Arts & Entertainment
Social Agenda
friday, jan. 15
Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend, one of the largest gay leather gatherings in the world, is this weekend in Washington at the Washington Plaza Hotel. The event is sold out but some spillover hotels have rooms available and some events are open to the public. Visit leatherweekend.com for more information.
Gay District meets tonight. The group was formerly known as the Twenties Group but has expanded its age range for gay, bi, trans and questioning men from 18 to 35. The group meets for weekly discussion from 8:30 to 9:30 every Friday at St. Margaret’s Church located at 1830 Connecticut Ave. Members dine afterwards then go dancing. The group is changing its contact information but for now, those interested can visit the group on Facebook under the name “GD: Gay District.”
The D.C. Cowboys are having a new event starting tonight called Brodeo at Remington’s. It will feature country, western, disco and club music, performances, giveaways, Jell-O shots, an auction and the Cowboys. Proceeds benefit the group, which uses funds to facilitate its ability to provide free entertainment for HIV and AIDS charity groups. For more information, visit dccowboys.org. Remington’s is at 639 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E.
saturday, jan. 16
A new gay-owned gallery called Industry Gallery opens tonight from 6 to 8 p.m. with “Round the Corner,” the debut solo U.S. exhibition of Jerusalem-born artist Shlomo Harush. Visit industrygallerydc.com for more information. The gallery will be open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Town has two events tonight. DJ Brett Henrichsen spins upstairs (Town’s regular DJ Wess is downstairs). And monthly party “WTF?” is also tonight with a special Mexican installment. Doors open at 10 p.m. Town is located at 2009 Eighth Street, N.W. Visit towndc.com for more information.
Blowoff, a monthly party featuring gay DJs/remixers Bob Mould and Rich Morel, is tonight at the 9:30 club, located at 815 V Street, N.W. starting at 11:30 p.m. Visit blowoff.us for more information.
sunday, jan. 17
Reaction, the closing night party for Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend, is tonight from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. at the 9:30 club, located at 815 V Street, N.W., with music by DJ David LaSalle and entertainment by German retro singer Myke Lowe. Tickets are $35 in advance or $45 at the door. They’re available at the Leather Rack or ticketfly.com.
monday, jan. 18
Metropolitan Community Church of Washington, the District’s largest mostly gay church, has an HIV positive support group for people of faith every Monday at the church. For more information, contact Matt Senger at 202-546-2159 or e-mail him at [email protected]. MCC-DC is located at 474 Ridge Street, N.W. Visit mccdc.com for more information about the church.
Freddie’s Beach Bar, located at 555 S. 23rd Street in Crystal City, Va., has disco trivia every Monday at 8 p.m.
tuesday, jan. 19
A remembrance event for Martin Luther King Jr. is being held tonight by the GLBT Arts Consortium from 7 to 9 p.m. at Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church at 4th and Independence Ave., S.E. near the Eastern Market and Capitol South Metro stations. The event is free and open to the public.
D.C.’s HIV Working Group assembles safer sex kits with its “packing parties” every Tuesday at EFN Lounge. Those who volunteer their time get drink discounts. The events are held from 7 to 10:30 p.m. at Motley Bar, located above EFN, which is at 1318 9th St., N.W. Visit fighthivindc.com for more information.
Poz, a bar night for HIV-positive men and men open to dating HIV-positive men regardless of their own HIV status, is held every Tuesday night from 7 p.m. to midnight at Motley Bar, located above EFN Lounge at 1318 19th St., N.W. The event is organized by HIV-positive party promoter Jacob Pring. Visit the group’s Facebook page at facebook.com/pozdc for more information.
Hollaback, a social club and support group for trans people, presented by Alpha Drugs, is tonight at 1638 R St., N.W., Suite 260. To RSVP, call Dee Curry at 202-290-0324.
Cobalt has “Flashback,” a retro night, every Tuesday at 10 p.m. Cobalt is at the corner of 17th and R streets, N.W.
wednesday, jan. 20
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has weekly volunteer nights every Wednesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at its offices located at 1325 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Suite 600. Volunteers fold and stuff letters for the gay rights organization. Pizza is provided. For more information, contact Ezra Towne at [email protected].
Ladies First night is tonight and every Wednesday at Fab Lounge, located at 1805 Connecticut Ave., N.W. For more information, visit myspace.com/ladiesfirst.
An HIV/AIDS support group, presented by Alpha Drugs, is tonight at 1638 R St., N.W., Suite 260. Dinner will be served but reservations are required. To RSVP, call 301-735-2805 or 301-674-8901.
The D.C. Center has career development for LGBT job seekers today from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Trained counselors will offer support for job searching, interviewing skills, resume writing, etc. The program has been adapted to meet the needs of the local gay community and the D.C. job market. The Center recently moved to its new location at 1804/1810 14th St., N.W., previous home of the Lesbian Services Program and Austin Center of Whitman-Walker Clinic. Visit thedccenter.org for more information.
thursday, jan. 21
D.C. Lambda Squares, a local gay square dancing group, meets every Thursday for square dancing. Those who’ve taken the group’s “Mainstream” and “Plus” classes dance on the first and third Thursdays. “Plus” and “Advanced” classes are on the second and fourth Thursdays. For more information about the group or to find out when beginner classes are available, visit dclambdasquares.org.
friday, jan. 22
A GaySpirits event is being held this weekend in Annandale, Va. It’s a spiritual retreat for gay men who’ve avoided religion because many faiths condemn them. GaySpirits creators say gay men have “unique spiritual giftedness.” The events will take place at Little River U.C.C., located at 8410 Little River Turnpike, tonight from 7 to 9:30 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Cost is $70. For more information, visit gayspirits.com or call 301-580-2953.
saturday, jan. 23
Adventuring Outdoors Group, a gay hiking group, is joining the Chrysalis Arts and Culture Group, another local gay social outfit, for a trip to Gettysburg today. A moderate 6-mile hike is planned with some steep passages. Those interested should bring beverages, lunch, hiking shoes and about $12 for transportation fees. The groups will meet at 9 a.m. at the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro Station. For more information, contact Craig at 202-462-0535 or [email protected].
D.C. Lambda Squares, a local gay square dancing outfit, has a community dance today with guest caller Jeremy Butler from Virginia Beach. The dance will be held from 7 to 10 p.m. at Sligo Middle School in Silver Spring, Md. Cost is $10. For more information about this or other club affairs, visit dclambdasquares.org.
Several local gay social groups are joining D.C. Icebreakers, a local gay ice skating group, tonight for a large social event at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Ballston. Skating will run from 8 to 9 p.m. with a social to follow at Bailey’s Pub and Grill. Other groups slated to join the Icebreakers are Zoom Urban Lesbian Excursions, NOVA Gay & Lesbian Professionals, D.C. Lesbian Singles, Burgundy Crescent Volunteers, NOVA Dynamic Lesbian Singles, the Mixed Ladies Arlington Pool League and Social Cheverly. For more information, visit dcicebreakers.org.
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
‘La Lucci’
By Susan Lucci with Laura Morton
c.2026, Blackstone Publishing
$29.99/196 pages
They’re among the world’s greatest love stories.
You know them well: Marc Antony and Cleopatra. Abelard and Heloise. Phoebe and Langley. Cliff and Nina. Jesse and Angie, Opal and Palmer, Palmer and Daisy, Tad and Dixie. Now read “La Lucci” by Susan Lucci, with Laura Morton, and you might also think of Susan and Helmut.
When she was a very small girl, Susan Lucci loved to perform. Also when she was young, she learned that words have power. She vowed to use them for good for the rest of her life.
Her parents, she says, were supportive and her family, loving. Because of her Italian heritage, she was “ethnic looking” but Lucci’s mother was careful to point out dark-haired beauties on TV and elsewhere, giving Lucci a foundation of confidence.
That’s just one of the things for which Lucci says she’s grateful. In fact, she says, “Prayers of gratitude are how I begin and end each day.”
She is particularly grateful for becoming a mother to her two adult children, and to the doctors who saved her son’s life when he was a newborn.
Lucci writes about gratitude for her long career. She was a keystone character on TV’s “All My Children,” and she learned a lot from older actors on the show, and from Agnes Nixon, the creator of it. She says she still keeps in touch with many of her former costars.
She is thankful for her mother’s caretakers, who stepped in when dementia struck. Grateful for more doctors, who did heart-saving work when Lucci had a clogged artery. Grateful for friends, opportunities, life, grandchildren, and a career that continues.
And she’s grateful for the love she shared with her husband, Helmut Huber, who died nearly four years ago. Grateful for the chance to grieve, to heal, and to continue.
And yet, she says of her husband: “He was never timid, but I know he was afraid at the end, and that kills me down to my soul.”
“It’s been 15 years since Erica Kane and I parted ways,” says author Susan Lucci (with Laura Morton), and she says that people still approach her to confirm or deny rumors of the show’s resurrection. There’s still no answer to that here (sorry, fans), but what you’ll find inside “La Lucci” is still exceptionally generous.
If this book were just filled with stories, you’d like it just fine. If it was only about Lucci’s faith and her gratitude – words that happen to appear very frequently here – you’d still like reading it. But Lucci tells her stories of family, children and “All My Children,” while also offering help to couples who’ve endured miscarriage, women who’ve had heart problems, and widow(ers) who are spinning and need the kindness of someone who’s lived loss, too.
These are the other things you’ll find in “La Lucci,” in a voice you’ll hear in your head, if you spent your lunch hours glued to the TV back in the day. It’s a comfortable, fun read for fans. It’s a story you’ll love.
The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.
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