Arts & Entertainment

Halloween events roundup

Get your costume party on at these local ghoulish gatherings

Published

15 years ago

October 28, 2010

Friday, Oct. 29

Gloss presents Halloween Bash 2010 dance party, contest and show tonight at Apex (1415 22nd St., N.W.). DJ Rosie will be providing music in the main room. Best costume contest will be at midnight and the winner gets $200. The D.C. Kings and D.C. Gurly Show will perform. There’s a $10 cover. Must be 18 or older to enter. Doors open at 9 p.m.

Remington’s will be having a costume contest tonight at midnight. All participants must sign up by 11:45 p.m. The winner will go home with $150.

Lace Lounge (2210 Rhode Island Ave., N.E.) presents “Fetish and Fantasy” tonight. Costumes are highly recommended and best costume will received a prize. Text LACE to 313131 to be added to the VIP list. Visit lacedc.com for more information.

Saturday, Oct. 30

Magician Brian Curry will be performing at BlackRock Center for the Arts (12901 Town Commons Drive) in Germantown at 2 p.m. An hour before the show children will make their own magic wand that Curry will ask them to use during the show. Curry will also lead the children in a costume parade at the end of the show.

Level One will have a doggie Halloween costume contest today at 2 p.m. on the patio.

Jimmy Valentine’s Lonely Hearts Club (1103 Bladensburg Rd., N.E.) is hosting its Halloween Homecoming tonight from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. featuring DJs Junebullet of She.Rex, Natty Boom of Anthology of Booty, and vANNIEty Kills of Anniething Goes. Costumes are required for entry. Tickets are $15 and must be purchased online. Visit jimmyvalentineslhc.com for more information and tickets.

Phase 1 (525 8th St., S.E.) is having its annual Halloween costume contest tonight. Best costume will win $100 and there will be other prizes for sexiest and most hilarious. Doors open at 7 p.m. and attendees must be 21 or older to enter.

“Nightmare on P Street” is tonight at Apex (1415 22nd St., N.W.). DJ Gigi will be in the main arean with DJ Michael Brandon’s Caliente in the East Wing Video Lounge. The Best Halloween Costume contest will be hosted by Kristina Kelly and starts at midnight. There’s a $10 cover. Must be 18 or older to enter. Doors open at 9 p.m.

Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) will be holding a special Halloween Shift tonight with a $1000 prize costume contest at 10 p.m. There’s a $6 cover. Must be 21 or older to enter.

Remington’s will be having a costume contest tonight at midnight. All participants must sign up by 11:45 p.m. The winner will go home with $150.

Town will be hosting “Ghostown” tonight with music by Ed Bailey and DJ Wess. There will be a costume contest with the winner getting $1,000 and second place getting $250. Doors open at 10 p.m. with an $8 cover before 11 and $12 afterward. Drag show starts at 10:30. Must be 21 or older to attend.

Sunday, Oct. 31/Halloween

Nellie’s (900 U St., N.W.) is having a Halloween costume party tonight from 8 p.m. to midnight. First place wins $250 cash, second place wins a $100 Nellie’s tab and third place wins a $50 Cubano’s dinner. There’s no cover for this event.

Prime Timers of D.C. present their annual halloween party and dinner tonight at the Carlyle Suites Hotel (1731 New Hampshire Ave). A cash bar opens at 5 p.m. and the buffet dinner starts at 6. Tickets are $35 for member and $40 for guests. They must be purchased in advance by calling 703-671-2454 or by e-mailing [email protected]. Or visit their website at primetimersdc.org.

Ziegfeld’s/Secrets (1824 Half St., S.W.) will be hosting a “Halloqueen” contest tonight. Anyone can perform and acts can be groups or solo artists. Prizes will be given out for best act and best costume.

X:Blackout Halloween Edition will be at Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) tonight from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Trick-or-treat surprises and freebies will be offered throughout the night. There will be a costume contest with the best costume winning $400. DJ Pete Glow will be providing the music after an opening set by DJ Sean G. Free glow sticks will be provided. Must be 21 or older to enter.

Books

A boy-meets-boy, family-mess story with heat

New book offers a stunning, satisfying love story

Published

2 hours ago

May 4, 2025

Terri Schlichenmeyer

(Book cover image courtesy of Random House)

‘When the Harvest Comes’
By Denne Michele Norris
c.2025, Random House
$28/304 pages

Happy is the bride the sun shines on.

Of all the clichés that exist about weddings, that’s the one that seems to make you smile the most. Just invoking good weather and bright sunshine feels like a cosmic blessing on the newlyweds and their future. It’s a happy omen for bride and groom or, as in the new book “When the Harvest Comes” by Denne Michele Norris, for groom and groom.

Davis Freeman never thought he could love or be loved like this.

He was wildly, wholeheartedly, mind-and-soul smitten with Everett Caldwell, and life was everything that Davis ever wanted. He was a successful symphony musician in New York. They had an apartment they enjoyed and friends they cherished. Now it was their wedding day, a day Davis had planned with the man he adored, the details almost down to the stitches in their attire. He’d even purchased a gorgeous wedding gown that he’d never risk wearing.

He knew that Everett’s family loved him a lot, but Davis didn’t dare tickle the fates with a white dress on their big day. Everett’s dad, just like Davis’s own father, had considerable reservations about his son marrying another man – although Everett’s father seemed to have come to terms with his son’s bisexuality. Davis’s father, whom Davis called the Reverend, never would. Years ago, father and son had a falling-out that destroyed any chance of peace between Davis and his dad; in fact, the door slammed shut to any reconciliation.

But Davis tried not to think about that. Not on his wedding day. Not, unbeknownst to him, as the Reverend was rushing toward the wedding venue, uninvited but not unrepentant. Not when there was an accident and the Reverend was killed, miles away and during the nuptials.

Davis didn’t know that, of course, as he was marrying the love of his life. Neither did Everett, who had familial problems of his own, including homophobic family members who tried (but failed) to pretend otherwise.

Happy is the groom the sun shines on. But when the storm comes, it can be impossible to remain sunny.

What can be said about “When the Harvest Comes?” It’s a romance with a bit of ghost-pepper-like heat that’s not there for the mere sake of titillation. It’s filled with drama, intrigue, hate, characters you want to just slap, and some in bad need of a hug.

In short, this book is quite stunning.

Author Denne Michele Norris offers a love story that’s everything you want in this genre, including partners you genuinely want to get to know, in situations that are real. This is done by putting readers inside the characters’ minds, letting Davis and Everett themselves explain why they acted as they did, mistakes and all. Don’t be surprised if you have to read the last few pages twice to best enjoy how things end. You won’t be sorry.

If you want a complicated, boy-meets-boy, family-mess kind of book with occasional heat, “When the Harvest Comes” is your book. Truly, this novel shines.

The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.

Photos

PHOTOS: Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch

LGBTQ politicians gather for annual event

Published

2 days ago

May 2, 2025

Michael Key

Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) speaks at the 2025 Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The Victory Fund held its National Champagne Brunch at the Ritz-Carlton on Sunday, April 27. Speakers included Tim Gunn, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Gov. Wes Moore (D-Md.), Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.), Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) and Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.).

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

Music & Concerts

Tom Goss returns with ‘Bear Friends Furever Tour’

Out singer/songwriter to perform at Red Bear Brewing Co.

Published

2 days ago

May 2, 2025

Tinashe Chingarande

Singer Tom Goss is back. (Photo by Dusti Cunningham)

Singer Tom Goss will bring his “Bear Friends Furever Tour” to D.C. on Sunday, June 8 at 8 p.m. at Red Bear Brewing Co.

Among the songs he will perform will be “Bear Soup,” the fourth installment in his beloved bear song anthology series. Following fan favorites like “Bears,” “Round in All the Right Places,” and “Nerdy Bear,” this high-energy, bass-thumping banger celebrates body positivity, joyful indulgence, and the vibrant spirit of the bear subculture.

For more details, visit Tom Goss’s website.