Arts & Entertainment
Sin City Classic brings LGBTQ athletes together for weekend in Vegas
The biggest LGBTQ sporting event in the world is about to get bigger.
The Sin City Classic Sports Festival, which kicks off next week in Las Vegas, is adding four new sports to its lineup, increasing the total number of participating sports to 24. Presented by Lexus, the massive event is set to take place from January 16-19.
The new sports – basketball, indoor rowing, spikeball and steel tip darts – join a list that includes a wide array of others, from bowling and billiards to dodgeball and running to softball, wrestling and grappling, and more.
The festival brings together LGBTQ sports associations, fans, and allies from around the world every January for a weekend full of competition, companionship and fun. Besides a full roster of sporting competitions during the day, the festival includes nightly social events, including an Opening Night registration party and a Closing Night celebration, which will be held this year at the LINQ Promenade’s Brooklyn Bowl.
“Each year the Sin City Classic continues to grow and brings even more LGBTQ athletes, allies and fans to Las Vegas for a weekend filled with competition and camaraderie. Our nightly events continue to get bigger and better, and we’re happy to be able to offer attendees the opportunity to come together and bond of sport,” said Ken Scearce, tournament director for the Sin City Classic.
The Sin City classic was created by The Greater Los Angeles Softball Association in 2008, as an an LGBTQ softball tournament meant to provide a safe yet competitive atmosphere for LGBTQ athletes. Since then, it’s grown into the largest annual LGBTQ sporting event in the world, hosting more than 8,000 athletes and fans. GLASA remains committed to creating the best experience possible for all the dedicated athletes who participate and the fans and allies to come to enjoy the festival.
This year’s Sin City Classic will be proudly hosted at The Flamingo Hotel and the LINQ Hotel. Besides presenting sponsor Lexus, additional sponsorship comes from Caesar’s Entertainment, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Oasis, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, GAYVN, Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority and Piranha Nightclub.
For more information about the Sin City Classic or to register your team, please visit www.sincityclassic.org.
Celebrity News
Madonna announces release date for new album
‘Confessions II’ marks return to the dance floor
Pop icon Madonna on Wednesday announced that her 15th studio album will be released on July 3.
Titled “Confessions II,” the new album is a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” an Abba and disco-infused hit.
The new album reunites Madonna with producer Stuart Price, who also helmed the original “Confessions” album. It’s her first album of new material since 2019’s “Madame X.”
“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna said in a press release. “These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” continued the statement. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions. Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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Comings & Goings
Minimal version of ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ heading to Dupont Underground
