Where else can you see drag queens, Septa Unella, the nun from Game of Thrones, Cruella de Vil flocked by a herd of dalmatians, mock political figures ranging from Hillary Clinton to Sarah Palin, and a host of pun-related costumes? On 17th Street NW, of course.
Each year, on the Tuesday before Halloween, the main drag in D.C.’s traditional “gayborhood” gets a veritable ton of foot traffic as people don creative costumes and heels, from simple 1-inch pumps to 6-inch stilettos, as they prepare for the annual 17th Street High Heel Race.
The actual course is a 300-meter straightaway, and the race typically lasts only a few minutes, but what draws thousands of spectators each year is the parade of costumes two hours prior to the starting gun. Participants strut up and down the street in their fancy footwear, hugging old friends and acquaintances, posing for photos, spraying silly string and confetti, and engaging in various campy antics.
The race, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, was initially attended by only those “in the know” within D.C.’s LGBT community, but has grown in popularity each year. Now, families with children from the suburbs regularly attend and try to grab selfies with race participants. It’s a change that would have been unimaginable at a gay event 30 years ago, says Dave Perruzza, general manager of JR.’s Bar & Grill, the host bar of the High Heel Race.
In preparation for this Tuesday’s race, JR.’s has gone on a decorating blitz, constructing a 10-foot tall wooden high heel resting on a ledge above the bar. Suspended above the bar are 30 pairs of silver-colored high heels. “I joke that each pair is the heel the winner wore each year,” says Perruzza. “But we actually went to a thrift store and bought 30 pairs of heels to represent each year.”
Perruzza is so consumed with making sure the event runs flawlessly, worrying about security, crowd safety, and whether he can get enough volunteers, that he can’t really sit back and enjoy the race. But he does have a fond memory from years ago.
“The first year I ran it, just before I went out, [JR.’s owner] Eric Little said, ‘If you fall and hurt yourself, you’ll be out of work and won’t have any income.’ And I said, ‘I’ll be fine.’ I was one of the people who actually put on six-inch heels, and somebody fell right in front of me,” he says. “And I’m wearing this silver lamé dress with wings and stuff on it, and I jump over this person, and all I could think about was, ‘I cannot prove Eric right and sprain my ankle.’ So I did the perfect landing and kept on running. I got 13th place that year.”
The 30th Annual 17th Street High Heel Race will take place on on Tuesday, Oct. 25 on 17th Street between the intersections of P and R. The parade of participants starts at 7 p.m., with the race starting at Cobalt at 9 p.m. Volunteers are welcome, and must report to JR.’s at 1519 17th St. NW, by 6:30 p.m. For more information, visit jrsbar-dc.com.
Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award winner Cynthia Erivo has been announced as a headliner of the WorldPride 2025 Street Festival and Concert.
Erivo, a three-time Oscar nominee who portrayed Elphaba in 2024's blockbuster movie Wicked, and who will reprise the role later this year in Wicked Part 2, frequently uses her platform to uplift diverse voices, champion inclusivity, and promote equity and greater LGBTQ representation and visibility.
Last fall, she was honored at the Human Rights Campaign National Dinner, where she was presented with the organization's National Equality Award.
"This is the first time I've had a role for this long," gasps Ryan Bernier. "We just hit our 300th performance of the show in Detroit in January!"
The show is Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue, a warmly loving, gut-bustingly funny stage parody of the hit NBC series that ran for seven seasons from 1985 to 1992, and lives on in perpetuity in reruns. Bernier portrays Dorothy, made iconic by the indomitable and legendary late Bea Arthur, for whom the 6'3" actor is also a dead ringer.
To prepare for the role, which Bernier plays in full drag, he "consumed everything that Bea Arthur had ever done -- and we're talking from Maude to her brief gig on the Star Wars Holiday Special to her brief voiceover role in Futurama. She was a performer who really found a way to bring all of the tools in her toolbox to every project that she picked up.
Everybody knows Grindr. "Dating app." "Hookup app." "Social-networking app." It may mean different things to different people, but there is no denying its global impact. According to Grindr, the app reaches more than 14 million users monthly, 80 percent of whom are outside the United States.
That's a heck of a global party. But spend a little time with D.C. resident Steph Niaupari, and you'll quickly learn that there's much more to Grindr than fun and games. There is Grindr for Equality, this year marking its 10th anniversary. The effort notes that in 2023 alone, it "provided more than $1.5 million in direct financial aid to more than 150 LGBTQ+ organizations worldwide." Niaupari is this particular effort's senior manager.
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!
You must be logged in to post a comment.