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Merging old and new
Ellicott City show house gives gay designer historic canvas
The room Rhonald Angelo decorated as part of this year’s Historic Ellicott City Decorator Show House. (Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Picturesque homes don’t just have to be experienced through a photograph.
Historic Ellicott City has made it its mission to bring beautiful, historic homes right to the feet of its guests. This year, attendees can witness firsthand White Hall, the 19th-century home that sits on a sprawling 41 acres that it shares with deer, geese and two owls. Enter inside and guests can experience room transformations from top interior decorators.
For out interior decorator and D.C. native Rhonald Angelo, transforming a room is deeper than painting a wall or throwing down a rug. His passion for detail and eye for design can be witnessed in the drawing room of White Hall, where he joins 17 other designers, artisans and decorators using the home as the foundation for their artistic visions.
Since 1986, Historic Ellicott City has been collaborating with designers to restore historic properties for its Decorator Show House.
This year’s proceeds will benefit the Historic Ellicott Revitalization Grant Program and the restoration of Carrollton Hall, a historic building built by Declaration of Independence signer Charles Carroll on the grounds of the Shrine of St. Anthony.
Angelo is a veteran of the Decorator Show House with White Hall marking the third home he has decorated. In 2013, a client invited him to take a look at the Decorator Show House and he met the design decorator in charge of the designers. Angelo was chosen to decorate a second-level bedroom with a bathroom attached for 2014. His creation became an “elegant dressing room” with a “masculine feel” for the space.
The entire process from choosing the property to settling on designs is done with careful consideration. The Show House Committee looks for properties that meet a specific set of criteria. The property must be at least 50 years old, located in Howard County, have adequate parking and have the capacity to accommodate about 100 visitors per day, among other stipulations.
After the property is chosen, the committee sends out a call to decorators to look at the rooms to settle on how they would like to develop the space. Decorators submit proposals with a floor plan of the room, a write-up of their concept and any fabrics, paints and furnishings they would want to use. The committee decides if they like the proposal and also if the design will be cohesive with the rest of the designers’ visions.
“When you walk into the front door of a home you want all the rooms to flow together,” Angelo says. “You wouldn’t want to have ‘Star Trek’ on one side and ‘Little House on the Prairie’ on the opposite side of a home because there’s no flow to that. So they look for similar paint colors, similar furnishings, similar concepts.”
Just as the committee has an eye for what works in a room, designers bring their own personal tastes into the home. Angelo’s intricate and neat designs can be traced back to his childhood. At 11 years old, he and his friends started building small-scale car models. For Angelo, it was important to put accuracy in every last detail.
“My mom would give me parts from her sewing box so I would create all the wires that you see in the engine. I was always very careful. I would study under the hood of a real automobile. That’s probably where my creativity and intense sense of detail comes from,” Angelo says.
Now as an adult interior decorator, his work method remains the same.
“Clutter is not a word that is in my vocabulary. All of my designs, my work, is very open and it allows everything to have its own breathing space.”
Angelo’s concept for the drawing room was to stay true to the room’s historic purpose. The house was built pre-1822 as part of the land grant Freeborn’s Progress. The house’s east wing was later used as a hospital during the War of 1812. In 1977, the home was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Historically, Angelo explains that the drawing room would have been used to entertain guests and would have functioned as a public space.
He opted out of modern comforts like a TV and other recreational or personal items like a bookshelf and family photos. Instead, he utilized natural light to make the room feel more open.
“The furnishings would be somewhat formal,” Angelo says. “But if it was our day and time, it would have been more comfortable than it would have been in the 19th century. The daylight that the room gets is significant. However, it’s shadowed by the deepness of the front porch. I wanted to do light colors to allow as much daylight to come in as possible. There’s two windows that face the front of the house. I purposely created a very open style to allow as much daylight to come in as possible.”
He hopes that people can learn a few design tips from visiting the house including considering incorporating antiques in their own homes. Although he says he understands antiques aren’t as popular as they once were, he says “they add a soul to the living space.”
More than anything, Angelo wants people to appreciate how he utilizes his attention to detail in the room. Every piece was chosen for a specific reason.
“They will experience a level of detail that, in my opinion, is not seen in many, many spaces. From the smallest motifs in the rug and how it relates to the design on the end of a cabinet, or the shape of a flower I’ve chosen that will correspond with a motif that might be in the drapery. It’s a feeling of comfort, balance, elegant-ness and appropriateness,” Angelo says.
Rhonald Angelo shows off the room he decorated as part of this year’s Historic Ellicott City Decorator Show House. (Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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Memorial for groundbreaking bisexual activist set for May 2
Loraine Hutchins remembered as a ‘force of nature’
The Montgomery County Pride Center will host a celebration honoring the life and legacy of Loraine Hutchins, Ph.D., on May 2. People are invited to attend the onsite memorial or a livestream event. The on-site event will begin at 10 a.m. with a meet-and-greet mixer before moving into a memorial service around the theme “Loraine a Force of Nature!” at 11 a.m., a panel talk at 12 p.m., break out sessions for artists, academics, and activists to build on her legacy at 1 p.m. and a closing reception at 2 p.m.
Attendees are encouraged to register for the on-site memorial gathering or the livestreamed memorial. The goal of this event is also to collect stories and memories of Loraine. Attendees and others can share their stories at padlet.com.
An obituary for Hutchins was published in the Bladelast Nov. 24, where people can learn more about her activism in the bisexual community. A private service for friends and family was held in December but this memorial service is open to all.
Alongside her groundbreaking work organizing for U.S. bisexual rights and liberation including co-editing “Bi Any Other Name: BIsexual People Speak Out” (1991), she also integrated faith into her sexual education and advocacy work. Her 2001 doctoral dissertation, “Erotic Rites: A Cultural Analysis of Contemporary U.S. Sacred Sexuality Traditions and Trends,” offered a pointed queer and feminist analysis to sex-neutral and sex-positive spiritual traditions in the United States. Her thesis was also groundbreaking in exploring the intersections between sex workers and those in caregiving professionals, including spiritual ones.
In an oral history interview conducted by Michelle Mueller back in August 2023, Hutchins described herself as a “priestess without a congregation.” While she has occasionally had a sense of community and feels part of a group of loving people, she admitted that “I don’t feel like we have the shape or the purpose that we need.”
“I’ve often experienced being the Cassandra in the room, the Cassandra in the community. Somebody who’s kind of way out there ahead, thinking through the strategic action points that my community hasn’t gotten to yet, and getting a lot of resistance and hostile responses from people who are frightened by dissent and conflict and not ready for the changes we have to make to survive,” she said.
“For somebody who’s bisexual in an out political way and who’s been a spokesperson for the polyamory movement in an out political way, it’s very exposing. And it’s very important to me to be able to try to explain and help other people understand the connection between spirituality and sexuality,” she explained citing how even as a graduate student she was “exploring how to feel erotic and spiritual, and not feel them in conflict with each other in my own spiritual contemplative life and my own sensual body awareness of being alive in the world.”
“Every religion has a sense of sacred sexuality. It’s just they put a lot of boundaries and regulations on it, and if we have a spiritual practice that is totally affirming of women’s priesthood and of gay people, queer people’s ability to minister to everyone and to be ministered to be everyone, what does that do to the gender of God, or our understanding of how we practice our spirituality and our sexuality in community and privately?”
“There’s no easy answer,” she concludes, and she continued to grapple with these questions throughout her life, co-editing another seminal text, “Sexuality, Religion and the Sacred: Bisexual, Pansexual, and Polysexual Perspectives,” published in 2012. Her work blending spiritual and queer liberation remains groundbreaking to this day.
Rev. Eric Eldritch, a local community organizer and ordained Pagan minister with Circle Sanctuary who has worked for decades with the DC Center’s Center Faith to organize the Pride Interfaith Service, is eager to highlight this element of her legacy at the memorial service next month.
a&e features
Queery: Meet artist, performer John Levengood
Modern creative talks nightlife, coming out, and his personal queer heroes
John Levengood (he/him) describes himself as a modern creative with a wide‑ranging toolkit. He blends music, technology, civic duty, and a sharp sense of wit into a cohesive artistic identity. Known primarily as a recording artist and performer, he’s also a self‑taught music producer and software engineer who embodies a generation of creators who build their own lanes rather than wait for one to appear.
Levengood, 32, who is single and identifies as gay and queer, is best known as a recording artist who has performed at Pride festivals across the country, including the main stages of World Pride DC, Central Arkansas Pride, and Charlotte Pride.
“Locally in the DMV, I’m known for turning heads at nightlife venues with my eye-catching sense of style. When I go out, I don’t try to blend in. I hope I inspire people to be themselves and have the courage to stand out,” he says.
He’s also known for hosting karaoke at Freddie’s Beach Bar in Arlington, Va., on Thursday nights. “I like to create a space where people feel comfortable expressing themselves, building community, and showcasing their talents.”
He also creates social media content from my performances and do interviews at LGBTQ+ bars and theatres in the DMV. Follow the Arlington resident @johnlevengood.
How long have you been out and who was the hardest person to tell?
I have been fully out of the closet since 2019. My parents were the hardest people to tell because my family has always been my rock and at the time I couldn’t imagine a world without them. Their reactions were extremely positive and supportive so I had nothing to fear all along.
I remember sitting on the couch with my mom, dad, and sister in our hotel room in New Orleans during our winter vacation and being so nervous to tell them. After I finally mustered up the nerve and made the proclamation, I realized my dad had already fallen asleep on the couch. My mom promised to tell him when he woke up.
Who’s your LGBTQ hero?
My LGBTQ heroes are Harvey Milk for paving the way for gays in politics and Elton John for being a pioneer for the fabulous and authentic. My local heroes in the DMV are Howard Hicks, manager of Green Lantern, and Tony Rivenbark, manager of Freddie’s Beach Bar. Both of them are essential to creating spaces where I’ve felt welcome and safe since moving to the DMV.
What’s Washington’s best nightspot, past or present?
Trade tops the list for me because of the dance floor and outdoor space. It’s so nice to get a break from the music every once and a while to be able to have a conversation.
We live in challenging times. How do you cope?
I’m still figuring this out. What is working right now is writing music and spending time with family and friends. I’ve also been spending less time on social media going to the gym at least three times a week.
What streaming show are you binging?
After “Traitors” Season 4 ended, I was in a bit of a show hole, but “Stumble” has me in a laughing loop right now. The writing is so witty.
What do you wish you’d known at 18?
At 18, I wish I would have known how liberating it is to come out of the closet. It would have been nice to know some winning lottery numbers as well.
What are your friends messaging about in your most recent group chat?
We are planning our next trip to New York City. If you can believe it, I visited NYC for the first time in 2025 for Pride and I’ve been back every quarter since. Growing up in the country, I was subconsciously primed to be scared of the city. But my mind has been blown. I can’t wait to go back.
Why Washington?
It’s the closest metropolitan area to my family, but not too close. I love the museums, the diversity, the history, and the proximity to the beach and mountains. It’s also nice to live in a city with public transportation.
Aging RFK Stadium has come down, but the RFK grounds are still getting lit up. Welcome back to the stage Project GLOW, D.C.’s homegrown electronic festival, on May 30-31. Back for its fifth year on these musically inclined acres, Project GLOW returns with an even more diverse lineup, and one that continues to celebrate LGBTQ antecedents, attendees, and acts.
Project GLOW 2026 headliners include house and techno star Mau P, progressive house legend Eric Prydz, hard-techno favorite Sara Landry, and bass acts Excision b2b Sullivan King, among the lineup of trance, bass, house, techno, dubstep, and others for the fifth anniversary year.
President & CEO Pete Kalamoutsos — born and raised in D.C. — founded Club GLOW in 1999. In 2020, GLOW entered into a partnership with global entertainment company Insomniac Events to produce live events like Project GLOW, which kicked off in 2022.
As in past years, Project GLOW not only makes space, but is intentionally inclusive of the LGBTQ community, one of its most dedicated fan bases. The festival’s LGBTQ-focused Secret Garden stage blooms again — a more intimate dance area that stands on the strength of DJs and musicians who draw from the LGBTQ community. D.C.’s LGBTQ nightlife mastermind Ed Bailey is the creative mind behind Secret Garden again. He joined Project GLOW in 2023.
“Kalamoustos says that “he’s proud of his partnership with Ed Bailey, along with Capital Pride and [nightlife producer] Jake Resnikow. It’s amazing to collaborate with Bailey at the Secret Garden stage, especially after the curated lineup we worked on at Pride last year.”
The Secret Garden will be a bit different from other stages: Eternal (“At the Eternal stage, time stands still. Lose yourself in the dance of past, present, and future, surrendering to the eternal rhythm of the universe”) and Pulse (“Feel the rhythm of the beat pulse through your veins as the heartbeat of the crowd synchronizes into one. Here, every moment vibrates with life as it guides you through a new dimension of euphoria”). The Secret Garden stage is in the round, surrounded by 16 shipping containers. The containers play canvas to muralists from around the world, who are coming in to paint them in a vibrant garden-style vibe. “We gave this stage some extra love with this layout,” K says, “ we finally cracked the code.”
K says that this will be the biggest lineup yet for the Secret Garden, featuring Nicole Moudaber b2b Chasewest, Riordan b2b Bullet Tooth, Ranger Trucco, Cassian, Eli & Fur, Cosmic Gate and Hayla. The stage is also the largest yet, featuring an expanded dance floor and 360-degree viewing.
Across all stages, K says that his goal for the fifth anniversary is “More art and fan interactive experience, more like a festival, strive to be like a Tomorrowland, as budget grows to add more experience.” Last year’s Project GLOW alone drew 40,000 attendees over two days.
K, however, was not satisfied with one festival this spring. GLOW recently announced a “pop-up” one-day event. Teaming up with Black Book Records, GLOW is set to throw a first-of-its-kind dance-music takeover of Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., headlined by electronic music star Chris Lake. Set for April 18, this euphoric block party will feature bass and vibes blocks from the White House. Organizers expect as many as 10,000 fans to attend. Beyond music, there will be food, activations, and plenty of other activities taking place around 6th St and Pennsylvania Ave NW – a location familiar to many in the LGBTQ community, as this sits squarely inside the blocks of the Capital Pride party that takes place in DC every June.
Over the past two decades, Club GLOW has produced thousands of events, from club nights to large-scale festivals including Project GLOW, Moonrise Festival, and more. Club GLOW also operates Echostage.
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