AVALON SATURDAYS + CHORUS.DC: OFFICIAL PRE-CHERRY EVENT
The well-designed, boutique-sized downtown nightclub Soundcheck plays host to a Cherry-affiliated party this Saturday, March 23, starting at 10 p.m., with music by Steve Sidewalk and Shane Marcus, two New York DJs part of this year’s main Cherry Weekend lineup. Dougie Meyers and Avalon Saturdays co-present the Official Pre-Cherry Weekend Kick-Off event with Chorus.DC, a fledgling party production outfit heretofore affiliated with Cobalt. Doors open at 10 p.m., with open bar on Tito’s Vodka and Jameson Whiskey from 11 p.m. to midnight. Soundcheck is at 1420 K St. NW. Tickets are $15 online or $20 at the door; $25 for VIP with Express Entry and Private Lounge with dedicated bartender. Call 202-789-5429 or visit www.dougiemeyerpresents.com.
NELLIE’S DRAG BINGO & RAFFLE BENEFITING CASA RUBY
“The Stunt Queens” of Stonewall Kickball will be calling the numbers during bingo this Tuesday, March 26, at Nellie’s Sports Bar. In addition to playing the numbers for gift cards and prizes, guests can purchase 50/50 Raffle tickets — priced at $1 for 1, $3 for 5, $10 for your arm’s length, and $15 for your inseam — with half of all ticket sales going to support Casa Ruby, the only bilingual, multicultural LGBTQ organization in D.C. The charity will also reap $1 from every Tito’s Vodka drink and soda beverage sold, so definitely come thirsty. The game, hosted by Guy Barnes, starts at 6:30 p.m. Nellie’s is at 900 U St. NW. Call 202-332-6355 or visit www.nelliessportsbar.com.
OTTERMATIC/OTTEROTICA
This Friday, March 22, ushers in the third round of a new dance party at the Green Lantern named after a particular type of hirsute gay men. Conceived by Bryan Smith and Matt Strother, Ottermatic is “open to all people and self-identified animals,” especially those willing to be “vibrant and expressive” in how they dress and engage. The theme for the March iteration is set 13 years “in a dystopian future where all gay bars have all closed down.” The only thing remaining is a secret bar hidden in a back alley downtown “run by homosexual half-human, half-animal hybrids, a result of genetic experimentation.” High-quality local house DJ Dean Sullivan serves as “the post-apocalyptic pied piper” rallying “a romp of playful otter half-breeds” to move and groove on the dance floor in frisky but friendly fashion — governed by “the concept of consent and inclusion.” Grant Collins serves as party host, and the otter pinup will be aided in the cause by able bartenders Strother and Scott M. Douglass, as well as The Barber Streisand (Smith). Starting at 10 p.m. The Green Lantern is at 1335 Green Ct. NW. Cover is $5 for entry upstairs. Call 202-347-4533 or visit www.greenlanterndc.com.
The fully gay-owned nanobrewery from two redheads, Simon Bee and Bryan Van Den Oever, along with Cameron Raspet, officially opens Saturday, March 23, with a party starting at 5 p.m. (The brewery actually opens at 11 a.m.) The band Cravin’ Dogs will perform and drag queen Kitti Chanel Fairfield will welcome neighbors and guests into the large, 7,000 square-foot space, located immediately next to the REI Store in the refurbished, historic Uline Arena building in NoMa. The celebration includes samples and pours of all the new Red Bear beers on draft. Red Bear is at 209 M St. NE. No cover. Call 202-849-6130 or visit www.redbear.beer.
"I love people," says Becca Balint. "I love getting to know them. I love figuring out what makes them tick. I love laughing with them.... I love people, and I get energy from them."
The U.S. Representative from Vermont is definitely a people person: personable, gregarious, cheerful, and willing to engage in conversation, whether it's about serious, pressing political issues or more informal interactions, like cooing over her communication director's pet dog, who briefly appeared on screen during the first minutes of our Zoom interview.
Born on a U.S. Army base in Heidelberg, West Germany, Balint, the daughter of a service member who was himself an immigrant from post-World War II Hungary, lived briefly abroad before moving stateside to Peekskill, New York.
Rabbits, as well as other animals -- peacocks, hamsters, and cats -- dominate her work, which is typified by a vast range of emotions, from aggressive to melancholic to serene.
"I'm always going for some kind of loud sort of expression," she says. "My illustrations tend to be very suggestive or very erotic or very cute. It's always about some kind of sensual pleasure or dramatic pain."
A librarian by trade -- she currently works at the National Institute of Medicine -- Soltian nonetheless treats her art as a full-time vocation. Her online store, which describes her as a "crafter of indulgences," sells various items based on her works, including pendants, keychains, and even life-sized pillowcases featuring popular comic book characters, such as Nightwing, with whom she admits to being somewhat obsessed.
Several corporate sponsors of San Francisco Pride, including beer giant Anheuser-Busch, have pulled their funding for the celebration's annual festivities.
Over the past four weeks, the companies have informed organizers of San Francisco Pride that they would not be able to support 2025 Pride, claiming a lack of funds as the reason.
None of the companies cited the political climate, but Suzanne Ford, the executive director of San Francisco Pride, said that it was "very abnormal" for several multi-year sponsors to drop their support.
"I just interpreted that companies are making decisions that at this time it’s not good to be sponsoring Pride," Ford told SFGATE magazine, alluding to decisions by several major corporations to abandon diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
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