Arts & Entertainment

D.C. Black Pride events

Parties, poetry, seminars, services and more

Published

10 years ago

May 22, 2014

Mariah Cooper

Black Pride Opening Reception (Washington Blade file photo by Blake Bergen)

Friday, May 23

Grand Hyatt Washington (1000 H St., N.W.) holds the opening reception and awards ceremony in the Independence Ballroom tonight from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Awards given will include the Ruth Ellis Award to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit. Local recording artist Rose Breyae will perform. There will also be hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar.

Kabin Lounge (1337 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) hosts “The Warmup!,” the opening reception, pass distribution and happy hour, 4-9 p.m. There is no cover charge. Music will be a mix of hip-hop, R&B, reggae and house.

Ibiza (1222 First St., N.E.) hosts 5000 Men Pride Mega Party with a performance by soul singer Elle Varner from 9:30 p.m.-3:30 a.m. “Real Housewives of Atlanta” cast member Marlo Hampton will host.

Vita Lounge (1318 9th St., N.W.) hosts “Gurl’s Play,” a dance party, from 10 p.m.-3 a.m. The night will be hosted by Dynce with music by DJ Jai Sincere and DJ Lady Mysterious. Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 before midnight and $20 after midnight.

Rainbow Connects hosts speed dating and networking at the Grand Hyatt Washington (1000 H St., N.W.) from 8:30-10:30 p.m. Check in starts at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 24

Fitness trainer Coach G presents a Powercore workshop at the Grand Hyatt Washington (1000 H St., N.W.) from 10:30-11:30 a.m. The workshop teaches how to workout to define core muscles through a series of exercises focused on improving strength, flexibility, balance and mobility. Coach G has shared his fitness expertise on CNN, Fox News and writes a regular fitness column for the Blade.

There will be a writer’s forum at the Grand Hyatt Washington (1000 H St., N.W.) from 12:30-1:45 p.m. The moderator will be journalist Wyatt O’Brian Evans. Writers scheduled to appear are Buddah Desmond, La Toya Hankins, J. Omar and more.

Ballroom Community 101: Everything You Wanted to Know about the Ballroom Community, a workshop that explores the ballroom culture as shown in the documentary “Paris is Burning,” is at the Grand Hyatt Washington (1000 H St., N.W.) on the Independence level from 1-2 p.m. Guests are encouraged to bring questions to discuss.

Are You Afraid of Aging: An Intergenerational Discussion is at the Grand Hyatt Washington (1000 H St., N.W.) from 2-3 p.m. The discussion will explore how each generation views aging.

Poet Tim’m West hosts D.C. Black Pride Poetry Slam at the Grand Hyatt Washington (1000 H St., N.W.) from 7-9 p.m. Sign up begins at 6 p.m. There will only be 15 spots available for the first round of poetry. Five audience members will be chosen to judge. The first place winner will receive $250, second place $100 and third place $50.

The Park on 14th (920 14th St., N.W.) hosts The Chill Out Super Day Party from 3-9 p.m. There will be three DJs on three levels spinning tracks. Free food is included for pass holders.

Echostage (2135 Queens Chapel Rd., N.E.) hosts the Wet Dream Mega Party from 9:30 p.m.- 4 a.m. R&B singer Amerie will perform.

Upscale Ballroom (3900 Bexlery Pl., Suitland, Md.) hosts the Insomniac Pride After Party from 3 a.m. until sunrise. There will be dancers and hip-hop, R&B and house music.

Sunday, May 25

There will be an interfaith service at the Grand Hyatt Washington (1000 H St., N.W.) from 9-11 a.m.

The Rock the Block Party will be held at the Fairgrounds (1299 Half St., S.E.) from 3-9 p.m. DJs will be playing hip-hop, R&B, reggae, and house music. Rapper Fly Young will perform.

The Health and Wellness Festival an HIV/AIDS awareness festival, is at Francis-Stevens School (2425 N St. N.W.) from noon-6 p.m There will be vendors, food and activities for children.

African-American Collective Theatre presents “Missing Pieces” at Anacostia Playhouse (2020 Shannon Pl. S.E.) with two performances at 6:30 and 8 p.m. The play tells the story of a veteran detective and his rookie partner who try to solve the murder of a popular gay activist.

Aqua Restaurant and Bar (1818 New York Ave., N.E.) holds its sixth annual House Rocker Female Dancer of the Year Competition from 9 p.m.-4 a.m. There will be a $1,000 cash prize.

Monday, May 26

The Annual Picnic will be held at Fort Dupont Park from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. There will be live music and entertainment.

Kabin Lounge (1337 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) hosts the Apocalypse Chapter V: The Close Out Party from 10 p.m.-2 a.m. There will be dancers and hip-hop, R&B, reggae and house music.

Tickets are available to become a pass holder at any of the parties and picnic for $130. They include perks such as free food, drinks, no cover charge and skipping lines.

2013 Black Pride Us Helping Us BBQ. (Washington Blade file photo by Damien Salas)

Up Next

Building a community

Don't Miss

New Wave Singers to perform concert

FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM

Nightlife

Ed Bailey brings Secret Garden to Project GLOW festival

An LGBTQ-inclusive dance space at RFK this weekend

Published

1 hour ago

April 26, 2024

Evan Caplan

Ed Bailey's set at last year's Project Glow. (Photo courtesy Bailey)

When does a garden GLOW? When it’s run by famed local gay DJ Ed Bailey.

This weekend, music festival Project GLOW at RFK Festival Grounds will feature Bailey’s brainchild the Secret Garden, a unique space just for the LGBTQ community that he launched in 2023.

While Project GLOW, running April 27-28, is a stage for massive electronic DJ sets in a large outdoor space, Secret Garden is more intimate, though no less adrenaline-forward. He’s bringing the nightclub to the festival. The garden is a dance area that complements the larger stages, but also stands on its own as a draw for festival-goers. Its focus is on DJs that have a presence and following in the LGBTQ audience world.

“The Secret Garden is a showcase for what LGBTQ nightlife, and nightclubs in general, are all about,” he says. “True club DJs playing club music for people that want to dance in a fun environment that is high energy and low stress. It’s the cool party inside the bigger party.”

Project GLOW launched in 2022. Bailey connected with the operators after the first event, and they discussed Bailey curating his own space for 2023. “They were very clear that they wanted me to lean into the vibrant LGBTQ nightlife of D.C. and allow that community to be very visibly a part of this area.”

Last year, club icon Kevin Aviance headlined the Secret Garden. The GLOW festival organizers loved the its energy from last year, and so asked Bailey to bring it back again, with an entire year to plan.

This year, Bailey says, he is “bringing in more D.C. nightlife legends.” Among those are DJ Sedrick, “a DJ and entertainer legend. He was a pivotal part of Tracks nightclub and is such a dynamic force of entertainment,” says Bailey. “I am excited for a whole new audience to be able to experience his very special brand of DJing!”

Also, this year brings in Illustrious Blacks, a worldwide DJ duo with roots in D.C.; and “house music legends” DJs Derrick Carter and DJ Spen.

Bailey is focusing on D.C.’s local talent, with a lineup including Diyanna Monet, Strikestone!, Dvonne, Baronhawk Poitier, THABLACKGOD, Get Face, Franxx, Baby Weight, and Flower Factory DJs KS, Joann Fabrixx, and PWRPUFF.

Secret Garden also brings in performers who meld music with dance, theater, and audience interactions for a multi-sensory experience.

Bailey is an owner of Trade and Number Nine, and was previously an owner of Town Danceboutique. Over the last 35 years, Bailey owned and operated more than 10 bars and clubs in D.C. He has an impressive resume, too. Since starting in 1987, he’s DJ’d across the world for parties and nightclubs large and intimate. He says that he opened “in concert for Kylie Minogue, DJed with Junior Vasquez, played giant 10,000-person events, and small underground parties.” He’s also held residencies at clubs in Atlanta, Miami, and here in D.C. at Tracks, Nation, and Town.

With Secret Garden, Bailey and GLOW aim to bring queer performers into the space not just for LGBTQ audiences, but for the entire music community to meet, learn about, and enjoy. While they might enjoy fandom among queer nightlife, this Garden is a platform for them to meet the entirety of GLOW festival goers.

Weekend-long Project GLOW brings in headliners and artists from EDM and electronic music, with big names like ILLENIUM, Zedd, and Rezz. In all, more than 50 artists will take the three stages at the third edition of Project GLOW, presented by Insomniac (Electric Daisy Carnival) and Club Glow (Echostage, Soundcheck).

Out & About

Washington Improv Theatre hosts ‘The Queeries’

Event to celebrate queer DMV talent and pop culture camp

Published

2 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Tinashe Chingarande

The Washington Improv Theatre, along with the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs and the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington DC, will team up to host “The Queeries!” on Friday, April 26 at 9:30 p.m. at Studio Theatre.

The event will celebrate Queer DMV talent and pop culture camp. With a mixture of audience-submitted nominations and blatantly undemocratically declared winners, “The Queeries!” mimics LGBTQ life itself: unfair, but far more fun than the alternative.

The event will be co-hosted by Birdie and Butchie, who have invited some of their favorite bent winos, D.C. “D-listers,” former Senate staffers, and other stars to sashay down the lavender carpet for the selfie-strewn party of the year.

Tickets are just $15 and can be purchased on WITV’s website.