Arts & Entertainment
Dancing for dollars
Cherry proceeds benefit local HIV/AIDS non-profits; events kick off Thursday
Dancers at the 2007 Cherry event. (Blade file photo by Henry Linser)
Cherry 2011, the annual charity dance event hosted by the Cherry Fund, begins Thursday and continues through next weekend with parties and other events every day.
The Cherry Fund is a non-profit organization with the sole purpose to raise funds for the HIV/AIDS service community with beneficiaries such as Whitman-Walker Clinic, Mautner Project, Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League and more.
The party kicks off with an event at Nellie’s (900 U St., N.W.) from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. with DJ Nick Centrik Purcell, where passes will be for sale. Afterwards, there’s Ignition at Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) from 10 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. with DJs Randy Betties and Jason Horswill.
Friday’s events begin at 2 p.m. with another pass pick-up and an evening of fashion with local designer Andrew Nowell at Caramel Boutique (1603 U St., N.W.). There will be an auction during Bear Happy Hour at Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) with DJ Bandit and D.C. Bear Crue from 7 to 9 p.m.
The Momentum party at Apex (1415 22nd St., N.W.) with Ms. Foozie as the hostess and DJs Alyson Calagna and Steve Henderson starts at 10 p.m. There is a $15 cover for this party.
Saturday brings the main event at Town from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. with DJs Oscar G, BennyK and Wess and performances by Macaviti and the Ladies of Town. Tickets for this event are $20.
The main event is followed by an after-hours party at Fur (33 Patterson St., N.E.) with DJ Peter Rauhofer and opening DJ Timothy Mykael. Tickets for this party are $45.
Sunday continues with a tea dance at Cobalt from noon to 4 p.m. with DJ Mike Reimer and Level One is hosting the Cherry Brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. by reservation only at opentable.com. There is a $5 cover for the tea dance and the brunch is $20.11.
Cherry ends with Ovation at Ultrabar (911 F St., N.W.) with DJs Stephan Grondin and Sin Morera from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tickets for this party are $20.
There are also some sanctioned events that will be happening the same time as Cherry events.
Lace (2214 Rhode Island Ave., N.E.) is hosting a party for the ladies, Blossom, with DJ Ron on Friday at 7 p.m. There is a $10 cover.
The second annual Big Cherry Block Party is Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in downtown Silver Spring (916 Ellsworth Drive).
Moody Ga Ga with DJ Joe Gauthreaux is on Saturday at Town from 2 to 7 p.m. Tickets are $50 for this event.
Code D.C. presented by David Merrill and Jacob Pring is also on Saturday at Green Lantern (1335 Green Court, N.W.) from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. There is a $10 cover for this event.
All tickets must be purchased in advance online at boxofficetickets.com/cherry. A VIP Host Pass is available for $100 and includes admission to five events. Sanctioned events are not included in the Host Pass. For more information, visit cherryfund.org
Celebrity News
Madonna announces release date for new album
‘Confessions II’ marks return to the dance floor
Pop icon Madonna on Wednesday announced that her 15th studio album will be released on July 3.
Titled “Confessions II,” the new album is a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” an Abba and disco-infused hit.
The new album reunites Madonna with producer Stuart Price, who also helmed the original “Confessions” album. It’s her first album of new material since 2019’s “Madame X.”
“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna said in a press release. “These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” continued the statement. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions. Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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