Arts & Entertainment
Arts news in brief: Feb. 10
Scarlet’s Bake Sale, D.C. Front Runners featured in mini doc, Rainbow Families dance and more
Jose Guttierez at last year's Scarlet's Bake Sale (Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Scarlet’s Bake Sale benefit returns
The 41st annual Scarlet’s Foundation Bake Sale is Sunday at the Eagle (639 New York Ave., N.W.) with cake drop-offs from noon to 3 p.m., judging at 3:30 p.m. and the auction beginning at 4 p.m.
Proceeds from the auction will benefit Moveable Feast, an organization based in Baltimore that provides food and other services in order to preserve quality of life for people with HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening conditions, and Pets D.C., which provides public health education, exercise, pet food, veterinary care, grooming, foster care and adoptions services at no cost to individuals living with HIV/AIDS or other disabling conditions and their pets.
There are five categories being judged including Best Individual Entry, Best Commercial Entry, Best Club Entry, Most Creative Entry and the Directors Award.
For more information, call 202-347-6025 or visit dceagle.com.
Morabito at Cobalt; return of Flashback
DJ Susan Morabito is spinning at Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) as part of Just Circuit, an event that happens every second Saturday of the month at 10 p.m.
Cobalt is also bringing back its popular Tuesday Flashback retro event next week (Valentine’s Day) with DJs Jason Royce and Erik Lars Evans in the 30 Degrees Lounge area. Rail drinks are two for one and there’s no cover.
Morabito has been playing for audiences for more than 25 years and has released seven CD collections. She has played at events such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institutes Benefit Gala, Stonewall Honors, Atlantis Gay Cruise and more.
She has recently been nominated for three Just Circuit Awards including Best DJ/Producer, Best DJ Podcast and Best DJ — Hall of Fame.
There is a $10 cover for this event. For more information, visit cobaltdc.com or Morabito’s official website, susanmorabito.com.
Gay running group featured in local doc
The Our City Film Festival, started by Yachad, a D.C. non-profit committed to affordable housing and community development, is Saturday and Sunday.
The festival begins with an opening night party featuring Christylez Bacon, a Grammy-nominated artists, Party Girl, a Costello cover band and Edge Theory, a progressive jazz band at the Sixth and I Synagogue (600 I St., N.W.) at 8 p.m. Entry is free with a film ticket or $8 without.
Starting Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at the Goethe Institute (812 7th St., N.W.) the various films will be screened in groupings based on topic. At 12:45 p.m., the grouping, “Our Body” will feature a 13-minute documentary by Brian Beary and Marcel Acosta called “Fast Forward,” which provides a glimpse into the struggles and successes of founding D.C.’s now thriving gay and lesbian running club, The Front Runners.
Tickets are $10 for each film grouping and can be purchased online.
For more information on the festival, including a full schedule of films, visitourcityfilmfestival.com.
Gay art collective hosts monthly performance show
Hillyer Art Space (9 Hillyer Court, N.W.) is teaming up with local gay arts collective Boys Be Good for this month’s Soapbox, a monthly performance art showcase increasing exposure to this art form, on Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m.
The show will include performances by Armando Lopez Bircann, whose performance uses shadows and light; Andrew Fogle, whose poetic work stumbles into themes of lack, trauma, dislocation and more; Devon Hopkins, a Wesleyan grad, who works in social psychology, group dynamics and the intersection of social networking with post-modern choreography; and Jason Edward Tucker, who focuses on challenging the gaze through a concealment and confounding of gender and constructed identity.
There is a $5 suggested donation at the door.
For more information and a sample of past performances, visitartsandartists.org/hillier/
Rainbow Families hosting kid-friendly dance
Rainbow Families is having its Mid-Winter Family Dance on Saturday at the Washington Ethical Society (7750 16th St., N.W.) from 6:30 to 9 p.m.
The event will feature a family friendly DJ, dance games and activities. There will also be pizza, beverages and dessert.
This event is ideal for children ages 4 and over. A quiet room will be provided for younger children and their parents.
Registration is $10 for adult members and $13 for non-members. Registration for all children 5 and older is $5 and children 4 and younger can be registered for free.
For more information and to register for the dance or join Rainbow Families, visit rainbowfamiliesdc.org.
Sports
New IOC policy bans trans women from Olympics
New regulation to be in effect at 2028 summer games in Los Angeles
The International Olympic Committee on Thursday announced it will not allow transgender women from competing in female events at the Olympics.
“For all disciplines on the Sports Program of an IOC event, including individual and team sports, eligibility for any Female Category is limited to biological females,” reads the new policy.
The policy states “eligibility for the Female Category is to be determined in the first instance by SRY Gene screening to detect the absence or presence of the SRY Gene.”
“On the basis of the scientific evidence, the IOC considers that the SRY (sex-determining Region Y) Gene is fixed throughout life and represents highly accurate evidence that an athlete has experienced or will experience male sex development,” it reads. “Furthermore, the IOC considers that SRY Gene screening via saliva, cheek swab or blood sample is unintrusive compared to other possible methods. Athletes who screen negative for the SRY gene permanently satisfy this policy’s eligibility criteria for competition in the Female Category.”
The policy states the test “will be a once-in-a-lifetime test” unless “there is reason to believe a negative reading is in error.”
The new regulation will be in place for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
“I understand that this a very sensitive topic,” said IOC President Kirsty Coventry on Thursday in a video. “As a former athlete, I passionately believe in the rights of all Olympians to take part in fair competition.”
“The policy that we have announced is based on science and it has been led by medical experts with the best interests of athletes at its heart. The scientific evidence is very clear: male chromosomes give performance advances in sport that rely on strength, power, or endurance,” she added. “At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat. So, it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports it would simply not be safe.”
(Video courtesy of the IOC)
Laurel Hubbard, a weightlifter from New Zealand, in 2021 became the first trans woman to compete at the Olympics.
Imane Khelif, an Algerian boxer, won a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Khelif later sued JK Rowling and Elon Musk for cyberstalking after they questioned her gender identity.
Ellis Lundholm, a mogul skier from Sweden, this year became the first openly trans athlete to compete in any Winter Olympics when he participated in Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy.
President Donald Trump in February 2025 issued an executive order that bans trans women and girls from female sports teams in the U.S.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee last July banned trans women from competing in female sporting events. Republican lawmakers have demanded the IOC ban trans athletes from women’s athletic competitions.
“I’m grateful the Olympics finally embraced the common sense policy that women’s sports are for women, not for men,” said U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on X.
An IOC spokesperson on Thursday referred the Washington Blade to the press release that announced the new policy.
a&e features
Introducing the Torchbearers Awards honoring queer, trans women and nonbinary people
Meet the Legends and Illuminators lighting new paths
The Torchbearers Awards are more than recognition—they are a continuation of legacy. They honor the quiet architects of progress in our community: those who organize, advocate, build, and protect, often without fanfare but always with purpose. Rooted in a belief in intentional recognition, this honor names those who carry our movements forward—those who make room for others, who remind us that change is both generational and generative. In a time marked by uncertainty and challenge, these leaders push forward with courage, clarity, and an unwavering commitment to expanding opportunity and equity.
This year’s honorees reflect the full breadth of our community, spanning generations, backgrounds, identities, and industries. From Legends, with decades of leadership and having created pathways for others, to Illuminators, who are lighting new paths with creativity and innovation, each Torchbearer represents the power of intergenerational leadership and the strength found in our diversity. They are organizers, advocates, artists, policy leaders, healers, and changemakers whose lived experiences shape a shared vision for equity and liberation.
This award is our love letter to queer and trans women and nonbinary people who carry the flame when it would be easier to let it dim. To those who consistently show up, who use their voice and visibility and stand firm, often without recognition, so that others may live more freely and fully. The Torchbearers Awards celebrates not just what has been done, but the enduring spirit, responsibility, and collective care that ensure the work continues, and that the flame is always passed forward.
Co-Creators of the Torchbearers Awards: Shannon Alston, June Crenshaw, Heidi Ellis
Torchbearers Awards Advisory Board: Aditi Hardikar, Lesley Bryant, Jasmine Wilson-Bryant, Stephen Rutgers
ILLUMINATOR AWARDEES
- Representative Sharice Davids (she/her), (D, KS-03)
— U.S. House of Representatives - Greisa Martinez Rosas (she/her/ella)
— Executive Director, United We Dream - Paola Ramos (she/her)
— Journalist & Correspondent - Meagan A. Fitzgerald (she/her)
— Journalist & Correspondent - Jessica L. Lewis (she/her)
— Founder / Producer, Play Play DC - Savannah Wade (she/her)
— Founder, OAR Agency - Suhad Babaa (she/her)
— Filmmaker/ Former Executive Director of Just Vision - Ashlee Davis (she/her)
— Global Head of Inclusive Outcomes, Ancestry - Jazmine Hughes (she/her)
— Journalist and Former Editor at New York Times Magazine - Queen Adesuyi (she/they)
— Policy Advisor & Organizer, ReFrame Health & Justice - Michele Rayner, Esq. (she/her)
— Civil Rights Attorney, State Representative (Florida House of Representatives) - Gaby Vincent (she/her)
— Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader - Jenny Nguyen (she/her)
— Founder & Owner, The Sports Bra - Denice Frohman (she/her)
— Independent Artist, Poet / Performer - Vida Rangel (she/her)
— Founder, Our Trans Capital - Roxanne Anderson (they/them)
— Executive Director, Our Space - Ann Marie Gothard (she/her)
— Co-Founder & President, Pride Live (Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center) - Diana Rodriques (she/her)
— Co-Founder & CEO, Pride Live (Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center) - Wendi Cooper (she/her)
— Founder / Executive Director, Transcending Women - Toya Matthews (she/her)
— City of San Antonio, Texas - Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones (she/her)
— Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader - Charity Blackwell (she/her)
— Poet, LGBTQ Advocate & Community Leader - Wilhelmina Indermaur (she/her)
— Director of Communications, Tyler Clementi Foundation - Em Chadwick (she/her)
— CMO, For Them & Autostraddle - Kylo Freeman (they/he)
— CEO, For Them & Autostraddle
LEGEND AWARDEES
- Sheila Alexander-Reid (she/her)
— Executive Director, PHL Diversity, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau - Cassandra Cantave Burton (she/her)
— Interim Director of Thought Leadership & Senior Research Advisor, AARP - leigh h. mosley (she/her)
— Photographer / Educator, PhotoFlo Photography - Jenn M. Jackson, PhD (they/them)
— Assistant Professor of Political Science; Author & Columnist, Syracuse University - Jordyn White (she/her)
— COO, Washington Prodigy / VP of Leadership Development & Research, HRC Foundation - AJ Hikes (they/them)
— Deputy Executive Director, ACLU - RaeShanda Lias (she/her)
— Digital Creator, RL Lockhart - Donna Payne-Hardy (she/her)
— Educator, EEO Specialist, Former Leader at the Human Rights Campaign - Courtney R. Snowden (she/her)
— Principal, Blueprint Strategy Group - Gaye Adegbalola (she/her)
— Musician & Activist, Musician / Inductee of the Blues Hall of Fame - Cheryl A. Head (she/her)
— Independent Author, Novelist (Crime Fiction) - Letitia Gomez (she/her)
— The American LGBTQ+ Museum, Formerly of Voto Latino - Lynne Brown (she/her)
— Publisher, Washington Blade - Shay Franco-Clausen (She/Her/Ella/Queen)
— Political Strategist and Organizer - Melissa L. Bradley (she/her)
— Founder & Managing Partner, New Majority Ventures - Meghann Burke (she/her)
— Executive Director, NWSL Players Association - Victoria Kirby York, MPA (she/they)
— Director of Public Policy & Programs, National Black Justice Coalition - Joli Angel Robinson (she/her)
— CEO, Center on Halsted - Jeannine Frisby LaRue (she/her)
— CEO, Moxie Strategies - Alice Wu (she/her)
— Film Director (Saving Face, The Half of It) / Screenwriter - Storme Webber (she/her)
— Interdisciplinary Artist / Educator, University of Washington - Kim Stone
— CEO of the Washington Spirit, Washington Spirit - Mickalene Thomas
— American Visual Artist, Mickalene Thomas Studio - Erika Lorshbough (any/they/she)
— Executive Director, interACT - J. Gia Loving (she/ella)
— Co-Executive Director, GSA Network
Celebrity News
D.C. goes gaga for Gaga
Bisexual icon brought ‘The Mayhem Ball’ tour to Washington this week
Lady Gaga this week took D.C. by storm.
The bisexual icon and LGBTQ rights champion brought “The Mayhem Ball” tour to Capital One Arena on Monday and Tuesday.
“Abracadabra,” “Paparazzi,” “Applause,” and “Bad Romance” are among the songs Lady Gaga performed during the 2 1/2-hour long concert. Lady Gaga also celebrated her many queer fans.
“You are precious to us,” she said on Tuesday night before she performed “Born This Way.”
‘No Kings’ protests set for D.C.
Border to border: modern slavery and human trafficking in refugee movements across East Africa
New IOC policy bans trans women from Olympics
Introducing the Torchbearers Awards honoring queer, trans women and nonbinary people
Pa. House passes bill to codify marriage equality in state law
PHOTOS: Capital Stonewall Democrats 50th anniversary
‘Inherit the Wind’ isn’t about science vs. religion, but the right to think
Small is beautiful: subcompact SUVs
Polish court rules country must recognize same-sex marriages from EU states
Capital Stonewall Democrats 50th anniversary gala draws sold out crowd
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Photos3 days agoPHOTOS: Capital Stonewall Democrats 50th anniversary
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Theater4 days ago
‘Inherit the Wind’ isn’t about science vs. religion, but the right to think
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Autos4 days ago
Small is beautiful: subcompact SUVs
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Poland3 days ago
Polish court rules country must recognize same-sex marriages from EU states
