Arts & Entertainment
Celebrating D.C.’s drag history
New Dupont Underground exhibit offers photos, videos, and live performances
As the city continues to reopen, the Washington Blade and Dupont Underground announced this week plans for a new exhibit highlighting the history and power of drag in D.C. and around the country.
The exhibition showcases a mix of photographs and video footage that authentically honor the roots of drag in America, while celebrating the power, pride, and leadership that define the community. D.C.’s drag scene inspired a generation to embrace its power and raise its voice.
The Exhibition showcases photographs gathered from the archives of the Washington Blade and video footage from interviews with Drag Queen Shi-Queeta-Lee and Drag King Pretty RikE. The photographs and interviews offer a glimpse into the past and explore the future of what drag is becoming as a culture and as an art form.
The innovative exhibit runs from Friday, June 4 to June 27 at Dupont Underground (19 Dupont Circle, N.W.).
Exhibition times:
Fridays, 3-7 p.m.
Saturdays and Sundays 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
Drag shows 8-10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays
Drag brunch 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Sundays (starting June 13).
Tickets can be purchased at washingtonblade.com/royals with tickets starting at $5.
Drag show performers include Bombalicious Eklaver, Brooklyn Heights, Cake, Farrah Synclaire, Gigi Paris Couture, Pretty Boi Drag, Shi-Queeta Lee, and Sasha Adams. More performers to be announced soon.
Presenting sponsors are the Washington Blade, Dupont Underground, and the Leonard-Litz Foundation. Additional sponsors include Absolut, Ariadne Getty Foundation, Pepco, Washington Regional Transplant Community, and Devil’s Backbone.
The exhibit is part of the Focus on the Story International Photo Festival 2021, #FOTS21. focusonthestory.org.
Exhibit Preview
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.”
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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