Arts & Entertainment
Calendar through August 15
Killers, Ke$ha, Baltimore Fashion Week, Ballgame day and more!
Ke$ha’s Monday night Wolf Trap show among the top offering of this week’s Washington DC Events. (Photo courtesy of Wolf Trap)
Friday, August 9
The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) hosts a Women In Their Twenties meeting tonight from 8-9:30 p.m. Visit thedccenter.org for more information.
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) hosts Bear Happy Hour tonight from 6-11 p.m. There is no cover charge and admission is limited to guests 21 and over. For details, visit towndc.com.
Whitman-Walker Health provides free HIV testing tonight at Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) at 8 p.m. For more information, visit whitman-walker.org.
Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) hosts “Free Vodka Friday” tonight from 9 p.m.-3 a.m. Cover is $10 and free vodka rail drinks will be served from 11-midnight. Admission is limited to guests 21 and over. Visit cobaltdc.com for details.
The Killers play Merriweather Post Pavilion (10475 Little Patuxent Pwy, Columbia, Md.) tonight at 6:30 p.m. The band’s Mormon lead singer, Brandon Flowers, has a gay following and cites many gay male artists as influential in his music. Admission ranges from $40-75. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit merriweathermusic.com.
Baltimore Fashion Week continues tonight at the DoubleTree Baltimore North Hotel (1726 Reistertown Rd., Pikesville, Md.) at 8 p.m. Work by 10 local designers will be showcased this evening, and the fashion week will continue through Sunday. Admission is $40-60. For details and to purchase tickets, visit baltimore-fashionweek.com.
Saturday, August 10
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) hosts a “21st Century Divas” dance party tonight at 10 p.m. Dance hits by today’s pop divas, such as Rihanna, Adele and Lady Gaga, play all night with accompanying music videos. Cover is $8 from 10-11 and $12 after 11. Admission is limited to guests 21 and over. For details, visit towndc.com.
The Black Cat (1811 14th St., N.W.) hosts “Mixtape,” an alternative gay dance party, tonight at 9:30 p.m. DJs Matt Bailer and Shea Van Horn spin alt-pop, new wave and indie rock all night. Admission is $10. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit blackcatdc.com.
Phase 1 hosts a “Stop Light Party” tonight. Guests are encouraged to pick different colored bracelets at the door, including red if you’re taken, yellow if you are “down for whatever” and green if you’re single. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and cover is $5. Visit the Phase 1 Facebook page for more information or phase1dc.com.
Whitman-Walker Health provides free HIV testing at the D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) this afternoon at 4 p.m. For more information, visit whitman-walker.org.
Burgundy Crescent Volunteers, a gay volunteer organization, will help to prune the cherry trees around the Tidal Basin (Tidal Basin and Ohio Dr., N.W.) today from 9-11 a.m. Clippers are provided. For more details, visit burgundycrescent.org.
The Lumen8 Festival’s closing party is this evening from 6:30-10:30 p.m. at Anacostia Arts Center (1231 Good Hope Road) and will feature a variety of activities such as performances by the Afro Funk All Stars, Ras Lidj and Deep Band and queer disco-punk band Glitterlust. Visit lumen8anacostia.com for details.
Sunday, August 11
Nellie’s Sports Bar (900 U St., N.W.) hosts its weekly “Guil-Tea Dance Party” today from 3-8 p.m. DJ Shea Van Horn spins pop guilty pleasures all afternoon. Admission is free and limited to guests 21 and over. For more details, visit nelliessportsbar.com.
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.
Black Fox Lounge (1723) hosts “Tula’s Cabaret,” a classic lip-sync drag show, from 8-11 p.m. tonight. Admission is free. For more information, visit blackfoxlounge.com.
Burgundy Crescent Volunteers, a gay volunteer organization, volunteers today from 9 a.m.-noon for the D.C. Central Kitchen (425 2nd St., N.W.). Volunteers will cook alongside chefs who work at D.C. Central Kitchen, which helps feed 3,000 individuals in the area. For details, visit burgundycrescent.org.
Studio Theatre (1501 14th St., N.W.) hosts its last performance of “The Rocky Horror Show,” directed by Keith Alan Baker and Alan Paul, tonight at 7 p.m. Admission is $45. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit studiotheatre.org.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPoyUVpTkFg
The D.C. Chapter of the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) is having a “Day Out at the Ballgame” event today at Nationals Park (1500 South Capitol Street, S.E.) for the Nationals vs. Philadelphia Phillies game. Tickets are $30 and the game starts at 5 p.m. Seats can be reserved with a credit card through eventbrite.com; visit nlgja.org/washington-dc-chapter for more information.
Monday, August 12
Ke$ha performs at Wolf Trap (1551 Trap Rd., Vienna, Va.) at 8 p.m. tonight with opening performances by R&B singer Mike Posner and glam-rock band Semi-Precious Weapons. The show features Ke$ha’s electro-pop hits from her two studio albums, including her gay anthem, “We R Who We R.” Admission ranges from $38-48. For details and to purchase tickets, visit wolftrap.org.
Tuesday, August 13
The Bachelor’s Mill (1104 8th St., S.E.) hosts an extended happy hour tonight with all drinks half price from 5 p.m.-2 a.m. There will also be pool, video gaming systems and cards. Admission is free. For details, visit bachelorsmill.com.
The Green Lantern (1335 Green Ct., N.W.) hosts its weekly FUK!T Packing Party tonight from 7-9 p.m. For more details, visit thedccenter.org or greenlanterndc.com.
Dupont Italian Kitchen (1637 17th St., N.W.) hosts a bi-women discussion group tonight from 7-9 p.m. Visit the dccenter.org for more details.
D.C. Eagle (639 New York Ave., N.W.) hosts “$2 Tuesday” tonight from 4 p.m.-midnight this evening for the leather community. All domestic beer and rail drinks are $2. For details, visit dceagle.com.
Wednesday, Aug. 14
Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) hosts “Cobalt Idol” karaoke tonight at 10 p.m. There is no cover and $5 Absolut drinks will be served all night. Admission is limited to guests 21 and over. For details, visit cobaltdc.com.
The D.C. Cabaret Network hosts an open mic night this evening at Black Fox Lounge (1723 Connecticut Ave., N.W.). General admission is $10 and $15 for network members. For more information, visit blackfoxlounge.com.
The Big Gay Book Group meets tonight at 7 p.m. at 1150 F St., N.W. Suite 200. The group will discuss “A Gay and Melancholy Sound” by Merle Miller. Newcomers are welcome. Visit biggaybookgroup.com for more information.
The Lambda Bridge Club meets at 7:30 p.m. tonight at the Dignity Center (721 8th St., S.E.) for duplicate bridge. Reservations are not necessary and newcomers are welcome. For more information and if you need a partner, call 703-407-6540.
Thursday, Aug. 15
American Jewish World Service Office will host a breakfast and discussion today with Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, an LGBT activist in Sri Lanka and executive director of Equal Ground, a gay activist group based there. Since 2004, Equal Ground has worked to end hate and discrimination against LGBT Sri Lankans and advocate against laws there that punish homosexuality. The event will start at 8 a.m. at the American Jewish World Service office (1001 Connecticut Ave., N.W., suite 1200). It’s free but space is limited. E-mail Emily Loubaton at [email protected] or call 212-792-2856 to make a reservation.
The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) hosts a polyamory discussion group tonight from 7-8 p.m. The group is open to people of all sexual orientations and genders, and newcomers will be given a basic introduction on what polamory is and its advantages and disadvantages. Visit thedccenter.org for more details.
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington performed “The Holiday Show” at Lincoln Theatre on Saturday. Future performances of the show are scheduled for Dec. 14-15. For tickets and showtimes, visit gmcw.org.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Books
Mother wages fight for trans daughter in new book
‘Beautiful Woman’ seethes with resentment, rattles bars of injustice
‘One Day I’ll Grow Up and Be a Beautiful Woman’
By Abi Maxwell
c.2024, Knopf
$28/307 pages
“How many times have I told you that…?”
How many times have you heard that? Probably so often that, well, you stopped listening. From your mother, when you were very small. From your teachers in school. From your supervisor, significant other, or best friend. As in the new memoir “One Day I’ll Grow Up and Be a Beautiful Woman” by Abi Maxwell, it came from a daughter.
When she was pregnant, Abi Maxwell took long walks in the New Hampshire woods near her home, rubbing her belly and talking to her unborn baby. She was sure she was going to have a girl but when the sonogram technician said otherwise, that was OK. Maxwell and her husband would have a son.
But almost from birth, their child was angry, fierce, and unhappy. Just getting dressed each morning was a trial. Going outside was often impossible. Autism was a possible diagnosis but more importantly, Maxwell wasn’t listening, and she admits it with some shame.
Her child had been saying, in so many ways, that she was a girl.
Once Maxwell realized it and acted accordingly, her daughter changed almost overnight, from an angry child to a calm one – though she still, understandably, had outbursts from the bullying behavior of her peers and some adults at school. Nearly every day, Greta (her new name) said she was teased, called by her former name, and told that she was a boy.
Maxwell had fought for special education for Greta, once autism was confirmed. Now she fought for Greta’s rights at school, and sometimes within her own family. The ACLU got involved. State laws were broken. Maxwell reminded anyone who’d listen that the suicide rate for trans kids was frighteningly high. Few in her town seemed to care.
Throughout her life, Maxwell had been in many other states and lived in other cities. New Hampshire used to feel as comforting as a warm blanket but suddenly, she knew they had to get away from it. Her “town that would not protect us.”
When you hold “One Day I’ll Grow Up and Be a Beautiful Woman,” you’ve got more than a memoir in your hands. You’ve also got a white-hot story that seethes with anger and rightful resentment, that wails for a hurt child, and rattles the bars of injustice. And yet, it coos over love of place, but in a confused manner, as if these things don’t belong together.
Author Abi Maxwell is honest with readers, taking full responsibility for not listening to what her preschooler was saying-not-saying, and she lets you see her emotions and her worst points. In the midst of her community-wide fight, she reveals how the discrimination Greta endured affected Maxwell’s marriage and her health – all of which give a reader the sense that they’re not being sold a tall tale. Read this book, and outrage becomes familiar enough that it’s yours, too. Read “One Day I’ll Grow Up and Be a Beautiful Woman,” and share it. This is a book you’ll tell others about.
The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.
Out & About
Come unleash your inner artist at the DC Center
Watercolor painting class held on Thursday
“Watercolor Painting with Center Aging” will be on Thursday, Dec. 12 at 12 p.m. at the DC Center for the LGBT Community.
In this winter-themed painting class for seniors led by local artist Laya Monarez, guests will learn about watercoloring techniques, be given a demonstration, and allowed to create their own watercolor pieces. There will also be a break for lunch and plenty of snacks throughout. For more details, visit the DC Center’s website.
Claudia López mum on whether she will run for president of Colombia
PHOTOS: The Holiday Show
Rehoboth Beach’s iconic Purple Parrot is sold
Navigating the holidays while estranged from ultra-religious, abusive parents
Hate crime charges dropped against most Salisbury students in off-campus attack
Rehoboth Beach’s iconic Purple Parrot is sold
Protests against anti-trans bathroom policy lead to more than a dozen arrests
Will RFK Jr.’s ideas cause illness and death?
Navigating the holidays while estranged from ultra-religious, abusive parents
Mother wages fight for trans daughter in new book
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Rehoboth Beach21 hours agoRehoboth Beach’s iconic Purple Parrot is sold
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Congress4 days agoProtests against anti-trans bathroom policy lead to more than a dozen arrests
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Opinions5 days agoWill RFK Jr.’s ideas cause illness and death?
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Opinions22 hours agoNavigating the holidays while estranged from ultra-religious, abusive parents