a&e features
In with the new
A gay bar, a drag king company, a bookshop and more enjoy recent launches
(Washington Blade photos of WiskHER and Dirty Goose by Hugh Clarke; photo of Namii courtesy Pretty Boi Drag)
LGBT Washington has seen a spate of new business openings in recent months. Here are a few to check out.
The Dirty Goose, a new gay bar
The Dirty Goose (913 U St., N.W.) is the new kid on the block for D.C.’s gay nightlife scene. Tucked into the U Street corridor across from Nellie’s Sports Bar, the Dirty Goose’s slogan is “Where Birds of a Feather Drink Together.” Owners Justin Parker and his fiancé Daniel Honeycutt say they consider the Dirty Goose a gay bar, but welcome all to their establishment. According to Park, they consider their bar to be upscale but welcoming.
”We believed that sometimes ‘upscale’ gets a stigma and is assumed to be stuffy and expensive,” Parker says. “We have tried really hard to address small details that we think can wash the stigma away. Our bartenders are specifically friendly, outgoing and always willing to help. Our prices are comparable to our neighbors. We simply just try to provide a higher quality of drinks, food and service.”
The bar, which opened Aug. 18, has plans for parties in the near future with details to be announced. In addition to dinner, the Dirty Goose also offers bottomless brunch for $38 on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Brunch includes your choice of a bottomless mimosa, rose mimosa or Bloody Mary paired with entrees such as the spring vegetable omelet, eggs Benedict and TDG hamburger with Sriracha aioli. Make reservations at thedirtygoosedc.com. (MC)
The Dirty Goose is working to take the snob quotient out of upscale. (Washington Blade photo by Hugh Clarke)
SIR, a new male burlesque show
SIR is an all-male burlesque show hosted at SAX Restaurant & Lounge (734 11th St., N.W.) every Sunday.
There are two shows — one at 10:30 a.m. and another at 1:30 p.m. It’s slated to launch on Sunday, Sept. 11.
Billed as an “electrifying show that brings together some of the hottest men in the DMV,” it promises a “theatrical experience that will leave you begging for more.”
Performers are dancers, aerialists, pole dancers and more. There are games, bottomless mimosas, brunch, go-go boys, “stud” waiters and more. Participants must be 21 to enter. Tickets are $50-65.
Seating is on a first-come-first-served basis. No entry 15 minutes after show time.
SAX is a French-American cuisine restaurant. Full details at saxwdc.com. (JD)
Pretty Boi Drag, a new drag king troupe
Pretty Boi Drag is a drag king collective that hosts day parties, brunch shows and workshops in the District. The shows feature music from DJ Tezrah and audience members are invited to dance and sing along with the kings making shows interactive. Workshops are part lecture and part Q&A for audience members to learn about the drag king experience and create their own drag king persona.
The group’s new brunch show at Acre 121 (1400 Irving St., N.W.) will be on the first Sunday of every month. For $40 enjoy bottomless mimosas, one entree and a show from noon-3 p.m. The first show of the season starts Sunday, Sept. 4.
Pretty Boi Drag also hosts its monthly day parties at the Bier Baron (1523 22nd St., N.W.). On Sunday, Sept. 18 the party’s theme will be #PrettyBoiHigh. The party will be back to school themed. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.
On Sunday, Oct. 16 there will be #APrettyBoiFairyTale, which will be a fairy tale-themed event. Drag kings will perform as fairytale characters to reenact moments from fairy tale stories with a modern twist. The final show of 2016 will be #SundayService on Sunday, Nov. 20. The show will be a secular interpretation of a church service featuring a six-person choir, church fans and ushers.
Co-producer Pretty Rik E says being part of these shows as a troupe member and as an audience member is fun and brings people together.
“Speaking from the perspective as a member of Pretty Boi Drag, we have the best performers and crew in D.C., hands down,” Pretty Rik E says. “More importantly, we are a family. We enjoy spending time with each other outside of performance space as much as we can and turn to each other in times of need or celebration. From the perspective of an audience member, we like to think we create an environment of fun and camaraderie whenever we put on a show. Our goal is to have every audience member leave our shows having had an experience.” prettyboidrag.com. (MC)
Pretty Rik E performs in Pretty Boi Drag, a new drag king outfit. (Photo courtesy PBD)
WhiskHER, a new bi and trans queer party
WhiskHER is a brand new bisexual and trans-inclusive queer party that will take place at the Old Engine 12 Restaurant (1626 N Capitol St., N.W.) every fourth Friday of the month.
The V D.C. promoters behind the queer party GlittHER ended the event after the head promoter moved to San Francisco. Wanting to keep the same spirit alive in a different event, WhiskHER was born from GlittHER’s resident DJ Tezrah and Katy Ray, an active member of D.C.’s queer women’s community. Its opening party kicked off on Aug. 26. DJ Tezrah and Katy Ray say they have plenty of ideas for future parties. The pair want to include various DJs, live performances, artists, contests and different themes into this new party scene.
“Since GlittHER was consistently successful for three years, WhiskHER strives to emulate GlittHER’s positive presence while primarily possessing its own, distinct entity,” DJ Tezrah says.
Details at facebook.com/whiskherdc. (MC)
WhiskHER is every fourth Friday of the month. (Washington Blade photo by Hugh Clarke)
East City Bookshop, a new bookstore on Capitol Hill
Conventional wisdom has it that launching a new brick-and-mortar bookstore in this day and age and going up against Amazon is nuts. But there are some Davids out there making a case for themselves among all the Internet Goliaths.
East City Bookshop is a new queer-friendly space that opened at 645 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E. (suite 100) on April 30 on Capitol Hill. Sensing what she felt was a need after Trover Shop Bookstore closed in 2009 after 51 years in business, Laurie Gillman, a Washington resident since 1991, pounced.
“I was so annoyed I’d have to go to Virginia to go to a bookstore,” says the 50-year-old Gillman, who’s straight. “Even after my kids were older, I kept thinking, ‘Why do we not have a bookstore here? This is a perfectly good bookstore neighborhood.’ I began to think maybe I should open one.”
Gillman, who also lives in the neighborhood, went to Florida for a weeklong course offered by Paz and Associates, a group that offers seminars on how to open modern-day bookstores and the challenges entrepreneurs are likely to face. She says the “bottom of the valley” for bookstores was about 2009 but once so many were gone, people started to miss them.
“It’s actually a really good time because people do want actual books a lot of the time. They like to browse and pick things up and flip through them,” Gillman says. “And bookstores are such community spaces. … More bookstores have been opening than closing in the last few years.”
East City has about 3,200 square feet of retail space that Gillman rents in what she calls a “funky, little shopping center” right by the Eastern Market Metro. Labyrinth, a board game and role-playing game shop, is next door and offers “a nice mix of customers and items.” She has about 12,000 books in stock in all genres, including a large kids’ section, a bargain book section and everything in between. LGBT content is spread throughout — just because a mystery might have LGBT protagonists, for instance, did not justify putting all the gay stuff in one section, Gillman felt.
And so far business has exceeded her expectations. She hoped to turn a profit by the five-year point. If things continue at the present pace, she says that might be more like three years.
Gay authors are peppered throughout the upcoming events schedule. This week out author Gregg Shapiro shared readings from his new short-story collection, “How to Whistle.” On Friday, Sept. 16, comic artist Ed Luce will talk about his underground hit series “Wuvable Oaf,” set in San Francisco’s queer music scene. Full schedule is online at eastcitybookshop.com. (JD)
Long-time Washingtonian Laurie Gillman says Capitol Hill needed its own bookstore so she took it upon herself to open one. (Photo courtesy Gillman)
a&e features
Award-winning D.C. chef reaching new culinary heights
Anthony Jones of Marcus DC competing on ‘Top Chef’
In Anthony Jones’s kitchen, all sorts of flags fly, including his own. Executive chef at award-winning restaurant Marcus DC, Jones has reached culinary heights (James Beard Award semifinalist for Emerging Chef, anyone?), yet he’s just getting started.
Briefly stepping away from his award-winning station, Jones took a moment under a different set of lights. Recently, he temporarily gave up his post at the restaurant for a starring small-screen slot on the latest season of “Top Chef,” which debuted in March. (The show airs weekly on Bravo and Peacock).
Before his strategic slice-and-dice competition, however, Jones, who identifies as gay, draws from his deep DMV roots. In the years before “Top Chef” and the top chef spot at Marcus, he was born and raised in Sunderland, Md., in southern Maryland, near the Chesapeake.
Early memories were steeped in afternoons on boats with his dad bonding over fishing, and wandering the garden of his great-grandparents spread with fresh vegetables and a few hogs. “It was Southern, old-school ethics and upbringing,” he said. “Family and food went hand in hand.” Weekends meant grabbing bushels of crabs, dad and grandma would cook and crack them. Family members would host fish fries for extra cash. In this seafood-heavy youth, Jones managed time to sneak in episodes of the “OG” Japanese “Iron Chef” show, which helped inspire him to pursue a career in the kitchen.
Jones moved to D.C. after graduating from college, ending up at lauded Restaurant Eve, and met famed chef Marcus Samuelson, who brought him to Miami to be part of the opening team for Red Rooster Overtown. After three years, Jones moved back to D.C., where he ran Dirty Habit, reinventing and reimagining the menu, integrating West African flavors and ingredients.
Samuelson, however, wouldn’t let a talent like Jones stay away for too long. Pulling Jones back into his orbit, Samuelson elevated Jones to help him open his namesake restaurant Marcus DC, which has been named a top-five restaurant by the Washington Post. Since then, Jones has been nominated as a semifinalist for the RAMMYs Rising Culinary Star in 2026 and won the Eater DC’s Rising Chef award in 2025.
Samuelson’s Marcus is a tour de force interpreting the Black Diaspora on the plate, from the American South to West Africa, along with his signature “Swedopian” touches. Yet it’s Jones who has deeply informed the plate, elevating his own story to date. Marcus DC is primarily a seafood restaurant, which serves Jones well.
“Where I’m from is seafood heavy, and as I’ve progressed in my career, I’ve moved away from meat.” Veggies and fish are hero dishes. His own dish, Mel’s Crab Rice, was not only lauded by the Washington Post, but is framed by his youth carrying home the crustaceans from Mel’s crab truck. It’s a bowl of Carolina rice, layered with pickled okra, uni béarnaise, and crab. Jones also points to a dish on the opening menu, rockfish and brassica, paying respect to a landmark D.C. institution, Ben’s Chili Bowl. Jones reverse engineered a favorite bowl of chili that’s seafood instead of meat forward, leveraging octopus and rockfish along with different riffs of cauliflower: showing his intellectual, creative, and cultural sides.
While “Top Chef” is showing Jones’s spotlight side, he also lets his identity show at work. “In the kitchen, I make sure we’re inclusive. We don’t tolerate discrimination. Everyone that’s here should feel confident to express themselves. There are so many different flags in the kitchen.”
Jones says that he didn’t fully express his gay identity until fairly recently. He felt reluctant coming out to certain family members, “you’re scared to tell them about being different,” he says, and while that anxiety ate at him, “I’m lucky and fortunate to have unconditional love and that weight off my shoulders.”
Today, “I’m me all the time, Monday to Sunday. I’m honest with people, and my staff is honest with me.”
“Being a chef is hard,” he says, “and being a chef of color is even more difficult.”
Yet his LGBTQ identity is a juggling act, he says. “I need to keep that balance, because once someone finds out something about you, their opinion can change, whether you want it or not.”
Being on a whole season of TV cooking competition, however, might mean millions more might have an opinion of him (Jones has appeared on TV already, on an episode of “Chopped”). To prepare, he says, “I’ve just kept a level head. It’s just an honor to be on top chef with amazing people happy to be there.”
Plus, this season is set in the Carolinas, and Jones attended Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, N.C. “It’s a full story of my life, now a monumental moment for me.”
Jones also recently was nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award. “JBF has been a north star, a dream for so long. I always had this goal on my wall.”
Being at the top spot at Marcus DC, making waves through his accolades, and cooking on Bravo means that Jones is highly visible. “I think that if someone has a similar background to me, and can see our story, trajectory, and success, they can have more ability to be themselves. This is my goal.”
Back at Marcus, Jones has plenty up his chef’s white’s sleeves. A new spring menu is in the works. He’ll be launching a new tasting menu “dining experience,” he says, and has plans to work on more events and collaborations with chefs and friends to bring in new talent and share the culinary wealth.
a&e features
Introducing the Torchbearers Awards honoring queer, trans women and nonbinary people
Meet the Legends and Illuminators lighting new paths
The Torchbearers Awards are more than recognition—they are a continuation of legacy. They honor the quiet architects of progress in our community: those who organize, advocate, build, and protect, often without fanfare but always with purpose. Rooted in a belief in intentional recognition, this honor names those who carry our movements forward—those who make room for others, who remind us that change is both generational and generative. In a time marked by uncertainty and challenge, these leaders push forward with courage, clarity, and an unwavering commitment to expanding opportunity and equity.
This year’s honorees reflect the full breadth of our community, spanning generations, backgrounds, identities, and industries. From Legends, with decades of leadership and having created pathways for others, to Illuminators, who are lighting new paths with creativity and innovation, each Torchbearer represents the power of intergenerational leadership and the strength found in our diversity. They are organizers, advocates, artists, policy leaders, healers, and changemakers whose lived experiences shape a shared vision for equity and liberation.
This award is our love letter to queer and trans women and nonbinary people who carry the flame when it would be easier to let it dim. To those who consistently show up, who use their voice and visibility and stand firm, often without recognition, so that others may live more freely and fully. The Torchbearers Awards celebrates not just what has been done, but the enduring spirit, responsibility, and collective care that ensure the work continues, and that the flame is always passed forward.
Co-Creators of the Torchbearers Awards: Shannon Alston, June Crenshaw, Heidi Ellis
Torchbearers Awards Advisory Board: Aditi Hardikar, Lesley Bryant, Jasmine Wilson-Bryant, Stephen Rutgers
ILLUMINATOR AWARDEES
- Representative Sharice Davids (she/her), (D, KS-03)
— U.S. House of Representatives - Greisa Martinez Rosas (she/her/ella)
— Executive Director, United We Dream - Paola Ramos (she/her)
— Journalist & Correspondent - Meagan A. Fitzgerald (she/her)
— Journalist & Correspondent - Jessica L. Lewis (she/her)
— Founder / Producer, Play Play DC - Savannah Wade (she/her)
— Founder, OAR Agency - Suhad Babaa (she/her)
— Filmmaker/ Former Executive Director of Just Vision - Ashlee Davis (she/her)
— Global Head of Inclusive Outcomes, Ancestry - Jazmine Hughes (she/her)
— Journalist and Former Editor at New York Times Magazine - Queen Adesuyi (they/she)
— Policy Advisor & Organizer, ReFrame Health & Justice - Michele Rayner, Esq. (she/her)
— Civil Rights Attorney, State Representative (Florida House of Representatives) - Gaby Vincent (she/her)
— Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader - Jenny Nguyen (she/her)
— Founder & Owner, The Sports Bra - Denice Frohman (she/her)
— Independent Artist, Poet / Performer - Vida Rangel (she/her)
— Founder, Our Trans Capital - Roxanne Anderson (they/them)
— Executive Director, Our Space - Ann Marie Gothard (she/her)
— Co-Founder & President, Pride Live (Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center) - Diana Rodriquez (she/her)
— Co-Founder & CEO, Pride Live (Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center) - Wendi Cooper (she/her)
— Founder / Executive Director, Transcending Women - Toya Matthews (she/her)
— City of San Antonio, Texas - Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones (she/her)
— Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader - Charity Blackwell (she/her)
— Poet, LGBTQ Advocate & Community Leader - Wilhelmina Indermaur (she/her)
— Director of Communications, Tyler Clementi Foundation - Em Chadwick (she/her)
— CMO, For Them & Autostraddle - Kylo Freeman (they/he)
— CEO, For Them & Autostraddle
LEGEND AWARDEES
- Sheila Alexander-Reid (she/her)
— Executive Director, PHL Diversity, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau - Cassandra Cantave Burton (she/her)
— Interim Director of Thought Leadership & Senior Research Advisor, AARP - leigh h. mosley (she/her)
— Photographer / Educator, PhotoFlo Photography - Jenn M. Jackson, PhD (they/them)
— Assistant Professor of Political Science; Author & Columnist, Syracuse University - Jordyn White (she/her)
— COO, Washington Prodigy / VP of Leadership Development & Research, HRC Foundation - AJ Hikes (they/them)
— Deputy Executive Director, ACLU - RaeShanda Lias (she/her)
— Digital Creator, RL Lockhart - Donna Payne-Hardy (she/her)
— Educator, EEO Specialist, Founder of NBJC, Former Leader at the Human Rights Campaign - Courtney R. Snowden (she/her)
— Principal, Blueprint Strategy Group - Gaye Adegbalola (she/her)
— Musician & Activist, Musician / Inductee of the Blues Hall of Fame - Cheryl A. Head (she/her)
— Independent Author, Novelist (Crime Fiction) - Letitia Gomez (she/her)
— The American LGBTQ+ Museum, Board Chair - Lynne Brown (she/her)
— Publisher, Washington Blade - Shay Franco-Clausen (She/Her/Ella/Queen)
— Political Strategist and Organizer - Melissa L. Bradley (she/her)
— Founder & Managing Partner, New Majority Ventures - Meghann Burke (she/her)
— Executive Director, NWSL Players Association - Victoria Kirby York, MPA (she/they)
— Director of Public Policy & Programs, National Black Justice Collective - Joli Angel Robinson (she/her)
— CEO, Center on Halsted - Jeannine Frisby LaRue (she/her)
— CEO, Moxie Strategies - Alice Wu (she/her)
— Film Director (Saving Face, The Half of It) / Screenwriter - Storme Webber (she/her)
— Interdisciplinary Artist / Educator, University of Washington - Kim Stone
— CEO of the Washington Spirit, Washington Spirit - Mickalene Thomas
— American Visual Artist, Mickalene Thomas Studio - Erika Lorshbough (any/they/she)
— Executive Director, interACT - J. Gia Loving (she/ella)
— Co-Executive Director, GSA Network
a&e features
D.C. springs back to life with new, returning events
Cherry blossoms, Rehoboth season kickoff, and more on tap
Longer and warmer days are back meaning: It’s time to get out of the house and enjoy Washington D.C.’s many events. Below are a few to check out this spring.
The National Museum of Women in the Arts will host “Making their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection” until Sunday, July 26. This exhibition illustrates women artists’ vital role in abstraction, considers historical contributions, formal and material breakthroughs and intergenerational relationships among women artists over the last eight decades. For more details, visit. NMWA’s website.
Art in the Attic will host a pop-up on Saturday, March 14 at 6 p.m. at 1012 Madison St., Alexandria, Va. There will be a variety of vendors selling products across different modes of art. For more details, visit Eventbrite.
Play Play will host “Indoor Recess – The art of play” on Sunday, March 15 at 2 p.m. This event will embody classic recess energy, including opportunities to build and experience community and connections through games, movement, art stations, and creative freedom. Tickets are $12.51 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
Spark Social will host “Gay Bar Crawl on U Street” on Friday, March 20 at 7:30 p.m. This will be a fun night out in gay D.C. with other gay people, whether you’re visiting D.C., new to the area, or just looking to expand your social circle. Many crawlers have formed lasting friendships and even romantic relationships after just one night out. Tickets are $35.88 and are available on Eventbrite.
Creative Suitland Arts Center will host “EFFERVESCENT: House of Swann” on Saturday, May 30 at 7 p.m. This will be a gay, good time where we will celebrate love, joy, wellness, and visibility for the LGBTQIA+ community. Tickets start at $17.85 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
SWAG Works DC will host “Unapologetically Her” on Saturday, March 14 at 2 p.m. at 701 E St., S.E. This event is a powerful celebration of womanhood, resilience, creativity, and self-expression in honor of Women’s History Month. This all-women exhibition highlights the diverse voices, stories, and artistic perspectives of women who create boldly, live authentically, and stand confidently in their truth. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
9:30 Club will host “Gimme Gimme Disco: A Dance Party Inspired by ABBA” on Saturday, March 14 at 6 p.m. There will also be a “Donna Summer Power Hour – The Queen of Disco” segment during this event. It’ll be one hour of music with no skips. Tickets are available on 9:30 Club’s website.
Harder Better Faster Stronger will host “Heated Rivalry Rave” on Friday, March 20 at 9 p.m. at Howard Theatre. This event is open to all ages. Tickets are available on the theater’s website.
CAMP Rehoboth hosts its 25th annual Women’s+ FEST, April 9-12 in Rehoboth Beach, Del. Entertainers include headliner Mina Hartong, a comedian, storyteller, and founder of Lez Out Loud; and singer Yoli Mayor. There are dances, dinners, pickleball, and much more. Details and tickets at camprehoboth.org.
Also in Rehoboth Beach, the Washington Blade’s 19th annual Summer Kickoff Party is set for Friday, May 15 featuring Ashley Biden, who will accept an award on behalf of her brother Beau. State Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall will also speak. More speakers and the venue to be announced soon.
The annual D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival kicks off March 21 at DAR Constitution Hall and culminates with Petalpalooza on April 4, the day-long, outdoor street party with music and art, stretching across Navy Yard, and ending with fireworks over the Anacostia River.
Women’s FEST returns to Rehoboth Beach next week
Belarusian lawmakers approve bill to crackdown on LGBTQ rights
Calendar: April 3-9
How new barriers to health care coverage are hitting D.C.
Kenyan advocacy groups launch LGBTQ voter mobilization campaign
‘Out for McDuffie’ event held at D.C. gay bar
‘Jonah’ an undeniably compelling but unusual memory play
The Oscar-losing performance that’s too good to miss
Thousands attend ‘No Kings’ protests in D.C.
