Arts & Entertainment
Arts briefs: Aug. 24
Events slated for D.C. and Baltimore for the coming week
Out actor Dixon returns to Signature
Signature Theatre presents a performance and book signing by Broadway veteran Ed Dixon for one night on Monday at 8 p.m.
Dixon, who has had a 42-year Broadway career and is openly gay, is performing original compositions and narrating pieces from his memoir “Secrets of a Life Onstage and Off.” His journey takes the audience through his experiences with the likes of Leonard Bernstein and through his darkest period when he suffered from drug addiction.
Tickets are $20. For more information, visit signature-theatre.org.
Gay law group meets in D.C.
The National LGBT Bar Association holds its annual Lavender Law Conference and Career Fair, which ends Saturday, at the Washington Hilton Hotel (1919 Connecticut Ave., NW) this weekend.
The conference and career fair allows candidates to meet with LGBT-friendly recruiters from law firms, government agencies, LGBT rights groups and corporate legal departments. There will also be panel discussions from people in the career field and individual career counseling.
The point to the conference is to promote equality and diversity in government and legal work places. Candidates are encouraged to discuss their identity and recruiters are encouraged to portray their LGBT-friendly workplaces.
Registration fees vary between $185-$620. For more information, visit lgbtbar.org.
Sampson to give Alston House benefit performance
Comedian Sampson performs his show “No Shade … No Tea” in benefit of the Wanda Alston House tonight at 7 at the D.C. Arts Center (2438 18th St., NW).
Sampson is an openly gay black comedian and activist. Though he is D.C. based, he has been touring the country since 2003 and has performed in venues such as Broadway in New York, Arena Stage and DAR Constitution Hall.
The Wanda Alston House is a youth homeless shelter for LGBT youths in the Washington area.
Tickets are $10. For more information, visit sampsoncomedy.com.
Lady Bunny at Town tonight
Legendary drag performer Lady Bunny performs tonight at Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) at 10 p.m.
Lady Bunny is known for founding the New York outdoor drag festival Wigstock. She has also been featured in TV shows such as “Sex and the City” and the Comedy Central Roast of Pamela Anderson. She contributes to Star magazine’s Worst of the Week Column and V Magazine named her one of the most notable residents in New York City, along with Marc Jacobs and Lady Gaga.
Cover before 11 is $8 and $12 after. There are also $3 drinks before 11 p.m. For more information, visit towndc.com.
Miss Charm City at the Hippo
Club Hippo (1 West Eager St.) hosts Miss Charm City 2013, an official preliminary to Miss Gay Maryland America, tonight at 10:30.
The event will include a pageant hosted by Miss Gay Maryland 2009 Sue Nami, Miss Gay Maryland 2011 Chi Chi Ray Colby, Miss Gay Maryland 2012 Stephanie Micheals, Miss Gay Virginia 2012 Jazmine Diamond, Miss Gay Atlantic States 2012 Araya Sparxx, Sabrina Sommers and Josie Foster.
Miss Gay America is a pageantry system for female impersonators. In order to qualify for the pageant, contestants must be male and at least 21. No hormones or breast implants are allowed.
General admission is $8 and reserved seating is $10. For more information, visit clubhippo.com or missgayamerica.com.
Grand Central goes Disney
Grand Central (1001/1003 N. Charles St.) presents “Welcom to Disneyland,” a cover performance, with appearances from Former Miss Gay Maryland Su Nami and Sabrina Sommers on Sunday at 9 p.m.
The performance covers the beloved songs and stories from the favorite Disney princesses.
Doors open at 8 p.m. and tickets are $10. For more information, visit centralstationpub.com.
Final Center youth events for summer slated
The Den lounge is opened to LGBT youths for its last weekend of the summer in the Gay and Lesbian Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland (241 W. Chase St.).
The Den includes art making, discussion group and a social club on Saturdays for attendees at the Center. On Sunday, its staff hosts a bike ride and a session on how to make bikes at Velocipede. This is the last weekend the Center will be holding these sessions this summer.
This is a free service for LGBT adolescents and young adults ages 13-24. For more information, visit glccb.org.
‘Dralion’ finishes run this weekend
“Dralion,” Cirque du Soleil’s acrobatic show that fuses influences from the East and the West, are running its last performances this weekend at 1st Mariner Arena (201 West Baltimore St.).
The show draws on the 3,000-year-old tradition of Chinese acrobatics combined with the more modern Cirque du Soleil twist.
In the show, the four elements of nature come to life: air is blue, water is green, fire is red and earth is ochre. When they are combined, balance is achieved.
Tickets range from $40-$165. For more information, visit cirquedusoleil.com.
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.”
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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