Arts & Entertainment
MOST ELIGIBLE SINGLES: Jenny Gowen
Meet D.C.’s top 20 LGBT bachelors and bachelorettes
Jenny Gowen (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Name: Jenny Gowen
Age: 47
Occupation: Surgical devices sales rep, undercover activist.
Identify as: I fall somewhere between L and Q.
What are you looking for in a mate? Similarities, differences. Push and pull. A straight shooter.
I’m available for the kind of connection that creates fireworks and deep calm for both of us on multiple levels: intellectual, emotional, spiritual and physical. A perfectly imperfect partnership.
Biggest turn-off: Substance abuse. Disingenuousness. I work hard to keep becoming and I don’t want to be with people who are invested in staying stuck.
Biggest turn-on: Authenticity. Humility. Courage. A “still-waters-run-deep” type with a kinky private side or a bad ass with a tender underbelly. An invitation to that private side or underbelly.
Hobbies: Running, races, day trips, adventuring, lallygagging, exploring, meditation, giving back, being near water, baking, social justice, chasing fire flies, orchids, picnicking and sharing my life with people I love. I will gladly try almost anything once.
Describe your ideal first date: We find a local place to share a meal. This gives us a chance to talk and get to know more about each other. There’s an easy comfort, lots of laughter and undeniable sparks of chemistry.
Pets, kids or neither? I have a fabulous adult daughter who swings by from time to time on her way to or from her next adventure. I don’t have pets, but I love pets.
Would you date someone whose political views differ from yours? Sure, as long as their views and actions don’t involve marginalizing or oppressing other people and groups.
Celebrity crush: Nadia Bolz-Weber, Chris Mosier
One obscure fact about yourself: I grew up on a small farm on the rural Eastern Shore. I know what a chicken running around with it’s head cut off really looks like. (Bonus, though, I can chop wood, tend livestock, brew kombucha and I’m great at canning just about anything!)
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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