Monthly Village News for June 2025

From Frank...

It’s hard for me to let go of May and all the joy surrounding our special events associated with Older Americans Month. This week, we had a fantastic program, moderated by Lynn Neary of NPR fame, on cultural changes over the last fifty or so years. The picture above captures the full house, but truly everyone was engaged hearing about both past achievements and present challenges remain.

One of those presenting, Ellen Kahn from the Human Rights Campaign, spoke about issues related to LGBTQ equality. Since June is Pride Month, I thought it was worth repeating what Ellen shared when asked about pivotal moments in the road to LGBTQ equality. She shared that homosexuality was officially removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in December 1973. This decision was made by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) board of trustees. She went on to share the other major milestones, including the AIDS pandemic, changes in attitudes, and the right to marry.

For those interested in celebrating Pride events, Capitol Hill Village is sponsoring the following which are open to all DC Village members:

Nats Night OUT!

June 5 at 6:45pm

Nationals Stadium

Join Capitol Hill Village for National's Night OUT! We will purchase tickets as a group via Team DC ($28 a ticket). Team DC tickets include a special Nats pride jersey as the giveaway for that game.

Queer Stories Performance

June 17 at 7:00pm at Undercroft Theatre 900 Mass Ave NW

This group performance is made up of LGBT+ people ages 14 to 80, who worked with instructors over 11 weeks to craft a powerful and engaging production around their lives and experiences. Admission is free.

CHV Pride Celebration

June 25 from 1:00pm to 4:00pm at 900 G Street NE

Celebrate LGBT+ older adults and LGBT Pride month with Capitol Hill Village! This afternoon of fun will include socializing, music, food, and more. All are invited to attend.

To get more information or register for any of these events contact sross@capitolhillvillage.org or call 202-543-1778 x204

We’re extending our celebration of Older Americans Month into June with two additional presentations. The first one is on Sunday, June 8th at 2pm which will be a book talk by Village member and prolific author, Judith Viorst. She will talk about her latest book, Making the Best of What’s Left: When We’re Too Old to Get the Chairs Reupholstered. The book will be available to purchase and then be signed following the event at the Cleveland Park Library. The Sunday Supper is that same day at 5pm, catered by Laredo Mexican Restaurant (featuring non-spicy food) so make a day of it and come to dinner after the book talk!

The final presentation for Older Americans Month will be at the library on Monday, June 9th at 2pm. Kathy Stokes, Director of Fraud Prevention Programs at AARP will discuss current scams and how to protect yourself.

As always, I hope you’ll join us for one or many of our events in June. - Frank Finamore - Executive Director

PS Our exhibition, We Are Your Neighbors, will remain at the library through June 25th. If you’ve not yet seen it, I highly encourage you to go and become acquainted with our 8 members that shared their rich and meaningful life stories with us! Below is a thoughtful note that we received by a visitor to the exhibit.