Fairfax City Pride At Old Town Hall To Celebrate LGBTQIA+ Culture

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — Mayor Catherine Read and the Fairfax City Council officially proclaimed June as LGBTQIA+ Pride Month in the city at its regular meeting on Tuesday.

"The City of Fairfax wishes to recognize, celebrate and uplift our LGBTQ residents and their allies with a celebration at Old Town Hall on June 1, in collaboration with our partners at George Mason University," Read said, reading the proclamation. "I urge all to acknowledge and celebrate our LGBTQI+ friends, family, neighbors, employees, educators, and visitors to our welcoming and inclusive community."

On Saturday, from 5-7 p.m., City of Fairfax Pride will kick off a month-long celebration of LGBTQ culture, rights and identity in the city. The event at Old Town Hall will include informational vendors from both the Mason campus and across Northern Virginia, as well as children's activities, such as face-painting, Fairy Hair, crafts and more.

City of Fairfax Pride - June 1

• 5 p.m - Performance by Mosaic Harmony
• 5:30 p.m. - Welcome and VIP Speakers
• 7 p.m. - Old Town Hall Event Ends
• 9-11:30 p.m. - Drag Show presented by The Palace at Coyote Grill, 10266 Main St. in Fairfax City. Tickets: $15; students $10.

Fairfax City Pride swag, including tank tops, T-shirts, and hoodies will be available for purchase at Saturday's event. A portion of the proceeds will benefit The Trevor Project. More information about Fairfax City Pride and other Pride Month events in the city is available online.

Pride Month coincides with the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, which happened after a police raid of the Stonewall Inn gay club in New York City on June 28, 1969. Pride Month became more well known across the U.S. in the following years and was nationally recognized in 1999.

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will be designating June 2024 as LGBTQIA+ Pride Month in order to reaffirm its commitment to fully support and celebrate the county's LGBTQIA+ community.

Celebrating Pride Month aligns with the county's One Fairfax Policy, which declares that "all residents deserve an equitable opportunity to succeed — regardless of their race, color, nationality, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, disability, income or where they live."

In 2023, Fairfax County received a perfect score for LGBTQ equality by the Human Rights Campaign Municipality Equality Index.

The following are some of the events planned to celebrate LGBTQIA+ Pride Month in and around Fairfax County. A full list of events can be found online.

• Reston Pride: Saturday, June 1, from 12-6 p.m., at Lake Anne Plaza in Reston.
• City of Alexandria Pride Fair: Saturday, June 1 from 3-9 p.m., at Alexandria City Hall.
• Mosaic Pride Parade and Celebration: Saturday, June 1 from 3-9 p.m., in the Mosaic District in Merrifield.
• Arlington Pride Block Party: Saturday, June 1, from 4:30-9:30 p.m., at Water Park National Landing
• Loudoun Pride Festival: Sunday, June 2, from 1-7 p.m. at Claude Moore Park in Sterling.
• Herndon Pride Festival: Saturday, June 8, from 12-5 p.m., at the Arts Herndon Lawn in Herndon.
• Embracing Intersectionality & Championing Allyship: Friday, June 21, from 5-7 p.m., at CrossCountry Consulting in Tysons.
• Neon Night Dance Party: Friday, June 21, at 7 p.m., at The Vault at Capital One Hall in Tysons.
• Drag Bingo: Tuesday, June 25, at 6 p.m., at Starr Hill Biergarten in Tysons.