Arts & Entertainment

Baltimore arts briefs: March 23

AIDS Action hosts weekend brunch, new exhibit explores gender and more

Published

14 years ago

March 22, 2012

Juliette Ebner

Support groups span LGBT spectrum

The GLBT Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland (241 West Chase St.) has several groups meeting this week.

On Saturday, Sufficient As I Am, a group for youth 24 and younger dealing with issues of sexuality, coming out, relationships, family and more, is meeting in room 201 at 12:30 p.m. The Baltimore Trans-Masculine Alliance, a support group for FTMs, meets in room 202 at 6 p.m. followed by Tran*quilility, a support group for MTFs at 8 p.m.

Men Like Me, a support group for adult males to discuss coming out, homophobia and more meets Monday in room 202 at 6 p.m.

POZ Men, an LGBT-affirming peer support group, meets Wednesday in room 202 at 6 p.m.

For more information on this groups, visit glccb.org.

New exhibit explores gender

The Maryland Institute College of Art is hosting an opening reception for one of its newest exhibits “The Outliers: Occupying the Spaces Between Genders,” which features photographs by alumni Elle Perez. It’s Monday in the main building’s main gallery (1300 W. Mount Royal Ave.) from 5 to 7 p.m.

Perez, recipient of the 2011 Meyer Photography Traveling Fellowship, explores the margins of gender expression and seeks to question the notion of gender.

The exhibit will be on display through April 4. For more information, visit MICA.edu.

A still from 'Jitters.' (Photo courtesy the filmmaker)

More Hippo fun this weekend

Club Hippo (1 West Eager St.) is hosting a variety of events as usual.

Tonight, the Ladies of LURe present “Lust” with DJ ROsie and the DystRuXion Dancers. There is a $5 cover before midnight which goes up to $7 afterward. Doors open at 10 p.m. All attendees must be 21 or older.

Saturday is the 2012 Mid-Atlantic LeatherSIR, Leatherboy, Community Bootblack and Leather Woman contests for Chesapeake Leather Awareness Pride with DJ Brian Mongeon. Doors open at 1 p.m. and admission is $20. Also that night is Kuhmeleon’s Hit Parade at 10 p.m. featuring dance remixes of the hottest hits.

Wednesday is the weekly bingo game benefitting the GLBT Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland. Attendees could win a copy of the new film, “Jitters.”

For more information, visit clubhippo.com.

AIDS Action has Sunday brunch planned

AIDS Action Baltimore is having its 25th anniversary awards brunch Sunday at the Four Seasons Baltimore (200 International Drive) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This year, special awards will be given to John G. Bartlett, M.D., Rev. Debra Hickman and Charlie Reid.

Tickets are $100 and available online at aidsactionbaltimore.org.

AIDS Action Baltimore raises money to support its own patient services programs and to advocate for more efficient and more effective treatment services and research programs for people with HIV as well as fair pricing for newly approved drugs and reasonable price increases for all HIV drugs.

It has also recently begun advocating for research, treatment and support services for people with hepatitis C.

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Sports

Jason Collins dies at 47

First openly gay man to actively play for major sports team battled brain cancer

Published

21 hours ago

May 12, 2026

Michael K. Lavers

Jason Collins (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to actively play for a major professional sports team, died on Tuesday after a battle with brain cancer. He was 47.

The California native had briefly played for the Washington Wizards in 2013 before coming out in a Sports Illustrated op-ed.

Collins in 2014 became the first openly gay man to play in a game for a major American professional sports league when he played 11 minutes during a Brooklyn Nets game. He wore jersey number 98 in honor of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student murdered outside of Laramie, Wyo., in 1998.

Collins told the Washington Blade in 2014 that his life was “exponentially better” since he came out. Collins the same year retired from the National Basketball Association after 13 seasons.

Collins married his husband, Brunson Green, in May 2025.

The NBA last September announced Collins had begun treatment for a brain tumor. Collins on Dec. 11, 2025, announced he had Stage 4 glioblastoma.

“We are heartbroken to share that Jason Collins, our beloved husband, son, brother and uncle, has died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma,” said Collins’s family in a statement the NBA released. “Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar. We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers over the past eight months and for the exceptional medical care Jason received from his doctors and nurses. Our family will miss him dearly.”

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Collins’s “impact and influence extended far beyond basketball as he helped make the NBA, WNBA, and larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations.”

“He exemplified outstanding leadership and professionalism throughout his 13-year NBA career and in his dedicated work as an NBA Cares Ambassador,” said Silver. “Jason will be remembered not only for breaking barriers, but also for the kindness and humanity that defined his life and touched so many others.”

“To call Jason Collins a groundbreaking figure for our community is simply inadequate. We truly lost a giant today,” added Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson in a statement. “He came out as gay — while still playing — at a time when men’s athletes simply did not do that. But as he powerfully demonstrated in his final years in the league and his post-NBA career, stepping forward as he did boldly changed the conversation.”

“He was and will always be a legend for the LGBTQ+ community, and we are heartbroken to hear of his passing at the young age of 47,” she said. “Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones. We will keep fighting on in his honor until the day everyone can be who they are on their terms.”

Photos

PHOTOS: ‘Studio 69’

Glitterati Productions hold party at Bunker

Published

2 days ago

May 11, 2026

Michael Key

'Studio 69' was held at Bunker on Friday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Glitterati Productions held the “Studio 69” party at Bunker on Friday, May 8.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

Arts & Entertainment

Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier returns June 13 to kick off D.C. Pride week

Pride on the Pier officially launches Pride Week in D.C.

Published

2 days ago

May 11, 2026

Staff reports

The Washington Blade’s annual Pride on the Pier celebration returns to The Wharf on Saturday, June 13, 2026 from 4-9 p.m., bringing thousands of LGBTQ community members and allies together for an unforgettable waterfront celebration to kick off Pride week in Washington, D.C.

Now in its eighth year, Washington Blade Pride on the Pier extends the city’s annual celebration of LGBTQ visibility to the bustling Wharf waterfront with an exciting array of activities and entertainment for all ages. The District Pier will offer DJs, dancing, drag, and other entertainment. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase for those 21 and older.

“Pride on the Pier has become one of the signature moments of Pride in D.C.,” said Lynne Brown, publisher of the Washington Blade. “There’s nothing like watching our community come together on the waterfront with live music and incredible energy as we kick off Pride week.”

Pride on the Pier is free and open to the public, with VIP tickets available for exclusive pier access to the Dockmaster Building. To purchase VIP tickets visit www.prideonthepierdc.com/vip.

Additional entertainment announcements, sponsor activations, and event details will be released in the coming weeks.

Event Details:

📍 Location: District Pier at The Wharf (101 District Sq SW, Washington, DC)
📅 Dates: Friday, 13, 2026

⏱️ 4-9PM
🎟️ VIP Tickets: www.PrideOnThePierDC.com/VIP