Arts & Entertainment
Calendar: events through Jan. 16
Parties, support groups, concerts and more for the coming week
A lithograph by artist Caroline Thorington on display now through the end of February at BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantonw, Md. (Image courtesy BlackRock)
Friday, Jan. 10
Gallery B (7700 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda, Md.) holds an opening reception for its new exhibit “New Works on Paper” from 6-9 p.m. this evening. The exhibit features artwork by local artists Cathy Kwart, Catherine Levinson, Bonny Lundy and Virginia Mahoney. The exhibit runs all month. For details, visit bethesda.org.
Women in Their 20s, a social discussion group for lesbian, bisexual, transgender and all women interested in women, meets today at The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W., Suite 105) from 8-9:30 p.m. All welcome to join. For details, visit thedccenter.org.
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 more information, visit towndc.com.
Bachelor’s Mill (1104 8th St., S.E.) holds a happy hour from 5-7:30 p.m. tonight with all drinks half price. Music begins at 11 p.m. Enjoy pool, video games and cards. Admission is $5 after 9 p.m. Must be 21 and over. For more details, visit bachelorsmill.com.
TempTation, D.C’S biggest new gay dance party, is tonight at Howard Theatre (620 T St., N.W.) from 11 p.m.-2 a.m. Doors open at 11 p.m. Music by DJ Mike Reimer. Tickets are $15. Admission is limited to guests 21 and over. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit thehowardtheatre.com.
Saturday, Jan. 11
BlackRock Center for the Arts (12901 Town Commons Dr., Germantown, Md.) holds an opening reception for its new exhibits “Forma Reliquias” and “Between Two Portraits” today from 3-5 p.m. There will be a brief artist talk at 4 p.m. Admission is free. For details, visit blackrockcenter.org.
The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W., Suite 105) has free HIV testing from 4-7 p.m. today. For details, visit thedccenter.org.
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) hosts “DIRTY POP with DJ Drew G” tonight at 10 p.m. Drew G plays electro-pop music all night long. Cover is $8 from 10-11 p.m. and $12 after 11 p.m. Drinks are $3 before 11 p.m. The drag show starts at 10:30 p.m. Admission is limited to guests 21 and over. For more information, visit towndc.com.
Sunday, Jan. 12
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 more details, visit perrysadamsmorgan.com.
Burgundy Crescent, a gay volunteer organization, volunteers for D.C. Central Kitchen (425 2nd St., N.W.) from 9 a.m.-noon. Volunteers will cook alongside chefs who are graduates of D.C. Central Kitchen’s job training program. To volunteer, RSVP at [email protected]. For more information, visit burgundycrescent.org.
Number Nine (1435 P St., N.W.) hosts “Sunday Oneday: A Onesie Party” from 4-7 p.m. Rail drinks are $1 from 4-5 p.m. for anyone in a onesie. No cover. For details, visit numberninedc.com.
Monday, Jan. 13
The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W., Suite 105) hosts coffee and conversation this morning from 10 a.m.-noon for the senior LGBT community. Older LGBT adults can come and enjoy complimentary coffee while engaging in a discussion facilitated by Ron Swanda, a member of Mayor Vincent Gray’s Advisory Committee for LGBT Affairs, about what is important for older adults in D.C. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
Us Helping Us (3636 Georgia Ave., N.W.) holds a support group for gay black men to discuss topics that affect them today, share perspectives and have meaningful conversations. For details, visit uhupil.org.
Tuesday, Jan. 14
Lord Fairfax Community College (173 Skirmisher Ln., Middletown, Va.) hosts a Veteran’s Hiring Event and Conference today from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. in its Community Development Center. There will be workshops and hiring representatives. Admission is free. For more details and to register, visit lfccworkforce.com or call 540-868-7021.
D.C. Bi Women hosts its monthly meeting in the upstairs room of Dupont Italian Kitchen (1637 17th St., N.W.) from 7-9 p.m. tonight. For more details, visit thedccenter.org.
SMYAL (410 7th St., S.E.) provides free and confidential HIV testing drop-in hours today from 3-5 p.m. For more information, visit smyal.org.
Wednesday, Jan. 15
Big Gay Book Group meets tonight at 1155 F St., N.W. Suite 200 at 7 p.m. to discuss ”Dreadful: The Short Life and Gay Times of John Horne Burns” and “The Gallery” both by John Horne Burns. The first book is Burns’s autobiography and the second is a novel that examines gay life in the military. Newcomers welcome. For details, email [email protected].
The Tom Davoren Social Bridge Club meets at the Dignity Center (721 8th St., N.E.) at 7:30 p.m. tonight for social bridge. No partner needed. For more information, call 301-345-1571.
Capital Area Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce hosts its “January Women’s Wednesday” at Godiva (1143 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) tonight from 6:30-8:30 p.m. The lecture will be on the legend of how an 11th century woman influenced a master chocolatier while networking with prominent female business leaders. The event is free for Chamber members and $25 for guests. For details, visit thedccenter.org.
The Mayor’s Office of GLBT Affairs has a forum today called “Protecting Our Diversity: A Criminal Justice Forum” from 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. at 441 4th Street, N.W. In celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, the forum will focus on various criminal justice issues that impact the LGBT community in Washington including hate crimes, domestic violence, wage theft and visas for non-immigrant witnesses. For more information, call 202-727-9493.
Also today, the Mayor’s GLBT Advisory Committee has its first meeting of the new year from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the City-wide Conference Room on the 11th floor at 441 4th Street, N.W. Those attending will have two minutes to speak during a public comments section at the beginning of the meeting. For more information, call 202-727-9493.
Thursday, Jan. 16
Rude Boi Entertainment hosts “Tempted 2 Touch,” a ladies dance party, at the Fab Lounge (2022 Florida Ave., N.W.) Doors open at 10 p.m. Drink specials $5 and vodka shots $3 all night. No cover charge. Admission limited to guests 21 and over. For more details, visit rudeboientertainment.wordpress.com.
The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W., Suite 105) hosts its monthly Poly Discussion Group at 7 p.m. People of all different stages are invited to discuss polyamory and other consensual non-monogamous relationships. This event is for newcomers, established polyamorous relationships and open to all sexual orientations. For details, visit thedccenter.org.
The D.C. Center and Professionals in the City host speed dating for women in their 20s and 30s at Chi-Cha Lounge (1624 U St., N.W.) tonight from 7-9 p.m. Dating is approximately one hour. After enjoy a mixer with fellow speed daters. Cash bar. Check in is at 7 p.m. and dating begins at 7:20 p.m. Complimentary valet parking offered to anyone who purchases two drinks or other items from the bar or restaurant. Cost is $30. For details, visit thedccenter.org.
Celebrity News
My evening with Madonna
Gay icon headlined the World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam
Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Photo Editor Michael Key will be on assignment in the Netherlands through Aug. 10. They will be covering World Pride in Amsterdam.
AMSTERDAM — Madonna and 6,000 of her closest friends celebrated World Pride at Amsterdam’s AFAS Live concert hall early Sunday morning. I was fortunate enough to be one of them.
Madonna last Wednesday nearly broke the internet when she said on social media in Dutch that “I got somethin’ I wanna talk about,” referring to an opening line in “Danceteria,” one of the tracks on her “Confessions II” album that has received rave reviews since its July 2 release. The track has been on near constant replay on my playlist since I first heard it.
— Madonna (@Madonna) July 28, 2026
MISTR — a telehealth platform that offers free access to PrEP, Doxy PEP, STI testing, and long-term care that has organized Madonna’s Club Confessions shows in the U.S. and the U.K. — later confirmed the rampant speculation. I woke up on July 30 to an email in my inbox from MISTR and the World Pride Music Festival PR team that said I was on the press list.
Madonna was indeed going to headline the World Pride Music Festival that Jake Resnicow and Insomniac produced, and I was going to be there. OMFG!!!!
The gay icon had one more surprise in store.
The Dutch internet on Saturday once again broke over speculation that Kylie Minogue was going to appear alongside Madonna. I was getting ready to leave our hotel in Amsterdam on Saturday night when I saw a video of the two of them together.
“Madonna is now teasing Kylie Minogue on her social media … she may be one of her ‘special guests’ tonight,” I wrote in a text to Washington Blade Editor Kevin Naff at 8:46 p.m.
“Have fun! This is turning into the gayest concert ever,” he responded.
I arrived at AFAS Live shortly before 11 p.m. My press contact walked me and two other Dutch journalists into the venue’s cavernous main room known as the Black Box. We made small talk for a few minutes before I started to walk around and listen to Josh Harrison who was on the decks.
Madonna was scheduled to take the stage at 1:30 a.m., but she is known for being late — she is Madonna and she does what she wants. Hayla, a British singer, and Bebe Rexha are among those who performed ahead of Madonna. Thousands of sweaty men — including a group of Australians next to me who were eagerly awaiting Kylie’s anticipated appearance — packed the Black Box and were dancing, anticipating what was to come.
MISTR CEO Tristan Schukraft at one point came on stage and declared Madonna was indeed in the building. The moment for which we were all eagerly waiting finally came shortly before 2:30 a.m.
“Mother is here and this is gay heaven,” said Madonna when she took the stage.
Stuart Price, who produced her “Confessions on a Dance Floor” album in 2005, manned the decks during Madonna’s set.
She opened it with “I Feel So Free” from “Confessions II.” Madonna then sang “Bring Your Love” and “Danceteria” to which this reporter — and everyone else — sang along.
Madonna then teased a surprise before she began to perform “Love Sensation.” Kylie soon appeared on stage. It was nearly too much for my fellow partygoers from Australia. It was indeed the gayest concert ever!
Madonna and Kylie performed “Love Sensation” together. They then sang “Hung Up” and “Sorry” from “Confessions on a Dance Floor” to round out the set that ended shortly after 3 a.m.
Madonna and I share the same birthday — Aug. 16 — and I would like to think she and Kylie gave me an early birthday present. In all seriousness though, it was an amazing night for me and for everyone else who was fortunate enough to be there.
“On the dance floor I feel so free,” says Madonna in the opening of “I Feel So Free.”
For those few precious hours at AFAS Live I did not think about the Trump-Vance administration and the myriad ways it is destroying the U.S. I did not think about the National Guard troops deployed to D.C. I did not think about the pointless wars that continue to ravage Ukraine and other countries around the world. I simply lost myself on the dance floor and celebrated an icon who has always stood with my community.
Thank you, Madonna.
The Petal Release Party and Drag Show was held at Spark Social on Friday, July 31. Performers included Tiara-Missou, Labianna and Darcy de la Cuadra.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)
Celebrity News
Madonna headlines World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam
Kylie Minogue made surprise appearance alongside gay icon
AMSTERDAM — Madonna on Sunday headlined the final night of the World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam.
The gay icon took the stage shortly before 2:30 a.m. local time (8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday) during Club Confessions, a set that MISTR, a telehealth platform that offers free access to PrEP, Doxy PEP, STI testing, and long-term HIV care, organized.
“Mother is here and this is gay heaven,” said Madonna when she took the stage inside Amsterdam’s AFAS Live concert hall that can hold up to 6,000 people.
Stuart Price, who produced Madonna’s 2005 “Confessions on a Dance Floor” album and “Confessions II,” which debuted on July 2, DJed the set.
Kylie Minogue made a surprise appearance. She and Madonna performed a new remix of “Love Sensation” from “Confessions II.”
(Washington Blade video by Michael K. Lavers)
“Throughout my career, I’ve always supported efforts to fight HIV and AIDS, and that fight begins with education and access,” said Madonna in a MISTR press release. “With MISTR, (CEO) Tristan (Schukraft) is expanding access to HIV prevention and sexual healthcare for everyone. Through this work, he’s helping preserve and strengthen LGBTQ+ spaces while investing in the communities and culture that have long sustained us.”
Minogue in an Instagram post thanked Madonna, Price, Schukraft, and MISTR.
Madonna appeared at The Abbey in West Hollywood, Calif., in April. Madonna in June celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York’s Times Square.
Jake Resnicow and Insomniac produced the World Pride Music Festival that also featured Bebe Rexha and Paris Hilton, among others.
“Pride has always been about bringing our community together,” said Resnicow. “At a moment when too many people are being told to hide or make themselves smaller, gathering openly, joyfully, and without apology matters more than ever. I couldn’t be prouder of what this festival brought to life in Amsterdam — one dance floor, completely free.”
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