Arts & Entertainment
D.C. arts briefs: Sept. 14
Phasefest kicks off Thursday, Charlottesville has first-ever Pride and more
Charlottesville to have first Pride festival
The first-ever Charlottesville Pride Festival will be held Saturday from 2 to 6 p.m. at Lee Park.
A new group, Cville Pride, has formed to organize the event. President Amy Sarah Marshall says it started small with just one vendor and two organizations, though things have taken off quickly.
Organizers now have more than 50 sponsors and vendors, along with about 600 attendees planning to come via the organization’s Facebook page.
Organizers plan a bounty of events for the day including poetry, music and drag performances and also food and kids’ activities. For more information, find the Cville group on Facebook. Lee Park is located one block north of the Downtown Mall, between Jefferson Street, First Street N.E., Market Street and Second Street N.E.
Mikey Torres of Glitterlust. The band performs next week at Phasefest. (Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Phasefest kicks off Thursday
Phasefest kicks off Thursday at Phase One (525 8th St. SE Washington). Tickets are at $15 at the door. It runs through the weekend.
Look for indie bands like Bitch, Athen Boys Choir, Angie Head, People at Parties, Mitten, Hunter Valentine, D.C. band Glitterlust, Vanity Theft and many others. Weekend passes are $55. Tickets for individual nights are $15 Thursday, $20 for Sept. 22 and $25 for Sept. 22 and are available only at the door. Visit phasefest.com for details.
Center Hosts GenderQueer group
The GenderQueer D.C. Discussion Group will hold its monthly meeting at the D.C. Center (1318 U Street, NW) Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Every third Tuesday of each month, this support group meets to discuss its personal experiences with identifying and living outside the gender binary. They connect with those who are bigender, agender and others.
For more information, visit dccenter.org.
The Capital Pride Alliance presented the 2026 Capital Pride Honors at “The Audacity Brunch: In Full Fuchsia” at the Four Seasons Hotel Washington, D.C. on Sunday, June 7.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)
Out & About
Congressional Cemetery hosts Gays & Graves
Daylong Pride celebration blends history, remembrance, art and community
Historic Congressional Cemetery will host the second annual “Gays & Graves: A Big Gay Festival” on Sunday, June 14 at 11 a.m.
The event will feature pioneering activist Randy Wicker, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, and new public art installations and programs celebrating LGBTQ+ history. Gays & Graves is an official partner event of Capital Pride 2026.
This event is a daylong Pride celebration blending history, remembrance, art and community. Visitors can shop from LGBTQ+ and allied artists and makers, experience performances and interactive installations, and engage with programs exploring LGBTQ+ history and lived experience.
For more details, visit the cemetery’s website.
Baltimore Pride is underway, taking place from June 8-14.
The Pride Parade will be on Saturday, June 13 at 12 p.m. at Charles Street & North Avenue, followed by the Pride Block Party at 1 p.m. at Druid Hill Park. And then the Pride Festival will be held on Sunday, June 14 at 12 p.m. at Druid Hill Park.
There will be an array of additional events including: a fashion show, a “Suits and Sneakers” reception and a 5k race, among many other events.
For more details, visit Baltimore Pride’s website.
PHOTOS: The Audacity Brunch
D.C. Council approves expanded grant funding for Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs
Congressional Cemetery hosts Gays & Graves
Baltimore Pride is here
Calendar: June 12-18
Hundreds of thousands expected to attend D.C. Pride events
PHOTOS: Pride Run
Queen Jean is Tony’s first transgender winner
David Archuleta, Monroe Alise named D.C. Pride parade marshals
