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Calendar through August 29

DJ Escape, drag cabaret, LGBT hip-hop and a Rehoboth 5k on tap this week

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DJ Escape, music, entertainment, gay news, Washington Blade
DJ Escape, music, entertainment, gay news, Washington Blade

DJ Escape is at Town tonight (Friday). (Photo courtesy DJ Escape)

Friday, August 23

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.

Remington’s Nightclub (639 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E.) hosts “The A-List Show” tonight from 10 p.m.-3 a.m. The drag show, featuring Ladi Lenore and The Empire, starts at 11:30. Admission is $10.

Us Helping Us (3636 Georgia Ave., N.W.) hosts a reception to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the March On Washington tonight from 6-10 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served. For more information, visit uhupil.org.

DJ Escape, a New York-based deejay who has spun at some of the world’s largest nightclubs and made remixes for stars like Beyoncé and Gwen Stefani, spins tonight at Town (2009 8th St., N.W.). Doors open at 10 p.m. and the drag show starts at 10:30. Cover is $8 from 10-11, and $12 after 11. For details, visit towndc.com.

The Black Cat (1811 14th St., N.W.) hosts “GAY/BASH,” an alternative LGBT dance party and drag show, tonight at 9:30 p.m. DJs Joshua Vogelsong and Dean Sullivan blend electro and bass pop with punk and rock and roll all night. The party features two drag performances, one at 11:30 and the other at 1 a.m. Admission is $10 and open to guests 18 and over. For details and to purchase tickets, visit blackcatdc.com.

Olivia & the Mates, fronted by lesbian singer-songwriter Olivia Mancini, perform tonight with Matthew Sweet at the Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria, Va.) at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $29.50. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit birchmere.com or oliviamancini.com.

Saturday, Aug. 24

Phase 1 of Dupont (1415 22nd St., N.W.) hosts its weekly “Booty Beach Ladies Dance Party.” The winner of the party’s bikini and board shorts contest will receive cash and prizes. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and admission is $5. Visit phase1dc.com for more information.

Maryland Trans*Unity hosts a picnic and potluck for all transgender, genderqueer and gender non-conforming individuals from 2-6 p.m. at Open Door MCC (15817 Barnesville Rd., Boyds, Md.). For details, visit thedccenter.org.

Layla Lounge (501 Morse St., N.E.) hosts an “Elite Boyz” dance party tonight from 10 p.m.-3 a.m. Admission is limited to guests 21 and over and is free before midnight and $10 afterward. For details, visit layladc.com.

Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) hosts “Beats and the City,” a laser light show and dance party with DJs Eddie Elias and Luis Perez, from 10 p.m.-3 a.m. Admission is $10 and open to guests 18 and over. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit cobaltdc.com.

Club Hippo (1 West Eager St., Baltimore, M.D.) hosts “Vogue,” a Madonna birthday tribute party, tonight from 10 p.m.-2 a.m. DJ Jason Royce spins Madonna classics all night, and $2 rail drinks and draft specials will be served. Cover is $8 and is free those with military or college IDs and those who share Madonna’s Zodiac sign. For more information, visit clubhippo.com.

The Latino Queer Bilingual Writing Group hosts a creative writing workshop at the D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) today from 12:30-2:30 p.m. The workshop is open to writers of all genres and levels of experience who wish to write in Spanish or English. Visit thedccenter.org for more information.

Sunday, Aug. 25

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 Bachelor’s Mill (1104 8th St., S.E.) hosts karaoke tonight from 9 p.m.-midnight. Cover is $3, and there will also be pool, video gaming systems and cards. For more information, visit bachelorsmill.com.

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.

K&C Productions hosts its weekly “Sizzling Hot Sundays,” an LGBT hip-hop and house music dance party, at Club Muse (717 6th St., N.W.) from 11 p.m.-2 a.m. For details, visit clubmuse.com.

The 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.

The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) hosts a “Celebration of Bayard Rustin’s Life” today from 2-5 p.m. The event includes a “Meeting for Worship” at 2, light refreshments at 3 and a screening of the biopic film, “Brother Outsider,” at 3:30. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

Heart to Hand, a non-profit devoted to assisting people with HIV and AIDS, is having a benefit called Skate Away HIV Day today at the Temple Hills Skating Palace (3132 Branch Ave., Temple Hills, Md.) from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Admission is free and the first 500 who get tested at the event will get free skate rentals.

The fourth annual Sundance Land & Sea event is today at 8 a.m. (7:30 check-in) at the Rehoboth Bandstand in Rehoboth Beach, Del. Participants can do either a 5k run, half-mile swim, one-mile walk or biathlon. Participants are encouraged to pick up their packets on Saturday. The event is a benefit for CAMP Rehoboth. Visit seashorestriders.com for details.

Monday, Aug. 26

Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) hosts its weekly “Monday’s a Total Drag [Show]” party tonight from 9 p.m.-2 a.m. An episode of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” screens at 9, and then a live drag show will be featured. Admission is 18 and up and is free. For details, visit cobaltdc.com.

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.

The Capital Area Rainbowlers Association (CARA) hosts a social tonight at the AMF Annandale Lanes (4245 Markham St., Annandale, Va.) from 8-10 p.m. All local LGBT groups are invited to attend. Bowling is $1 per game and shoe rental is $1. For more information, visit carabowling.org.

Tuesday, Aug. 27

The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) hosts a genderqueer discussion group from 7-8 p.m. tonight for people who identify outside of the gender binary. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

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.

Wednesday, Aug. 28

The Dupont Drawing Group meets tonight at 7 p.m. at The Church of the Pilgrims (2201 P St., N.W.) to draw from a live model. The session is self-directed with no formal instruction and no materials are provided. Drawing spots and easels are available on a first-come-first-serve basis, so guests should arrive anytime after 6:45. No reservations are required, and a modest fee to pay the model will be collected. For more information, visit paulreuther.com.

Us Helping Us (3636 Georgia Ave., N.W.) hosts a support group for black gay men living with HIV from 7-9 p.m. For more details, visit uhupil.org.

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, visit thedccenter.org.

Thursday, Aug. 29

SMYAL (410 7th St., S.E.) hosts “Chat it Up,” a support group for LGBT youth, from 5-7 p.m. tonight. For more information, visit smyal.org.

Rude Boi Entertainment hosts “Tempted 2 Touch,” a ladies dance party, at the Fab Lounge (2022 Florida Ave., N.W.). Doors open at 5 p.m. for happy hour until 9, and the club closes at 1 a.m. Admission is $5 all night and limited to guests 21 and over. For details, visit rudeboientertainment.wordpress.com.

Whitman-Walker Health provides free HIV testing at Miriam’s Kitchen (2401 Virginia Ave., N.W.) tonight from 4-6 p.m. For more information, visit whitman-walker.org.

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Photos

Center for Black Equity honors leaders, activists at BE. Gala

Miyake-Mugler, Oakes co-host annual awards ceremony

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Center for Black Equity President and CEO Kenya Hutton speaks at the 2026 BE. Gala on Saturday. (Blade photo by Michael Key)

The Center for Black Equity held its annual BE. Gala at Conrad Washington, D.C. on Saturday, Oct. 5. Lolita Leopard Miyake-Mugler and Anthony Oakes co-hosted the awards ceremony.

Honorees included journalist and producer Justin Stewart; nonprofit leader Nikki Alexander; HIV advocate Marlene McNeese; the nonprofit organization FreeLux Project; actress Monroe Alise; public health advocate Tori Cooper; Manassas Park Vice Mayor Darryl G. Moore; Rev. Dr. Carmarion D. Anderson; Bishop Steven Sawyer; government relations professional Courtney Snowden; Senior Deputy Director of HAHSTA at D.C. Health, Clover Barnes; and Texas state Rep. Venton C. Jones. 

The event was sponsored by Gilead.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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Books

In ‘The Lost Brontë,’ a complicated lie can lead to danger

New book features sweetly romantic girl-meets-girl twist

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(Book cover image courtesy of Bywater Books)

‘The Lost Brontë’
By Catherine Friend
c.2026, Bywater Books
$22.95/335 pages

Mom always said to tell the truth.

One lie leads to another and another and you have to remember them all until pretty soon, you’re caught. Fibs are hard, mistruths are messy, even little white social lies can destroy trust. Worst of all, as in the new novel, “The Lost Brontë” by Catherine Friend, a complicated lie can lead to danger.

Though Lilianne Loxley was very young when she lost her parents, she understood that her uncle didn’t really want her. As time passed, though, Lily made herself useful to Uncle, writing and signing letters for him and she became a good companion, helping him with his collection of Brontë memorabilia. Uncle was a keen enthusiast.

She had no idea that his obsession was out of control and he was deeply in arrears. The day Lily learned of his debt was the day she learned that he’d agreed to send her to his debtor’s home to work off the money owed.

It was so sudden. One minute, Lily was at Loxley House, happy and loved by Uncle’s staff … and five hours later, she was at Crag Thorn Manor, home of Lord Bexton, who informed her that she’d be working on his ledgers – work that seemed routine, but Lily tackled it.

Uncle always did say she was headstrong.

But would headstrong be enough to survive, when she was restricted from most of the Manor, when she was forced to dine with Brexton and his slimy friend, or – the worst! – when Brexton told Lily that her next task was to forge a letter from Emily Brontë? And then an entire manuscript?

Lily struggled to do what was right. She had to get Uncle out of debt but this last order horrified her. Did she dare refuse Brexton’s orders and commit a crime? It was unthinkable!

The only brightness in the whole situation was Wren, the ladies’ maid assigned to Lily’s room. Wren was adorable with freckles and the sweetest smile. But with everything else happening at Crag Thorn Manner, could Lily act upon her feelings?

This time of year, you may come to crave dark, spooky stories, and “The Last Brontë” fits those needs perfectly with its Gothic deliciousness. Think: Daphne du Maurier-type, stormy-night squirms with a dangerously chaste, sweetly romantic girl-meets-girl twist for fun.

If it’s been awhile since you’ve read a Gothic novel, you’re in for a nice reminder of why you love them here. You can almost tick off the must-haves: a novel like this is nothing without a foreboding stone manor with damp walls; stone steps to a dank basement; a mysterious portrait; and a nearby bog, and author Catherine Friend gives readers every one of them. You’d be disappointed if there was no ghost, wouldn’t you? Ha. You can practically feel the cold blow through the attic, right? Yeah, it’s that kind of book.

If you’re a fan of the Brontës, you’ll like this novel. If you love Gothic mysteries or Victorian romances, ditto. “The Lost Brontë” is good, no lie.

The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.

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Out & About

CAMP Rehoboth Block Party returns Oct. 18

Expect performances, vendors and more at annual celebration

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CAMP Rehoboth’s annual Block Party returns next weekend. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

CAMP Rehoboth will host its annual Block Party celebration on Sunday, Oct.18 at 11 a.m. on the second block of Baltimore Avenue in downtown Rehoboth Beach.

CAMP Rehoboth invites all community members to join in the festivities and to expect magnificent performances and dozens of vendors, including artists, craftspeople, non-profits, businesses, and more.

The event started in 2015 in celebration of CAMP Rehoboth’s 25th anniversary. This year, attendees can expect to shop sea glass art, pottery, jewelry, Pride merch, body care, clothing, and learn more about local non-profit causes and businesses.

Attendance is free. For more details, visit CAMP Rehoboth’s website. 

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