Kennedy Center Cancels World Pride LGBT Events

A week of LGBT events scheduled for this summer’s World Pride festival at the Kennedy Center has been canceled, following a leadership change and new priorities at the renowned cultural institution, according to organizers and artists involved.

The Tapestry of Pride series, originally set for June 5 to 8, was intended to be a key part of World Pride celebrations in Washington, D.C. Multiple artists and producers said that their events were either quietly canceled or moved to other venues with little explanation. In response, the Capital Pride Alliance, a leading LGBT advocacy group in the city, has ended its partnership with the Kennedy Center.

“We are a resilient community, and we have found other avenues to celebrate,” said June Crenshaw, deputy director of the Capital Pride Alliance. “We are finding another path to the celebration … but the fact that we have to maneuver in this way is disappointing.”

The Kennedy Center’s website continues to list Tapestry of Pride with only a general description and a link to the World Pride site.

The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NTD News.

The cancellations follow major changes at the Kennedy Center in early February, when President Donald Trump fired both the president and chairman of the institution.

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Trump replaced most of the board with his appointees, who then elected him chairman.

The post criticizes how the Kennedy Center had featured drag shows “specifically targeting our youth” last year and called for an end to such activities.

“The Kennedy Center is an American Jewel, and must reflect the brightest STARS on its stage from all across our Nation,” Trump wrote.

World Pride, a global event held every two years, is set to begin in less than a month, running from May 17 through June 8 with performances and events planned across the city.

Michael Roest, founder and director of the International Pride Orchestra, said his group’s June 5 performance at the Kennedy Center was canceled soon after Trump’s takeover.

Roest said the group received a one-sentence email on Feb. 12 saying, “We are no longer able to advance your contract at this time.”

Roest said he didn’t receive an explanation for the cancellation.

“We have not since heard a word from anybody at the Kennedy Center, but that’s not going to stop us,” Roest said. The orchestra has since moved its performance to the Strathmore theater in Bethesda, Maryland.

Crenshaw said other events, such as a drag story time and a display of parts of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, will be relocated to the World Pride welcome center in Chinatown.

Monica Alford, an arts and culture journalist and event planner, also saw her planned June 8 event as part of Tapestry of Pride abruptly stopped.

Alford, who organized the first drag brunch on the Kennedy Center rooftop in 2024, called the institution her “home base” and “a safe space for the queer community.” She said what is happening is a disservice to both the queer community and community as a whole.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

From NTD News