Thank You for An Amazing 2023 Celebration!
To our wonderful LGBTQ+ community:
We want to thank you for bringing your individuality, intersectionality, and bravery to the 2023 Capital Pride Celebration. Together we had a record-breaking year and beat our own record for the largest one-day Parade AND Festival EVER in DC. The Parade attendance was about 220,000 people with 295 Parade contingents, which is the largest number that we’ve ever had, with approximately 23,000 Parade participants, all of which exceeded the numbers from previous years. Our Festival had almost 300 exhibitor organizations and about 475,000 attendees!
Pride is a time for Peace, Love, and Revolution as we advocate for changes in our community and around the world. In 2023, we commemorated 48 years of Pride in the Nation’s Capital, and we still have more work to do. As we advance towards our 50th Pride Celebration and WorldPride in 2025, we are proud to represent and showcase the strength and resiliency of this vibrant community. The outpouring of kind words and messages from those who attended our events, or watched them online, has been heartwarming. Here is a small collection of the many experiences that have particularly touched us:
“We are so grateful to you for all you and CPA do for our community and the tremendous work that goes into making Pride parade and weekend the best in the land. It was memorable, affirming, and joyous. CPA’s dedication and professionalism makes that all possible. We treasure and celebrate the Parade’s history and connection to the Dupont community and are so proud to represent it at the front of the line each year.”
“Thanks to you and your team for a great Pride. The Parade was staged flawlessly from my perspective! We had a lot of fun!”
“We were glad to be surrounded by such a diverse and respectful crowd on such a gorgeous evening! Thanks to all who planned for such a safe series of events and grand conclusion!”
“Love DC Pride. It was my first Pride ever and actually brought me to tears because of the sheer amount of people there.”
We also want to thank the Mayor’s Special Event Task Group for their agency support this year. An event of this magnitude requires a great deal of planning, coordination, and infrastructure. We anticipate that this level of support will continue in the future as we continue to host the largest annual Parade and Festival in the nation’s Capital and provide significant benefits to the city and the region. We also acknowledge the help and assistance that we have received from Events DC and Destination DC, and that we will continue to receive from those organizations in the next few years.
This year’s Pride Celebration would not have been possible without the support of our corporate advocates and their employee resource groups. Their financial contributions are crucial to our operations. We seek partnerships with advocates that affirm and support our message of educating and celebrating the diversity of our community, challenging discrimination, and working toward full equality for LGBTQ+ individuals and their families.
In particular, we would like to thank our Presidential Advocates Marriott International for presenting the Parade, MGM National Harbor and BET MGM for presenting the Festival, and our Concert Presenters Hot 99.5/PRIDE Radio, DARCARS, and Amazon. In addition, we want to extend our gratitude to our Vice-Presidential Advocates Viceroy Hotel, Dovetail Restaurant & Bar, Kimpton Hotel Monaco, Boston Beer Company, and Tito’s. Special thanks to our Accessibility Media Advocate, Yahoo! Inc., and to Wegmans for their overall generous support of the Festival and our Volunteer Program.
Thank you to our small but mighty staff for their hard work and dedication in producing one of the largest events in the Nation’s Capital. Lastly and most importantly, we’d like to thank our incredible volunteers for their unwavering support and countless hours of service throughout the year. Their commitment to serve the community provides long-lasting memories for those who know and love Pride, as well as those who are experiencing it for the first time.
We believe that Pride is more than any single event, it is a commitment that we make all year long. Our team will continue to work to create inclusive events, thought provoking programs, and long-lasting partnerships that celebrate our collective accomplishments, diversity, and resilience.
Remember to #HavePride365!
The Capital Pride Alliance
