Arts & Entertainment
Calendar: Oct. 21
Meetings, parties, concerts and more through Oct. 27


‘Music Madness,’ a painting by Julie Borden, is on display at Prudential Gallo in Rehoboth Beach, Del. (Image courtesy of Prudential)
TODAY (Friday)
LezGetTogether presents “Lesbian Attack” at Solly’s Tavern (1942 11th St., N.W.) tonight at 6 p.m. LezGetTogether is an online community for LGBT women in the D.C. metro area.
The Creative Alliance presents “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” staring Adam Cooley, tonight at 8 p.m. at the Patterson (3134 Eastern Ave.) in Baltimore. There will be another performance Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets for the general public are $20 and member’s tickets are $15. For more information, visit creativealliance.org.
Green Lantern’s (1335 Green Court, N.W.) Fahrenheit presents “Leche” tonight from 9 p.m to 3 a.m. featuring DJ Michael Brandon. There’s a $7 cover after 10 p.m. and free rail vodka upstairs from 10 to 11 p.m.
Gay/Bash!, a “queer night of rock and pop gems” with DJ Joshua is tonight at the Black Cat (1811 14th St., N.W.). This is a free event and doors open at 9:30 p.m.
The Belly Horror Show will be at Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave.) in Alexandria tonight at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $29.50 and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com. Belly Horror is a Halloween-themed, fusion belly dance show with lesbian organizers. For more information, visit bellyhorror.com.
Lambda Divers has its monthly happy hour tonight from 5 to 7 p.m. at Nellie’s (900 U St., N.W.). For more information on the group, visit lambdadivers.org.
Saturday, Oct. 22
D.C. Doulas for Choice Collective is hosting a benefit tonight at 5525 Illinois Ave., N.W., tonight from 6 to 8:30 p.m. The event will feature DJ AlexDB and sweet, vegan-friendly treats. There is a $6 to $8 suggested donation. D.C. Doulas is a group that believes women seeking abortions deserve the same support a doula would provide during labor and birth. For more information, visit dcdoulasforchoice.wordpress.com.
Mixtape is taking over the Rock & Roll Hotel (1353 H St., N.E.) tonight for the official Metronomy/Class Actress afterparty starting at 10 p.m. The event is free with a ticket stub and $7 without one. Attendees must be 21 or older.
Drawing on the Andy Warhol exhibit “Headlines” at the National Gallery of Art, Busboys & Poets presents a modern take on Warhol’s “Electric Newspaper” tonight at 7 p.m. at its 5th and K streets location (1025 5th St., N.W.). The event will look at today’s headlines and feature performance by Christylez Bacon, Head Roc, Kickrocks dance crew and more. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. The movie “I Shot Andy Warhol” will be screened on Sunday at 8 p.m.
Team D.C.’s 2011 Champions Awards is tonight from 6 to 8 p.m. at the HRC Building (1640 Rhode Island, Ave., N.W.) with special guest Hudson Taylor. This year’s honorees are Town, Martin Espinoza of Stonewall Kickball, Chris Cormier and Brandon Waggoner of the D.C. Gay Flag Football League and Phil Piga and Tony Watkins of Anywhere Goes. The 2011 Team D.C. College Scholarship recipients are Jorge Acevedo, Nate Eckland and Justin Kanga. Tickets are $40 and are available for purchase online at teamdc.org. Tickets include buffet, dessert bar and an open bar.
Will Eastman’s dance party “Bliss” returns to U Street Music Hall (1115 U St., N.W.) tonight with Chris Nitti. There is a $10 cover and attendees who are 18 to 20 must purchase tickets in advance. A portion of door proceeds will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit ustreetmusichall.com.
Sunday, Oct. 23
Busboys & Poets presents “Borderlines: A Bilingual Spanish-English Open Mic” tonight at 5 p.m. in the Zinn room of its Hyattsville location (5331 Baltimore Ave., Suite 104) hosted by Henry Mills. This is the pilot run of the event. The sign-up sheet opens at 4 p.m.
Artist Julie Borden and musician Sydney Arzt are featured in an exhibit at Prudential Gallo (37230 Rehoboth Ave.) in Rehoboth Beach. The works will be on view through the month. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information on Borden and Arzt, visit their websites, juleez.com and demusic.org.
Monday, Oct. 24
Spoken word artists Andrea Gibson will be performing poems from her latest book, “The Madness Vase” with Natalie E. Illum tonight at The Fridge (516 1/2 8th St., S.E.) at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online at brownpapertickets.com/event/205541.
D.C. Strokes is hosting a novice fundraiser, bachelor auction and raffle tonight at Nellie’s (900 U St., N.W.) From 6 to 10 p.m., a $1 from every Nellie’s beer sold will go to D.C. Strokes and the novices will be racing each other on the erg machines on the deck. At 7 :30 p.m. at the auction begins and each bachelor or bachelorette comes with a dinner or activity package. Raffle tickets are $ and prizes include an iPad2. For more information, visit nelliesdc.com.
Tuesday, Oct. 25
The Jewish Foundation for Group Homes presents “An Evening of Dancing with the Stars” tonight at the Music Center at Strathmore at 7 p.m. featuring Academy Award-winning actor Marlee Matlin, actor Gilles Marini with professional dancers Jonathan Roberts and Edyta Sliwinska. Tickets to this event are available through JFGH. For ticket information, call 240-283-6027 or email [email protected].
Wednesday, Oct. 26
Metropolitan Community Church of D.C. (474 Ridge St., N.W.) is hosting “Goblin Night,” an event for youth from teens to twenties tonight. There will be a Trick or Treat delivery from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and then a costume party from 8:30 to 11 p.m. For more information, visit mccdc.com.
Cameron Mackintosh presents a new 25th anniversary production of “Les Miserables” at the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) today at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets range from $39 to $155 and can be purchased online at kennedy-center.org.
Green Lantern (1331 Green Court, N.W.) will host the weekly Poz D.C. happy hour upstairs from 8 p.m. to midnight.
Thursday, Oct. 27
Gays & Lesbians Opposing Violence (GLOV) is having its monthly meeting tonight in the main room at the D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
D.C. Lambda Squares has its club night for plus and advanced dancers tonight from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the National City Christian Church (5 Thomas Circle, N.W.) with caller Bill Harrison. For more information, visit dclambdasquares.org.
HRC has its monthly community night tonight at Nellie’s (900 U St., N.W.) from 5 to 8 p.m.
Books
A boy-meets-boy, family-mess story with heat
New book offers a stunning, satisfying love story

‘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.

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.

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.
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