MSV Celebrates LGBTQ+ History Month with Pride at the MSV Event on October 5

The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley will celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month with free admission for all visitors from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Saturday, October 5, during Pride at the MSV.

This day-long event offers activities for all ages and includes access to the Museum’s gardens and exhibitions, expert-led presentations, drag shows, vendors, and more.

Begun in 1994, LGBTQ+ History Month celebrates the stories and achievements of LGBTQ+ individuals. Saturday’s event, sponsored by Procter & Gamble and presented in partnership with Winchester Pride, merges Winchester’s annual Pride celebration with LGBTQ+ History Month.

According to Julie Armel, MSV Deputy Director of Marketing and Communications, “Pride at the MSV highlights the Museum’s history, celebrates our community, and recognizes the local and national contributions of LGBTQ+ individuals.”

Event Highlights

• 10:30 a.m. Historian Sergei Troubetzkoy presents an illustrated program about William Haines, a Shenandoah Valley native who became a Hollywood film star in the 1920s and a prominent interior designer. Haines is regarded as one of Hollywood’s first openly gay actors (in the Reception Hall).
• 11 a.m. & 1 p.m. Story Time for kids and families in the Glen Burnie House featuring picture books from Winchester’s ARE LGBTQ+ Center library.
• 11:30 a.m. Siren’s Table Talk with drag artist Siren Kelly that details her inspiring journey and insights on self-expression (in the Reception Hall).
• Noon: Journalist & author Elyssa Maxx Goodman discusses her 2023 book Glitter and Concrete: A Cultural History of Drag in New York City, providing a historical look at drag culture (on the outdoor stage).
• 1 & 4 p.m. Drag Shows starring Heidi N Closet—a RuPaul’s Drag Race television show contestant—Chasity Vain, Candice Candy, Esthetic Em (Mx Winchester Pride), Siren Kelly, Darren Truth, Nubia Love-Jackson, Ava Rage, and others (on the outdoor stage).
• 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 (outside in the lawn between the galleries building & gardens).
• 3 p.m. Artist Craig Mitchell Smith shares the inspiring story of his journey as an artist and “bringing a sculpture out of the closet.” Just for Pride at the MSV, Smith will display a special sculpture in the galleries building lobby. Thirty of his larger-than-life floral sculptures are also on view in the Museum gardens as part of the outdoor exhibition Gardens of Glass.
• 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Free admission to the galleries and gardens—including the special exhibitions Gardens of Glass: Art by Craig Mitchell Smith and Curious by Nature: Works by Charley & Edie Harper—photo opportunities with the Virginia Pride LOVEworks sign, displays by 40+ vendors, music by DJ Skyhigh, the self-guided garden walk Queer Life & Landscape at Glen Burnie, and for families, a Make-Your-Own Pride Flag craft station and a Chalk-It-Up-For-Pride sidewalk chalk activity.

Throughout the day food and drink from Nonni’s Eats & Sweets, Taqueria la Mexicana, Melted Dreams Ice Cream Bus, and Winchester Brew Works will be available for purchase. Snacks and drinks will also available in the Museum Store. Attendees are encouraged to bring a chair to enjoy the presentations on the outdoor stage, including the drag shows. Outside food and drink is prohibited.

Attendees are encouraged to visit the Museum Store to enter a free drawing to win a Pride Prize Pack of merchandise and browse the store’s selection of Pride-themed including a selection of Scholastic Read with Pride books for youth and young adult readers.

Additional event details may be found at www.theMSV.org/PRIDE24, including a list of participating vendors, and—for ages 21+—information about a Pride Kick-Off event from 6–9 p.m. on October 4 at The Cider House, and a Pride After Party featuring drag entertainers at the Monument from 7–11 p.m. on October 5.

A regional cultural center, the MSV is located at 901 Amherst Street in Winchester, Virginia. The MSV includes a galleries building with permanent and rotating exhibitions, the Glen Burnie House, seven acres of formal gardens, and The Trails at the MSV—a free-admission art park open daily from 7 a.m. to dusk. The galleries, gardens, and house are open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Additional details are available at www.theMSV.org or by calling 540-662-1473, ext. 235.

About the MSV’s Queer History

The MSV is connected to gay history through its benefactor, Julian Wood Glass Jr. (1910–1992), and his partner, R. Lee Taylor (1924–2000). The couple renovated Glen Burnie, Glass’s ancestral home, and designed the surrounding formal gardens in the 1950s and 1960s. Interpretive panels in the house share their story, and visitors can explore the gardens on the Queer Life & Landscape at Glen Burnie self-guided walk, which highlights how their identities shaped the landscape. In the galleries building, the exhibition 123—I Love You: Queer Life at Glen Burnie offers a glimpse into Glass’s life and the romantic relationships that influenced his collection. On view through 2026, the exhibition includes photographs, letters, clothing worn by Glass, holiday ornaments made by Taylor, Glass’s drawings for the Pink Pavilion in the gardens, and a painting by Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769–1830). Objects are rotated twice a year.