Mar 21, 2008  |  By: KATHERINE VOLIN  | COMMENTS     

During more than 30 years of Pride celebrations in D.C., the job of organizing the event has fallen to various groups.

The most recent producer of Capital Pride, Whitman-Walker Clinic, which has helped sponsor the event since 1996, has of-late wrangled with financial woes and honed its focus. As part of that process, the Clinic asked for proposals from would-be new organizers of the event this past fall. And who better to produce Pride than those who already do it?

“The group of people came together rather informally … and said, ‘Hey, why can’t Pride have its own entity?’ and that was really the question that kept coming up,” says Michael Lutz, president of Capital Pride Alliance, a group formed from a handful of current Capital Pride organizers. “Why can’t this be our own entity?”

Turns out it can and will be starting in 2009, when Capital Pride Alliance will officially take over Pride, which will be the group’s sole focus.

“We can put all of our energy, time, focus, blood, sweat, tears into producing, growing and fostering Capital Pride and really taking it to its next level. It’s one of the largest Prides in the country. We’d really like to see it become a flagship Pride,” Lutz says.

CAPITAL PRIDE ALLIANCE is comprised of 11 board members, divided into four officers and seven members-at-large. The 11 members have a range of professional experience and work as a costume designer, a librarian for the Holocaust Museum, marketing experts, an interior designer and, this being D.C., an attorney. Lutz currently serves as the public relations and marketing arm of Capital Pride under Whitman-Walker’s leadership.

All of the board members, who came together as a group last fall, have some experience helping with Whitman-Walker’s production of Capital Pride and will be “intimately involved” in producing 2008’s Capital Pride. Under Capital Pride Alliance’s agreement with Whitman-Walker Clinic, the Alliance will be solely responsible for the production, organization and creation of 2009’s Capital Pride, for which Whitman-Walker Clinic will provide $50,000 in seed money.

After that, the Clinic may become one of the event’s community partners, but that has yet to be determined. Lutz says the Alliance plans to raise money through community partnerships, corporate sponsorships and fundraising events.

One of the concerns of the Alliance’s Bill Miles, a board member-at-large, is Pride’s need to address an ever-diverse group of attendees, from couples with children to teenage celebrants and adult singles from across the multicultural background of D.C. all looking to enjoy themselves.

“As we grow in our diversity, it’s important to program and address programs that feel relevant to groups of the community,” says Miles, who has, in the past, been involved with the leather, circuit party and HIV/AIDS segments of the gay community. That interconnectedness of Miles’ experience may help in the quest to build a better Pride, he says.

“I think part of the secret to doing Pride well is a lot of relationship building,” he says. “It feels like a natural extension to some of the work I’ve done in the community. I’m hoping that, anyway.”

The organizers say they haven’t yet determined what elements of Pride they’re seeking to change, but Bernie Delia, another member-at-large, says they’ll be examining how other cities’ Prides operate in order to ascertain how to improve Capital Pride.

The Alliance is an all-volunteer group at the moment, but Lutz says that the organization will be examining its need to hire people like special events coordinators as it becomes necessary.