Arts & Entertainment
Calendar: events through Dec. 6
Parties, exhibits, concerts and more through Dec. 6
Eileen Ivers, an Irish fiddler, plays Wolf Trap Friday night with the band Immigrant Soul. (Photo courtesy of Wolf Trap)
TODAY (Friday)
Whitman-Walker provides free confidential HIV testing at its Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center (1701 14th St., NW) today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit whitman-walker.org.
The Black Cat (1811 14th St., NW) holds its “Dr. Who Happy Hour” tonight at 7 p.m. on its backstage. There will be one episode of “Dr. Who” along with drink specials. For more information, visit blackcatdc.com.
Eileen Ivers, a nine-time All-Ireland Fiddle champion, performs with Immigrant Soul tonight at 8 p.m. at Wolf Trap in Vienna, Va. Ivers combines traditional fiddle with more modern pop sounds. Tickets are $22. For more information, visit wolftrap.org.
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) hosts Bear Happy Hour tonight from 6-11 p.m. This event is for people 21 and older. There is no cover charge. For details, visit towndc.com.
The Bachelor’s Mill (1104 8th St., S.E.) is having its happy hour this evening starting at 5 p.m. All drinks are half off until 7:30 p.m. After 9 p.m., admission is $10. The dance floor opens at 11 p.m. with DJ Tim-Nice and DJ Cameron. For details, visit thebachelorsmill.com.
Saturday, Dec. 1
Burgundy Crescent, a gay volunteer organization, is helping in food preparation and packing groceries for Food and Friends (219 Riggs Road, NE) this morning at 8. For more information, visit burgundycrescent.org.
The World AIDS Day Prayer Breakfast takes place at Howard University School of Divinity Dining Hall (1400 Shepherd St., NE) today at 9 a.m. For details, visit ccwdc.org.
Dignity Washington, a group of LGBT Catholics and Christians, marks its 40th anniversary tonight at Clyde’s Restaurant (707 7th St., NW). There will be a reception, silent auction, gourmet dinner and entertainment by local gay actor/singer Will Gartshore. Tickets are $75. For more information, visit dignitywashington.org.
The Center Global meeting takes place at the D.C. Center (1318 U St., NW) today at noon. The group is a new initiative that is focusing on three goals: looking at all resources and assistance available to LGBT asylum seekers in the area, getting the community involved and raising awareness of global LGBT issues and planning events that would raise funds for LGBT asylum seekers.
Bachelor’s Mill (1104 8th St., S.E.) opens at 5:30 p.m. today with pool, video gaming systems and card tournaments. The dance floors open at 11 p.m. Admission is free until 9 p.m. and it is $10 after. For more information, visit thebachelorsmill.com.
The Black Cat (1811 14th St., N.W.) hosts “Moon Bounce Dancing Affair” tonight at 10 on its backstage. The party includes a dance night of hip hop, house, ‘90s pop and not-so guilty pleasures. Cover is $7. For details, visit blackcatdc.com.
Burgundy Crescent, a gay volunteer organization, volunteers today for the Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation at Falls Church PetSmart (6100 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church, Va.) from 11:45 a.m.-3 p.m. For more information, visit burgundycrescent.org.
Sunday, Dec. 2
The ska/punk band “Bomb the Music Industry” performs at the Black Cat (1811 14th St., N.W.) tonight at 8. Admission is $10. For more information, visit blackcatdc.com.
Monday, Dec. 3
Dr. Gregory Pappas from the D.C. Department of Health gives a talk titled “New Reponses to the DC HIV/AIDS Epidemic” this evening at 6:30 at George Washington Hospital Auditorium (900 23rd St., NW). There will be light refreshments. The event is free. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
Whitman-Walker Health (1701 14th St., NW) holds its HIV+ Newly Diagnosed Support Group tonight at 7. It is a confidential support group for anyone recently diagnosed with HIV and the group welcomes all genders and sexual orientations. For details, visit whitman-walker.org.
Tuesday, Dec. 4
Muslims for Progressive Values invites you to “Unshackling Islam from Patriarchy” featuring Mona Eltahawy, an award-winning columnist and speaker on Arab and Muslim issues, tonight at 6:30 at the Human Rights Campaign Equality Center (1640 Rhode Island Ave., NW). For details, visit thedccenter.org.
Green Lantern (1335 Green Court, N.W.) hosts its Safer Sex Kit-packing program tonight from 7-10:30. The packing program is looking for more volunteers to help produce the kits because they say they are barely keeping up with demand. Admission is free and volunteers can just show up. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W) presents its Flashback dance night with DJ Jason Royce starting at 10 p.m. There is no cover charge. For more details, visit cobaltdc.com.
The D.C. Center holds its “Freedom from Smoking Class” for members of the community who are trying to quit smoking this evening starting 6:30. The class is an adaptation of the American Lung Association’s group clinic that has helped thousands of smokers, however it has been modified to be more relevant to the LGBT community and people living with HIV/AIDS. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
Banana Café (500 8th St., SE) has its open mic night tonight from 7 p.m. to closing. Admission is free and there are $3 mojitos after 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit bananacafedc.com.
Wednesday, Dec. 5
The National Center for Transgender Equality celebrates nine years at the National Press Club Ballroom (529 14th St., NW) on the 13th floor tonight at 7. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
The D.C. Center and Professionals in the City hosts Lesbian Speed Dating at the Chi-Cha Lounge (1624 U St., NW) tonight at 7. Attendees can support the D.C. Center and receive $5 off admission price when they use the promo cod DC_CENTER when they register. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
Whitman-Walker Health (1701 14th St., NW) holds its HIV+ Newly Diagnosed Support Group tonight at 7. It is a confidential support group for anyone recently diagnosed with HIV and the group welcomes all genders and sexual orientations. For details, visit whitman-walker.org.
Thursday, Dec. 6
The Mid-Atlantic Leather Womens Round Table Discussion is held tonight at the D.C. Center (1318 U St., NW) in the conference room at 7. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W) is hosting its weekly Best Package Contest tonight at 9 p.m. There is a $3 cover and there are $2 vodka drinks. Participants in the contest can win $200 in cash prizes. The event is hosted by Lena Lett and music by DJ Chord, DJ Madscience, and DJ Sean Morris. For details, visit cobaltdc.com.
Italy
Olympics Pride House ‘really important for the community’
Italy lags behind other European countries in terms of LGBTQ rights
The four Italian advocacy groups behind the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics’ Pride House hope to use the games to highlight the lack of LGBTQ rights in their country.
Arcigay, CIG Arcigay Milano, Milano Pride, and Pride Sport Milano organized the Pride House that is located in Milan’s MEET Digital Culture Center. The Washington Blade on Feb. 5 interviewed Pride House Project Manager Joseph Naklé.
Naklé in 2020 founded Peacox Basket Milano, Italy’s only LGBTQ basketball team. He also carried the Olympic torch through Milan shortly before he spoke with the Blade. (“Heated Rivalry” stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie last month participated in the torch relay in Feltre, a town in Italy’s Veneto region.)
Naklé said the promotion of LGBTQ rights in Italy is “actually our main objective.”
ILGA-Europe in its Rainbow Map 2025 notes same-sex couples lack full marriage rights in Italy, and the country’s hate crimes law does not include sexual orientation or gender identity. Italy does ban discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, but the country’s nondiscrimination laws do not include gender identity.
ILGA-Europe has made the following recommendations “in order to improve the legal and policy situation of LGBTI people in Italy.”
• Marriage equality for same-sex couples
• Depathologization of trans identities
• Automatic co-parent recognition available for all couples
“We are not really known to be the most openly LGBT-friendly country,” Naklé told the Blade. “That’s why it (Pride House) was really important for the community.”
“We want to use the Olympic games — because there is a big media attention — and we want to use this media attention to raise the voice,” he added.
Naklé noted Pride House will host “talks and roundtables every night” during the games that will focus on a variety of topics that include transgender and nonbinary people in sports and AI. Another will focus on what Naklé described to the Blade as “the importance of political movements now to fight for our rights, especially in places such as Italy or the U.S. where we are going backwards, and not forwards.”
Seven LGBTQ Olympians — Italian swimmer Alex Di Giorgio, Canadian ice dancers Paul Poirier and Kaitlyn Weaver, Canadian figure skater Eric Radford, Spanish figure skater Javier Raya, Scottish ice dancer Lewis Gibson, and Irish field hockey and cricket player Nikki Symmons — are scheduled to participate in Pride House’s Out and Proud event on Feb. 14.
Pride House Los Angeles – West Hollywood representatives are expected to speak at Pride House on Feb. 21.
The event will include a screening of Mariano Furlani’s documentary about Pride House and LGBTQ inclusion in sports. The MiX International LGBTQ+ Film and Queer Culture Festival will screen later this year in Milan. Pride House Los Angeles – West Hollywood is also planning to show the film during the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Naklé also noted Pride House has launched an initiative that allows LGBTQ sports teams to partner with teams whose members are either migrants from African and Islamic countries or people with disabilities.
“The objective is to show that sports is the bridge between these communities,” he said.
Bisexual US skier wins gold
Naklé spoke with the Blade a day before the games opened. The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics will close on Feb. 22.
More than 40 openly LGBTQ athletes are competing in the games.
Breezy Johnson, an American alpine skier who identifies as bisexual, on Sunday won a gold medal in the women’s downhill. Amber Glenn, who identifies as bisexual and pansexual, on the same day helped the U.S. win a gold medal in team figure skating.
Glenn said she received threats on social media after she told reporters during a pre-Olympics press conference that LGBTQ Americans are having a “hard time” with the Trump-Vance administration in the White House. The Associated Press notes Glenn wore a Pride pin on her jacket during Sunday’s medal ceremony.
“I was disappointed because I’ve never had so many people wish me harm before, just for being me and speaking about being decent — human rights and decency,” said Glenn, according to the AP. “So that was really disappointing, and I do think it kind of lowered that excitement for this.”
Puerto Rico
Bad Bunny shares Super Bowl stage with Ricky Martin, Lady Gaga
Puerto Rican activist celebrates half time show
Bad Bunny on Sunday shared the stage with Ricky Martin and Lady Gaga at the Super Bowl halftime show in Santa Clara, Calif.
Martin came out as gay in 2010. Gaga, who headlined the 2017 Super Bowl halftime show, is bisexual. Bad Bunny has championed LGBTQ rights in his native Puerto Rico and elsewhere.
“Not only was a sophisticated political statement, but it was a celebration of who we are as Puerto Ricans,” Pedro Julio Serrano, president of the LGBTQ+ Federation of Puerto Rico, told the Washington Blade on Monday. “That includes us as LGBTQ+ people by including a ground-breaking superstar and legend, Ricky Martin singing an anti-colonial anthem and showcasing Young Miko, an up-and-coming star at La Casita. And, of course, having queer icon Lady Gaga sing salsa was the cherry on the top.”
La Casita is a house that Bad Bunny included in his residency in San Juan, the Puerto Rican capital, last year. He recreated it during the halftime show.
“His performance brought us together as Puerto Ricans, as Latin Americans, as Americans (from the Americas) and as human beings,” said Serrano. “He embraced his own words by showcasing, through his performance, that the ‘only thing more powerful than hate is love.’”
Drag artists perform for crowds in towns across Virginia. The photographer follows Gerryatrick, Shenandoah, Climaxx, Emerald Envy among others over eight months as they perform at venues in the Virginia towns of Staunton, Harrisonburg and Fredericksburg.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)
Olympics Pride House ‘really important for the community’
Bad Bunny shares Super Bowl stage with Ricky Martin, Lady Gaga
Gay man details secret struggle with bulimia
I keep getting rejected on the apps
PHOTOS: Drag in rural Virginia
Marc Shaiman reflects on musical success stories
Netflix’s ‘The Boyfriend’ is more than a dating show
50 years later, it’s still worth a return trip to ‘Grey Gardens’
Snow, ice, and politics: what is (and isn’t) happening
LGBTQ Venezuelans in Colombia uncertain about homeland’s future
-
a&e features4 days agoMarc Shaiman reflects on musical success stories
-
Television4 days ago
Netflix’s ‘The Boyfriend’ is more than a dating show
-
Movies4 days ago
50 years later, it’s still worth a return trip to ‘Grey Gardens’
-
Opinions4 days ago
Snow, ice, and politics: what is (and isn’t) happening
