Arts & Entertainment

Calendar for Aug. 27

Friday, Aug. 27, to Thursday, Sept. 3

Published

16 years ago

August 26, 2010

Friday, Aug. 27

Official 2011 Ripped Genes Calendar Release Party tonight at the Engineer’s Club at the Garrett-Jacobs Mansion, 11 W. Mount Vernon Pl., Baltimore, tonight at 8 p.m. View the work of renowned photographer, Robert Mercer Jr. and the swimwear fashion show.

AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring, Md., will be showing the D.C.-area premiere of “All About Evil” at 9:30 p.m. The directorial debut of Joshua Grannell (better known as Peaches Christ), “All About Evil” is a twisted black comedy with performances by Natasha Lyonne, Thomas Dekker, Noah Segan, cult icon Mink Stole, and Cassandra Peterson (better known as Elvira).

Michael Jackson Birthday Celebration tonight at 9:30 club, 815 V St., N.W., with a marathon DJ set by DJ Dredd and a video tribute. Doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at 930.com.

Gay District, a weekly, non-church affiliated discussion and social group for GBTQ men between 18 and 35, meets tonight from 8:30-10:30 p.m. at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, 1820 Connecticut Ave., N.W. For more information, e-mail [email protected].

The DC Gurly Show is gonna give this summer ending thing one more go
with a GooGoo for GaGa show tonight at Phase 1, 525 8th St., S.E. There will be a $5 cover and doors open at 9 p.m.

Apex Drag Search tonight at Apex, 1415 22nd St., N.W., hosted by Big Daddy and Arione DeCardeza with the winner being picked by audience participation. Grand prize includes $50 cash and a booking with Kristina Kelly and her Girls of Glamour. Showtime is 11 p.m. There will be a $10 cover charge and you must be 18 or older to enter and 21 and older to drink.

Saturday, Aug. 28

Join Burgundy Crescent Volunteers help prep for Books Plus, the nonprofit library store at MLK Jr. Memorial D.C. Public Library, 901 G St., N.W., 8th Annual DCPL fall book sale. Volunteers will be unpacking boxes, selecting interesting titles and sorting them by category on book carts. Volunteers will get special pricing and dibs on books they would like to purchase.

NOVA GL Professionals, the Straight Eights Car Club, DCthirtysomething, DC Lambda Squares, and DC Ice Breakers co-host the 3rd Annual Lazy River Tubing with optional picnic and dinner on the Shenandoah near Harper’s Ferry. Bring-your-own picnic is at noon, tubing is at 2 p.m. and dinner at Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse in Gaithersburg is at approximately 5:30 p.m. Visit dcicebreakers.com for more information.

The Official Birthday Party for the Godfather of Go Go Chuck Brown featuring D Floyd, Ms. Kim, Lissen, and Be’la Dona, an all female Go-Go Band, will be at the 9:30 club, 815 V St., N.W., at 9 p.m. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at 930.com

Electrik at Green Lantern, 1335 Green Ct., N.W., hosted by Timur Tugberk at 10 p.m. This new dance party features the best in dance, electro, deep and dirty house, trance, and circuit music provided by DJ Tom from Prague. Arrive early and enjoy an open rail vodka bar and no cover from 10 to 11:30 p.m. The party continues with a $5 cover. Enjoy a $17 all-you-can-drink Bacardi buffet from 10 p.m. to closing.

Sunday, Aug. 29

CAMP Rehoboth and the Seashore Striders will host the inaugural Sundance 5k: Run, Walk, or Sashay! in Rehoboth Beach, Del., to kick off Sundance Week. The race starts at 7:30 a.m. with pre-registration starting at 6 a.m.

Rock the Bells with Snoop Dogg, A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, Rakim, KRS-One, Lauryn Hill, Slick Rick, and more will be at Meriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia, Md. Doors open at 11 a.m. Tickets range from $66 to $150.50 and can be purchased at merriweathermusic.com.

Inspired by the queer tea dances of the San Francisco area, OverEasy: A Tea Dance for Ladies and Their Friends will be at Little Miss Whiskey’s Golden Dollar, 1104 H St., N.E., from 3 to 9 p.m. On the back patio, Chef Kywon’ll be grilling up perfect summer afternoon fare and Leslie will be serving oversized Bloody Mary’s and mimosas to chase the Sunday blues away at the bar. There is no cover for this event but remember that Miss Whiskey’s is cash only.

Monday, Aug. 30

The Distant Relatives Tour featuring NAS and Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley with Gyptian will be at the 9:30 club, 815 V St., N.W. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $44 and can be purchased at 930.com.

Tuesday, Aug. 31

Join Burgundy Crescent Volunteers to help pack safer sex kits from 7-9 p.m. at FUK!T’s new packing location, The Green Lantern, 1335 Green Ct., N.W.

Wednesday, Sept. 1

The Art Gallery at the University of Maryland presents the exhibition, “The Very Queer Portraits of Heyd Fontenot” by Austin, Texas-based artist Heyd Fontenot. There will be an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. There will be a discussion with the artist at a later date.

“Gray Pride” fundraiser to support Vincent Gray for Mayor from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the rooftop pool at the Donovan house.

The Tom Davaron Social Bridge Club will meet at 7:30 p.m., at the Dignity Center, 721 8th St., S.E., (across from Marine Barracks) for Social Bridge. No partner is needed. Visit lambdabridge.com and click on “Social Bridge in Washington, D.C.”

DC Ice Breakers Skating and Social at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex, on the top of the Ballston Common Mall parking garage, 627 N. Glebe Rd., Arlington, Va. Skating is $8 plus $3 for skate rental and goes from 7:45 to 8:45 p.m with a social at a local bar from 9 p.m. to whenever.

Thursday, Sept. 2

Kele of Bloc Party with Does It Offend You Yeah? and Innerpartysystem will be at the 9:30 club, 815 V St., N.W., at 6:30 p.m. This is a new date and all Aug. 7 tickets will be honored. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at 930.com.

The DC Center Fall Reception will be held at the Artists Inn Residence, 1824 R St., N.W., from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

The Atlas Performing Arts Center presents Summer Film Series: Gay 101 showing “Steel Magnolias” starring Julia Roberts, Dolly Parton and Sally Field at the Paul Sprenger Theatre, 1333 H St., N.E., at 8 p.m. Buy tickets at atlasarts.org or at the box office one hour prior to the movie.

Celebrity News

Silky Nutmeg Ganache talks sex and dating, gender, politics, weight loss journey

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’ semifinalist grew up in Bible Belt

Published

2 days ago

July 7, 2026

Uncloseted Media

Silky Nutmeg Ganache (Photo courtesy of Silky Nutmeg Ganache)

Uncloseted Media published this interview on July 7.

By SPENCER MACNAUGHTON, ISABEL STOKES, and BELLA SAYEGH | After appearing on the 11th season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” the first season of “Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. the World,” the sixth season of “RuPaul’s All Stars” and now the 11th season of “All Stars,” Silky Nutmeg Ganache, known by many as the Reverend, is undoubtedly a legend.

Born and raised in Moss Point, Miss., Ganache bears all in this episode of “UNCLOSETED with Spencer Macnaughton.” She speaks about her relationship with gender, her 100-pound weight loss, what it’s like living as a queer person of color in a red state and why she’s calling on allies to stand up for the trans community.

Photos

PHOTOS: Crush Dance Bar

Patrons enjoy a night out at popular LGBTQ venue

Published

3 days ago

July 6, 2026

Landon Shackelford

(Washington Blade photo by Landon Shackelford)

Patrons enjoyed a night out at the popular LGBTQ venue Crush Dance Bar on Friday, July 3.

(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)

Theater

‘My Favorite Sociopath’ debuts at Shepherdstown’s CATF

Gay playwright Aurin Squire’s take on D.C. journalism in the ‘90s

Published

3 days ago

July 5, 2026

Patrick Folliard

Playwright Aurin Squire. (Photo by Yilong Liu)

‘My Favorite Sociopath’
Contemporary American Theater Festival
July 10-Aug. 2
Shepherdstown, W.Va.
Catf.org

Discernment. It’s a thing some people have, explains playwright Aurin Squire, especially when you’re gay or Black in America (Squire is both).

“You instinctively know when the mob is teaming up for the best interests of the powers that be. You can feel it in the air.”

In his sharp new satire “My Favorite Sociopath,” Squire writes about life experiences but set in a different time and place: It’s the 1990s, early days of the 24-hour news cycle, and three ambitious journalism students are pursuing success in D.C.

And now, Squire’s play, along with other new works, are making their world premieres at the annual Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) at Shepherd University in historic, queer-friendly Shepherdstown, W.Va. (just a 90-minute drive from D.C.).

“All of my plays are queer in some way,” says Squire, 46. “This one touches on harmless and dangerous lies. The characters are on the spectrum sexually, and it’s interesting how all that falls out.”

And he’s given it a lot of thought.

“Already as a kid, it seemed to me that the rage against rap music and sex was coming from closeted people resisting their own urges and temptations. For me, it was interesting to see a witch hunt led by witches. Queer people can always call out a lie.”

Since September, Squire has also been working with a TV show about the tech industry set in Silicon Valley. He says, “It seems the general flow of the tech industry is that humanity and civilization is finished and it’s just about accumulating as many goods as possible before everything collapses. In fact, those who are profiting actually agree. But for those who disagree, they believe the solution is to build bigger gates, but activists believe we can stop this”

Yet, he’s learned from folks associated with the show. “Many say the quickest way to divorce yourself from any responsibility or regulations — smash and grab. Otherwise, you have to stop and think and regulate your desires for greed and power”

Squire possesses a penchant for pithy titles. He laughs, explaining the first thing he wrote as a student at Juilliard was “Obama-ology,” the comedy with contemporary message. While a lot of people liked the name, it didn’t necessarily vibe with the author. He concedes that he chooses names based on “easy to remember” and titles that won’t be easy to lose as a file.

Another is “Defacing Michael Jackson,” a coming-of-age dramedy set in rural Florida in 1984, specifically Squire’s native town Opa-locka, Miami, a fantastical place famed for its fanciful Moorish revival architecture.

Living in the shadow of exotic structures, he wasn’t particularly fazed. Squire says “It wasn’t until returning to visit after my freshman year at Northwestern University in Chicago that I realized how weird it was: When you grow up in a place, you take surroundings for granted no matter how over the top.”

Now based in New York (where for two happy years, 2017-2019, he shared digs with drag king Murry Hill), Squire returns frequently to Miami to be with family, but this summer has been filled with both work and travel.

Currently, he’s in Shepherdstown with CATF shaping up “My Favorite Sociopath.” Later this summer he will travel to South Africa for research, followed by a silent writing retreat in Santa Fe, N.M.

Much of Squire’s work reflects the Latino, African, Caribbean, African-American, and Jewish cultures he grew up around in South Florida.

When asked if today’s winds of anti-multiculturalism worry him, he replies, “No, because that’s going to pass. Most people don’t like, people are seeing the negative results of it, and the young people coming up despise it. White male gamers were tricked momentarily through the algorithms into voting against their own interests and they’re now seeing how it’s not working out for them.

“Conservatives always try to stop progress and eventually they always lose. It’s just a question of where we’ll be in the middle of the end of civilization before that happens. I’d like to hope we can turn the ship around before then.”

In addition to “My Favorite Sociopath,” CATF summer season features three other world premieres (Lisa D’Amour’s comedy “The Smoker,” “Refugee Rhapsody” by Yussef El Guindi, “Best Line Wins: A Play Inspired by the Improvised Lives of Elaine May & Mike Nichols” by Beth Kander) and “¡VOS!” by Christina Pumariega.

CATF runs from July 10-Aug. 2 in three venues on the Shepherd University campus: Frank Center, Marinoff Theater, and Studio 112.