Local
Crew Club showcases staff on 20th anniversary
‘All of you are public health workers’
DC Allen hosted a community event at the Crew Club. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Representatives of local LGBT groups that have received financial support from the Crew Club, a D.C. sauna and gym that caters to gay men, mingled with the club’s staff during a Nov. 11 meeting called by its owner, DC Allen.
Allen said the meeting was aimed at introducing his staff to community members whose organizations have been supported by the Crew Club during its 20 years in business in the Logan Circle business district.
Among those attending were David Mariner, executive director of the D.C. Center for the LGBT Community; Ruby Corado, founder and director of the LGBT community services center, Casa Ruby; and Josh Riley, community relations director for Whitman-Walker Health.
Riley thanked Allen for the Crew Club’s longstanding arrangement that enables Whitman-Walker workers to come to the club to offer HIV testing and HIV education and prevention information to the club’s patrons. He thanked the Crew Club staff for helping to facilitate Whitman-Walker’s visits to the club.
“All of you are public health workers,” he said.
Allen asked each of the nine Crew Club staff members who attended the meeting to introduce themselves. Most said they have been on the staff for five years or longer. Some said they have been working there for 10 years or longer. Among them is longtime gay activist and writer Alan Ritter, who Allen said has left the staff several times to pursue activist projects.
“I always take him back,” said Allen.
Dan Carter, whom the Crew Club recently retained as a Yoga instructor, demonstrated his craft by leading those attending the meeting in a meditation exercise.
“This was absolutely and positively about the employees of the Crew Club,” Allen said in discussing the meeting last week. “It was purely to make sure that they understood that the club was an integral part of the community and they are on the front line of HIV/STD prevention and education.”
Unlike some smaller businesses in the bustling 14th Street entertainment and nightlife district, which have been displaced by real estate development projects, Allen said he won’t encounter that problem because he owns the building in which the Crew Club is located.
World Pride 2025
D.C. liquor board extends drinking hours for WorldPride
Gay bars, other liquor-serving establishments can stay open 24 hours
D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board, which regulates liquor sales for the city’s bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and other establishments licensed to serve alcoholic beverages, has approved extended hours for alcohol service and sales during the days when most WorldPride events will be held in the nation’s capital.
In a May 2 announcement, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration, which works with the board, said the extended liquor serving and sales hours for WorldPride will take place beginning Friday, May 30, through 4 a.m. Monday, June 9.
Although the official schedule for WorldPride events shows the events will take place May 17-June 8, most of the large events, including a two-day Pride street festival, parade, and concert, were expected to take place between May 30 and June 8.
According to the ABCA announcement and an ABCA spokesperson, liquor servicing establishments with the appropriate license can stay open for 24 hours and serve alcoholic beverages from 6 a.m. through the day and evening until 4 a.m., with no liquor sales allowed from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. during the May 30-June 9 period.
The ABCA announcement says liquor serving establishments must apply for the extended hours option and pay a $100 registration fee by a deadline on May 27.
Sources familiar with the liquor board have said the board has for many years approved the extension of liquor serving and sales hours for important events and for certain holidays such as New Year’s Eve.
At the time it approved the extended hours for WorldPride the liquor board also approved extended hours during the time when games for a World Cup soccer tournament will be held in the city on June 18, June 22, and June 26.
It couldn’t immediately be determined how many of D.C.’s 22 LGBTQ bars plan to apply for the extended drinking hours. David Perruzza, owner of the Adams Morgan gay bar Pitchers and its adjoining lesbian bar A League of Her Own, said he will apply for the 4 a.m. extended hours option but he does not intend to keep the two bars open for the full 23 hours.
Under the city’s current alcoholic beverage regulations, licensed liquor serving establishments may serve alcoholic beverages until 2 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends.
World Pride 2025
Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference
Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde is among those who are scheduled to speak at the WorldPride 2025 Human Rights Conference that will take place from June 4-6.
Budde, who is the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, in January urged President Donald Trump “to have mercy” on LGBTQ people, immigrants, and others “who are scared right now” during a post-Inauguration service that he and Vice President JD Vance attended at the Washington National Cathedral. Trump criticized Budde’s comments and demanded an apology.
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde speaks at the Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 21, 2025. (PBS NewsHour clip)
A press release the Washington Blade received notes Icelandic Industries Minister Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, UK Black Pride founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, and Bob the Drag Queen are among those who are also expected to participate in the conference.
The conference will take place at the JW Marriott (1331 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) and registration is open here.
World Pride 2025
Pabllo Vittar to perform at WorldPride
Brazilian drag queen, singer, joined Madonna on stage in 2024 Rio concert
A Brazilian drag queen and singer who performed with Madonna at her 2024 concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach will perform at WorldPride.
The Capital Pride Alliance on Thursday announced Pabllo Vittar will perform on the Main Stage of the main party that will take place on June 7 at DCBX (1235 W St., N.E.) in Northeast D.C.
Vittar and Anitta, a Brazilian pop star who is bisexual, on May 4, 2024, joined Madonna on stage at her free concert, which was the last one of her Celebration Tour. Authorities estimated 1.6 million people attended.
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