Out & About
Post-pandemic fall events will keep you busy in D.C.
SMYAL Brunch, HRC Nat’l Dinner return along with regional Prides
Fall means cooler temperatures make it more bearable to go out to town and enjoy all that D.C. has to offer. Below is a list of select fall events you should check out.
Dacha Garden will welcome the fall season with Oktoberfest on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 12 p.m. at Dacha Shaw. The Bavarian revelry will continue at 2 p.m. at Dacha Navy Yard with costumes, contests, and a live concert featuring Oktoberfest Queen and Yodeling Superstar Manuela Horn, Capital Chill Band, and Dacha’s own Polka band. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
Virginia Pride is slated for Sept. 23-25 in Richmond. Big Freedia and stars of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” will perform. Visit vapride.org for information.
Team Rayceen Productions will host Art All Night on Saturday, Sept. 24 at the DC Housing Finance Agency. There will be live music, dance contests and visual artists will sell and create art. This event is free and open to the public, and more details are available on Team Rayceen’s website.
Sparkle, a queer-friendly open-mic poetry night at Busboys & Poets is slated for Oct. 2 at 7 p.m., 2021 14th St., N.W.
SMYAL’s 25th Annual Fall Brunch will be on Saturday, Sept. 24 at the Marriott Marquis in D.C. This event includes a cocktail reception featuring a fabulous silent auction, a three-course brunch, and a chance to hear from some of our community’s most inspiring leaders. Tickets start at $175 and can be purchased on SMYAL’s website.
“Crossroads, Detours, & Exits” is a personal interrogation from JR “Nexus” Russ of his identities, particularly being Black, Filipino American and Queer, Sunday, Oct. 2 at the Atlas Performing Arts Center (1333 H St., N.E.) at 3:30 p.m.
Author Kevin Mallinson will discuss “Alarm in the Firehouse: a Memoir of America’s First Openly Gay Firefighter” on Monday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. at the Patrick Henry Library. Mallinson’s book highlights the importance of personal values and a sense of humor when facing adversity. Registration is required for this event and more details are available on the library’s website.
The inaugural Laurel Pride will be held 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8 at Granville Gude Park in Laurel, Md.
Harrisonburg Pride is set for Saturday, Oct. 8, 1-5 p.m. in Court Square in Harrisonburg, Va.
HoCo Pride celebrates the LGBTQ community in Howard County, Md., on Sunday, Oct. 9 from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. at Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods, 10431 Little Patuxent Parkway in Columbia.
Safe Place International will host Coming Out Celebration on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 6 p.m. at Moxy DC. This event will connect the D.C. community with global leaders and spotlight stories of inspiration and explore what made D.C.’s LGBTQ refugee community resilient, compassionate, and ready to change the world. Tickets start at $50 and can be purchased on Safe Place’s website.
Mix & Mingle with the Maryland Black Chamber and Maryland LGBT Chamber, Oct. 20, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at EKO House, 150 Gibbs St., Rockville, MD.
The Washington Blade will host the 2022 Best of LGBTQ DC Awards Party on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. at Wild Days at Eaton DC. This event is sponsored by ABSOLUT, PEPCO, The Eaton DC, and the Washington Regional Transplant Community. Attendees should be at least 21 years old. Tickets start at $10 and can be purchased via washingtonblade.com.
The Reel Affirmations LGBTQ Film Festival is scheduled for Oct. 21-24. More information is available at the DC Center for the LGBT Community website.
Live Tour: Under the Rainbow + High Heel Race will be on Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 5:30 p.m. at 748 Jackson Place, N.W. This event is a queer history walking tour exploring the gay community from war heroes to modern day human rights activists. Individual tickets are $35 and can be purchased via capitalpride.org. The annual High Heel Race will begin after the tour.
After a two-year hiatus, Human Rights Campaign’s National Dinner will return on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 5 p.m. at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. This fundraising dinner will help fuel the work for equality that HRC does. For more information, visit HRC’s website.
District of the Dead delivers a fright-filled Halloween Weekend at three D.C. venues: BLISS Nightclub, Ivy City Smokehouse, and SAX. Three events over three days. Visit Kinetic’s website for ticket information.
Out & About
Learn more about queer love
Friends of Dorothy Cafe hosts event at City-State Public House
Friends of Dorothy Cafe will host “Living History: How We Loved” on Thursday, May 14 at 7:30 p.m. at City-State Public House.
Guests will hear how queer and trans people have loved and cared for one another, especially when legal, medical, and social systems did not recognize those relationships. We’ll reflect on chosen family, long-term partnerships before marriage equality, caregiving during the AIDS crisis, hidden romances, friendship as survival, chosen family, and the loves that changed the course of our lives. This evening is about honoring lived experience, preserving community memory, and strengthening the bridge between generations.
Tickets are $24.57 and are available on Eventbrite.
Friday, May 8
Center Aging Monthly Luncheon With Yoga will be at noon at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. Email Mac at [email protected] if you require ASL interpreter assistance, have any dietary restrictions, or questions about this event.
Women in their Twenties and Thirties will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a social discussion group for queer women in the Washington, D.C. area. For more details, visit the group’s Facebook.
The DC Center for the LGBT Community will host “We Are Pat” at 12:30 p.m. This event takes a fresh look at the iconic Saturday Night Live sketch “It’s Pat” and traces how ideas about gender and what we laugh at have shifted from the ’90s to today. What began as a character born out of cultural anxiety around gender now lands in a world shaped by ongoing debates about transness and queerness. For more details, visit the DC Center’s website.
Saturday, May 9
Go Gay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Community Brunch” at 11 a.m. at Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant. This fun weekly event brings the DMV area LGBTQ community, including allies, together for delicious food and conversation. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
Sunday, May 10
Drag Queen Sip and Paint Experience Washington DC will be at 4 p.m. at Town Tavern. This is a fabulous experience brought to you by Sip and Paint USA and combines the joy of painting with the lively energy of a drag queen, offering an hour and a half of fun, creativity, and entertainment. Participants paint a canvas while enjoying cocktails, all under the guidance of a glamorous drag queen host. Tickets are $47.19 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
Monday, May 11
Center Aging: Monday Coffee Klatch” will be at 10 a.m. on Zoom. This is a social hour for older LGBTQ adults. Guests are encouraged to bring a beverage of choice. For more information, contact Adam ([email protected]).
Genderqueer DC will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a support group for people who identify outside of the gender binary, whether you’re bigender, agender, genderfluid, or just know that you’re not 100% cis. For more details, visit genderqueerdc.org or Facebook.
Tuesday, May 12
Trans Discussion Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This event is intended to provide an emotionally and physically safe space for trans* people and those who may be questioning their gender identity/expression to join together in community and learn from one another. For more details, email [email protected].
Coming Out Discussion Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a safe space to share experiences about coming out and discuss topics as it relates to doing so — by sharing struggles and victories the group allows those newly coming out and who have been out for a while to learn from others. For more details, visit the group’s Facebook.
Wednesday, May 13
Job Club will be at 6 p.m. on Zoom upon request. This is a weekly job support program to help job entrants and seekers, including the long-term unemployed, improve self-confidence, motivation, resilience and productivity for effective job searches and networking — allowing participants to move away from being merely “applicants” toward being “candidates.” For more information, email [email protected] or visit thedccenter.org/careers.
The DC Center for the LGBT Community will host “Movement for Healing” at 3 p.m. This trauma- and yoga therapy–informed class is designed to help guests gently reconnect with their body and their breath. Through mindful movement, somatic awareness, and grounding practices, guests will explore how to release tension, increase mobility, and cultivate a deeper sense of safety and ease within. For more details, visit the DC Center’s website.
Thursday, May 14
Virtual Yoga Class will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This free weekly class is a combination of yoga, breathwork and meditation that allows LGBTQ+ community members to continue their healing journey with somatic and mindfulness practices. For more details, visit the DC Center’s website.
Lesbifriends Travel will host “Queer Night Out: DC Power FC Game” on Wednesday May 6 at 7 p.m. at Audi Field.
This will be a fun night out as DC Power FC takes the field at Audi Field, kicking off with a happy hour meetup in Navy Yard before the group walks to the stadium together. Lesbifriends and Travel group will be seated together in the stands, making it easy to connect, cheer, and enjoy the game with people who just feel like your people.
More details are available on Eventbrite.
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