Local
D.C. Kings give final performance
Founder cites work, venue options as factors
Kendra Kuliga (front right), who performs as Ken Vegas, said she could no longer operate the D.C. Kings. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The D.C. Kings, a local drag king troupe, had their final performance Sunday night at the Bier Baron Tavern. Founder Kendra Kuliga (who performs as Ken Vegas) said she could no longer keep the group operating at the same level with other demands on her time.
“There were times when I had to really sacrifice work in order to really make the Kings continue,” she said. “Looking at where I am in my life now, I really can’t do that anymore.”
Kuliga has her own graphic design business and said she will focus more on that. The Kings, which celebrated their 15th anniversary in February, had about 25-30 active performers over the last year and performed monthly. Vegas credits the late Cheryl Spector with getting D.C. lesbians excited about drag king performance. In 1996, she suggested a drag king contest for the Dyke March event. Kuliga entered and won. Monthly shows started at Chaos after the Kings performed at Capital Pride in 1999.
More than 400 kings performed about 500 monthly shows since the group’s inception. For years, the group performed at Phase 1, D.C.’s well-known lesbian nightclub. When it closed for renovations early this year, the Kings started performing elsewhere. Although the bar reopened, Kuliga said it would have been hard to continue there without former Phase 1 manager Angela Lombardi.
“She’s the real reason we were able to stay there so long,” Kuliga said. “She always made sure we had our space at the Phase.”
Kuliga said turning the group over to another organizer wasn’t feasible.
“I built a brand with the Kings … in a very intentional way,” she said. “To give that over to someone else would mean I could never really walk away.”
She said she’s confident, though, that local kings will find other performance opportunities. She said most of the kings “were very supportive” of her decision. She will continue to produce other shows and said D.C. has not seen the last of Vegas, her drag alter ego.
About 160 people attended last weekend’s final performance, Kuliga said.
WorldPride 2025 concluded with the WorldPride Street Festival and Closing Concert held along Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. on Sunday, June 8. Performers on the main stage included Doechii, Khalid, Courtney Act, Parker Matthews, 2AM Ricky, Suzie Toot, MkX and Brooke Eden.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Celebrating the transgender community, Baltimore Safe Haven, an organization committed to empowering LGBTQ individuals in Baltimore City, plans to host their fourth annual Baltimore Trans Pride on Saturday.
Instead of the usual parade and march, this year’s Trans Pride will be a block party on Charles Street and between 21st and 22nd Streets. The event will start at 1 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and last until 10 p.m.
Community members can go on guided tours, enjoy refreshments by local vendors, listen to presenters, and watch performances by special guests.
Sukihana, the event’s headliner, plans to take to the stage to entertain the crowd, along with a variety of local performers, according to Melissa Deveraux, Baltimore Safe Haven’s executive assistant to Executive Director Iya Dammons.
“Some (are) prominently known, some (are) just making a name for themselves,” Deveraux said. Iya is always making sure that community talent is showcased at all of our functions.”
In company with Pride on Saturday, Baltimore Safe Haven will be opening its new building on Friday from 1-4 p.m.
“That is sort of going to be the prelude to pride,” Lau said. “Thanks to Sen. Mary Washington and the Weinberg Foundation, we were able to purchase the building outright, and it’s going to be a community hub of administrative buildings and 12-bedroom apartments.”
Renee Lau, administrative assistant for special projects coordinator for Baltimore Safe Haven, said the planning process for Baltimore Trans Pride began in January, and putting it all together was a collaboration of multiple city agencies and organizations.
“Safe Haven is an LGBT community organization, but we service the entire community, and that’s the message we try to spread,” Lau said. “We’re not just here for the LGBT community. We’re here to spread goodwill and offer harm reduction and housing to the entire community.”
Lau said the organization’s biggest goal for the event is to gain exposure.
“(We want) to let and let people know who we are and what our community is about,” she said. “Right now, because of what’s happening in DC, there’s a lot of bad untruths going on, and the total thing is bringing out the truth.”
Deveraux said having a place of inclusivity, acceptance, and togetherness is important in today’s political climate and the current administration.
“This event will have people seeing the strength and resilience of the transgender community, showing that no matter what we are going through, we still show up,” Deveraux said. “We are here, we will not be erased.”
The 2025 WorldPride Parade was held in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, June 7. Laverne Cox and Renée Rapp were the grand marshals.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key and Robert Rapanut)
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