BloominGays began in 2013, as a small happy hour at the home of Josh Siegel & Seth Schermer as a way for queer residents of Bloomingdale to build community. The group had grown too big for a house party by 2015, and started hosting events at local bars and restaurants as a way to stay connected while supporting neighborhood businesses. Attended by hundreds of LGBTQ folks from the Dale and surrounding areas, BloominGays decided to invest their energy and numbers into community non-profits in addition to community commerce. 

 

    In 2016, Pride in the Park was launched as a way to support Crispus Attucks Park, Bloomingdale's hidden jewel. On June 13th, the morning of the event, our community awoke to the horror of the Pulse nightclub shooting. The group decided that canceling would only help achieve the attackers’ goal of silencing our community, and that moving forward with our celebration would honor the 49 people killed hours earlier. Proceeds from that first event funded the planting of the Pulse Tree, a Bracken’s Brown Beauty Magnolia that blooms every June in Crispus Attucks Park. We decorate the tree for every Pride in the Park, as a memorial to the victims of violence who can no longer join in the celebrations.

     Since that event, BloominGays has hosted seven Prides in the Park (taking a break for the pandemic), bringing together thousands of Washingtonians, and raising nearly $100,000 to support Crispus Attucks Park and local LGBTQ non-profits including SMYAL, Wanda Alston House, DCCenter, WhitmanWalker, and others.