Happening Today: Pride in the Plaza in Downtown Silver Spring

Per Montgomery County:
In honor of Pride Month, Montgomery County will host its second annual Pride in the Plaza, a free, outdoor LGBTQ+ pride festival on Sunday, June 26 from noon to 8p.m. in Veterans Plaza in Downtown Silver Spring.

Pride in the Plaza will feature food, music, an LGBTQ+ focused resource and vendor fair, bilingual Drag Queen Story Hour, and the championship finale of Live in Your Truth Program’s Drag Duels series. The day will conclude with the second annual Pride in the Plaza Mini-Ball, a free voguing competition with cash prizes, starting at 5 p.m., in partnership with Capitol Ballroom Council. Local businesses that want to support Pride in the Plaza can visit PrideInThePlaza.com/partners-in-pride.

Pride in the Plaza will showcase a diverse cross-section of local nonprofit organizations, LGBTQ+ owned businesses, artists, and networks tabling to share information about their services for Montgomery County’s LGBTQ+ communities. HIV and other health screenings will be provided free of charge, in honor of National HIV Testing Day (June 27).

In the week leading up to the festival, the County is partnering with LGBTQ+ led organizations on a slate of events for residents of all ages, including Pride in the Field, an LGBTQ+ focused field day, Pride in the Parks Movie Night, Pride in Sexual Health Symposium for healthcare providers, Pride on the Page Book Talk with local author Eric Nguyen, and a Pop-up of the Maryland Trans Resilience Conference, organized by Trans Maryland. A full list of events can be found at PrideInThePlaza.com/Events.

“We are thrilled to host Pride in the Plaza again in 2022,” said Melvin Cauthen, administrator for the County’s HIV/STI program and Pride in the Plaza steering committee member. “This year, we have expanded to a whole week of events, and more importantly, we are building partnerships that will continue to connect and support LGBTQ+ communities far beyond Pride Month.”

To encourage residents to attend multiple events, the County has created a “Passport to Pride.” Those who attend and get their passports stamped at three or more Pride in the Plaza events will be entered to win one of 10 grand prizes. The passport can be found online here or picked up at any Pride in the Plaza event. Veterans Plaza is located at 1 Veterans Place in downtown Silver Spring. Free parking is available in the Ellsworth Drive parking garage adjacent to the plaza.  Pride in the Plaza is hosted by Montgomery County’s HIV/STI program, which provides free HIV testing and treatment, PrEP for prevention, and STI testing and treatment at the Dennis Avenue Health Center. Call 240-777-1760 to make an appointment or visit DoItForYouMC.org for more information.