Arts & Entertainment
Baltimore arts briefs: July 27
Hippo celebrates the Olympics, Otakon festival comes to town and more
Olympic opening celebrations
Club Hippo is having a viewing party for the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics tonight at 7 p.m. The club is at 1 West Eager Street in Baltimore.
The opening ceremonies begin at 7:30 and Club Hippo is offering drink specials all night long: $6 for Absolut Drinks, $3 for Miller Lite Draft and Yuengling Draft and $2.25 for Natty Boh Draft.
Admission is free. For more information, clubhippo.com.
Celebrate Christmas while the weather is warm
Grand Central (1001/1003 N. Charles St.) hosts its “Christmas in July” party Saturday night starting at 10 p.m. Cover is $6 and goes to benefit the Gay and Lesbian Community Center.
The Center is a group that provides numerous services to the LGBT community as well as publishes Gay Life and produces Baltimore Pride. This year, it’s celebrating 35 years of service.
Grand Central offers $2.50 drinks from 10-11 p.m. For more information, visit centralstationpub.com.
Last year’s Otakon. (Photo courtesy Otakon)
The Otaku generation returns to Baltimore
Otakon, a yearly festival that celebrates anime, manga and other elements of Asian pop culture, starts today at 10 a.m and ending Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m at the Baltimore Convention Center (1 West Pratt St.).
Otakon is called the “convention of the otaku generation: by fans, for fans.” Since 1999, the festival has taken over a large area of the Inner Harbor, attracting millions of fans dressed as their favorite characters. Activities include art shows, concerts, film screenings, autograph signings and dancing.
Online registration has closed but tickets can still be bought at the door for $80. Children under 8 have free admission. For more information, visit otakon.com.
A summer evening with sculpture and jazz
Baltimore Museum of Art (10 Art Museum Dr.) hosts “Jazz in the Sculpture Garden” Saturday night at 7 p.m. with the Steven Kroon Latin Jazz Sextet.
Kroon brings to the concert sultry Latin sounds developed from a 35-year career that has included other great jazz musicians. He was requested back to the Sculpture Garden event by popular demand.
The event will also include twilight hour tours starting at 5 p.m., which include a glass of wine. Attendees are encouraged to pack their own picnic or purchase wine, beer and soft drinks at their concessions.
General admission for a concert is $25 and with a tour is $35. Member tickets are $18 and with a tour is $23. For more information, visit artbma.org.
Sports
Jason Collins dies at 47
First openly gay man to actively play for major sports team battled brain cancer
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.”
The Washington Blade will update this article with additional reaction when it becomes available.
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.
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
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