Reston Pride returns for fifth annual festival with ‘dragapella beauty shop quartet’

Reston Pride will return to Lake Anne Plaza this year for its fifth annual festival on June 4.

The annual event follows the theme “You Belong Here” in an effort to engage the LGBTQIA+ community.

This year’s event will feature more than 65 vendors, including local businesses, artists, and advocacy organizations. Organizers have also partnered with Elden Street Tea Shop to concoct a specialty tea blend — appropriately called Inclusivitea — produced to raise funds for Reston Pride.

Board president Kyle Rohen said the event has been blessed with active participation from the community at large.

“I believe the importance of pride cannot be understated, particularly at a time where the most vulnerable members of our community, specifically trans youth and queer people of color, are under relentless attack in legislatures nationwide,” Rohen wrote in a statement.

Drag performances, spoken word, and the event’s headlining act — The Kinsey Sicks — are also set for the event.

The Kinsey Sicks, an a capella quartet who describe themselves as “America’s favorite dragapella beauty shop quartet,” will perform at Reston Community Center’s CenterStage the same night at 8 p.m.

Nathan Hagan, an event organizer, said this year’s event has nearly double the number of vendors and organizations participating over last year.

“Some other changes this year include a reinforced commitment to community and giving back,” Hagan said by email. “In the wake of some of the political debates around the country and our region here in Northern Virginia, we have some specific community leaders who will speak and share their experiences within the Transgender community.”

Organizers anticipate between 2,000 and 3,000 people to attend the festival throughout the day.

“It is a hyper-local focused pride festival that first and foremost is about creating a safe environment where people feel empowered to be themselves,” Hagan said. “While we are called ‘Reston’ by name, our volunteers and board members come from across the region, and we serve and partner with individuals and organizations around the larger area.”

The organization hopes to donate proceeds from the event to Casa BruMar Foundation, a nonprofit organization that aims to build an LGBTQ+ community center in Virginia. The funds would support housing stability for trans youth.

“Our directive here is clear; service to our community is vital for growth and longevity of the community itself, and Casa BruMar provides the exact kind of support necessary to keep trans youth safe,” Hagan told FFXnow.

Reston Pride is a nonprofit organization that launched in 2018. The group advocates and educates individuals about the LGBTQIA+ community in Reston and surrounding areas.