Have the Audacity to…

RIOT!

The Official Capital Pride Opening Party

Friday, June 19, 2026

9:00 PM – 3:30 AM

Echostage, 2135 Queens Chapel Rd NE, Washington, DC

*Open to 18+ years of age.

Produced in partnership with

RIOT! is the Official Opening Dance Party of Capital Pride! This year, we are featuring the internationally famous BOB The Drag Queen performing a special DJ set. As if that is not enough, our headlining performer is Myki Meeks, a finalist of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 18! Additionally, we have assembled an amazing line-up of the region’s most talented performers and DJs! This is primed to be a completely remarkable experience to start Capital Pride weekend!

RIOT! is a party named in homage to the awe-inspiring efforts of our ancestors. On June 28, 1969, following a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a RIOT broke out, lasting for several days. A united queer community diverse in gender identities and race, including Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, unknowingly sparked a revolution of activism that would lead to the rights we have today. Now, 57 years after the RIOT that started it all, we can celebrate and dance and prance and strut, slay, death-drop, twerk, and werq, and generally be our own true selves because of the heroes who came before us. And now, faced with new efforts to criminalize our very existence, we need to rise up together again and declare “DRAG IS NOT A CRIME!” What better way to make that statement than to celebrate drag in all its forms with a performance night of epic proportions. Come join the insanity and dance the night away with thousands of your friends and chosen family!

Tickets

Purchase your tickets early as this event will sell out!

*THIS EVENT IS 18+

*For fair accessibility, we ask that the lower ticket prices are reserved for those that are most in need in our community.

*No refunds or exchanges. All proceeds will go to the Capital Pride Alliance and the Pride365 Fund.

General Admission

$39 – Ally

$49 – Activist

$59 – Changemaker

$69 – At the Door!

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!

Capital Pride General Package

$100

This Package Includes Entry To:

RIOT! Opening Party
Capital Pride Concert PIT Experience
Grandstand Parade Bleachers

This package is available only to those who are 18+

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!

Capital Pride VIP Package

$450

This Package Includes Entry To:

RIOT! Opening Party
Capital Pride Concert VIP Experience
Grandstand Parade Bleachers
Crack of Noon Brunch
Official Main Event Saturday Party In Partnership with KINETIC Presents

This package is available only to those who are 21+

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!

Entertainment

We’ve stacked a line-up of both local, national, and world-famous queer performance artists to represent those who truly make up our crazy-talented inclusive LGBTQ+ community. Kick off your Pride weekend at DC’s largest Pride party and main event.

Bob the Drag Queen

Non-binary comic/actor Caldwell Tidicue, or “Bob The Drag Queen” on your ‘For You’ page, describes himself as “hilarious, beautiful, talented and…humble.” We can blame Bob’s mother for his unabashed confidence that won him the title of “America’s Next Drag Superstar” on season 8 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” as well as multiple acting roles for HBO, Netflix, Sony Tristar, MTV, and VH1.

More About Bob the Drag Queen

Through his work co-hosting HBO’s first unscripted show, “We’re Here,” Bob has been awarded a Peabody Award, GLAAD Media Award, and a Television Academy Honors recognition. “Sibling Rivalry”, his highly-rated podcast with Monét X Change, has also won a Queerty Award as well as a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Podcast.

Over the past few years, Bob has not had much down time between interviewing with Seth Meyers, Gayle King, Sherri Shepherd, Ke$ha, and NPR’s Ari Shapiro, attempting murder on third season of Peacock’s “The Traitors”, being the Master of Ceremonies for Madonna’s Celebration Tour, completing his own world comedy tour, writing a NYT Best Selling debut novel “Harriet Tubman: Live In Concert”, dropping his comedy special “This is Wild” on Hulu, and making his Broadway debut as Zidler in Moulin Rouge! The Musical.

Myki Meeks

“Gorgeously stupid, and stupidly gorgeous,” Myki Meeks is Orlando’s dynamic theatrical powerhouse. A self-described “recovering theater kid,” Myki blends glamour with camp, lights up the room as a host, and is known back home for her quick wit and ease with a microphone. A talented actress and consummate performer, Myki brings a stage presence that will keep the competition on its toes.