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Men of Mautner to honor Catania

Council member praised for work on health care, marriage

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All MOMs should report to the rooftop of 701 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., on May 26, says Mautner Project executive director Leslie Calman.

And do it for your mom, she says, or your sister, your daughter or other loved one or friend — anyone who partners with other women and who has ever needed health care services including “during a time of overwhelming challenge of threatening illness.”

Why? “Because the Men of Mautner will celebrate another year of partnership on Wednesday, May 26 when we come together to honor the 2010 Man of Mautner, DC Councilman David Catania,” Calman adds.

Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be plentiful that evening, she says, and she also promises a gorgeous rooftop view of the city as well as the chance to meet other Men of Mautner, those volunteers and donors who help the non-profit organization now in its 20th year serving the health care needs of women who partner with women whether as lesbian or bisexual or trans individuals.

Catania, D.C. Council member at large and chair of the Health Committee, declared: “I could not be more excited or honored about this award,” adding that he has “supported the Mautner Project in fundraising and other ways for such a long time, because of its important, indeed indispensable, role in serving the health care needs of the lesbian community in the D.C. area.”

Catania pointed in particular to the Mautner Project’s leadership role, together with other LGBT groups, in spearheading a drive to encourage smoking cessation and the results have been “a phenomenal success,” he said, “seeing dramatic drops in the rate of smoking” among LGBT individuals. “Mautner provides a crucial voice and can clearly reach into the community with messages we need to have heard to improve health outcomes”

The 2009 Men of Mautner honoree, Bill Gannon, MD, the first man to be elected to Mautner’s board, in 2003, hailed the selection of Catania as his successor MOM this year as “an important step to acknowledge the critical leadership role of elected officials in meeting health care needs of LGBT people” as well as for Catania’s major role in promoting same-sex marriage equality in the enactment of the District’s recent landmark law.

Gannon, a physician specializing in oncology and cancer-related clinical trials for biotech and pharmaceutical companies, noted that “men play a key supportive role to women in these initiatives, and a lot of us see this as helping our sisters — actual or otherwise — touched by cancer and also as a way of giving back to the gay community.”

He also noted that in his own case his mother-in-law — partner David Weidner’s own mother — is a breast-cancer survivor. “So it’s up close and very personal for me.”

Gannon urged all men, and all others, to invest in the work of the Mautner Project. Tickets are $100 for the event, which is from 7-9 p.m., Wednesday, May 26 at 701 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. The event is sponsored by Ackerman Legal PLLC. Catania will speak after being introduced by Washington Blade editor Kevin Naff.

Speaking of the Men of Mautner fundraiser, host Glen Ackerman, head of the law firm Ackerman Legal, PLLC, said: “I have served on the Mautner board for just a little over a year, but this affiliation has afforded me the opportunity for the most personal growth and learning I have experienced so far, since as a gay man I’ve now had to learn all about women’s health issues and all the problems that lesbian women face in getting their health care needs met.” Ackerman also was co-chair of the Mautner Project’s 20th anniversary gala event.

The Mautner Project was founded in 1990, following the death due to breast cancer in 1989 of local lesbian-rights activist and mother Mary-Helen Mautner, then 42, who asked her partner Susan Hester to begin an organization to help other lesbians facing life-threatening illness. Calman calls this “our founding story … of how she literally outlined on a piece of paper a plan for how lesbians could help other lesbians deal with cancer.”

In the past 20 years, according to Calman, the Mautner Project has won many grants to advance such public health initiatives as smoking cessation and most recently obesity among women who partner with women, especially including African-American women. That newest project, a 3-year, $250,000 grant from the District’s Health Department, goes into effect later this month as an integrated research and public education outreach for direct intervention to change people’s behaviors leading to obesity.

Men of Mautner
May 26, 7 p.m.
701 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W.
Tickets $100
mautnerproject.org

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Bars & Parties

MAL kicks off Jan. 11 with Bootcamp

Mid-Atlantic Leather begins with party at Bunker

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MAL Weekend kicks off next week. (Image courtesy of Bunker)

Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend arrives next week with a kickoff event Thursday, Jan. 11 from 10 p.m.-3 a.m. at Bunker. Organizers at Kinetic promise a surprise drill sergeant who will whip you into shape. Joshua Ruiz DJs the event. This event is for VIP pass holders only; visit kineticpresents.com for details.

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Bars & Parties

A roundup of New Year’s Eve parties in D.C.

Celebrate the start of 2024 in style

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Xavier Entertainment LLC will host the seventh annual Times Square NYE Celebration at 10 p.m. at Ivy City Smokehouse. Tickets start at $20 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

New Year’s Eve 2024 at Lost Society will be at 7 p.m. at Lost Society. There will be unique entertainment all night along with a journey of the senses through captivating light shows and LED displays, music, and bottle service presentations throughout the evening. Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

Busboys and Poets will host New Year’s Eve Open Mic and Party at 10 p.m. at 2021 14th St., N.W. This will be an evening of poetry, live DJ, dancing, food, and good company in a vibrant atmosphere where local artists take the stage, showcasing their talents in various genres. The night will be hosted by the talented Charity Blackwell and will feature award-winning poet Black Chakra. Dyanna Monet will deejay. Tickets start at $15 and can be purchased on Eventbrite

QueerTalk DC will host Sapphic New Year’s Celebration at 8 p.m. at FigLeaf Bar & Lounge. The event will celebrate Sapphic, trans, and non-binary communities and feature complimentary hors D’oeuvres, a Champagne toast and DJ sets by DJ Clamazon and DJ Q. For more details, visit Eventbrite

The Queers Upstairs will host Heels & Ties: A Queer New Years Eve Surprise at 9 p.m. at Aliceanna Social Club. This evening will be an unforgettable LGBTQ New Year’s Eve party where you can sip your favorite cocktails and enjoy small bites while dancing the night away with music from DJ Rosie & DJ Missy. Tickets start at $30 and can purchased on Eventbrite

BuffBoyzz Gay-Friendly Male Strip Clubs will host a male revue that caters to men and women at 8 p.m. at Buffboyzz Male Strippers. The event will be an exciting, entertaining and sexy show of exotic male dancers in that will entertain your pants off. Tickets start at $10 and can be purchased on Eventbrite

International Events Washington DC will host the 2024 Black Tie New Year’s Eve Gala at 7:30 p.m. at the Willard InterContinental Washington, D.C. There will be free-flowing Champagne, an open bar, a spectacular balloon drop in the Euro Discotheque Ballroom and live bands and DJs. For dinner, guests can choose from an elegant sit-down, three-course dinner with Champagne or a dinner buffet of international cuisine. Tickets start at $189 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

Social Architects will host the 12th Annual New Year’s Eve Casino Night at 8 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Arlington, Va. There will be six rooms of entertainment spread across three floors. The DJs will spin hip hop, R&B, salsa, Afrobeats and old school music. Tickets start at $60 and can be purchased on Eventbrite

Pitchers and A League of Her Own will host a NYE party with complimentary Champagne toast at midnight, party favors, and a DJ all night long.

Shaker’s plans a drag extravaganza with Tatianna and Crystal Edge among others starting at 10:30 p.m.; the $10 cover includes a glass of Champagne. 

Bunker hosts a 12-hour masquerade ball with several DJs, including Joe Gauthreaux. The party starts at 9 p.m. and goes until 9 a.m. on Jan. 1. Tickets start at $45 and are available at bunkerdc.com.

DJ Alex Love spins NYE at Dirty Goose with drink specials at midnight.

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Bars & Parties

Labor Day sees return of SunFestival to Rehoboth Beach

DJs, live auction, comedy and more planned for end-of-summer bash

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A scene from previous SunFestival celebrations. (Blade file photo by Daniel Truitt)

Labor Day Weekend in Rehoboth Beach brings more than the end of summer — it brings the annual SunFestival celebration benefitting CAMP Rehoboth.

The weekend promises two nights of revelry with entertainers and nationally known DJs creating the “ultimate party to close out summer” Sept. 2-3.

Saturday’s $45 general admission tickets are sold out but you can join a waitlist at the event’s website. That ticket grants you access to a comedy show and an auction where you can bid on six experiences like an eight-day boat tour through Belgium and the Netherlands or a week’s stay in Lisbon, Portugal. Organizations have donated these experiences to CAMP to auction off, with all proceeds going to the organization.

The $95 pass to both nights is also sold out. But general admission tickets for the Sept. 3 dance party starting at 7 p.m. with DJs Robbie Leslie and Joe Gauthreaux remain available. CAMP Rehoboth promises a “state-of-the-art club-like atmosphere,” with new design elements and video imaging.

Visit camprehoboth.com for tickets and more information. The weekend’s schedule is below:

Saturday, Sept. 2: A Night of Comedy, Drag, and Song, plus a LIVE Auction! (Doors Open at 6:30 p.m. Auction and show promptly start at 7:30 p.m.) Featuring Dixie Longate and Randy Roberts.

Serving up Tupperware lady realness, join in Dixie’s living room party and all its hilarity. Randy Roberts brings thrills with uncanny impersonations of iconic female vocalists and cabaret.

Experience a night filled with laughter and song as these talented performers will lift your spirits and tickle your funny bone. And not to be missed: the live auction. Check out the live auction items camprehoboth.com/sunfest2023live.

Sunday Sept. 3: A Night of Dance. (Doors open at 7 p.m. Dance ends at 1 a.m.) Featuring DJ Robbie Leslie and DJ Joe Gauthreaux.

Both DJs will offer an unforgettable musical journey starting with classic mirror ball memories, dance floor anthems, and the latest club beats, according to a CAMP Rehoboth statement. Events are held at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center, which CAMP promises will be transformed “into the ultimate dance party to close out the summer.”

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