Organizers and the Kennedy Center have canceled a week's worth of events celebrating LGBTQ+ rights for this summer's WorldPride festival in Washington, DC, 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 center's "Tapestry of Pride" schedule, which had been planned for June 5 to June 8, told the AP their events had been quietly canceled or moved to other venues. The Kennedy Center's website still lists "Tapestry of Pride" on its website with a general description and a link to the WorldPride site. There are no other details. The Kennedy Center didn't respond to a request from the AP for comment.
The move comes on the heels of massive changes at the Kennedy Center, with President 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 chair. The WorldPride event, held every two years, starts in just under a month, running from May 17 through June 8, with performances and celebrations planned across the capital. 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.
"I know that DC as a community will be very excited to be hosting WorldPride, but I know the community is a little bit different than the government," 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 Trump's takeover. Roest told the AP that, after months of prep, he was waiting on a final contract when Trump posted online in February of the leadership changes and his intent to transform the center's programming. Roest said on Feb. 12 that he received a one-sentence email from a Kennedy Center staffer stating, "We are no longer able to advance your contract at this time."
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He managed to move the IPO performance to the Strathmore theater in nearby Bethesda, Maryland. June Crenshaw, deputy director of DC's Capital Price Alliance, said some other events, including a drag story time and a display of parts of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, would be moved to the WorldPride center in Chinatown. "We are a resilient community, and we have found other avenues to celebrate," she said. "We are finding another path to the celebration ... but the fact that we have to maneuver in this way is disappointing." More here.
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