Fashion show, lip-sync duel among highlights of Pride in the Plaza

Montgomery County hosts free event in downtown Silver Spring on Sunday

June 28, 2024 3:32 p.m.

Montgomery County aims to end Pride Month on a high note with Pride in the Plaza, a festival Sunday in downtown Silver Spring featuring events including a fashion show, lip-sync contest and a mini-ball.

“This is Montgomery County’s annual pride celebration and festival of love, unity and community,” said Phillip Alexander Downie, CEO of MoCo Pride Center, an umbrella organization of local LGBTQIA+ advocacy, arts and culture and service groups that is partnering with the county to host the event.

The free festival, organized by the MoCo Pride Center’s Live in Your Truth Programs, will be held from noon to 8 p.m. in Veterans Plaza at 1 Veterans Place. Free event parking will be available in the Ellsworth Drive parking garage adjacent to Veterans Plaza.

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“It is important for all of us to recognize Pride Month,” County Executive Marc Elrich said in a county release about the festival. “We want everyone to know that they have a place here in this community. Pride in the Plaza is a fun way to do that, and its reputation as one of the most popular events in the region is well deserved. I encourage everyone to check it out.”

Pride in the Plaza features food, live music, a family zone and a resource and vendor fair, according to the release. Between noon and 5 p.m., the festival will showcase local nonprofits, queer-owned businesses, artists and networks that offer services for local LGBTQIA+ communities. Downie said more than 120 vendors are expected to attend.

“We’re here in downtown Silver Spring to celebrate our amazingly diverse community [and] also provide a plethora of wellness resources to let them know about the accessibility of the wellness resources that exist throughout our county all year long–and throughout the region, of course,” Downie said.

A new addition to this year’s festival is “Unleash Your Pride,” a fashion show hosted by fashion designer and drag performer Jayzeer Shantey that will take place in the Silver Spring Civic building at the plaza, according to Downie.

The festival’s mainstage on the plaza will host two of the festival’s most high-profile attractions: the 2024 Drag Duels lip sync championship and the fourth annual Pride in the Plaza Mini-Ball, which Downie touts as an inclusive event that celebrates people from all queer spaces.

“We always [end] the night with our mini-ball,” Downie said. “It’s about ballroom culture, and if you’re not familiar, it’s a fantastic event. It’s a wonderful display of community and culture that I [encourage] everyone to come to and see.”

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Pride in the Plaza will also offer free HIV and STI screenings, as well as Mpox vaccinations in the festival’s Health Services Suite on the second floor of the civic building, according to the county release. In honor of National HIV Testing Day, individuals who get tested will receive a $15 gift card while supplies last.

Now in its fourth year, Downie said the festival has ballooned in size since its inception. Organizers were able to expand access to cool, quiet indoor spaces this year, which will allow attendees to take a break from the heat and noise of the mainstage area, he added.

“It started out as a smaller event and it’s grown significantly over the years from one small stage to now encompassing three stages,” Downie said.

The festival is open to the public, but attendees are strongly recommended to register in advance, according to the county. The first 500 people to arrive will receive a free T-shirt commemorating the event.


“Queerness, trans people, non-binary individuals have existed since the beginning of time and in every facet of society,” Downie said. “We are just trying to create spaces and to educate our entire community that everyone belongs and that there is a space for everyone.”

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