Metro Weekly

Calendar of Events

DC Black Pride 2008


Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Interfaith Service for DC Black Pride
7:00pm-9:00pm
Unity Fellowship Church
Rev. Abena McCray, Founding Pastor
1226 Vermont Avenue NW
Washington

Friday, May 23, 2008

Atomic Lounge (Hospitality Suite)
Renaissance M Street Hotel
11am-8pm
The Atomic Lounge offers a great way to connect with old friends and make new ones, purchase event passes, gifts and chill out to some smooth sounds.

Get Your Money Right:
Preparing for Your Financial Future
3-5pm
Renaissance Hotel
Center City II Lower Level
Facilitated by Stephanie Lipscomb of Adams National Bank
Admission: FREE
Open a bank account during the workshop!

Chemistry: Speed Dating
Atomic Lounge
7-8pm
Renaissance Hotel
Potomac, Lower Level
Here is your opportunity to make a love connection or a new acquaintance. An HIV education prevention message will be included in the presentation
Tickets Available at the Atomic Lounge
Hosted by Stacey Long
HIV Testing provided confidentially by Unity Healthcare
$5 or FREE with HIV Testing

Molecular: DC Black Pride Style Fashion Show
8-10pm
Renaissance Hotel, Lower Level
Fashion Show featuring a hot mix of some of the country’s hottest designers and models representing the Black LGBT Community.
$20 in advance
$35 at the door
Tickets available at the Atomic Lounge

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Atomic Lounge (Hospitality Suite)
Renaissance M Street Hotel
11am-8pm
The Atomic Lounge offers a great way to connect with old friends and make new ones, purchase event passes, gifts and chill out to some smooth sounds.

Let me Upgrade you! Personal GROWTH anyone?
Renaissance Hotel
Center City II Lower Level
9am-11am
An interactive and very engaging workshop that explores all the upgrades needed to successfully maintain continual growth in all areas of your life.
Presented by Angela Harvey
Free

Elements: 3rd Annual ”Empowered” Health and Wellness Expo
Noon-4pm
Renaissance Hotel
Don’t miss this great opportunity to have personalized conversations about your health and wellness or a complete health assessment with some of the leading local agencies in health and well being. Here is your opportunity to have candid conversations with noted professionals and leaders of our community about what it means to be black and LGBT and the healthcare disparities that come with it.

Participants:
American Red Cross – Damien Ministries – Dept. of Health (Syphilis Testing)
Whitman Walker Clinic (Substance Abuse Prevention)
Acupuncture by Derrick Jackson – Massage Therapy
Howard University Sickle Cell Awareness – American Heart Association
American Stroke Association – Unity Health Care (Blood Pressure, Cholesterol & Diabetes Screening) Mautner Project
Free admission

Washington Sports Club Boot Camp with Victor Price
10am and Noon

Results Gym – Body Conditioning
1pm and 3pm

Same Sex, Different Everything Else
Noon-2pm
An interactive workshop that will embrace the great uniqueness of same sex relationships while candidly discussing the realities of our differences and how those differences play a significant role in our lives.
Presented by Angela Harvey

Writing with Passion, Power & Purpose
Noon-1:30pm
Learn How to use your creative spirit to write what you want when you want, write like you’ve never written before, finish your unfinished work, turn simple ideas into sensational stories, activate your personal power points, create powerful poetry, fabulous fiction, & notable non-fiction, banish writer’s block forever, and take your work from paper to publication. Come and create in a conscious community of acceptance, inspiration, and enlightenment. Write like you’ve never written before. Learn how to use the power of music, meditation, affirmation, and stimulating exercises to take your writing from routine to remarkable. Enjoy plenty of time for writing, sharing, and empowering commentary and exchange of ideas.
Whether you’ve been writing 10 years or 10 days, you are welcome to join this workshop. Al you need is a pad, a pen, and a willing heart.
Presented by Fire and Ink
Facilitated by Dorothy Randall Gray
$20

Fire and Ink
2-4pm
Renaissance Hotel
Potomac, Lower Level
Our arts and culture are a big part of black LGBT life. Author’s Forum featuring LGBT Authors’ reading excerpts and selling their books. Features James Earl Hardy, Rodney Lofton, Michael-Christopher, M.W. Moore, Dorothy Randall Gray, Kimberly Q, Michelle Sewell, Laurinda Brown, Skyy.
Presented by Redbone Press
Host Hotel: Potomac, Lower Level
Free

The Formula – Homophobia and the Black Church: Strategies for Spiritual Renewal and Reconciliation
2:30-4pm
Moderated by Donna Payne from the Human Rights Campaign
Featuring Guest Panelists: Rev. Kendal Brown, Shirli Hughes and Rev. Abena McCray.
Free

Film Festival
Renaissance Hotel
New Hampshire Ballroom, Lower Level
3-6pm
Admission: $15
Tickets Available at Atomic Lounge

LOVERS N FRIENDS SHOW
60 Minutes
The show focuses on four main characters and their life experiences as lesbians from ethnic backgrounds living in today’s society. Sierra, Tori, Kai, and Lisa, each have a story to tell. With everyday issues like coming out, infidelity, masculine and feminine roles, domestic abuse, sexually transmitted diseases and many more issues facing our main characters in today’s GLBT community; this show is breaking new ground. Come and see a show where are faces looking back women of all races including African American and Hispanic lesbians of all shapes and sizes. The Lovers and Friends show hopes to be a real breakthrough for the GLBT community.

ALL IN THE TIMING
15 Minutes
Mixed signals from a straight co-worker drive a young gay brother to distraction, as they hang-out together after hours.

FINDING ME
90 Minutes
Faybien Allen, a young black, idealistic, yet cautious gay man begins a journey in finding out who he is and how he fits in the world. He struggles with the fact he has no future goals, and that he will never gain the approval of his father because he’s gay. Seeing how he can’t turn to his family for help he has creates a support system through his extended family; his friends. Greg Marsh, the gregarious, down to earth, free spirited one, and Amera Jones, a beautiful, sassy, opinionated one. Life all changes when he run into Lonnie Wilson. Come join Faybien on his journey into self discovery, friendship, and love

Take The Power: Life and Financial Planning
4:30-6pm
Presented by Lambda Legal
Facilitators: Monroe France, Community Education Supervisor and Penelope Williams, Community Education Program Associate
Intimidated by the thought of wills, life insurance and financial planning? Though everyone should lay down basic plans for the unexpected, LGBT people are particularly vulnerable because the law often discriminates against us and our families. Currently, there are more than 1,100 federal rights, protections, and benefits automatically given to different-sex married couples that are not given to same-sex couples. And our relationships with our children are often challenged and threatened. If you are a part of the LGBT community or in a same-sex relationship, you have to take extra measures to protect yourself and your loved ones from the potentially devastating effects of a biased system by developing a ”life plan.” Lambda Legal has created Take The Power: Life and Financial Planning toolkit to aid you in this process. In this interactive workshop you will learn more about second-parent adoptions, wills, trusts, health care proxy’s and other life and financial planning steps. We’ll give you some key power tools and tips to help you get started on your path to protecting yourself and/or your loved ones.

The Atomic Theory: Poetry Slam
9pm-Midnight
Renaissance Hotel
Come Listen to messages from the souls of the community that will unite and free. These poets embody liberty, unity, and strength. Just the poets, the audience, and the word!
Hosted by Butta Fly Soul and Red Summer
$15
Tickets available at the Atomic Lounge.

Pajama Jam Youth Dance
6:30pm-10pm
Sponsored by Metro Teen Aids
Ages 22 & Under (Strictly enforced – must provide a valid government/state issued id)
Tickets available at the Atomic Lounge
For complete details contact Metro Teen Aids at www.metroteenaids.org

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Atomic Lounge (Hospitality Suite)
Renaissance M Street Hotel
11am-8pm
The Atomic Lounge offers a great way to connect with old friends and make new ones, purchase event passes, gifts and chill out to some smooth sounds.

Let’s T.A.L.K – Quickie for Couples
9-11am
Renaissance Hotel
Center City II Lower Level
A rare growth opportunity for couples (and those dating) to be empowered to enhance yourself and your relationship. We will discuss a variety of ways to improve, enhance and upgrade your relationship. Sometimes you don’t need all night, you just need a Quickie. Please email your interest to letsgrow2gether@cs.com
Space is limited to 30 people.
Presented by Angela Harvey
$25

Morning Inspiration Interfaith Service
10am-noon
Renaissance Hotel
Center City I Lower Level
This service is filled with inspiration messages, songs of praise, and worship as various faiths come together to help you get your Praise on.

OFFICIAL: 18, Empowered & Poppin’ Festival
Francis Field
2425 N St. NW
Free
Noon to 6pm
Featuring City Gym Boys! Meet & Greet with the City Gym Boys, purchase calendars.
LIVE onstage performances by local and national talent
Battle of the DJs
LUS Fest Dance Floor

Our community comprises the most lucrative, brand-loyal niche consumer market in the world! This unique gathering of over 100 vendors from across the country will afford you the opportunity to shop ’til you drop, be entertained by an amazing talent line-up or sample some of the best of the best offerings form gay-owned and gay-friendly businesses.

The Nucleus
OFFICIAL: DC Black Pride UNITY Party

Avenue
649 New York Ave.
www.avedc.com
9pm-late
Featuring: The OFFICIAL Headliner Fantasia
Opening performance by Bry’Nt
Additional performances by KC Sullivan and Eriq J’Mar
Special Appearance by the City Gym Boys
3 Levels
5 bars
DJ Rodney, DJ Erin Kelly and DJ Spontaneous Spinning Hip-Hop, House & R&B.
General Admission: $35 in advance; $75 at the door
Free with OFFICIAL: VIP & Platinum Passes
VIP: $55 in advance; $110 at the door – No Wait In Line – VIP Level with/2 Bars
Platinum Access: $80 in advance; $160 at the door
No Wait In Line – Platinum Level with/Bar, Meet & Greet w/ Fantasia, Light Buffet

Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism

These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!