Arts & Entertainment
Saturday Pride parties
Events abound across the DMV to celebrate with the LGBTQ community
It’s Pride! This Saturday is packed with events across the District and beyond. Want to party with friends before, after or during the Capital Pride Parade? Here are some of our picks for things to do on Saturday to celebrate LGBTQ Pride.
Pride on the Pier & Fireworks Show

2-9 p.m.
9PM Fireworks Show presented by Leonard-Litz Foundation
The Wharf
Southwest Waterfront
General admission free! / VIP tickets for air-conditioned lounge available
Facebook | Eventbrite
The popular Pride Fireworks Show returns this year to The Wharf for the Pride on the Pier event hosted by the Ladies of LURe and the Washington Blade.
ReMIX: Capital Pride Official Saturday Party

9 p.m.-3 a.m.
City Winery
1350 Okie Street, N.E.
$45
Facebook | Tickets
The Capital Pride Alliance hosts its official mega party at City Winery on Saturday. Four parties are mashed into one huge event with Flashy, Cake, Pop Culture and Eagle’s Nest. Seven DJs including Chord, Farrah Flosscett, Mike Babbitt, Rosie Hicks, Sean McClafferty, Sean Morris TWiN and Cake the Drag Queen will provide entertainment. Tickets are almost sold out, with only the $45 tickets remaining as of this moment: so get them while you can!
Lambda Sci-Fi Pride Tabletop Gaming Party and Parade Viewing

2-11 p.m.
1425 S Street, N.W.
vaccination required
Facebook
Bring your favorite board games to the Lambda Sci-Fi party to join in on a night of gaming and fun. The group will pause to watch the Capital Pride Parade around 3 p.m. Bring $10 in exact change for pizza if you are hungry.
WERQ: DC Pride Party & Drag Show

3-6 p.m.
DC Brau Brewing Co.
3178 Bladensburg Road, N.E.
Suite B
$15-$150
Facebook | Eventbrite
Join the queens Crimsyn, Druex Sidora and Crystal Edge for a party at DC Brau. Admission includes one Pride Pilsner (with a portion of the proceeds going to SMYAL and the Blade Foundation).
Pride or Die Party

8 p.m.
Provision No. 14
2100 14th Street, N.W.
$30.80
21+
Facebook | Tickets
Join QROWD Events for a Pride or Die Party at Provision No. 14. “Be there with all your rainbow flair and dance the night away with your QROWD community.”
The Bear Cave

9 p.m. (Saturday) – 3 a.m. (Sunday)
Green Lantern
1335 Green Court, N.W.
No cover
Facebook
Join dancers Bruiser, Archie and Lumious and DJ Popperz for a night in The Bear Cave celebrating Pride at the Green Lantern.
Candela! Pride

8 p.m. (Saturday) – 3 a.m. (Sunday)
UPROAR Lounge & Restaurant
639 Florida Avenue, N.W.
No cover
21+
Facebook
Join Gaga L’Draga, Milenna Saint Cartier and Charlie Vega Sinclair for a Latinx and international party complete with drag and DJ Milko.
MIXTAPE Pride

9 p.m.
9:30 Club
815 V Street, N.W.
$20
21+
Facebook | Ticketmaster
Join DJs Matt Bailer, Keenan Orr, Tezrah, and LEMZ for an inclusive LGBTQ dance party.
Distrkt C Pride 2022

10 p.m. (Saturday) – 3:30 a.m. (Sunday)
Karma Live Music Venue
2221 Adams Place, N.E.
$40-$80
Facebook | Tickets
Inernational DJs Ana Paula and Ed Wood are joined by entertainers Rikk York, Killian Knox, Rob Montana, Jessie, Seth Santoro, Eddie Danger as well as surprise performers in this indoor/outdoor event. Tickets are selling out quickly, and the only tickets left are tier 2 and VIP tickets, so if you want to go, you should get your tickets now!
KINETIC: Pride DC Main Event

10 p.m. (Saturday) – 4 a.m. (Sunday)
Echostage
2135 Queens Chapel Road, N.E.
$40-$60
Facebook | Ticketmaster
RuPaul’s Drag Race alums Shangela and Jorgeous lead the festivities with DJs Joe Pacheco, Dan Slater and Ben Bakson providing the music to dance into the wee hours of the morning.
Flashy Afterhours Pride Edition

(Sunday) 3:30 a.m. – 9 a.m.
Flash
645 Florida Avenue, N.W.
$50-$60
Facebook | Eventbrite
Have the other parties ended, but you are still ready to dance? Go to Flashy Afters: Pride Weekend with Isaac Escalante and Nina Flowers!
Online Culture
Clavicular charged in alleged rape of teenage influencer
Online personality’s real name is Braden Peters
Online personality Clavicular, whose real name is Braden Peters, has been accused of rape.
According to NBC, Aleksandra Vasilevna Mendoza, an 18-year-old influencer known online as Alorah or Alorah Ziva, accused Peters of sexual assault, and the case is making its way through the court system.
The alleged incident occurred on May 23, 2025, when Mendoza was 17.
According to a criminal complaint from the Chatham (Mass.) Police Department, Peters called her an Uber to his family’s home. Once there, he allegedly got her drunk on vodka while they livestreamed on Twitch and then raped her. His mother and grandmother were allegedly in the house.
The documents allege Clavicular committed rape, drugging a person for sexual intercourse, and procuring and providing liquor to a person under 21.
According to court documents acquired by NPR, Mendoza began communicating with Peters on Instagram, where he paid her to appear on his livestreams to help her “make her name known on social media.”
According to those documents, Peters arranged for the minor to come to Cape Cod home to participate in a videostream for his 437,000 followers on Kick, 1.2 million followers on TikTok, and more than 1 million followers on Instagram.
At his home, Peters allegedly instructed Mendoza to say she was 18 on his videostream and to claim the alcohol on camera was water instead of vodka. Mendoza said she felt peer-pressured to drink the spirit and that she became noticeably intoxicated after a couple of drinks.
The allegations go on to state that after stopping the stream, Peters and Mendoza kissed on a couch and then had sex in his bed without her consent. Mendoza said she did not receive a sexual assault forensic exam after the incident. NPR does not name alleged victims of sexual assault.
The charges come months after Mendoza sued Peters in Miami, accusing him of sexual battery in connection with the events of May 2025. The civil lawsuit also separately alleges that he injected her face with a non-FDA-approved fat-dissolving substance during a November livestream in Florida.
Peters is known for his “looksmaxxing” concept of vanity, which is at the core of his online presence. The “looksmaxxing” culture he has helped cultivate combines elements of incel culture and heterosexuality, with the stated goal of attracting the opposite sex. He has gone as far as to say he has undergone “bonesmashing,” or hitting his own face with a hammer; taken anabolic steroids to more rapidly grow muscle; and used crystal meth as an appetite suppressant.
At the same time, looksmaxxing has been described as having elements of homoeroticism, with “looksmaxxers” appearing more concerned with impressing other men than women. Peters has multiple times pointed to openly gay actor Matt Bomer as the gold standard for male facial aesthetics.
Peters’s arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 14.
Photos
PHOTOS: Shenandoah Valley Pride
LGBTQ celebration held at Turner Pavilion in Harrisonburg, Va.
The 2026 Shenandoah Valley Pride Festival was held at Turner Pavilion in Harrisonburg, Va. on Sunday, Sept. 20.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)
















Whitman-Walker Health held the 40th annual Walk and 5K to End HIV at Anacostia Park on Saturday, Sept. 19.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)



















