PRIDE at the MSV

Join this celebration during LGBTQ+ History Month featuring free site-wide admission, music, vendors, expert-led presentations, drag shows—featuring Heidi N Closet, a RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant, at 1 p.m. & 4 p.m.–, activities, photos opportunities with the Virginia PRIDE LOVEworks, and more! Food/drinks (beer, wine, hard cider) will be available for purchase.

Presentations:

10:30 a.m.: Historian Sergei Troubetzkoy presents an illustrated program about William Haines, the famed film actor and interior designer from the Shenandoah Valley who was one of Hollywood’s openly gay stars in the 1920s and 1930s. (Reception Hall)

11 a.m.: Story Time for kids & families featuring children’s picture books from the ARE LGBTQ Center Library (Glen Burnie House Drawing Room)

11:30 a.m.: Siren’s Table Talk with drag queen Siren Kelly. Hear about her journey & learn about self-expression

Noon: Journalist & author Elyssa Maxx Goodman discusses her 2023 book Glitter and Concrete: A Cultural History of Drag in New York City (copies will be available for purchase in the Museum Store & a book signing will follow the program (Main Stage)

1 p.m.: Drag Show starring the fabulous Heidi N Closet, along with Mx Winchester Pride & a dazzling lineup of other performers (Main Stage)

1 p.m.: Story Time for kids & families featuring children’s picture books from the ARE LGBTQ Center Library (Glen Burnie House Drawing Room)

2 p.m.: Out in the Valley: a writing workshop focused on storytelling and identity led by a contributor to Out in the Valley, a publication of personal narratives by LGBTQ+ people about their experiences in the Shenandoah Valley (South Lawn)

3 p.m.: Glass artist Craig Mitchell Smith shares the inspiring story of “bringing a glass sculpture out of the closet” and his journey as an artist. Be among the first in 17 years to see the sculpture on display in the galleries building lobby, then explore the Museum gardens showcasing 30 of his stunning, larger-than-life floral sculptures in Gardens of Glass. (Main Stage)

4 p.m.: Drag Show starring the fabulous Heidi N Closet, along with Mx Winchester Pride & a dazzling lineup of other performers (Main Stage)

All Day (10 a.m.–5 p.m.):

• Free Admission to the galleries building & gardens (includes all exhibitions & Glen Burnie House). The exhibition 123 I love you: Queer Life at Glen Burnie is in the galleries building; interpretative panels in the Glen Burnie House detail Julian Wood Glass Jr. & R. Lee Taylor’s life in the House.
• Make Your Own Pride Flag craft/coloring activity for all ages (gardens/Carriage House Classroom)
• Chalk-it-Up-For-Pride sidewalk chalk activity (front of galleries building)
• Queer Life & Landscape at Glen Burnie: A Garden Walk (self-Guided garden tour through the MSV formal gardens; free brochure available)
• Photo opportunity with the PRIDE LOVEworks sign from Virginia Tourism Corporation (an extension of the iconic “Virginia is for Lovers” campaign)
• Vendors. Click here to see a list of vendors.
• Food Trucks (Nonni’s Eats & Sweets, Taqueria la Mexicana & Melted Dreams Ice Cream Bus)
• Winchester Brew Works

Click here for information about the Winchester Pride Kick Off event (21+).

Click here for information about the Winchester Pride After Party event (21+).

Event, and admission to the galleries & gardens—including the Gardens of Glass exhibition—is free to all.  No outside food/drink; no coolers. Bring a chair/blanket. Service animals welcome; pets discouraged (please note: pets are prohibited in galleries building & gardens; leashed service dogs welcome). Presented in partnership with Winchester Pride and sponsored by Procter & Gamble.