Organizers say Kennedy Center바카라 게임 웹사이트s events scheduled for LGBTQ+ pride celebration canceled
Organizers and the Kennedy Center have canceled a week's worth of events celebrating LGBTQ+ rights for this summer's World Pride festival in Washington, D.C., amid a shift in priorities and the ousting of leadership at one of the nation's premier cultural institutions.
Multiple artists and producers involved in the center바카라 게임 웹사이트s Tapestry of Pride schedule, which had been planned for June 5 to 8, told The Associated Press that their events had been quietly canceled or moved to other venues. And in the wake of the cancellations, Washington바카라 게임 웹사이트s Capital Pride Alliance has disassociated itself from the Kennedy Center.
바카라 게임 웹사이트We are a resilient community, and we have found other avenues to celebrate,바카라 게임 웹사이트 said June Crenshaw, deputy director of the alliance. 바카라 게임 웹사이트We are finding another path to the celebration 바카라 게임 웹사이트 but the fact that we have to maneuver in this way is disappointing.바카라 게임 웹사이트
The Kennedy Center바카라 게임 웹사이트s website still lists with a general description and a link to the World Pride site. There are no other details.
The Kennedy Center did not respond to a request from the AP for comment.
The move comes on the heels of massive changes at the Kennedy Center, with President Donald Trump firing both the president and chairman in early February. Trump replaced most of the board with loyalists, who then elected him the new Kennedy Center chairman.
The World Pride event, held every two years, starts in just under a month 바카라 게임 웹사이트 running from May 17 through June 8 with performances and celebrations planned across the capital city. But Trump administration policies on transgender rights and comments about Kennedy Center drag performances have sparked concern about what kind of reception attendees will receive.
바카라 게임 웹사이트I know that D.C. as a community will be very excited to be hosting World Pride, but I know the community is a little bit different than the government,바카라 게임 웹사이트 said Michael Roest, founder and director of the International Pride Orchestra, which had its June 5 performance at the Kennedy Center abruptly canceled within days of Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s takeover.
Roest told the AP he was in the final stages of planning the Kennedy Center performance after months of emails and Zoom calls. He was waiting on a final contract when Trump Feb. 7 of the leadership changes and his intention to transform the Kennedy Center바카라 게임 웹사이트s programming.
Immediately the Kennedy Center became nonresponsive, Roest said. On Feb. 12, he said, he received a one-sentence email from a Kennedy Center staffer stating, 바카라 게임 웹사이트We are no longer able to advance your contract at this time.바카라 게임 웹사이트
바카라 게임 웹사이트They went from very eager to host to nothing,바카라 게임 웹사이트 he said. 바카라 게임 웹사이트We have not since heard a word from anybody at the Kennedy Center, but that바카라 게임 웹사이트s not going to stop us.바카라 게임 웹사이트
In the wake of the cancellation, Roest said he managed to move the International Pride Orchestra performance to the Strathmore theater in nearby Bethesda, Maryland.
Crenshaw said some other events, including a drag story time and a display of parts of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, would be moved to the World Pride welcome center in Chinatown.
Monica Alford, a veteran arts and culture journalist and event planner, was scheduled to organize an event June 8 as part of Tapestry of Pride, but said she also saw communication abruptly end within days of Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s takeover.
Alford has a long history with the Kennedy Center and organized the on the Kennedy Center rooftop in 2024, and said she regarded the institution 바카라 게임 웹사이트 and its recent expansion known as The Reach 바카라 게임 웹사이트 as 바카라 게임 웹사이트my home base바카라 게임 웹사이트 and 바카라 게임 웹사이트a safe space for the queer community바카라 게임 웹사이트
She said she was still finalizing the details of her event, which she described as 바카라 게임 웹사이트meant to be family-friendly, just like the drag brunch was family-friendly and classy and sophisticated.바카라 게임 웹사이트
She said she mourns the loss of the partnership she nurtured with the Kennedy Center.
바카라 게임 웹사이트We바카라 게임 웹사이트re doing our community a disservice 바카라 게임 웹사이트 not just the queer community but the entire community,바카라 게임 웹사이트 she said.
Roest said he never received an explanation as to why the performance was canceled so late in the planning stages. He said his orchestra would no longer consider performing at the Kennedy Center, and he believes most queer artists would make the same choice.
바카라 게임 웹사이트There would need to be a very, very public statement of inclusivity from the administration, from that board, for us to consider that,바카라 게임 웹사이트 he said. 바카라 게임 웹사이트Otherwise it is a hostile performance space.바카라 게임 웹사이트
