Capital Pride
Pride 2009: June 5-14
Contact: Mike Lutz (202) 306-0722June 10, 2007
Capital Pride To Ask Festival Attendees To "Give A Hand" In Producing Pride
Those attending the festival encouraged to donate $1 to assist in offsetting the cost of producing the $300,000+ event.
WASHINGTON - Capital Pride is asking festival attendees to donate $1 on their way into the festival this year, the Capital Pride Planning Committee announced today. Each year almost 200,000 people attend the annual street festival, which this year will be held on June 15 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Pennsylvania Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets, NW. "If every person who attends donates just $1 to help offset expenditures, we will be able to continue to cover our costs and grow our Pride celebrations in the future." said Bernie Delia, a member of the Capital Pride planning committee. Delia explained further that, "This is NOT an admission fee or any sort of required fee; rather we are just asking the community - for those members who can - to lend a hand in the production of this year's celebration."
The annual celebration, which typically spans 10 days, costs over $300,000 to produce. Although Capital Pride is supported by its community partners, corporate sponsors, and individual donors, it faces tight financing each year. By asking for just $1 from festival attendees the Capital Pride Committee will be able to cover the existing financial obligations of the event as well as start a fund to produce the event in the future.
Capital Pride is a 501(c)(3) organization under Whitman-Walker, and all donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Starting in 2009 Capital Pride will no longer be a program of the Whitman-Walker Clinic, but will be produced by the Capital Pride Alliance, Inc., an organization whose sole mission is to produce Capital Pride.
The 33rd annual celebration of Capital Pride will kick-off on Friday, June 06, 2008, and conclude with its traditional landmark street festival on Sunday June 15. Capital Pride is considered to be the third largest gay pride event in the United States, and the parade and festival were recently named as the "Best Parade/Festival" by the Washington City Paper in its "2008 Best of DC" publication.
For more information Capital Pride or the "Give a Hand" program, please visit www.capitalpride.org.