Arts & Entertainment
Night life newbies
Trade, Woof Den and Uproar target gay clientele
Trade (Washington Blade photo by Damien Salas)
The start of the new year has brought an unusual flurry of activity with three new gay bars — and a fourth slated to open soon — on the scene to spice up District nightlife.
Trade (1410 14th St., N.W) is one of the fresher faces on the block having opened in December. The bar holds typical nightlife hours open Monday through Friday at 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. Owned by business trio Ed Bailey, John Guggenmos and Jim Boyle, the same owners as Town and Number Nine, their concept for the bar was something different. Its website bills it as a “dive bar.”
“We just tried to make something that’s a little bit different from what exists currently so that it can be appreciated in a new way hopefully,” Bailey says. “We tried to program it a little differently with not the same stuff that you can just hear at any old bar, not predictable music.”
Predicability is something Bailey thinks has become a problem on the gay bar scene and he hopes Trade will change that.
“We wanted to do something that we thought would resonate for those maybe who have found the current bars to not be as intriguing as they might want and try to give them something that seems different,” Bailey says.
Standing out is also something Steven Champagne, co-operating manager of Woof Den Sports Bar (1723 Connecticut Ave., N.W.), also aims for.
Champagne, who is gay, says he has noticed the gay bar scene can have unfriendly vibes. He says Woof Den will be more accepting.
“It’s that non-attitude, non-pretentious, non-clique feeling,” he says. “When you go to my place, everyone is welcome. Nobody should feel like they’re not welcome. I feel like what that’s what gay bars have lost these days.”
Woof Den, located downstairs from the Salty Dog Tavern, has only been open for two weeks but Champagne, who manages the bar with co-operator Hicham Moutawakil, says they have big plans for the spot. Bear happy hours on Sundays, a cop/military night on Wednesdays and a pool league night are all in the works. Its hours of operation are seven days a week, open at 4 p.m. every day.
Other bars settling in amongst the gay bar scene are Uproar Lounge & Restaurant (639 Florida Ave., N.W.) and the soon-to-open Dirty Goose (913 U St., N.W.). Uproar, a bear bar, boasts a full food menu along with frequent happy hours including with local bear group Bear Nonsense. The bar has been tapped to host events for Human Rights Campaign such as Her HRC events. The bar also includes an open rooftop deck with seating available.
The Dirty Goose, which is marketing itself as a more upscale gay bar, will be located next to Nellies’s Sports Bar. The new bar’s website says its grand opening will be in spring of this year.
Sports
Jason Collins dies at 47
First openly gay man to actively play for major sports team battled brain cancer
Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to actively play for a major professional sports team, died on Tuesday after a battle with brain cancer. He was 47.
The California native had briefly played for the Washington Wizards in 2013 before coming out in a Sports Illustrated op-ed.
Collins in 2014 became the first openly gay man to play in a game for a major American professional sports league when he played 11 minutes during a Brooklyn Nets game. He wore jersey number 98 in honor of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student murdered outside of Laramie, Wyo., in 1998.
Collins told the Washington Blade in 2014 that his life was “exponentially better” since he came out. Collins the same year retired from the National Basketball Association after 13 seasons.
Collins married his husband, Brunson Green, in May 2025.
The NBA last September announced Collins had begun treatment for a brain tumor. Collins on Dec. 11, 2025, announced he had Stage 4 glioblastoma.
“We are heartbroken to share that Jason Collins, our beloved husband, son, brother and uncle, has died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma,” said Collins’s family in a statement the NBA released. “Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar. We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers over the past eight months and for the exceptional medical care Jason received from his doctors and nurses. Our family will miss him dearly.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Collins’s “impact and influence extended far beyond basketball as he helped make the NBA, WNBA, and larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations.”
“He exemplified outstanding leadership and professionalism throughout his 13-year NBA career and in his dedicated work as an NBA Cares Ambassador,” said Silver. “Jason will be remembered not only for breaking barriers, but also for the kindness and humanity that defined his life and touched so many others.”
“To call Jason Collins a groundbreaking figure for our community is simply inadequate. We truly lost a giant today,” added Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson in a statement. “He came out as gay — while still playing — at a time when men’s athletes simply did not do that. But as he powerfully demonstrated in his final years in the league and his post-NBA career, stepping forward as he did boldly changed the conversation.”
“He was and will always be a legend for the LGBTQ+ community, and we are heartbroken to hear of his passing at the young age of 47,” she said. “Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones. We will keep fighting on in his honor until the day everyone can be who they are on their terms.”
The Washington Blade will update this article with additional reaction when it becomes available.
Glitterati Productions held the “Studio 69” party at Bunker on Friday, May 8.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier returns June 13 to kick off D.C. Pride week
Pride on the Pier officially launches Pride Week in D.C.
The Washington Blade’s annual Pride on the Pier celebration returns to The Wharf on Saturday, June 13, 2026 from 4-9 p.m., bringing thousands of LGBTQ community members and allies together for an unforgettable waterfront celebration to kick off Pride week in Washington, D.C.
Now in its eighth year, Washington Blade Pride on the Pier extends the city’s annual celebration of LGBTQ visibility to the bustling Wharf waterfront with an exciting array of activities and entertainment for all ages. The District Pier will offer DJs, dancing, drag, and other entertainment. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase for those 21 and older.
“Pride on the Pier has become one of the signature moments of Pride in D.C.,” said Lynne Brown, publisher of the Washington Blade. “There’s nothing like watching our community come together on the waterfront with live music and incredible energy as we kick off Pride week.”
Pride on the Pier is free and open to the public, with VIP tickets available for exclusive pier access to the Dockmaster Building. To purchase VIP tickets visit www.prideonthepierdc.com/vip.
Additional entertainment announcements, sponsor activations, and event details will be released in the coming weeks.
Event Details:
📍 Location: District Pier at The Wharf (101 District Sq SW, Washington, DC)
📅 Dates: Friday, 13, 2026
⏱️ 4-9PM
🎟️ VIP Tickets: www.PrideOnThePierDC.com/VIP
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