Arts & Entertainment
Preview of coming attractions
D.C.’s major LGBT events and festivals for March, April and May
Cherry Main Event (Washington Blade file photo by Pete Exis)
The “Turnabout Show” — where the guys become girls and the girls become guys — is at 11 p.m. Monday night at Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.). The event has a Facebook page.
The Miss Gaye Universe D.C. Pageant is at Town on March 15. Admission is $15 for Academy members and $20 for guests. Doors open at 3 p.m.; pageant starts at 4. Details at thewashingtonacademy.com.
The Mayor’s Office of GLBT Affairs have an awards event in honor of Women’s History Month on March 21 at 6:30 p.m. at Fannie Mae (3900 Wisconsin, Ave., N.W.). RSVPs and photo IDs are required to attend. RSVP by e-mailing your full name to [email protected].
The “Split This Rock Poetry Festival: Poems of Provocation & Witness” is March 27-30 and will feature workshops, panels and readings held at various spots in the Farragut Square neighborhood. Several LGBT participants are on the slate. Visit splitthisrock.org for details.
The fifth annual Charm City Fetish Fair, billed as Baltimore’s “premiere fetish event,” is April 4-6. Visit charmcityfetishfair.com for details.
Cherry is the same weekend in Washington at various gay clubs in the city. Visit cherryfund.org for details.
The Rehoboth Women’s Fest 2014 is April 10-13 in Rehoboth Beach, Del. Visit camprehoboth.com for details.
Miss Gay Maryland America is April 25-27 at the Hippo (One W. Eager St., Baltimore). Visit missgaymaryland.com for details.
Capital Queer Prom is doing things a bit different this year. A “TAGGfest & Masquerade Gala” is scheduled for April 26 at Almas Shriners (1315 K St. N.W.) as a benefit for the Wanda Alston House. Find the group on Facebook or visit taggfest.com for details.
The Capital Area Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce has its LGBT Business Excellence Awards dinner and gala April 25 at the Mayflower Renaissance Washington (1127 Connecticut Ave., N.W.). Visit caglcc.org for information, tickets and details on other Chamber events.
Youth Pride is April 27 from noon-5 p.m. in Dupont Circle. Visit youthpridedc.org for details.
Gay Day at the Zoo is May 3. Visit the group’s Facebook page for more information.
The American Military Partner Association has its inaugural national gala on May 17 (Armed Forces Day) at the Liaison Hotel on Capitol Hill. Visit militarypartners.org/gala for tickets and details.
The Academy of Washington has its 52nd annual Golden Boy Awards at Town on May 17 at 4 p.m. (doors open at 3). Admission is $15 for Academy members and $20 for guests. Visit thewashingtonacademy.com for details.
Lesbian Angie Harvey is in D.C. the same day for a “retreat tour” called Work2Work that will cover issues such as self esteem, letting go, relationships and purposeful living. It’s free. E-mail [email protected] for details.
D.C. Black Pride Weekend is May 23-25 at various locations. Visit dcblackpride.org for details.
Omega Entertainment and Daryl Wilson Promotions have their “Wet Dream Weekend 2014” May 22-26 and promise five days, 10 events and “one hell of a party.” Details at omegapartydc.com.
June, of course, brings Pride season. Get a sneak peek at this year’s events at capitalpride.org.
Celebrity News
Madonna announces release date for new album
‘Confessions II’ marks return to the dance floor
Pop icon Madonna on Wednesday announced that her 15th studio album will be released on July 3.
Titled “Confessions II,” the new album is a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” an Abba and disco-infused hit.
The new album reunites Madonna with producer Stuart Price, who also helmed the original “Confessions” album. It’s her first album of new material since 2019’s “Madame X.”
“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna said in a press release. “These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” continued the statement. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions. Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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Madonna announces release date for new album
Senegalese court issues first conviction under new anti-LGBTQ law
An effort to increase the number of psychiatrists of color
Comings & Goings
Trump budget targets ‘gender extremism’
Minimal version of ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ heading to Dupont Underground
