Nightlife Highlights: Queer Latinx Mixer, Pose Playhouse, Sungay Day Party, and more!
Our picks of the best LGBTQ nightlife in the D.C. area this week
GALA OF THE AMERICAS
Bear witness to the transfer of royal power this Saturday, Sept. 7, as The Imperial Court of Washington, D.C.’s Empress Athena KS Couture Moore and Regent Emperor Trace Couture Kennady-Smith, step down and are succeeded by a new Emperor and Empress. Destiny B. Childs, the group’s current president (and its first Empress) promises an “evening of celebration and pageantry, with a few surprises that you will be talking about for weeks to come.” The evening is open to the public, though proper attire is requested. Tickets are $100 and proceeds support several local charities, including the CAPS Gay Softball League and the Shriners Children’s Transportation Fund. Cocktails begin at 6 p.m. Dinner at 6:30 p.m. Pageant starts promptly at 7 p.m. and ends with the coronation at 11 p.m. At the Sphinx on K, 1315 K St. NW. For more details, or to purchase tickets, visit www.imperialcourtdc.org and click on Coronation.
D.C. QUEER LATINX MIXER
On Friday, Sept. 6, just as otters and otter enthusiasts start making their way to Trade, the 14th Street bar will be the site of an informal mixer for local LGBTQ Latinx people as well as attendees of NMAC’s U.S. Conference on AIDS. The Union=Fuerza Latinx Institute at Creating Change has teamed up with several other local organizations, including the Latino GLBT History Project, to host a happy hour mixer from 5:30 to 7 p.m., when Trade offers its signature XL Happy Hour cocktails — “basically anything you normally get in a regular glass, you get in a huge glass for the same price” — or beer and wine poured for a discounted price of $4. Trade is located at 1410 14th St. NW. Call 202-986-1094 or visit https://www.facebook.com/LatinxInstitute.
POSE PLAYHOUSE: A 2 ZEE EVENTS 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY
This Saturday, Sept. 7, starting at 9 p.m., the nightclub Karma DC in upper Northeast D.C. hosts a party geared toward queer womxn of color that spins on a Pose theme, with the stated dress code “Ready to Slay the Runway. And the category is: Lit to the Gods Hunty!” Pose Playhouse will feature a true mix of uptempo music, ranging from throwback club bangers to new-school hip-hop, Baltimore house to D.C.’s go-go, plus R&B, reggae, and Afro-beats — as spun by “four of your favorite Lez DJs,” including Jai Syncere and MIM from D.C., Honey from Philadelphia, and Kidd Swagg from New York. Live dance performances from Girly Productions of New York and live art from Ken 6 Studio out of New Orleans, plus food from The Kitchen Jerk, are also on tap at an event that celebrates 10 years since promoter Zekeera Zee Belton started her company A 2 Zee Events to produce DC Black Pride-themed parties and fashion shows, as well as the former GirlCode Fridaze at Vita Lounge. Karma DC is at 2221 Adams Place NE. Tickets are $20, or $250 to $350 for VIP Packages offering a reserved section for up to four guests sharing a bottle of premium branded alcohol. Call 202-285-7518 or visit https://www.eventbee.com/v/a2zee10year#.
SUNGAY DAY PARTY WITH DJ DANNY VERDE
On Sunday, Sept. 8, La Fantasy Productions offers another party for those who would like some nightlife during the day as well as outside the club — this time as a summer send-off. The special Sungay party starts at 3 p.m. on the rooftop deck of the sprawling, multi-level downtown club Eden. Clubgoers are advised to bring their shades — not to mention sunscreen — the better to see the party’s go-go dancers, lights, and LED walls. Music will come from one of the gay circuit’s newest and best DJs, Italian native Danny Verde, who will beat the heat until an hour after sundown, or 9 p.m. Eden Lounge DC is at 1716 I St. NW. Tickets are $25 plus fees. Call 202-905-9300 or visit https://www.seetickets.us/sungaydayparty.
RAVE ROOM FT. TAMA GUCCI
This one goes out to the old skool crew, those kids (and kids at heart) pining for a “seriously heavy event” where they can once again dance to a mix of music rarely heard in today’s club scene, led by “rave anthems, hardcore, breakbeat, drum & bass, jungle, piano house [and] hard techno.” The inaugural Rave Room, set for Saturday, Sept. 14, features headliner DJ Tama Gucci, touted as a pioneer of R&B and drum & bass fusion, plus opening sets from local underground LGBTQ star Jacq Jill, DJOSER back-to-back with Panch, Get Face, Thablackgod, and Bbytre. The party is presented by Friends With Benefits Radio, a local LGBTQ-inclusive “collective founded by DJs for DJs” that broadcasts a weekly show from Eaton Workshop. Organizers stress the party’s “zero tolerance policy” for “violence, non-consensual touching [and] racist, homophobic, transphobic, sexist, or other discriminatory language.” The party will start at 10 p.m. at a location “near center of downtown D.C.” that will be announced on the day of the party to ticket-holders as well as those who RSVP in advance. Tickets are $10 to $20. Search “Rave Room” at www.residentadvisor.net for tickets and more information.
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