Arts & Entertainment
Calendar: Oct. 29
Events through Nov. 4
Editor’s note: Go here for Halloween events.
Today
Margaret Cho will be at the Warner Theatre (513 13th St., N.W.) tonight at 7:30 p.m. with her show, “Cho Dependent.” Tickets are $40.50 or $57.60 and can be purchased at livenation.com. An after party will be held at Ziegfeld’s/Secrets (1824 Half St., S.W.).
Zoom Urban Lesbian Excursions hosts “Night at the Museum” tonight at 8:30 p.m. at the Museum of Crime and Punishment (575 7th St., N.W.) as it turns into a haunted torture chamber. Attendees are welcome to wear costumes, but masks are prohibited. Tickets are $23 and can be purchased at zoomexcursions.com.
Caron is holding its annual Metro D.C. community awards breakfast today at 8 a.m. at Maggiano’s (5333 Wisconsin Ave., N.W.) featuring Tara Conner, former Miss USA as the keynote speaker. The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington will receive the Educational Excellence Award for their performance of “Through a Glass Darkly.” Daniel O’Neill, chair of the D.C. Center HIV Working Group will receive the Unsung Hero award.
Peach Pit, a monthly ’90s dance party, will be held at Hirshhorn Museum (Independence Avenue and 7th Street, S.W.) tonight from 8 p.m. to midnight. DJs Matt Bailer and Robert Bozick will be teaming up to celebrate the first anniversary of the party. Members can get in for free. Tickets for quests are $18 and can be purchased online, by calling 202-633-4629 or from the Smithsonian IMAX theater box offices. For more information, visit hirshhorn.si.edu/afterhours.
Blackout, a blacklight and glow party will be at Ziegfeld’s/Secrets (1824 Half St., S.W.) tonight hosted by Latroya Nichole with music by DJ Steve Henderson. There is a $5 cover from 9 to 10:30 p.m. and $10 afterward.
Level One (1639 R St., N.W.) will be hosting a special dinner show with Sherry Vine tonight at 8:30 p.m.
Ganymede Arts presents Gerald Duval’s “Edie Beale Live at Reno Sweeney” starring gay actor Jeffrey Johnson, is tonight at Noi’s Nook at go mama go! (1809 14th St., N.W.) at 8 p.m. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit ganymedearts.org.
Busboys & Poets will be hosting ASL open mic poetry tonight from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. at its 14th and V streets location (2021 14th St., N.W.). Anyone with sign language knowledge may sign up to recite a poem or sign a song by e-mailing [email protected]. There is a $5 cover.
Saturday, Oct. 30
Women in their 30s will be having its monthly outing today to the Rally to Restore Sanity on the National Mall in D.C. from noon to 3 p.m. The group is meeting up at the Archives Metro Rail stop around 11:45 a.m.
Douche Bag City, an exhibition of video-animation, painting and sculpture by Federico Solmi, opens today with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. at Conner Contemporary Art (1358 Florida Ave., N.E.).
Tom Paxton and Janis Ian, “Together at Last,” will be at the Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave.) in Alexandia, tonight at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $45 and can be purchased at ticketmaster.com.
Busboys & Poets will be holding a post-rally event with Amy Goodman and Van Jones at 7 p.m. at its 5th and K streets location (1025 5th St., N.W.). Busboys & Poets will be participating with ColbertRally.com in an effort to raise funds for DonorsChoose.org, an online charity that makes it easy for anyone to help students in need.
Sunday, Oct. 31
Hard Times Require Furious Dancing: the Art Exhibit, inspired by Alice Walker’s new book of the same name, is showing at Busboys & Poets at the 5th and K streets location (1025 5th St., N.W.) featuring work by artists such as Liana Cohen-Matteini, Charles Jean-Pierre, Innocent Buregeya and JJ Tiziou.
Blonde Redhead will be performing at 9:30 Club tonight at 10 p.m. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at 930.com.
“Hair,” 2009 Tony award winner for Best Musical Revival will be at the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) today at 1 p.m. Tickets range from $25 to $115 and can be purchased at kennedy-center.org.
Monday, Nov. 1
Hope Operas, whose founder is openly gay, has its fourth week of five new shows tonight to raise money for charity. The shows are at 8 p.m. at the Comedy Spot, in Ballston Mall (4238 Wilson, Blvd.), in Arlington. Each show benefits a different charity. Tickets are $12 per show. For more information call 323-788-8970 or e-mail [email protected].
Cloud Cult, a band established as a non-profit, will be performing at Black Cat (1811 14th St., N.W.) tonight with Fort Wilson Riot on the mainstage at 8 p.m. Tickets are $16 and can be purchased at blackcatdc.com.
Tuesday, Nov. 2
The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) will be having a discussion about crystal meth use in the LGBT community tonight from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The meeting will be facilitated by Michael Giordano and David Schwartz.
DC Cowboys Dance Company will be holding auditions from 7 to 8:30 p.m. tonight in Dupont Circle. The group is looking for dancers of all levels interested in performing with an exciting, high-profile dance group. Broadway-style or jazz training or experience preferred but not required. E-mail to [email protected] for audition information.
Wednesday, Nov. 3
The Tom Davaron Social Bridge Club will be meeting at 7:30 p.m. tonight 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 “Social Bridge in Washington, D.C.” for more information.
Busboy & Poets will be holding an organic beer happy hour today at 4 p.m. at its Shirlington location (4251 S. Campbell Ave.) featuring Peak, a nut brown ale, Wolavers, a brown ale, and Bison, a chocolate stout.
Thursday, Nov. 4
The gay-helmed Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company will be performing works by Anna Sokolow in the Ina and Jack Kay Theatre in the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland, College Park. Tickets are $30 or $24 for subscribers, and can be purchased online at claricesmithcenter.umd.edu. There will be a pre-performance discussion led by dance professor Sandra Perez at 7 p.m. in the Lead M. Smith Lecture Hall, room 2200, in the same building. No ticket is required for this discussion.
In conjunction with the exhibit, “The Very Queer Portraits of Heyd Fontenot,” a discussion “The Queerest of Discussions: A Curator’s Talk with Heyd Fontenot and Anne Goodyear” will be held at the Art Gallery at the University of Maryland tonight from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. This is a free event. For more information, visit, artgallery.umd.edu.
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
Jason Collins dies at 47
Polish government to recognize same-sex marriages from EU countries
America’s broken pipeline of mental healthcare for trans youth
GLAA releases ratings for 18 candidates running for D.C. mayor, Council, AG
Blade finalist for D.C. Society of Professional Journalists awards
Maren Morris to headline Capital Pride Concert
Va. Supreme Court invalidates Democrat-backed redistricting plan
Celebrate Pride in Lost River, a slice of rural heaven
Learn more about queer love
