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Calendar: Sept. 28

Parties, concerts, exhibits and more through Oct. 4

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Stewart Lewis
Stewart Lewis

Stewart Lewis (photo courtesy Stewart Lewis)

TODAY

The National Gay HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Conference and reception are both held today. The Conference occurs from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. at Barbara Jordan Conference Center: Kaiser Family Foundation (1330 G St. NW), while the Reception will take place at 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Number Nine (1435 P St. NW).

Arena Stage begins its “One Night with Janis Joplin” show tonight at the Kreeger Theater (1101 6th St. SW) at Arena Stage. The show continues through Nov. 4. For more information, visit arenastage.org.

Thank GLAAD It’s Friday, a networking event for young LGBT professionals, is tonight from 7-9 p.m. at the Penthouse (1612 U Street, NW). This is part of a national series offered by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. Visit glaad.org for details.

Local gay singer/songwriter Stewart Lewis plays from 6-8:30 p.m. tonight at Beacon Bar & Grill (1615 Rhode Island Ave. NW) on its rooftop Sky Bar area. No cover. More information at stewartlewis.com.

The National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day events continue today with a conference today from 8:30 a.m. ti 4:30 p.m. at the Barbara Jordan Conference Center at the Kaiser Family Foundation (1330 G Street NW). A reception follows from 5:30-7:30 at Number Nine (1435 P Street NW). This is a National Association of People with AIDS event. Details are at napwa.org.

Saturday, Sept. 29

The Green Festival Eco Fashion Showcase is set today from 1-4 p.m. at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center (801 Mount Vernon Place NW). For more information, visit greenfestivals.org.

DJ Cottontail will be making his East Coast debut at Town (2009 8th St. NW) tonight at 10:30. There is an $8 cover charge from 10-11 p.m. and a $12 cover charge after 11 p.m. For details, visit towndc.org.

Biometric palm prints, known as “next generation identification” for this FBI-developed ID database, are being offered free today as part of a child safety program at Don Beyer Volvo (1231 West Broad Street, Falls Church, Va.) today from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Parents can have the palm prints, fingerprints, a color digital photo and a child safety journal — all free — on a disc. These are the only copies that are kept — prints and photos are not made part of a database. These are provided for parents whose children go missing. Organizers say about 40 percent of prints left are palm prints so having these on file can be an added resource in helping police find missing children. Visit lifeprintevent.com to RSVP.

Opera in the Outfield is today at Nationals Park with a free simulcast of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.” Gates open at 5 p.m. Opera starts at 7. Details are at operaintheoutfield.org.

The D.C. Eagle (639 New York Ave.) is having a yard sale today from noon to 4 p.m. prior to its moving to a new location. Details at dceagle.com.

Sunday, Sept. 30

Dignity Washington, a local LGBT Catholic group, holds its weekly Sunday Mass tonight at 6 at St. Margaret’s Church (1820 Connecticut Ave. NW). For details, visit dignitywashington.org.

Joey Arias performs with drag legend Lady Bunny today at the Speak Easy at L’Enfant Café (2000 18th Street NW) in Adams Morgan tonight at 7 and 10:30 p.m. Details at laboumbrunch.com.

Monday, Oct. 1

Cobalt (1639 R St. NW) holds its weekly Martini Monday tonight at 10. There is no cover charge and you must be 21 and older to enter. For more information, visit cobaltdc.com.

Nellie’s Sport Bar (900 U St. NW) hosts its daily Beat the Clock Happy Hour tonight starting at 5. This includes bottles of Miller Lite, and house vodka drinks. The specials are: 5-6 p.m. $2 drinks, 6-7 p.m. $3 drinks and 7-8 p.m. $4 drinks. For details, visit nelliessportsbar.com.

Tuesday, Oct. 2

Green Lantern (1335 Green Court NW) and Burgundy Crescent will team up for safer sex, during their weekly Safer Sex Kit packing session tonight from 7-10:30 p.m. Volunteers come together to pack kits and pass them out in as many bars, clubs and other venues in the D.C. area. It creates a way to make new friends in the LGBT community as well. For more information, visit burgundycrescent.org.

Treble Tuesdays are back at Mova Lounge (2204 14th St. NW) with special music of any request, all night. There will be no cover charge and $8 martini specials. For more information, visit movalounge.com.

Special Agent Galactica performs a rock show tonight at MOVA (2204 14th Street NW) from 8 to 10 p.m. She headlines there the first Tuesday of each month. Guests tonight are Thomas J and David Knight. Details at pinkhairedone.com.

Wednesday, Oct. 3

Nellie’s Sports Bar (900 U St. NW) will hold its weekly game of Smart Ass Trivia tonight at 8 and 9 p.m. Each game includes five questions per round that get progressively harder. The winning team receives $40 off of their bar tab, while second prize get $20 off their bar tab. Third prize receives $10 off. For details, visit nelliessportsbar.com.

BOGO nights at MOVA Lounge (2204 14th St. NW) are back in D.C. tonight from 5-close, everything is two for one. There is no cover charge and all of the specialty drinks can be found on their site. DJ Neekola will be spinning all night. For more information, visit movalounge.com.

The Tom Davoren Social Bridge Club, an LGBT group, meets tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Dignity Center (721 8th Street, S.E.) across from the Marine Barracks for social bridge. No partner needed. Click on “social bridge in Washington DC” at lambdabridge.com for more information.

Bookmen D.C., an informal gay men’s literature group, meets tonight at 7:30 p.m. to discuss “The Unreal Life of Sergei Nabokov” by Paul Russell. The discussion will take place at Tenleytown Library (4450 Wisconsin Ave. NW). Visit bookmendc.blogspot.com for details.

Thursday, Oct. 4

The Rainbow History Project Pioneer Reception and Exhibit is tonight from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Thurgood Marshall Community Center (1816 12th Street NW). This year’s honorees are Robert Alfandre, Colevia Carter, Keith Monroe, Paulette Goodman, Jose Gutierrez, Susan Hester, Len Hirsch, Robert Miailovich, Bob Summersgill and Jessica Xavier. Now in its 12th year, the Rainbow History Project is dedicated to preserving LGBT history for the D.C. area. For more information, e-mail to [email protected] or call 202-431-9139. More information is at rainbowhistory.org.

The Adah Rose Gallery (3766 Howard Ave. Kensington, Md,) will showcase Thomas Drymon and Julie Wolsztynski works beginning today through early November. Drymon’s series “End of Empire” started his D.C.-based work in 2007.Wolsztynski’s series “New York Poetry” is a series of films. For more details, visit adahrosegallery.com.

Howard Theatre (620 T St. NW) hosts Peaches and DJ Extravaganza tonight at 9 p.m. The Toronto-born Peaches is known for her sexually progressive lyrics, rock and electro sound and bold performances. Her first single, “Fuck the Pain Away” is still circulating in the indie, fashion and queer circles. For details, visit howardtheatre.com.

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Books

A boy-meets-boy, family-mess story with heat

New book offers a stunning, satisfying love story

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(Book cover image courtesy of Random House)

‘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.

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Photos

PHOTOS: Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch

LGBTQ politicians gather for annual event

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Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) speaks at the 2025 Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

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)

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Music & Concerts

Tom Goss returns with ‘Bear Friends Furever Tour’

Out singer/songwriter to perform at Red Bear Brewing Co.

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Singer Tom Goss is back. (Photo by Dusti Cunningham)

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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