Bars & Parties
Donning the gear
Kip Hollar had no particular interest in leather. The Baltimore resident was at Baltimore Pride in 2008 and stopped at a few of the leather booths to say hi to friends he knew in COMMAND and ShipMates, two local leather clubs.
One of the clubs was sponsoring a charity fundraiser. Pay $5 to let them dress you up in leather and take your photo.
“I didn’t have any real interest in it,” Hollar says. “But they kept egging me on. That’s where it all began. I liked what I saw and felt.”
Hollar is shocked at how quickly the leather community embraced him. He came in second in the 2008 Mr. Maryland leather contest, which qualified him to enter Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather, which he won last year. This weekend he’ll be on the judging panel to help decide his successor.
Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend is this weekend in Washington. Most participants stay at Washington Plaza Hotel. The contest is Sunday afternoon at 9:30 club. The weekend will culminate with the Reaction Dance, also at 9:30, which will go into the wee hours Monday morning.
“I don’t even remember hearing my name called,” Hollar says. “I didn’t think I had a chance.”
He also says he doesn’t know why or how he won.
“Maybe it’s because I was new to the leather community. Fresh into the scene, with a younger, fresher perspective. I’m not sure, but I’ve definitely become involved in the community and have taken the ball and run with it,” the 33-year-old says.
Contestants are judged in a private pre-show interview, then model jock, formal and bar leather on stage. They give a speech and talk about their community involvement.
Hollar says the appeal for him is the sense of community leather offers.
“It’s the brotherhood that’s in it, the camaraderie, the unity.”
But let’s be real, there’s a strong sexual component as well, right?
“Leather is a fetish lifestyle,” he says. “How sexual you make it is up to you. It’s what you make of it. It’s first and foremost the social, but certainly there is a sex appeal. With the love of the fetish, there’s the feel, the smell, the taste, the look. For most people there is a sexual component.”
Mid-Atlantic Leather, organized each year by the Centaur Motorcycle Club, is the world’s largest club-run gay leather event and is in its 26th year. Only Chicago’s International Mr. Leather is larger. Organizers guess it’s in the top five of all gay leather events in terms of size with about 1,000 people registered for the weekend. A few thousand others come for one or two side events but don’t stay the whole weekend. There are sometimes up to 5,000 participants in total throughout the weekend.
The main event is leather cocktails, a social event that started in New York 36 years ago where enthusiasts don their favorite “uniforms” and mingle with each other among open bar and buffet. The Mr. Leather contest and the closing night party are the other main features but side parties are held for sub-fetish groups: sports gear, cigar smokers, uniforms and so on.
This year’s weekend will not be significantly different from years past. Next year the group, realizing it’s outgrown Washington Plaza Hotel, is moving to the Hyatt on Capital Hill, which is twice as large.
Involvement levels run the full gamut, but organizers such as promotions chair Larry Barat, say the ones who attend the weekend tend to take it seriously.
“It attracts a crowd that’s much more committed to the community,” he says. “They’re more serious about the lifestyle. Not the sort of people who, not to be derogatory, but we don’t attract a lot who are just interested in playing dress up. It’s people who are committed to the community and the lifestyle and curious about getting into the lifestyle, rather than those hangers on who just think they look good in a harness.”
And just what is the lifestyle, exactly? It’s a world, after all, that gays in many circles have come to shun.
“There’s certainly a range and there are people who live 24/7 in what one would call a leather lifestyle, maybe in a sub/dom relationship,” Barat says.
Though leather has gained increased acceptance as the gay community itself has made gains, Barat says there’s still stigma. Leather groups have sometimes been discouraged, he says, from participating in gay rights marches.
“The attitude is changing, but it’s no coincidence that you see ads coming out from HRC with the blonde-haired, blue-eyed lesbians in polo shirts with their three kids,” he says. “The subtle message there is we’re just like you.”
Actually the gay leather community is probably more “like you” for the straight world than some realize. Barat says gay leather events pale in size to those held by the straight leather community. It’s a fetish not confined by sexual orientation, he says.
Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend
Today through Monday
Washington Plaza Hotel, et. al.
leatherweekend.com
Halloween weekend is here, and here’s a list of just some of the local events if you’re looking to have a spooky good time.
Go Gay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Halloween Party” on Friday, Oct. 31 at 5 p.m. at Freddie’s Beach Bar and Restaurant. This is an opportunity to mingle with LGBTQ folk and allies. Halloween costumes are encouraged or casual beach attire is fine. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
Mixtape Sapphics will host “Bad Witch, Good Butch: A Sapphic Halloween Dream” on Saturday, Nov. 1 at 4 p.m. at Revolt DC. This is a halloween party for sapphics from the ages of 35 and above. There will be costumes, connection and dancing. Tickets are $13.26 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
Taste Takeover will host “Abuela Halloween Party” on Friday, Oct. 31 at 8 p.m. at 639 Florida Ave., N.W. DJ Yani will play music and there will be a costume contest with prizes to be won. Tickets cost $17.85 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
Metro Cabaret Club will host “Spookshow Spectacular: Dance Place After Dark Halloween Party” on Friday, Oct. 31 at 9 p.m. at Dance Place. This is D.C.’s Halloween nightlife and draglesque showcase, featuring live performances, creative marketplace, and costumed revelry. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit Eventbrite.
Punch Bowl Social will host “Halloween Bash” on Friday. Oct 31 at 9 p.m. at Punch Bowl Social Arlington. This will be a night of hauntingly good times with a killer DJ, vendors, and a costume contest. Tickets cost $12.09 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
Thrust Lounge will host “Nightmare on 14th St.” on Friday, Oct. 31 at 5 p.m. DJ Tryfe will play music, and there’ll also be a costume contest with prizes. For more details, visit Thurst’s Instagram.
Nellie’s Sports Bar will host “Halloween Scariest Costume Contest” on Friday, Oct. 31 at 10 p.m. Guests are encouraged to bring their scariest, creepiest, most haunting look for a Halloween night they won’t forget — fueled by Casamigos and Nellie’s signature spooky fun. For more details, visit Nellie’s website.
Kiki DC will host “Kiki’s Halloween Costume Contest” on Friday, Oct. 31 at 10 p.m. This event will be hosted by Pirouette and there’ll be prizes for the top three costumes. For more details, visit Kiki’s Instagram.
Sinners and Saints will host “Heaven’s On Fire (Queer Pop Dance Party)” on Friday, Oct. 31 at 9 p.m. There will be two floors and music by Sonali Dawar, DJ Noons and Aria McIntosh. There will also be drink specials all night.
Crush Dance Bar will host a Halloween costume contest on Friday, Oct. 31 at 11 p.m. Drag queens Empress Lena and Sasha Adams will host the event. For more details, visit Crush’s Instagram.
Arts & Entertainment
D.C. bars step up to offer discounts for fed’l employees
Deals, freebies, events, and happy hours galore
(Editor’s note: This list was compiled on Wednesday afternoon and is not meant to be comprehensive. If you would like to add your bar’s specials, please email [email protected].)
As the federal government comes to a standstill, the DMV restaurant and bar community has come to the aid of furloughed workers, who suddenly have plenty of time on their hands. More than a handful of spots are offering deals, discounts, freebies, events, and more. Many do require an identification to validate employment status. Plus, this shutdown looks like it’s here to stay for some time, so take advantage.
Franklin Hall: This sports bar on Florida Avenue is kicking off the shutdown hard: offering $6 Mixed Drinks, Canned Beers, and “furloughed Shooters” – as well as a free food buffet 4PM-6PM.
Carmine’s, located downtown, is offering steep discounts – $5 meatball sliders, and $8 cocktails: “Here We Go Again” and “The Essential Worker.” Carmine’s specifically noted that the specials are open to all, not just affected workers.
Compass Coffee is offering a free pastry with a drink purchase.
Cork Wine Bar and Market on 14th Street is offering a long happy hour – from 3 p.m. to close with wine specials, plus discounted fries and snacks.
Union Pub is providing steeply cheap beer ($3), alongside discounted hot dogs.
Two locations of Hank’s Oyster Bar are serving up all-day happy hour at the bar, along with $2.50 oysters and a percent off checks for federal workers.
Boqueria DC is giving federal workers with ID happy hour pricing all day long: meaning cheaper sangria, wine, beer, and lots of tapas.
Osteria Morini in D.C. is offering a “Federal Employee Appreciation Special” with $15 pastas for federal employees; Cucina Morini has $10 “primi pastas.”
Duke’s Grocery is offering a complimentary drink: A free shot of bourbon or a glass of house wine when you buy any burger or entrée. Plus, there are $5 select beers.
Thompson Restaurants is offering all government employees 20% off their bill by showing a valid government ID. The offer spans 11 of Thompson’s restaurant brands and more than 65 locations across the DMV, including Matchbox, Makers Union, Wiseguy Pizza, Big Buns, and more.
Shaw’s Tavern: $5 beers, $6 wine, $7 Deep Eddy, $10 burger and pizza, with ID.
LGBTQ BARS
Crush: This bar is offering a “Pouring it forward” event with a free vodka hour, 10-11 p.m. this Friday.
Number Nine is offering $9 cocktails all night after 9 p.m.
Bunker has free entry for anyone with government, contractor, military IDs this weekend.
District Eagle offers 30% off drinks for anyone with government, contractor, or military IDs this weekend.
Kiki has free Deep Eddy happy hour 8-9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1.
Her Diner offers all-night drink specials with ID.
Bars & Parties
Blade’s 18th annual Summer Kickoff Party set for May 16
Rehoboth Beach event to feature politicos, journalists, special guests
The Washington Blade’s 18th annual Summer Kickoff Party is scheduled for Friday, May 16 in Rehoboth Beach, Del.
The event, held at the Blue Moon (35 Rehoboth Ave.) from 5-7 p.m., is a fundraiser for the Blade Foundation’s Steve Elkins Memorial Fellowship in Journalism, which funds a summer position reporting on LGBTQ news in Delaware. This year’s recipient is Abigail Hatting, a rising senior at American University.
This year’s event will feature remarks from state Sen. Russ Huxtable, who recently introduced a state constitutional amendment to codify the right of same-sex couples to marry. CAMP Rehoboth Executive Director Kim Leisey and Blade editor Kevin Naff will also speak, in addition to surprise guests. The event is generously sponsored by Realtor Justin Noble, The Avenue Inn & Spa, and Blue Moon.
A suggested donation of $20 is partially tax deductible and includes drink tickets and light appetizers. Tickets are available in advance at bladefoundation.org/rehoboth or at the door.
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