Sincerely, Z

Will Wednesday's Announcement Turn the Tide for WorldPride DC? With WorldPride DC starting in less than 80 days, we finally know a little more about what is happening.  This wasn't without what could be called a false start. While we waited for Capital Pride Alliance (CPA) to reveal who would perform at the WorldPride Street Festival and Concert (June 7th and 8th), at the end of February, Jake Resnicow and the organizers of the World Pride Music Festival Global Dance Party (June 6th and 7th) announced who they booked. The Coachella-like list of performers received instant praise from some in the social media comments, particularly easily entertained suburban youth and others with the privilege to be willfully ignorant or blissfully unaware of the current relevance of terms such as DC home rule, authoritarian regime, constitutional crisis, or  coup d'état.  It also seems that the general public was conflating this ticketed music festival on the grounds of RFK with thi...

[A slightly revised version was published by The Washington Blade on February 6th] Dear readers: Are you excited about WorldPride DC? Really? Then you must know more—or much less—than I do.  As displayed on the WorldPride DC website, festivities begin a little more than three months from now. Click on the "Events" tab and that page lists multiple events, with several of them including information such as the venue and/or a vague synopsis of what will happen.  Who will perform? There is Shakira, whose current world tour was originally going to bring her to DC this past November, but that was cancelled and her new date is now designated as the Welcome Ceremony for WorldPride DC. I commend her for being an ally to the LGBTQ community, but I'm curious what modifications will be made to her tour set list and if any LGBTQ people will be on stage. Who else will perform during the (recently moved up to) May 17th to June 8th dates? Perhaps you, or your friends, or someone else w...

[Original distribution date: January 14, 2025]  Effective immediately, I am resigning as Creative Director of Team Rayceen Productions . Since there is nobody who is willing, ready, or able to be my successor, I must also announce that the current Winter Hiatus of Team Rayceen Productions will continue indefinitely. The primary motivation for my resignation happening now is the incoming kakistocracy and the precarious state of our nation. I am all but certain that the next four years and beyond will be chaotic, and possibly dystopian or apocalyptic. This is not the time for diplomacy, compromise, or capitulation. I understand that advocating for peaceful and nonviolent solutions is generally considered the only acceptable tactic; I am unwilling to abide.  Below is a more detailed explanation of my resignation. Firstly, out of deference to Rayceen Pendarvis and what we have accomplished during the past decade of Team Rayceen Productions, I realize that it would be unfair to al...

I will start posting soon. Sincerely, Z