HoCo Pride 2019 Officially Launched

A diverse crowd of nearly 300 members of the LGBTQ+ community, allies and elected officials packed Carroll Baldwin Hall and its outside grounds in Savage, Md. on June 28 to officially kick off HoCo Pride. 

That launch date was selected to bring attention to Howard County’s first ever LGBTQ+ Pride celebration scheduled for Saturday, June 29, 2019, which will coincide with the 50^th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising in the West Village of New York City.  Stonewall is considered by most historians as a seminal episode in the struggle for LGBT rights.

Howard County Executive Allan H. Kittleman
addressing the crowd. Photo: Andrew Howard

The kid-friendly event featured food, music, beverages, games, raffle prizes, an outside taco truck, a play area on the grounds, a silent auction, resource table from the GLCCB—the sponsor of Baltimore Pride, and a library for children. Several drag artists including the popular Shawnna Alexander were on hand selling raffles and entertaining the children.

Several Howard County’s elected officials appeared to briefly address to the crowd.  

County Executive Allan H. Kittleman explained how Howard County government is supporting the LGBTQ+ community and the planned HoCo Pride event for next year. He also discussed the county executive’s LGBT roundtable, which consists of quarterly meetings focusing on issues important to the LGBTQ+ community and identifying areas of improvement.

County Council Chair and Democratic candidate for County Executive Dr. Calvin Ball said, “We need to stand up and speak out because if any of us are facing inequality and injustice, it harms all of us.”

Councilwoman Jen Terrasa, HoCo Pride Planning Committee
Chair Jumel Howard and Council Chair Dr. Calvin Ball
holding proclamation from the County Council. Photo: Andrew Howard

Dr. Ball read a proclamation from the County Council that supports the LGBTQ+ community and the planned HoCo Pride celebration. 

“The Council congratulates the Pride Committee for promoting diversity and inclusion and thanks all of the dedicated advocates for their valuable time for making history in Howard County.”

Howard County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Michael Martirano reiterated his commitment to diversity and recounted the recent derogatory graffiti at Glenelg High School and how that is something he will not accept. He also challenged the community to rise above hate and continue to be an example for others.

HoCo Pride will not include a parade but instead there will be a large festival, which will most likely take place on the Columbia lakefront though that hasn’t been finalized. The slogan is “Remember. Resist. Rejoice.”

On the grounds outside Carroll Baldwin Hall
in Savage, Md. Photo: Andrew Howard

To continue the planning process, a series of community input meetings have been scheduled.  At these gatherings, members will be afforded the opportunity to make suggestions, volunteer, and to discuss what they would like or not like to see at HoCo Pride.

The first meeting is set for July 10 in the Patapsco Room of the Charles E. Miller Branch Library, 9421 Frederick Rd., Ellicott City, MD 21042 from 6 to 7:15 p.m.

The second meeting will take place on July 11 in the Glenwood Pindell Room of the Glenwood Branch Library, 2350 MD-97, Glenwood, MD 21723 from 6 to 7:15 p.m.

The third meeting is scheduled for July 12 in the Warfield Room at the Howard County Central Library, 10375 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, MD 21044 from 6 to 7:15 p.m.

The well-attended kick-off party was a good beginning as the planning process for the festival will now begin in earnest.

“It was a great honor working with so many members of the community to make this event a success,” said Jumel Howard, Chair of the HoCo Pride Planning Committee. “The positive reaction from the community is a true sign that we are taking on something that the people are seriously behind. We raised over $2,000 and had nearly 300 people join us and we could not be prouder!”

For more information and to follow developments, like the HoCo Pride Facebook Page .

Sadness, Resignation Linger One Year After Hippo Closing

As the renovated Baltimore Eagle is poised to re-open after being shuttered for four years, there remains a feeling of melancholy and resignation within Baltimore’s LGBT community concerning the Club Hippo’s closing its doors for good. Last October 3, the end of a 43-year icon in Baltimore’s Mount Vernon gayborhood became a reality.

The popular disco and saloon, which had been a must-see Baltimore destination for LGBT and straight people from all over, closed as owner Charles Bowers decided to retire.  The building, which he still owns, has been leased to CVS Health, whose brightly-lit store opened a couple of weeks ago.

Several members of the community expressed nostalgia when it comes to the Hippo but also a feeling of inevitability regarding gay bar closings in general and a concern for the profitability of these establishments.

“For me, the departure of the Hippo from My Vernon signaled what I already knew - that the LGBT community was too well established in Baltimore to not be constrained to just one neighborhood. I can feel comfortable by myself or with my LGBT friends anywhere in town,” explains Mara Drummond, a transwoman who points out she began going to the Hippo in 2006 when she first began her transition.

The grand disco finale on September 25, 2015     Photo: Bob Ford

“The decline of Mount Vernon as the hub of the LGBT community is both sad and joyous,” she says.  “The community has lost some of its self-identity but at the same time has blended comfortably into a much larger community.”

Don Davis the owner of Grand Central, which is situated diagonally across from the building where the Hippo had stood, notes the migration of LGBT folks to other areas and also sees the predictability of gay bars closing because the culture is changing.

“It’s sure a different world. So much of the change with the Internet’s hook up sites and apps, gays are now feeling comfortable with hanging out with their straight friends at the straight places,” says Davis, who had been the Hippo’s bar manager for a brief stint in the seventies.  “It breaks my heart to see the Hippo of 43 years and 27 other gay bars close in the 30 years that I have been in business.”

Davis believes this cultural shift as well as other challenges associated with owning a bar has made such businesses unprofitable.  “I am off almost $25,000 from the same period that I had done last year,” Davis states.  “And this is with the Hippo closing.”

Shawnna Alexander, a drag personality who had performed at the Hippo on and off for 20 years and a former Miss Hippo, is resigned to the bar’s closing but is still sad when is reminded of it.  “It's strange because just as I’m getting over it as everything must change, a Facebook memory will pop up 😞😞and I get a little sad,” Alexander says. “A bigger part of me says it was a smart business move and wish Mr. Bowers nothing but the best.”

The final last call - 1:40 a.m., October 4, 2015

Many drag performers launched their careers at the Hippo yet feel the loss of the bar has not impacted them too negatively.  Danny Carbo, a former employee and a drag performer who goes by the drag name Pamela de la Cruz, says, “The Hippo was not only my place of employment and favorite spot for a night out, it was also Baltimore’s best drag venue. In the year since its closing, we’ve seen several venues, new and old, step up to keep the party going.”

Carbo offers an example. “The standout queen, Brooklyn Heights, has worked tirelessly to keep drag alive in Charm City and has brought new shows to Steampunk Alley, The Depot, and a new drag brunch at Points South Latin Kitchen. Ottobar and The Crown continue to regularly include female illusion in their eclectic events as well.”

Still, Thomas Groves, another former employee, laments the Hippo’s closing.  “This past year had been all about going after my goals and dreams in life. The bar’s closing definitely left a hole in the gay community in Baltimore.”

He adds, “Without the Hippo the community has had a huge void in somewhere to go and unwind, enjoy a show or just hang with friends.”