Local
Leather scene active despite Eagle limbo
Local bar had been an active participant in the annual MAL event
(Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Leather enthusiasts from the LGBT community in the D.C.-Baltimore area are expected to turn out in force for the 2015 Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend events this weekend.
Due to delays in its reopening, the D.C. Eagle, the popular gay leather bar that has been in business more than 30 years and has been an active participant in the annual MAL event, is not listed as a venue in any of the official events this year.
But according to postings on the D.C. Eagle’s Twitter page, the club expects to reopen soon at its new location at 3701 Benning Rd., N.E. The Eagle closed last year after being displaced from its home of many years at 639 New York Ave., N.W., due to the planned construction of a new office building.
According to leather scene observers, the Eagle’s Twitter page description of itself most likely defines many of those who participate in that scene: “Bar for D.C.’s rough, gruff, tough, hairy, pierced, tattooed, cigar-smoking, leather-clad, bear-ish, colored handkerchief-wearing men.”
Mark Clark, an official with the Chesapeake Bay Bears, whose members live in D.C., Maryland and Virginia, said the leather scene is often used as an umbrella term to include organizations and individuals associated with the gay male “bear” scene for hairy, heavy-set men and those who like them; as well as the bondage, S&M, kink-fetish scene.
Brother Help Thyself, a D.C.-based charitable organization founded in 1978 by four gay motorcycle clubs associated with the D.C. Eagle, includes representatives of some of the area’s most popular leather scene organizations on its board of directors. Among them are the Atlantic States Rodeo Association; the Centaurs, Defenders and Spartans gay motorcycle clubs; the Chesapeake Bay and D.C. Bear clubs; and SigmaDC, which describes itself as an all-male private membership organization for bondage-S&M-kink enthusiasts.
SigmaDC, which was founded in 1984, recently moved into a second-floor space at 1636 R St., N.W., across the street from the 17th Street gay bar Cobalt. It is hosting at least three events associated with Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend, including a demo event at the Hyatt Regency on Saturday afternoon.
Another local organization founded by gay event organizer Jacob Pring called CODE holds monthly parties and events for what the group says are “gear, rubber, skin, uniform and leather” enthusiasts. CODE holds monthly events at the Glorious Health Club and Art Gallery at 2120 West Virginia Ave., N.E.
The group was scheduled to hold events associated with Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend at Glorious Health Club on tonight (Friday) and Saturday.
“All of these different groups started out as leather groups but sort of morphed into a broader thing,” said Clark, who noted that many of them work with Brother Help Thyself to raise money to support LGBT and AIDS organizations.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
District of Columbia
D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group
Doni Crawford receives inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award
About 100 people turned out Tuesday evening, April 7, for a presentation by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation of its inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award to D.C. Council member Doni Crawford (I-At-Large) for her support for the foundation’s mission to support homeless LGBTQ youth.
Among those who attended the event was Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, who delivered an official proclamation issued by Bowser declaring April 7, 2026 “A Day of Remembrance for Wanda Alston.”
Alston, a beloved women’s and LGBTQ rights activist, served as the city’s first director of the then newly created Office of LGBTQ Affairs under then-Mayor Anthony Williams from 2004 until her death by murder on March 16, 2005.
To the shock and dismay of fellow LGBTQ rights advocates, police and court records reported Alston, 45, was stabbed to death inside her Northeast D.C. house by a man high on crack cocaine who lived nearby and who stole her credit cards and car. The perpetrator, William Martin Parrott, 38, was arrested by D.C. police the next day and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced in July 2005 to 24 years in prison.
Crawford was among those attending the award event who reflected on Alston’s legacy and outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ and feminist causes.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this inaugural award,” Crawford told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the event. “I think the world of Wanda Alston. She has set such a great foundation for me and other Council members to build on,” she said.
“Her focus on inclusivity and intersectionality is really important as we approach this work,” Crawford added. “And it’s going to guide my work at the Council every day.”
Crawford was appointed to the D.C. Council in January of this year to replace then Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who resigned to run for D.C. mayor as a Democrat. She is being challenged by four other independent candidates in a June 16 special election for the Council seat.
Under the city’s Home Rule Charter written and approved by Congress, the seat is one of two D.C. Council at-large seats that cannot be held by a “majority party” candidate, meaning a Democrat.
A statement released by the Alston Foundation last month announcing Crawford’s selection for the Wanda Alston Legacy Award praised Crawford’s record of support for its work on behalf of LGBTQ youth.
“From behind the scenes to now serving as an At-Large Council member, she has fought fearlessly for affordable housing, LGBTQ+ funding priorities, and racial justice,” the statement says. “Council member Crawford’s leadership reflects the same courage and conviction that defined Wanda’s legacy.”
Organizers of the event noted that it was held on what would have been Wanda Alston’s 67th birthday.
“Today’s legacy reception was a smashing success,” said Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director. “Not only did we come together to celebrate Wanda Alston on her birthday, but we also were able to raise over $10,000 for our homeless LGBTQ youth here in D.C.,” Toledo told the Blade.
“In addition to that, we celebrated and we acknowledged a rising star in our community,” he said. “And that is At-Large Council member Doni Crawford, who we named the inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award recipient.”
At the request of D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) the Council voted unanimously on Jan. 20, 2026, to appoint Crawford to the Council seat being vacated by McDuffie.
Council records show she joined McDuffie’s Council staff in 2022 as a policy adviser and later became his legislative director before McDuffie appointed her as staff director for the Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development for which McDuffie served as chair.
Calendar: April 10-16
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