Arts & Entertainment
Calendar through June 20
Events, parties, concerts and more this weekend and beyond
Mova hosts “GLBT College Night” on Thursday. (Washington Blade photo by Pete Exis)
Friday, June 14
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) hosts Bear Happy Hour Friday from 6-11 p.m. There is no cover charge and admission is limited to guests 21 and over. For details, visit towndc.com.
Special Agent Galactica performs Friday with her musical director, Aaron Myers, at Black Fox Lounge (1723 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) from 6-9 p.m. Admission is free. Visit blackfoxlounge.com or pinkhairedone.com for more information.
Jamorr Entertainment presents Fusion Friday, an all ladies happy hour, Friday at Capitale (1301 K St., N.W.) from 6-11 p.m. Tickets are $5 in advance or $10 at the door. For details and to purchase tickets, visit jamorr.com.
Delta Elite (10 St., N.E.) hosts ladies night Friday from 10 p.m.-3 a.m. For more details, visit deltaelite.net.
Saturday, June 15
Green Lantern (1335 Green Ct., N.W.) hosts a “Mister Beefcake Contest” tonight at 10 p.m., featuring DJ Kurt Jo. Admission is $7. Contestants can win $100. For details, visit greenlanterndc.com.
Nellie’s Sports Bar (900 U St., N.W.) hosts a Gemini Zodiac Party this afternoon from 3-7 p.m. Geminis should come early for free T-shirts. Visit nelliessportsbar.com or the event on Facebook for more details.
Burgundy Crescent, a gay volunteer organization, volunteers today for Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation at the Falls Church PetSmart (6100 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church, V.A.) from 11:45 a.m.-3 p.m. Visit burgundycrescent.org for more information.
Sunday, June 16
Perry’s (1811 Columbia Rd., N.W.) hosts its weekly Sunday Drag Brunch today from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The cost is $24.95 for an all-you-can-eat buffet. For details, visit perrysadamsmorgan.com.
The Capitol Hill Medical Center (700 2nd St., N.E.) presents a Transgender Health care Dialogue this morning from9:30-10:30 a.m. Kaiser Permanente physicians, nurses, behavioral health professionals and member services professionals will be present to answer questions. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) presents an International Queer Poetry Panel this afternoon from 1-3 p.m.Admission is $10 or free with prior registration. For more details, visit thedccenter.org.
Monday, June 17
The Bachelor’s Mill (1104 8th St., S.E.) hosts happy hour tonight from 5-7:30 p.m. All drinks are half price, and there will also be pool, video gaming systems and cards. Admission is free. For details, visit bachelorsmill.com.
The Black Fox Lounge (1723 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) hosts La-Ti-Do, a spoken word and musical theater show, tonight from 8-10 p.m. Admission is $10. Visit blackfoxlounge.com for more details.
The Open Society Institute (1730 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) hosts a panel discussion and film preview on LGBTI refugees with the Organization for Refuge, Asylum and Migration (ORAM) from 1-3 p.m. this afternoon. “No Place For Me,” a documentary that reveals the persecution of LGBT people in South Africa, Mexico and Uganda, will be previewed. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
Casa Ruby (2822 Georgia Ave., N.W.) provides a Spanish-Language Career Development tutorial from 4-6 p.m. today. Visit thedccenter.org for more information.
The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) hosts coffee drop-in hours this morning from 10 a.m.-noon for the senior LGBT community. Older LGBT adults can come and enjoy complimentary coffee and conversation with other community members. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
Tuesday, June 18
Whitman Walker Health provides free HIV testing at Panam Supermarket (3552 14th St., N.W.) tonight from 7-9 p.m.For more information, visit whitman-walker.org.
The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) hosts a Gender Queer Discussion Group for people who identify outside of the gender binary from 7-8 p.m. tonight. For details, visit thedccenter.org.
MOVA Lounge (2204 14th St., N.W.) screens “Will & Grace” reruns tonight from 5 p.m.-3 a.m. Half-priced “Karen Walker Martinis” and “Just Jack Cocktails” will be served. There is no cover. For more information, visit movalounge.com or the Mova Lounge Facebook page.
The D.C. Trans Coalition hosts a group-planning meeting at Transgender Health Empowerment (1414 North Capitol St., N.W.) tonight from 7:30-9 p.m. For more information, visit dctranscoalition.org.
Wednesday, June 19
Heist (1802 Jefferson Pl., N.W.) hosts its weekly open bar party tonight from 10-11 p.m. There is no cover charge and admission is limited to guests 21 and over. For details, visit heistdc.com or the Heist DC Facebook page.
The Bachelor’s Mill (1104 8th St., S.E.) hosts drag bingo tonight from 5:30-7 p.m. during happy hour. All drinks are half price and there will also be pool, video gaming systems and cards. Admission is free. For more information, visitbachelorsmill.com.
The AFI Docs Film Festival starts screening documentaries today at 10 a.m. at the AFI Silver Theater (8633 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring, M.D.). Tickets for individual screenings are $13 and combo ticket packages for 10 screenings are $100. For more information on the festival’s documentaries, various screening locations and to purchase tickets online, visit afi.com.
The Lambda Bridge Club meets tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Dignity Center (721 8th St., S.E.) for social bridge. Participants do not need a partner. For more details, call 301-345-1571.
Bookmen D.C., an informal men’s gay literature group, discusses “The Lost Library: Gay Fiction Rediscovered,” tonight at 7:30 p.m. at The American Foreign Service Association (2101 E St., N.W.). For more information, visitbookmendc.blogspot.com.
Thursday, June 20
Whitman-Walker Health provides free HIV testing tonight from 10 p.m.-1 a.m. at Glorious Health Club (2120 West Virginia Ave., N.E.). For more information, visit whitman-walker.org.
The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) hosts a polyamory discussion group tonight from 7-8 p.m. Visit thedccenter.orgfor more details.
MOVA Lounge (2204 14th St., N.W.) hosts “GLBT College Night” this evening with a vodka open bar from 9-10 p.m. for guests with a college ID. Admission is 18 and up to enter and 21 and up to drink. For details, visit movalounge.com or the Mova Lounge Facebook page.
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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