Arts & Entertainment

4th Annual DC Brau Pride Pils Can Celebrates National Coming Out Day

All proceeds from the sale of cans of specially packaged pilsner benefit The Blade Foundation & SMYAL

Published

5 years ago

September 29, 2021

In 2020, DC Brau Brewing and the Blade Foundation paused on the beloved PRIDE PILS program. This year, to keep with the tradition and to fundraise for SMYAL and the Blade Foundation, a small batch of the PRIDE PILS will be launched into the market in time for National Coming Out Day – Monday, October 11th. Starting next week, this small batch of DC Brau’s award-winning Brau Pils will hit the region’s shelves in vibrant purple cans prominently featuring the combined artwork of the winning PRIDE PILS competition designs from Josette Matoto (2017), Alden Leonard (2018) and Maggie Dougherty (2019). The combination of the three designs represents the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community and shows no matter how different, we all can come together as one.

Restaurants, bars and retailers will be selling the specially branded PRIDE PILS cans for a fourth year with 100% of the proceeds going to benefit SMYAL (smyal.org) and The Blade Foundation (bladefoundation.org). This year the can labels have been generously donated by Blue Label Packaging Company.

“This partnership with The Washington Blade is important to us and we wanted to make sure that we kept the tradition alive during this challenging year. We want to continue celebrating the LGBTQ+ community while making a lasting impact on organizations that are doing important work here in DC and around the world,” says Mari Rodela, DC Brau’s Chief Community & Culture Officer. “So far, the Pride Pils project has raised more than $37,000 for SMYAL and The Blade Foundation.”

The public will begin to see PRIDE PILS cans on shelves across the DMV starting October 1 at restaurants, bars and retailers including grocery stores. The beer will also be available at three special events in October. The Washington Blade’s National Coming Out Day Drag Show on October 8th at Dupont Underground, DC Brau Yappy Hour on October 15th and the Washington Blade’s Best of LGBTQ Awards Party on October 21st. More details on these events can be found at washingtonblade.com/pridepils.

The Washington Blade was founded in 1969 and is known as the “newspaper of record” for the LGBT community both locally and nationally. For more information, visit washingtonblade.com and follow on Facebook (@WashingtonBlade) & Twitter (@WashBlade).

DC Brau has been producing award-winning craft beer at its brewery in Northeast DC since 2011. For more information, visit www.dcbrau.com, and follow on social media @dcbrau.

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Sports

Jason Collins dies at 47

First openly gay man to actively play for major sports team battled brain cancer

Published

22 hours ago

May 12, 2026

Michael K. Lavers

Jason Collins (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

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.”

Photos

PHOTOS: ‘Studio 69’

Glitterati Productions hold party at Bunker

Published

2 days ago

May 11, 2026

Michael Key

'Studio 69' was held at Bunker on Friday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

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.

Published

2 days ago

May 11, 2026

Staff reports

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