Kennedy Center cancels LGBTQ+ Pride events to align with new priorities after Trump fired center's leadership

The Kennedy Center has canceled a week s worth of events celebrating LGBTQ people for the World Pride festival in Washington D C amid a change in focus and the Trump administration firing the center's leadership Multiple artists and producers involved in the center s Tapestry of Pride schedule commented their events had been quietly canceled or transferred to other venues The Tapestry of Pride was planned for June to before the cancellation Washington s Capital Pride Alliance disassociated itself from the Kennedy Center in response to the canceled events We are a resilient population and we have uncovered other avenues to celebrate the alliance's deputy director June Crenshaw advised The Associated Press We are finding another path to the celebration but the fact that we have to maneuver in this way is disappointing TRUMP FIRES KENNEDY CENTER BOARD MEMBERS CITING DRAG SHOWS APPOINTS HIMSELF CHAIRMANThe Kennedy Center s website still has a section for Tapestry of Pride with a general description and a link to the World Pride site No other information is provided on the website The cancellations come in the wake of massive changes at the Kennedy Center including President Donald Trump firing both the president and chairman in early February Trump replaced the greater part of the board with loyalists who subsequently elected him the new chairman of the institution The World Pride event is held every two years and this year's event runs from May through June with performances and celebrations planned across the nation's capital But concerns arose about what kind of reception attendees will receive due to Trump administration policies targeting transgender people and comments about Kennedy Center drag performances I know that D C as a area will be very excited to be hosting World Pride but I know the society is a little bit different than the ruling body revealed Michael Roest founder and director of the International Pride Orchestra which had its June performance at the Kennedy Center canceled just days after Trump s took control of the institution Roest advised The Associated Press he was in the final stages of planning the performance at the center He was waiting on a final contract when Trump revealed on Feb the leadership changes and his plans to amend the institution's programs The center then became unresponsive he noted On Feb Roest disclosed he received a one-sentence email from a Kennedy Center staffer saying that they are no longer able to advance your contract at this time They went from very eager to host to nothing he stated The Associated Press We have not since heard a word from anybody at the Kennedy Center but that s not going to stop us After the cancellation Roest disclosed he was able to move the International Pride Orchestra performance to the Strathmore theater in nearby Bethesda Maryland Roest announced he was never given an explanation for why the performance was canceled so late in the planning stages He noted his orchestra would no longer consider performing at the Kennedy Center and that the greater part queer artists would likely make the same choice There would need to be a very very populace message of inclusivity from the administration from that board for us to consider that he commented Otherwise it is a hostile performance space Crenshaw announced chosen other events including a drag story time and a display of parts of the AIDS Memorial Quilt would be transferred to the World Pride welcome center in Chinatown SEATTLE PRIDE FACES BUDGET SHORTFALL AS CORPORATE SPONSORSHIPS DWINDLE AMID ANTI-DEI SHIFTMonica Alford a veteran arts and beliefs journalist and event planner was set to organize an event on June as part of Tapestry of Pride but stated she also experienced an abrupt end to communication within days of Trump s takeover of the Kennedy Center Alford has a long history with the Kennedy Center and organized the first-ever drag brunch on its rooftop last year She commented she viewed the institution as her home base and a safe space for the queer society She also declared she was disappointed to lose the partnership she had with the Kennedy Center We re doing our neighborhood a disservice not just the queer region but the entire population she narrated The Associated Press She mentioned she was still finalizing the details of her event which she stated was meant to be family-friendly just like the drag brunch was family-friendly and classy and sophisticated The Associated Press contributed to this overview