On September 9, members of the LBGT community and their allies dressed to impress at “A Magical Night of the Dancing Gowns,” the Second Annual DC Trans Ball. The house and ball competition, which coincided with the 2017 United States Conference on AIDS (USCA) in Washington, DC, aimed to raise HIV awareness with elegance and style.

Hosted by the DC-based multicultural, bilingual LGBT organization Casa Ruby, participants vied for trophies and $7,000 in cash prizes in various categories—many of which were inspired by Disney. Contestants strutted down the runway dressed as characters from Snow White, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland and Beauty and the Beast. Incorporating safer sex messages or accessories (like condoms) was a must for many of the categories.

In 2012, Ruby Corado, an activist and transgender woman living with HIV originally from El Salvador, founded Casa Ruby. The organization provides social services such as housing and immigration assistance and preventive health care as well as support services for survivors of violence to the most vulnerable in the LGBT community.

For more information, visit casaruby.org.