK Bar)
·The Fireplace
·Floriana
·JR's Bar
·Larry's Lounge
·ThreeFifty Bakery and Coffee Bar

Click here for more info.

Taste of Pride aims to blend the culinary artistry of our city with the diversity that defines our community.

Embracing the theme "Matters of Pride," Dupont Underground invites you to an exciting series of events spanning more than a month of art, culture, and community!

Let's celebrate love, resilience, and the vibrant tapestry of the LGBTQ+ community.​ Check out the events at the link below: 

https://dupontunderground.org/matters-of-pride

Celebrate WorldPride at Phillips After 5! Join the Phillips Collection for a fabulous evening in partnership with Vagenesis, Empress Emeritus de Ardeur.
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• See the exhibition Essex Hemphill: Take care of your blessings.

• Spotlight Talks will highlight artworks by LGBTQIA+ artists on view.

• Drag performance by Vagenesis 

• The ever-talented multi-instrumentalist Baddie Brooks 

• Lobster, crab rolls, beer, wine, and specialty cocktails (aperol spritz and orange crush) by Bread Furst cafe

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Click here for the complete schedule of events.

There's no place like Dupont. This year, we're off to see the wizard at Stead Park—follow the yellow brick road for a dazzling storytime and all the magic of Oz!
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Get ready for a day of fun for all ages!
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• A magical walk under the rainbow, down the yellow brick road, and into Emerald City 

• A giant inflatable obstacle course on the basketball court 

• A community LOVE mural painting project 

• Face painting for kids (and kids at heart)

• Drag Queen Story Time

Just in time for WorldPride, muralist Lisa Marie Thalhammer will debut the Pride pavement mural on 17th Street and a special piece commissioned by Lyle Hotel. 
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Mural work is scheduled to take place from May 27th to June 5th. 

Hilarious, heartbreaking, and utterly unique, Falsettos is a contemporary musical about family, relationships, bar mitzvahs, baseball and AIDS. When Marvin leaves his wife Trina and son Jason to be with his lover Whizzer, tempers flare, problems escalate and everyone learns to grow up.

For tickets and showtimes visit the Keegan Website.