Arts & Entertainment
Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier celebration and fireworks show returning June 11
The annual Pride on the Pier Fireworks Show presented by the Leonard-Litz Foundation will take place on Saturday, June 11 at 9 p.m.
The Washington Blade, in partnership with LURe DC and The Wharf, is excited to announce the 3rd annual Pride on the Pier and Fireworks show during DC Pride weekend on Saturday, June 11, 2022, from 2-9 p.m.
The event will include the annual Pride on the Pier Fireworks Show presented by the Leonard-Litz Foundation at 9 p.m.
Pride on the Pier extends the city’s annual celebration of LGBTQ visibility to the bustling Southwest waterfront with an exciting array of activities and entertainment.
The District Pier will offer DJs, dancing and other entertainment. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase for those 21 and older. Local DJ’s Eletrox, Jai Syncere and Sean Morris will perform throughout the event.
The Dockmasters Building will be home to a VIP experience. To learn more and to purchase tickets go to www.prideonthepierdc.com/vip.
“After having to cancel Pride the past two years we couldn’t be more excited to bring back Pride on the Pier with a real bang,” says the Washington Blade’s Director of Marketing Stephen Rutgers. “No matter the age we are creating a welcoming event for all.”
The Transit Pier will house the Family Zone that will include the new Wharf Roller Rink.
“The Wharf is a place for everyone to enjoy D.C.’s greatest resource — the waterfront,” said Monty Hoffman, Founder and CEO of Hoffman and Associates. “District Pier is the perfect backdrop for this celebration and we look forward to the return of Pride on the Pier and the completion of the Wharf in Fall 2022.”
Event sponsors include Absolut, Alto, Bud Light, DC Brau, DC Fray, Burney Wealth Management, Cherry Fund, Leonard-Litz Foundation, PEPCO, The Wharf. More information regarding activities will be released at www.PrideOnThePierDC.com
The Washington Blade was founded in 1969 and is known as the “newspaper of record” for the LGBTQ community both locally and nationally. For more information, visit washingtonblade.com.
LURe was established in 2006 by Karen Diehl and Sterling Higgins and provides party promotional services to the Maryland, Virginia and D.C. lesbian community. For more information visit facebook.com/lurewdc.
ABOUT THE WHARF
The Wharf is Washington D.C.’s most exciting neighborhood. This remarkable mile-long neighborhood along the Washington Channel of the Potomac River reestablishes Washington, DC, as a true waterfront city and destination. Phase 1 opened in October 2017 with two million square feet of residences, offices, hotels, shops, restaurants, cultural uses, marinas, and public areas including waterfront parks, promenades, piers, and docks. When complete in 2022, this $2.5 billion, world-class, mixed-use waterfront neighborhood will feature more than 3.5 million square feet of development. The Wharf is easily accessible to the region by water taxi, Metro, WMATA and Southwest Neighborhood Shuttle buses, bicycle, foot, and car.
Development is led by Hoffman & Associates and Madison Marquette, in conjunction with ER Bacon Development, City Partners, Paramount Development and Triden Development.
More information is available at www.wharfdc.com. Download the District Wharf app for a live news feed, information on events, interactive map, transportation updates and more. The app is available on Apple and Android devices.
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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