The District NOW: The District of Pride Show Presents True Queer Diversity in DC
This year’s 2018 DC Pride celebrations have your usual: the parade, the festival, and a city full of dynamic LGBTQ+ people visiting the nation’s capital. However, this year, The Mayor's Office of LGBTQ Affairs, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Capital Pride, Pretty Boi Drag, Sleepy Lee (Makers Lab) and The Office of Muriel Mayor Bowser came together to create a new showcase of “DC’s premier LGBTQ performance artists” called District of Pride.
Producing the District had the opportunity to chat with Regie Cabico, one of the featured performers, and one of DC’s most well-known spoken word artists. His is also known for creating the annual Capturing Fire International Queer Poetry Summit and Slam, and is co-founder of La Ti Do Productions. We asked him about his involvement in this first-time event.
“The producers emailed me, and after seeing the line-up I was impressed to see a line up with diverse Queer artists of color,” Cabico explained. “Especially in a DC pride show which is typically White driven.”
While DC’s Pride celebrations only last one weekend, Cabico is excited by when this is event placed on the calendar.
“I love the fact that we get to perform after Capital Pride so that there's more celebration. I never understood why arts presenters try to pack their Pride concerts the week before Capital Pride. I wish DC had Pride month, rather than focusing on the weekend,” Cabico said.
Cabico is also impressed at the popularity of the show given its timing.
“I was shocked to hear how the show is selling out and the buzz from all my networks,” Cabico explained. “I've got to rock that stage.”
Joining Cabico in the line-up is a fabulously diverse group of artists from all over the spectrum of the Queer community and genre: BOOMscat, The CooLots, Pretty Boi Drag, Destiny B. Childs, Leigh Crenshaw, Charity Joyce Blackwell, Ophelia Zayna Hart, Dana Nearing, Batala Washington, PYROXOTIC, LOVEGospelChoir, and Rayceen Pendarvis all hosted by Pretty Rik E with music by DJ Matt Bailer.
“I love how I am billed as one of DC's Premiere LGBTQ Artists. I know Charity Blackwell, who is a fellow Busboys & Poets host, and I love Rayceen. The other artists look like subversive fierce soulful visionaries!” Cabico said.
Given his excitement, we also asked him what he thought an event like this can do for the local Queer community and its allies.
“There's more to Queer Culture than Ru Paul's Drag Race, which I love, but DC’s Queer and Trans voices have so much more to offer. I hope entertaining artists in The District get more time at performance venues like [The Lincoln Theatre]” Cabico expressed.
Tickets are FREE and still available! According to Cabico, the evening is shaping up to be quite the spectacle, so don’t pass on this incredible evening of Queer artistic pride!
