Arts & Entertainment
Cherry time
Dance benefit gears up, Queer Prom slated for Saturday night and more
Revelers at last year's Cherry at Town. (Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Cherry charity dance events kick off next week
Cherry 2012 starts Thursday and will continue through next weekend with various parties and events.
This year the event starts with a welcome center at Mova (2204 14th St., N.W.) on Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m. where tickets and passes may be purchased or picked up. Then Ignition will be held at Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m.
Friday (March 30) will have its own welcome center at No. 9 (1435 P St., N.W) from 5 to 9 p.m. followed by two events. There will be a women’s event at Phase 1 Dupont (1415 22nd St., N.W.) from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. and “Boys on Fire” at Warehouse Loft (411 New York Ave., N.E.) from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m.
March 31 brings the “Moody Horror Picture Show,” a birthday celebration for party pioneer, Moody Mustafa at Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) from 2 to 7 p.m. Town is also hosting that night’s “Blossom” from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.
The festival ends on April 1 with “Momentum” at Ibiza (1222 1st St., N.E.) from 4 to 9 a.m. followed by a brunch and tea dance at Cobalt from noon to 6 p.m. The final event is “Ovation” at Ultra Bar (911 F St., N.W.) from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Tickets for individual events range from $17 to $50. The 2012 Cherry Host Pass is $120 and does not include admission “Moody Horror Picture Show.” For complete event details and to purchase tickets, visit cherryfund.org.
Jewish LGBT experience explored in film
As part of the Northern Virginia International Jewish Film Festival, Artisphere (1101 Wilson Blvd., Arlington) is screening the film “Trembling Before G-d” on Saturday at 8 p.m.
The film, directed by Sandi Simcha Dubowski, follows gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews as they try to reconcile their sexuality with the faith. It also includes interviews with rabbis and psychotherapists about Jewish attitudes towards homosexuality.
Tickets are $11 for adults and $8 for seniors and students.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit artisphere.com.
Queer Prom goes ‘Carnival’
Last year's Capital Queer Prom. (Blade file photo by Michael Key)
The sixth annual Capital Queer Prom “Carnival Extravaganza” is this weekend at Almas Shriners Ballroom (1315 K St., N.W.) from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m.
The evening will include interactive carnival games, entertainment, a silent auction, the crowning of the 2012 Prom King and Queen and more. Each guest will also receive a Capital Queer Prom Yearbook and gift bag.
The party will continue at Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) where prom guests will get in for free. Then Sunday guests are invited to Nellie’s (900 U St., N.W.) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for a drag brunch with premiere seating and a special prom treat.
Tickets for the prom are $85, $105 for the prom and brunch. There are also VIP options for the Prom. An individual VIP ticket is $150 and a VIP table for 8 is $1200.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit capitalqueerprom.com.
Feminist writers on Madonna
Five women authors who contributed to the new book “Madonna & Me” will read selections from the essay collection Tuesday at Busboys and Poets (14th and V Streets, NW) at 6:30 p.m. Local author Shawna Kenney and rock journalist Maria Raha will appear.
The book is from Laura Barcella, a San Francisco-based writer who became obsessed with Madonna at age 6.
“As I grew older, [Madonna] served as a sort of course in feminism 101 for me,” Barcella says. “She set the stage for a lot of ideas that began to develop later, including her thoughts on women, gender and feminism. Later I learned that Madonna has played a role in many women’s lives.”
“Madonna & Me: Women Writers on the Queen of Pop” is 39 personal essays by women writers (including Barcella). The anthology focuses on how Madonna has influenced the essayists’ lives. The entries run the gamut from funny to intense. Barcella writes about her first boyfriend’s hatred for the superstar and how it destroyed their relationship, whereas lesbian author Laura Andre’s essay recounts the positive role Madonna played in her coming out.
The event, which is free, coincides with the release of Madonna’s latest album “MDNA” which drops Tuesday. — Patrick Folliard
Celebrity News
My evening with Madonna
Gay icon headlined the World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam
Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Photo Editor Michael Key will be on assignment in the Netherlands through Aug. 10. They will be covering World Pride in Amsterdam.
AMSTERDAM — Madonna and 6,000 of her closest friends celebrated World Pride at Amsterdam’s AFAS Live concert hall early Sunday morning. I was fortunate enough to be one of them.
Madonna last Wednesday nearly broke the internet when she said on social media in Dutch that “I got somethin’ I wanna talk about,” referring to an opening line in “Danceteria,” one of the tracks on her “Confessions II” album that has received rave reviews since its July 2 release. The track has been on near constant replay on my playlist since I first heard it.
— Madonna (@Madonna) July 28, 2026
MISTR — a telehealth platform that offers free access to PrEP, Doxy PEP, STI testing, and long-term care that has organized Madonna’s Club Confessions shows in the U.S. and the U.K. — later confirmed the rampant speculation. I woke up on July 30 to an email in my inbox from MISTR and the World Pride Music Festival PR team that said I was on the press list.
Madonna was indeed going to headline the World Pride Music Festival that Jake Resnicow and Insomniac produced, and I was going to be there. OMFG!!!!
The gay icon had one more surprise in store.
The Dutch internet on Saturday once again broke over speculation that Kylie Minogue was going to appear alongside Madonna. I was getting ready to leave our hotel in Amsterdam on Saturday night when I saw a video of the two of them together.
“Madonna is now teasing Kylie Minogue on her social media … she may be one of her ‘special guests’ tonight,” I wrote in a text to Washington Blade Editor Kevin Naff at 8:46 p.m.
“Have fun! This is turning into the gayest concert ever,” he responded.
I arrived at AFAS Live shortly before 11 p.m. My press contact walked me and two other Dutch journalists into the venue’s cavernous main room known as the Black Box. We made small talk for a few minutes before I started to walk around and listen to Josh Harrison who was on the decks.
Madonna was scheduled to take the stage at 1:30 a.m., but she is known for being late — she is Madonna and she does what she wants. Hayla, a British singer, and Bebe Rexha are among those who performed ahead of Madonna. Thousands of sweaty men — including a group of Australians next to me who were eagerly awaiting Kylie’s anticipated appearance — packed the Black Box and were dancing, anticipating what was to come.
MISTR CEO Tristan Schukraft at one point came on stage and declared Madonna was indeed in the building. The moment for which we were all eagerly waiting finally came shortly before 2:30 a.m.
“Mother is here and this is gay heaven,” said Madonna when she took the stage.
Stuart Price, who produced her “Confessions on a Dance Floor” album in 2005, manned the decks during Madonna’s set.
She opened it with “I Feel So Free” from “Confessions II.” Madonna then sang “Bring Your Love” and “Danceteria” to which this reporter — and everyone else — sang along.
Madonna then teased a surprise before she began to perform “Love Sensation.” Kylie soon appeared on stage. It was nearly too much for my fellow partygoers from Australia. It was indeed the gayest concert ever!
Madonna and Kylie performed “Love Sensation” together. They then sang “Hung Up” and “Sorry” from “Confessions on a Dance Floor” to round out the set that ended shortly after 3 a.m.
Madonna and I share the same birthday — Aug. 16 — and I would like to think she and Kylie gave me an early birthday present. In all seriousness though, it was an amazing night for me and for everyone else who was fortunate enough to be there.
“On the dance floor I feel so free,” says Madonna in the opening of “I Feel So Free.”
For those few precious hours at AFAS Live I did not think about the Trump-Vance administration and the myriad ways it is destroying the U.S. I did not think about the National Guard troops deployed to D.C. I did not think about the pointless wars that continue to ravage Ukraine and other countries around the world. I simply lost myself on the dance floor and celebrated an icon who has always stood with my community.
Thank you, Madonna.
The Petal Release Party and Drag Show was held at Spark Social on Friday, July 31. Performers included Tiara-Missou, Labianna and Darcy de la Cuadra.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)
Celebrity News
Madonna headlines World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam
Kylie Minogue made surprise appearance alongside gay icon
AMSTERDAM — Madonna on Sunday headlined the final night of the World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam.
The gay icon took the stage shortly before 2:30 a.m. local time (8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday) during Club Confessions, a set that MISTR, a telehealth platform that offers free access to PrEP, Doxy PEP, STI testing, and long-term HIV care, organized.
“Mother is here and this is gay heaven,” said Madonna when she took the stage inside Amsterdam’s AFAS Live concert hall that can hold up to 6,000 people.
Stuart Price, who produced Madonna’s 2005 “Confessions on a Dance Floor” album and “Confessions II,” which debuted on July 2, DJed the set.
Kylie Minogue made a surprise appearance. She and Madonna performed a new remix of “Love Sensation” from “Confessions II.”
(Washington Blade video by Michael K. Lavers)
“Throughout my career, I’ve always supported efforts to fight HIV and AIDS, and that fight begins with education and access,” said Madonna in a MISTR press release. “With MISTR, (CEO) Tristan (Schukraft) is expanding access to HIV prevention and sexual healthcare for everyone. Through this work, he’s helping preserve and strengthen LGBTQ+ spaces while investing in the communities and culture that have long sustained us.”
Minogue in an Instagram post thanked Madonna, Price, Schukraft, and MISTR.
Madonna appeared at The Abbey in West Hollywood, Calif., in April. Madonna in June celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York’s Times Square.
Jake Resnicow and Insomniac produced the World Pride Music Festival that also featured Bebe Rexha and Paris Hilton, among others.
“Pride has always been about bringing our community together,” said Resnicow. “At a moment when too many people are being told to hide or make themselves smaller, gathering openly, joyfully, and without apology matters more than ever. I couldn’t be prouder of what this festival brought to life in Amsterdam — one dance floor, completely free.”
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