FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Montgomery County Pride Family Announces Pride Month Kick-Off Celebration with Pride Flag Raising in Downtown Silver Spring

SILVER SPRING, MD — The Montgomery County Pride Family proudly invites the community to gather for its official Pride Month Kick-Off Celebration on Friday, May 29, 2026, beginning at 6:30 PM at Veterans Plaza in Downtown Silver Spring.

This powerful and joyful evening will begin with the annual Pride Flag Raising Ceremony, bringing together community members, advocates, performers, and elected officials in a visible celebration of love, inclusion, resistance, and the unwavering right to live openly and authentically.

Confirmed speakers and attendees include:

• County Executive Marc Elrich (he/him)

• County Council President Natali Fani-González (she/her)

• County Councilmember Kate Stewart (she/her)

• County Councilmember Evan Glass (he/him)

• Delegate Lorig Charkoudian (she/her)

• Dr. Amena Johnson (She/her)

• Mx. MoCo Pride 2026 Anamosity (she/her)

• Phillip Alexander Downie (he/him), CEO of the Montgomery County Pride Family, MoCo Pride Center, Inc.

• Hosted By: Lee Blinder (they/them), Executive Director of Trans Maryland

The event is hosted by the Montgomery County Pride Family and Live In Your Truth, organizations committed to creating affirming spaces, delivering lifesaving resources, advocacy, arts programming, and community-centered support for all residents — while intentionally centering our LGBTQIA+ communities and those most underserved, marginalized, and disenfranchised.

Immediately following the flag raising, attendees are invited to continue the celebration with LIYT Nights, an affirming community-centered evening featuring wellness resources, free STI testing, linkage to care services, harm reduction tools, entertainment, fellowship, and stunning performances.

Then at 8:00 PM! The Emmy-nominated hit competition series Drag Duels — the DMV’s fiercest lip-sync competition — takes the stage for another electrifying night of drag excellence, artistry, storytelling, and fierce performance.

“This Pride Month, we gather not only in celebration, but in solidarity,” said Phillip Alexander Downie (he/him), CEO of the Montgomery County Pride Family. “At a time when LGBTQIA+ communities — especially trans and gender expansive people — continue to face coordinated attacks across this country, our existence, our joy, our visibility, and our care for one another remain acts of resistance. Pride is not just a party. It is a declaration that we are here, we belong, and we will continue building communities rooted in love, dignity, safety, and liberation for everyone.”

Event Details:

Pride Flag Raising Ceremony • Friday, May 29, 2026 • 6:30 PM. Veterans Plaza: 1 Veterans Place, Silver Spring, MD 20910

Followed by:

LIYT Nights our entertainment, linkage to care a Wellness & Community Event

• Free STI Testing • Linkage to Care • Harm Reduction Resources • Live Performances

8:00 PM: Drag Duels — The DMV’s Fiercest Lip-Sync Competition

Media Contact:

Phillip Alexander Downie (he/him)

CEO, Montgomery County Pride Family

ceo@mocopridecenter.org

You have not met all the people who are going to love you yet. You absolutely belong. Always live in your truth!