Some of the best weekend action can be found at local bars
Whether it's a video game tournament or playing league flip cup, you're sure to find your niche
If you’re searching for weekend fun in D.C., sometimes all you need to do is check out the local watering holes. Take, for instance, Cobalt, where DC Gaymers holds twice-monthly tournaments on alternating Friday evenings.
“We want to make our events accessible to as many people as possible,” says Miguel Miranda, administrator of the group of LGBTQ video game enthusiasts. “We want people to try out different games, introduce them to other gamers, and give them a chance to win prizes.”
In the past, Gaymers have held tournaments for Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart, and a number of other games. This month, they’ve selected Street Fighter V for their game night on Feb. 22.
“Street Fighter is one of those original fighting games that people grew up playing,” says Miranda. “We want to appeal to people’s sense of nostalgia, and encourage some of the game’s biggest fans to come out and play with us.”
The tournament is free to enter, and consoles will be set up with other games for attendees to play while the competitors are duking it out on Street Fighter.
If video games aren’t your thing, two days later the members of Face Down, Cups Up, a team in the Flip’d competitive flip cup league, will be holding a fundraiser at the Satellite Room, at 2047 9th Street NW, to benefit the Wanda Alston Foundation. The team will be selling shots for $3 apiece, and two for $5.
“Every season, we choose a nonprofit to raise money for,” says Michael Creason, a member of Face Down, Cups Up and one of the lead organizers. “We started with donating to the American Civil Liberties Union after some racial comments were made about one of the Indian members of the team, and we wanted to address it. The next year, we brought it closer to home, to donate to an LGBTQ organization, and donated to The Trevor Project. This year, we voted and the team decided on the Wanda Alston Foundation because of their work with LGBTQ youth.”
Past fundraisers for charitable organizations have raised as much as $400, and the team is hoping to match that amount. “We were originally inviting just other teams in the league, and then people started inviting their friends and it got bigger and bigger,” says Creason. “Our attitude is ‘the more, the merrier,’ so we’re hoping for a good turnout.”
DC Gaymers’ Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition tournament is Friday, Feb. 22 from 6-10 p.m. at Cobalt, 1639 R St. NW. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/DCGaymers.
Face Down Cups Up’s “Shots for Wanda” fundraiser is on Sunday, Feb. 24 from 3-6 p.m. at the Satellite Room, 2047 9th St. NW. All proceeds directly benefit the Wanda Alston Foundation. For more information about Flip’d, visit www.flipdleague.com.
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