Arts & Entertainment

D.C. arts briefs: May 11

Blade hosts Rehoboth kick-off party, Mr./Miss Capital Pride contest and more

Published

14 years ago

May 10, 2012

Mr. and Miss Capital Pride this weekend

The Mr. and Miss Capital Pride event is Saturday night at Town (2009 8th Street, NW) starting at 6 p.m. There’s a $10 cover and proceeds from the event go to Capital Pride. The deadline to enter has passed but those wishing to watch the contest are welcome to attend. More information on this event and all Capital Pride festivities is here.

Blade summer kick-off in Rehoboth

Washington Blade will host its sixth annual summer kick-off party in Rehoboth Beach, Del., on May 18.

The party takes place from 5-7 p.m. at the Blue Moon, 35 Baltimore Ave. It’s open to the public and there’s no cover charge. Visitors who sign up for the Blade’s e-mail newsletter on-site receive two free drinks.

“We have many Delaware readers and D.C. readers who vacation in Rehoboth,” says Brian Pitts, Blade sales executive and co-owner. “It’s always a fun way to meet advertisers and readers and to kick off the summer season.”

Gay group has family events next weekend

Family Equality Council is hosting a Family Weekend in D.C. starting Thursday.

Zach Wahls, who spoke before the Iowa Legislature in 2011, will serve as honorary family ambassador, joining the Council and families for Families on the Hill, the Congressional lobbying visits that are part of the weekend events.

Families on the Hill will begin at 8:30 a.m. with training for kids and adults. The lobby visits will focus on three issues: adoption and foster care, repeal of DOMA and safe schools.

On May 18, families will have various tour options including the White House, Museum of Natural History, the National Zoo and more.

The events for May 19 include tours of the Capitol.

For more information, including how to register and a complete schedule, visit familyequality.org.

Bethesda Fine Arts Festival gathers wide-ranging talent

‘Red Light, Grace Street’ by Joseph Craig English, will be on display at the Bethesda Fine Arts Festival this weekend. (Image courtesy the Festival)

Artists representing 25 states and Canada will be showcasing their work at the ninth annual Bethesda Fine Arts Festival in downtown Bethesda’s Woodmont Triangle this weekend.

The event will also feature live entertainment, children’s activities and restaurants including Haagen Dazs, BlackFinn American Saloon and more.

Some of the artists featured include Doug Blum, Kate Beck, Ivan Radojicic Tom Mcquaid, Lisa Stewart, Giampictro Filippetti and more.

The festival is open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.

Cooper to spin at Cobalt Saturday night

DJ Seth Cooper is coming to Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) for Just Circuit on Saturday from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m.

In 2006, Gay Internet Radio Live asked Cooper to join its online radio network, putting his sets next to other big names like randy Bettie Lydia Prim and more. In 2009, Just Circuit named Cooper Best Up and Coming DJ, as well as nominated him for Best After Hours Party.

He’s headlined at Splash Days in Austin, Gay Days in Orlando, Pacha in Brazil and more in clubs across the U.S., Canada, Brazil and China.

The night will also include DJ Sean Morris will be in 30degreees, free vodka from 10 to 11 p.m. and a laser light show by Sound Sign.

Capital Pride Art Fair seeking submissions

Capital Pride is now accepting submissions from all LGBT artists in the D.C. area for the first Capital Pride Art Fair at the festival on June 10 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The fair will present 12 to 14 artists showing their work in one tent in the Arts Stage area.

To submit work, artists must fill out the form at capitalpride.kintera.org/artfair, providing price range, number of available pieces, samples via jpegs or website and contact information.

The fee for commercial arts is $50 for eight feet of display space. There are a limited number of spaces available for non-commercial artists

Artists may also be interested in donating work to the silent auction held at the Heroes Gala and Silent Auction on May 30.

For more information, contact Capital Pride at [email protected]. Submissions must be received by May 20.

Photos

PHOTOS: Denali at Pitchers

‘Drag Race’ alum performs at Thirst Trap

Published

19 hours ago

April 14, 2026

Michael Key

Denali performs at the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show at Pitchers DC on April 9. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

Arts & Entertainment

In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI

‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’

Published

2 days ago

April 13, 2026

Baltimore Banner

Last year, Baltimore Center Stage refused to give up its DEI focus in the face of losing federal funding. They've tripled down. (Photo by Ulysses Muñoz of the Baltimore Banner)

By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.

Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.

“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.

The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

Books

Susan Lucci on love, loss, and ‘All My Children’

New book chronicles life of iconic soap star

Published

2 days ago

April 13, 2026

Terri Schlichenmeyer

(Book cover image courtesy of Blackstone Publishing)

‘La Lucci’
By Susan Lucci with Laura Morton
c.2026, Blackstone Publishing
$29.99/196 pages

They’re among the world’s greatest love stories.

You know them well: Marc Antony and Cleopatra. Abelard and Heloise. Phoebe and Langley. Cliff and Nina. Jesse and Angie, Opal and Palmer, Palmer and Daisy, Tad and Dixie. Now read “La Lucci” by Susan Lucci, with Laura Morton, and you might also think of Susan and Helmut.

When she was a very small girl, Susan Lucci loved to perform. Also when she was young, she learned that words have power. She vowed to use them for good for the rest of her life.

Her parents, she says, were supportive and her family, loving. Because of her Italian heritage, she was “ethnic looking” but Lucci’s mother was careful to point out dark-haired beauties on TV and elsewhere, giving Lucci a foundation of confidence.

That’s just one of the things for which Lucci says she’s grateful. In fact, she says, “Prayers of gratitude are how I begin and end each day.”

She is particularly grateful for becoming a mother to her two adult children, and to the doctors who saved her son’s life when he was a newborn.

Lucci writes about gratitude for her long career. She was a keystone character on TV’s “All My Children,” and she learned a lot from older actors on the show, and from Agnes Nixon, the creator of it. She says she still keeps in touch with many of her former costars.

She is thankful for her mother’s caretakers, who stepped in when dementia struck. Grateful for more doctors, who did heart-saving work when Lucci had a clogged artery. Grateful for friends, opportunities, life, grandchildren, and a career that continues.

And she’s grateful for the love she shared with her husband, Helmut Huber, who died nearly four years ago. Grateful for the chance to grieve, to heal, and to continue.

And yet, she says of her husband: “He was never timid, but I know he was afraid at the end, and that kills me down to my soul.”

“It’s been 15 years since Erica Kane and I parted ways,” says author Susan Lucci (with Laura Morton), and she says that people still approach her to confirm or deny rumors of the show’s resurrection. There’s still no answer to that here (sorry, fans), but what you’ll find inside “La Lucci” is still exceptionally generous.

If this book were just filled with stories, you’d like it just fine. If it was only about Lucci’s faith and her gratitude – words that happen to appear very frequently here – you’d still like reading it. But Lucci tells her stories of family, children and “All My Children,” while also offering help to couples who’ve endured miscarriage, women who’ve had heart problems, and widow(ers) who are spinning and need the kindness of someone who’s lived loss, too.

These are the other things you’ll find in “La Lucci,” in a voice you’ll hear in your head, if you spent your lunch hours glued to the TV back in the day. It’s a comfortable, fun read for fans. It’s a story you’ll love.

The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.