7th annual Pride Flag Raising Ceremony held in Rockville
It's an event that is meant to celebrate and acknowledge members of the LGBTQ+ community who call Montgomery County home.
'As we raise the flag, we do more than celebrate Pride, we issue a declaration that we are here, we are whole and we will not be erased,' Phillip Alexander Downie, who grew up in Montgomery County and now serves as the executive director for the MoCo Pride Center, said.
Countdown to WorldPride: Music festival lineup announced
People in Rockville are celebrating the positive impact that the LGBTQ+ community has had on the county.
'Pride is a time to affirm our commitment to inclusion and equity and diversity and acceptance,' Montgomery County councilmember Evan Glass said.
Glass, who is openly gay, was among the dozens who attended the annual Pride Flag Raising Ceremony at Veterans Memorial Plaza.
'The flag is a symbol of love of resilience and of authenticity,' he said,
Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) was there to show his support for the community.
'We can all take pride in the fact that we live in a county that is committed to the success and the flourishing and the belonging of every person who lives here and every young person who is growing up here,' Raskin said.
Grammy Award-winning artist Doechii to close out WorldPride DC
With more work to be done, many recognize the need to reaffirm that commitment.
'We're proud to raise this flag,' Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said. 'We're proud to be in this work with you, and we're not going anywhere.'
Montgomery County's first LGBTQ+ Community Center will open in Bethesda later this summer.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Nelson said. 'And my response is, 'I've never once had to explain that Jazzercise is not what it was in the '80s to someone my age. We just know Jazzercise as our favorite fitness program — period.'' Advertisement Not that Gen Z has step-kicked boomers to the curb. 'What's really amazing is that many of those early customers stayed with the program, even as new generations continued to join in,' said CEO and chief choreographer Shanna Missett Nelson, who's the founder's daughter and the instructor's mom. 11 'We've done a great job in being able to continue doing what we do, but improve it as we went along,' founder Sheppard Missett (not pictured) said. Kim Max 11 Sheppard Missett (not pictured), now 81, launched the company in 1969. Kim Max While Missett Nelson doesn't know the age breakdown of Jazzercisers nationwide, she said the ages of the flagship studio's instructors likely paint a representative picture: Nine, including her daughter, are in their 20s; 10 are in their 30s; 13 are in their 40s; seven are in their 50s; three are in their 60s. Advertisement One — her mom — is in her 80s. 'We've done a great job in being able to continue doing what we do, but improve it as we went along,' founder Sheppard Missett said. 11 'In the competitive dance world, you show up at a dance competition, you've got the dance instructors looking at you funky and it's … not very nurturing,' said Farfan (not pictured). 'Jazzercise is the complete opposite.' Jazzercise, Inc. No judgment, just fitness Michael Stack, an exercise physiologist in Michigan and president of the Physical Activity Alliance, has a few theories as to why Jazzercise's appeal is age-blind: It's social in a time when IRL connections — and especially intergenerational ones — are scarce. Advertisement It's judgment-free in an era where even a side part can earn you a side eye. And it's noncompetitive in a fitness culture where gym rats battle over the number of REM cycles in their sleep and supplements in their smoothies. 'Gen Z in particular may be less about those highly competitive metrics, and more about that sense of belonging and enjoyment and joy,' Stack said. 'Your metric of success at Jazzercise is: Did you breathe heavy? Did you sweat? And did you dance with your friends?' 11 Jazzercise founder Judi Sheppard Missett (right); her daughter, CEO and chief choreographer Shanna Missett Nelson (left); Shanna's daughter Skyla Nelson, who is an instructor. Paul Smith Photography 11 The women who join love the noncompetitive nature in today's intense fitness culture. Kim Max 11 Many also get a sense of community and are friends with their classmates. Kim Max Advertisement For Farfan, the answer is yes, yes and yes. It's a welcome change, she's found, from the high-pressure pipeline she pursued growing up. Maybe her mom was onto something after all. 'In the competitive dance world, you show up at a dance competition, you've got the dance instructors looking at you funky and it's … not very nurturing,' said Farfan, who attends live classes almost every day after work. 'Jazzercise is the complete opposite, so it's very refreshing.' Across the country at a recent Jazzercise class in Astoria, a millennial named Elizabeth Laberge shared a similar sentiment. She'd taken ballet for years as a kid but let the interest — and structured exercise as a whole — fade as life and motherhood took center stage. 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