As WorldPride draws closer, Washington, D.C. is getting ready to celebrate on multiple levels. One major event is the Dreamland WorldPride Music Festival, to be held at RFK Stadium (2400 East Capitol St., N.E.) from June 6-7, 2025. This music festival will serve as the centerpiece of the city’s WorldPride celebration, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of D.C. Pride.

Local electronic dance music event promoter Club Glow is putting on the show, bringing in celebrated producer Jake Resnicow, to create a giant festival. Under the direction of Resnicow and Club Glow, the festival will feature a diverse, yet-to-be-named lineup featuring pop superstars, live performers, DJs, and plenty of local talent. The festival aims to showcase the vibrant spectrum of LGBTQ culture, with musical genres ranging from disco to country, bringing together performers from a range of backgrounds who resonate with Capital Pride’s values and with the attendees.

The Washington Blade conducted an exclusive interview with Jake Resnicow about the festival. The interview has been slightly condensed for clarity.

BLADE: What is your background and role in the nightlife scene? 

RESNICOW: I’ve always been passionate about creating spaces where people can express themselves freely. My journey into live events began in 2010 with a Pride event on Governors Island. It was a transformative experience that showed me the power of live events to bring joy and build community. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of producing events like WorldPride at the Javits Center, where we raised over $500,000 for LGBTQ+ charities, as well as the first-ever Pride in Central Park. These events have been about more than just entertainment; they aim to support and uplift the LGBTQ+ community. 

BLADE: How did you get involved in the WorldPride Festival with Capital Pride?

RESNICOW: After producing several Pride festivals and witnessing their impact, the opportunity to bring this energy to the largest stage feels like a culmination of a long-held vision. I’m truly honored to collaborate with Pete Kalamoutsos, Heather Church, and Matt Cronin — the driving force behind Project GLOW. Pete has been a leader in the dance music scene for over 25 years. He, Heather, and Matt have not only shaped the East Coast’s electronic music landscape but have also shown unwavering support for the LGBTQ+ community. Their commitment to elevating dance culture, especially through Project GLOW, is remarkable. Beyond the music, the team has incorporated community-focused initiatives, such as highlighting Washington, D.C.’s LGBTQIA+ community through dedicated stages and collaborating with local charities like Sasha Bruce Youthwork. Working with Pete, Heather, and Matt is like joining a dream team — they have an incredible vision and are passionate about making a difference. Together, we aim to create a historic WorldPride 2025 Music Festival that resonates with attendees and leaves a lasting legacy. 

BLADE: What does this event mean to the LGBTQ nightlife community? 

RESNICOW: WorldPride 2025 is more than just a music festival; it’s a space for celebration, reflection, and visibility. For the LGBTQ nightlife community, it’s an opportunity to come together, celebrate our identities, and amplify voices that have been historically marginalized. In a world where less than 1% of charting artists identify as LGBTQIA+, this festival is a platform to change that narrative. I’m particularly proud to serve on the board of Femme House, where we work to address this underrepresentation by providing resources and opportunities for queer musicians to thrive. This festival symbolizes a safe, inclusive environment where everyone feels seen, heard, and celebrated. 

BLADE: What will the festival entail? 

RESNICOW: The festival will offer a multi-day experience filled with music, art, and community engagement. Attendees can expect a blend of live performances, immersive activations, art installations, and wellness zones. To me, queer entertainment has evolved beyond nightlife; it’s now a cultural movement that intertwines art, music, fashion, and activism. This evolution has shaped how I approach my events, pushing me to create spaces that are not just safe and inclusive but also challenge and redefine what live entertainment can be. WorldPride 2025 is about creating something larger than a single event; it’s about fostering a movement that celebrates the full spectrum of the LGBTQ+ community. We aim to offer spaces for connection, self-expression, and reflection, incorporating elements that give back to the community and support causes that matter most to us. 

BLADE: What are some elements and activations that are part of the festival? 

RESNICOW: Beyond the music, there will be a variety of interactive experiences and spaces that celebrate LGBTQ+ culture. This includes art installations, wellness zones, educational areas, and spaces for community organizations to engage with festival-goers. Our goal is to create a holistic experience that goes beyond the traditional festival setup, offering attendees a place to connect, learn, and celebrate in diverse ways. 

BLADE: How do WorldPride and the festival connect to the D.C. community?

RESNICOW: Washington, D.C. has a rich history of LGBTQ+ activism and culture, and this festival holds personal significance for me. Having attended Georgetown University, I feel a deep connection to this community and its legacy. WorldPride 2025 is my way of giving back, aiming to create a festival that resonates on a deeply personal level for all of us. I want to create a musical experience that the community will remember, one that celebrates our progress and inspires us for years to come. This event is designed to leave a lasting impression, not just as a festival but as a moment of unity and pride. 

A core aspect of WorldPride 2025 is its commitment to giving back. The festival will support the nonprofit Capital Pride Alliance, which serves the needs of the LGBTQ+ community year-round. We’re building on the legacy of our previous events, where we raised substantial funds for LGBTQ+ causes. This isn’t just about a single weekend of celebration; it’s about creating lasting change. Additionally, based on the overwhelming presale response, we’re on track to potentially set a new world record for the largest Pride festival ever. This reflects not only the excitement for the event but also the strength and unity of our community. We’re striving to make the festival a historic moment that has a meaningful, positive impact on both the local D.C. community and the LGBTQ+ community at large.

There are few movie stars who have been as prolific as Nicole Kidman.

In fact, the Australian star of “Babygirl” – the slick erotic thriller by Dutch filmmaker Halina Reijn now in theaters – has been so busy in recent years (23 films in the last decade, and that’s not even counting her television work or her gig as celebrity spokesmodel for the AMC Theater chain) that it’s become a running gag in the popular conversation. It even emerged as a punch line for Golden Globes host Nikki Glaser earlier this month.

Make no mistake, though, there’s a reason for her continued presence as one of Hollywood’s most valuable players, and “Babygirl,” which pushes her to exhibit the kind of vulnerability rarely even expected of performers half her age, is ample proof of that.

In the film, Kidman stars as Romy Mathis, the CEO of a New York tech company – an Amazon-style purchasing hub where order fulfillment is handled exclusively via robotics – whose marriage to a renowned theater director (Antonio Banderas) works everywhere but in the bedroom. When Samuel (Harris Dickinson), a much-younger new male intern at the company to whom she is already attracted, requests her as his mentor as part of a company leadership program, she finds herself drawn into an affair, fueled by the Dom/sub sexual dynamic of her fantasies, which compromises her position of power in the company almost as much as it satisfies the unmet needs of her personal life. It’s a self-described thriller, so needless to say, things start to spin out of control when Samuel shows up unannounced at her home in the middle of a family gathering – but the increasing danger only serves to draw her deeper into a situation which, by any conventional standard, represents a highly inappropriate breach of conduct, at best.

Influenced noticeably by films from the pre-“MeToo”-era dealing with the blending of sexual and professional power dynamics (both “Indecent Proposal” and “Basic Instinct” have been cited by Reijn as inspiration) and marked by an aloof, almost documentarian perspective that contrasts with the boundary-pushing provocation of its intimate scenes in a way that distances us from the ethical quandaries of its central relationship, it’s a movie that both invites us and challenges us. Investing us in the experience of a woman who has beaten the odds to find success while resigning herself to an unsatisfactory sex life with an otherwise perfectly matched husband, it asks us to empathize and even root for Romy as she negotiates the thorny path toward an erotic self-actualization that matches her professional one, despite the strong societal current that would brand every decision she makes along the way as toxic. It’s this conflict between what’s “right” and what serves our deepest instinctual needs that gives “Babygirl” its edgy power, far more than its scenes of fetish-driven intimacy – which, while they crackle with the kind of sexual tension that’s often lacking in the scenes of “socially endorsed” intimacy presented in mainstream cinema, are undeniably tame compared with what can be found in the more transgressive milieu of underground cinema – and rattles our sense of (for lack of a better word) “decency.”

This said, the scenes in which Kidman – who fearlessly embraces the challenge of being an A-list superstar (of a “certain age”) in a role that hinges not just on her sexual viability, but the willingness with which she allows her body to be presented for scrutiny – surrenders herself to the irresistible draw of her forbidden young lover are nevertheless searing examples of raw cinematic expression. This is certainly a function of her full commitment to the role, and her ability to find the right blend of self-awareness and self-abandon that convinces us of their authenticity. But it’s equally due to the smouldering self-assurance and adroitly balanced serenity of Dickinson’s Samuel, who overcomes the natural distrust that inherently accompanies his role (as a male subordinate seemingly exploiting his female superior’s vulnerability) to win a palpable measure of respect – if not our full sympathies – through an almost preternatural sense of self-confidence and a kind of dark sincerity that renders the mutually exploitative nature of their relationship almost irrelevant in our visceral response to it.

Before anyone questions the weight with which we consider the movie’s sex scenes, it’s important to convey that “Babygirl” is most decidedly a film about sexual politics, and, despite the complimentary juxtaposition it provides with workplace culture, it is there where it hits its deepest and most resonant chords in our collective psyche. The forced strictures of our societal roles take a back seat to the raw and untamed urgency of our most intimate desires, and even the sacrosanct bond of marital commitment is fair game when it comes to fulfilling the fantasies that somehow make us feel more wholly ourselves, regardless – and indeed, often because of – any taboos that might otherwise discourage us from exploring them. 

In an era when the “rules” around sex somehow feel both less and more stringent than ever, such an approach feels particularly transgressive. Indeed, the implication than an illicit office affair might be anything other than an HR nightmare might well seem like a radical notion even to those with a more-or-less permissive stance on matters of personal morality, in any era. Yet “Babygirl” negotiates those dangerous curves with wickedly seductive finesse, offering up a steamy portrait of illicit-yet-irresistible sexual adventure that ultimately feels less like a cautionary tale – despite the inevitable personal and professional consequences that threaten to shatter Romy’s idealized “Girl Boss” life as her affair with Samuel grows more and more out of her control – than a taboo-smashing story of personal liberation and growth beyond conventional mores.

Delivered without overt judgment through Reijn’s observational treatment, it’s a movie that successfully conveys the allure of “kinky” sexual roleplay far more convincingly than “Fifty Shades of Gray” – thanks in no small part to Dickinson, whose breathtakingly opaque performance renders Samuel with equal parts irresistible sex appeal and chilling menace, and whose May/September chemistry with Kidman is not only convincing but undeniably hot.

It’s her film, however, and it’s her performance, which captures an emotional nakedness far more courageous than that required by baring her perfect-for-any-age body, that gives “Babygirl” the depth that makes it more than just a topical tale of sexual politics in the workplace. Indeed, the office intrigue that surrounds the affair seems almost an afterthought, a convenient “McGuffin” to draw us into a story that is really about something much more interesting – and much more human.

While the movie doesn’t always land perfectly – particularly in its treatment of Romy’s marriage, which feels vaguely perfunctory and leaves Banderas with little room to explore the nuances that might make his character more than a cipher – it’s still a deliciously provocative, visually stylish piece of boldly countercultural filmmaking, that dares to suggest that the path to personal growth sometimes lies through kinky, forbidden sex.

You have to admit, it’s a very appealing suggestion.

The 40th annual Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather competition was held on Sunday, Jan. 12 at the Hyatt Regency Washington. The event was one of the highlights of 2025 Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend. Eight competitors vied for the title of Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather 2025, with Jason Elliott named the winner. 

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)