Hampton Roads’ annual PrideFest, held near the end of June, is billed as a weekend for getting louder, prouder and bolder.
Yet while multiple regional events will embrace the LGBTQ+ community throughout June, the current anti-diversity, equity and inclusion climate under President Donald Trump threatens what is meant to be a celebratory month.
“It’s a rough ride right now,” said Stacie Walls, CEO of the LGBT Life Center, a Norfolk-based health services, HIV and housing nonprofit. “The goal for all of us is to lift each other up during a time when there’s a fear of being erased.”
The Life Center will have three booths on June 21 at Norfolk’s PrideFest at Town Point Park, the highlight of a month-long slate of events. On-site testing for HIV and sexually transmitted infections will be available and physicians will be available to provide medication if needed. Hampton Roads Pride hosts PrideFest.
“For us, it’s a very hard year, similar to Hampton Roads Pride,” Walls said. “They are suffering from donations drying up because of the corporate pushback, the DEI pushback, all of that. It’s similar for us but it’s federal and state money at risk.”
While the Life Center and other organizations face uncertainty as they await several significant court challenges that could halt federal support, state funds continue to dry up. More than $600,000 in center funding for comprehensive HIV care and prevention has been eliminated in the last year.
The cuts come when the Eastern region of Virginia is reporting some of the highest rates of HIV and STIs in the state.
“In order to test people to see if they have HIV, we now have to refer them to another entity and that appointment can be six weeks away,” Walls said. “The state is making choices to cut funding and not backfill anything that they’ve received cuts in. There are a lot of states out there fighting back, and Virginia is not one of them.”
Earlier this month, two corporate sponsors backed out of the largest LGBTQ+ celebration in Virginia, PrideFest in Richmond, citing pressure following Trump’s crackdown on DEI initiatives.
Hampton Roads PrideFest has reduced its budget by $100,000 for the June event, a shortfall that Jeff Ryder, president of the Hampton Roads Pride board, said was necessary because of sponsors reducing their support or declining altogether.
“The two leading reasons are market fluctuations or other budget concerns on their end that have led them to decrease their charitable giving,” he said. “And then there are some that cite the federal DEI crackdown as the reason they can’t support us.”
This year’s budget of $400,000 supports PrideFest in Norfolk and Pride at the Beach, an entertainment event on June 22 at 31st Street. Ryder said the board has worked hard to find cuts that the public won’t notice. The number of entertainment acts is reduced and there will be fewer giveaways.
While Ghent Pride will not be held this year, the biggest reason behind that, Ryder said, is that the organizers no longer reside full-time in Norfolk.
Ryder said the board is grateful that several new sponsors joined PrideFest. One is The Language Group, a Virginia Beach business that offers translation and interpretation services.
Lorien Picou, the human resources director, credited Ryder for inspiring the decision to make the donation. In addition to his role on the Pride board, Ryder is the managing director at Virginia Stage Company and “always a face in the theater,” she said.
“He truly embodies a support system to the staff with his open-door policy and innovative ideas on making each person feel valued and in proper roles within the organization. When he asked about a sponsorship, we felt that it was definitely worth helping out the cause.”
PrideFest will include new events, including a kickoff at the d’Art Center in Norfolk on Friday and a 48-hour play festival, Pride & Prejudice, on June 6-8 at the Little Theatre of Norfolk.
Walls said she is also heartened that the Center for Life has had more volunteers during the last three months than at any time in its history. The center’s signature fundraiser, Dining Out For Life, also exceeded expectations by raising $20,000 more than the anticipated $100,000 goal.
PrideFest will make an extra effort to recognize the trans community with a centrally located area called the Trans Joy Zone, which will bring together six trans-focused organizations, including The Calos Coalition in Virginia Beach.
Thea Ross, founder and executive director of the coalition, said the nonprofit is grateful.
“Most folks don’t realize that Hampton Roads is home to an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 transgender and gender non-conforming people. We are a vibrant and resilient community that deserves to be seen, celebrated and supported.”
Added Ryder, “We’re working hard to rise to the occasion. We feel our community needs celebration and visibility more so now than ever, especially as the government and other organizations vilify DEI work. We feel diversity is not a bad word, and we need to pick up for and celebrate the queer community here.”
Here are some Hampton Roads Pride events:
• Sunday, June 1
Portsmouth Pride Festival at the Harbor Pavilion
Pride Month Meetup, Strangeways Brewing, Williamsburg
• Tuesday, June 3
Pride Month Meetup, Elation Brewing, Norfolk
• Wednesday, June 4
Rainbow Skate Night for Hilton Pride, Peninsula Family Skating Center, Newport News
• Thursday, June 5
Pride Night at the Virginia Aquarium, Virginia Beach. Signature cocktails, local craft brews and light bites (adults only)
Pride at the Chrysler Museum of Art
• Friday, June 6
Pride & Prejudice at Little Theatre of Norfolk. A 48-hour play festival
Meetup at Smartmouth Brewing, Norfolk
Queer Spirituals: Family, Friends & Allies, Metaphysical Chapel of Life, Newport News
• Saturday, June 7
Phabulous Phoebus festival, Hampton
Hampton Roads Unity Pageant, Disney Couture themed event at 37th and Zen, Norfolk
• Sunday, June 8
Dining Diva’s Drag Brunch, Dave & Buster’s, Virginia Beach
• Wednesday, June 11
Pride Night at Harbor Park, Norfolk
PRIDE Flow Painting with Orin, Creative ReUse Center, Norfolk
• Thursday, June 12
Meetup at Voodoo Brewing, Virginia Beach
• Saturday, June 14
Pride Night at the Virginia Zoo, Norfolk
Brewed with Pride at The Garage Brewery, Chesapeake. Drag show and special Pride beer releases
PRIDE Heart Embroidery with Judy-Lynn, Creative ReUse Center, Norfolk
• Tuesday, June 17
Fushia Deville Drag Bingo, Dave & Buster’s, Virginia Beach
• Friday, June 20
‘Neon Dreams’ Block Party at The NorVa, Norfolk. Features Vanessa Vanjie from "RuPaul’s Drag Race
• Saturday, June 21
37th Annual PrideFest & Boat Parade at Town Point Park, Norfolk. Headliner is DEV
• Sunday, June 22
Pride in the ’Peake, Chesapeake City Park
757 Pride March, 17th Street Park, Virginia Beach
Pride at the Beach, Neptune Park, Virginia Beach. Headliner is Brid Freedia, the Queen of Bounce
PRIDE Family Days, Virginia Aquarium (runs through Friday, June 27)
The Ultimate Pride Drag Brunch, The Rainbow Cactus, Virginia Beach
• Thursday, June 26
Pride Speakeasy @Gershwin’s, Norfolk
• Friday, June 27
Parking Lot Pride, North Suffolk Library
• Saturday, June 28
Meetup, Smartmouth Pilot House, Virginia Beach
I Am What I Am Pride Festival, Newport News Pride, Tradition Brewing, Newport News
• Sunday, June 29
Hilton Pride, Hilton Village, Newport News
