Arts & Entertainment
On the move
Local LGBT sports teams host a flurry of fall activities

From left, Brooke Darlington, Eliza Yoder and Brian Jones at the second annual United Night Out. (Photo by Kevin Majoros)
About 500 people from the LGBT community attended the second annual United Night Out event on Sept. 21 at RFK Stadium as the D.C. United ended up in a 2-2 tie with Chivas USA.
The event was hosted by the Federal Triangles Soccer Club and was part of the Night Out series presented by Team D.C. The D.C. Different Drummers performed before the game and the national anthem was sung by Justin Richey of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington.
Members of SMYAL and other groups were also included in the pre-game flag unveiling. After the game, D.C. United players Clyde Simms and Josh Wolff, donated their game jerseys to two United Night Out raffle winners. Simms and Wolff are featured in the “It Gets Better” video put out by D.C. United. They are the first Major League Soccer team to support the anti-bullying campaign. The video was recently broadcast on the cable sports channel, Comcast SportsNet. For more information on the event and to view the video, go to unitednightout.com.
All the fall LGBT sports leagues have kicked off their season play, but there’s always an opportunity to submit your name to a substitute player list. Among the teams offering a sub list are the Capital Area Rainbowlers Association, League of Women Bowlers and the Capital Tennis Association.
There are plenty of LGBT sports groups offering individual participation for the coming months. The D.C. IceBreakers will be hosting a skate and social at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex on Oct. 16 at 8:15 p.m. The cost to skate is $8 and skate rental is $3. All skill levels are welcome. After skating, the group heads to a local pub for a social hour. Details are at dcicebreakers.com.
Ski-Bums have announced their 2012 event offerings for skiing and snowboarding. Upcoming trips include Salt Lake City, Beaver Creek, Sun Valley, Killington and more. Information on membership is at ski-bums.org.
Charm City Volleyball is hosting Wednesday social play at the Mt. Royal Recreation Center in Baltimore every week from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Teams are formed by 7 p.m. and all skill levels are welcome. Cost is $3 per session. They also host Sunday competitive and scrimmage play/clinics at the Volleyball House in Elkridge, Md., every week from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Cost is $7 per session and North American Gay Volleyball Association teams are welcome to play. More information is at volleybaltimore.org.
The Adventuring Outdoors Group will be hiking Sunday at Difficult Run in Great Falls, Va. The hike will start from the parking lot on Old Georgetown Pike and head along the cascades of Difficult Run as it flows toward the Potomac. Then they’ll head upstream past the old George Washington canal ruins to lunch at one of the overlooks at Great Falls near the Visitors Center. After lunch they will continue back through the abandoned Potomac River channels via Old Carriage road and Swamp Trail. Total length of the hike is about 5 miles with an elevation gain of 250 feet. Bring lunch, beverages, bug spray around $5 for trip and transportation fees. The group will meet by the station attendant’s kiosk inside the Rosslyn Metro Station. The group can be found online at adventuring.org.
Rainbow Climbing D.C. can usually be found at the local rock climbing venues on Tuesday and Thursday nights and sometimes on weekends. Check out their Facebook page under Rainbow Climbing to see if they will be at Earth Treks in Rockville or Sportrock in Alexandria.
The D.C. Front Runners, celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, continue with their Tuesday and Thursday evening runs along with their Saturday and Sunday morning runs. The group meets at 23rd and P Streets except for Tuesdays when they meet at Union Station. The runners also host walks at the same locations on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings. Times are listed at dcfrontrunners.org.
The 2026 World Pride March was held on Saturday, Aug. 8 in Amsterdam. Tens of thousands of participants marched from Martin Luther Kingpark to the grounds of the Pride Village at Museumplein.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)








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The weekly drag show “Daddy Issues” was held at Kiki on Wednesday, Aug. 5. Performers included Evry Pleasure, Indiana Bones and Tiara Missou-Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)









Books
Something’s off about Dad. When is it time to step in?
‘When Memory Fades’ can help when families face dementia
‘When Memory Fades’
By Nathaniel Chin, MD
c.2026, St. Martin’s Essentials
$30/422 pages
Mom called you in a panic the other day.
She’d lost her keys and by the time you arrived to help, she’d found them. In the refrigerator.
These kinds of things keep happening, not often but often enough, and you don’t know quite what to worry about. But in the new book “When Memory Fades” by Nathaniel Chin, MD, you’ll learn about the journey ahead, for both of you.
You can’t remember why you walked into a room. You got lost last week, going to the bank. Popular wisdom says that things like that are normal as we age, but Chin says that’s not true – although the answer may not be a worst-case scenario, either. Yes, memory problems could just be signs of stress, dehydration, or lack of sleep – or is it time to see a doctor?
Chin says maybe, yes.
He was working his way through medical residency when his father, a geriatrician in Madison, Wisc., was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Chin, now a geriatrician, was blindsided, but that diagnosis also changed his life.
Here, he writes about the brain, and how Alzheimer’s and dementia are diagnosed, explaining that dementia has many faces and, depending on a doctor’s evaluation, memory problems might be slowed or improved. He shares his father’s illness with readers, but he also writes about his mother, a steadfast, steady caretaker.
Her story reminds reader-guardians to care for themselves, too.
Know how to talk the talk, so that you can have “a more productive” conversation with your doctor. Understand that there’s nothing “normal” about dementia or Alzheimer’s. Know the statistics – African Americans are affected with dementia twice as much as whites – and know how to lower your risks. Learn here what questions to ask, how to break the news to everyone, and any legal matters that will be important soon. And know how to tend to you.
Says Chin, “The best action you can take is to educate yourself… The more you understand, the better equipped you are to make sound judgments.”
Something’s off about Dad, just a lot of little things that don’t add up. When is it time to step in? “When Memory Fades” can help you decide.
Wise, wide-spread, comprehensive, and compassionately helpful, this is a book you can read and then take it to the doctor with your loved one. It’s a book that makes sense when nothing else does, and its biggest feature is that it smoothly transitions from easy-to-grasp science and charts, to gentle coaching for caregivers. Author Nathaniel Chin, MD writes with storytelling, humility, grace, and experience from both sides of the Alzheimer’s/dementia issue, and his words are reassuring but also urgent. Learn, but don’t wait, he says. Know how to safeguard yourself. See your doctor, and don’t fear testing. Watch for signs of depression. And never, ever stop asking for help.
Read those last seven words, and find “When Memory Fades” now. It’s a book to have on your shelf, whether you’re 45 or 95 because, as you’ll see, dementia happens and knowledge is key.
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