Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend 2022 won’t be canceled, Centaur MC announces
Centaur members voted after Mayor Bowser tightened COVID-19 restrictions in D.C.
The 2022 Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend will go ahead as previously planned, host organization Centaur MC has announced.
Members of the Centaur Motorcycle Club voted on Sunday, Jan. 2, to proceed with MAL — one of the LGBTQ leather community’s oldest, most cherished, and popular annual events — on Jan. 14-17. The vote came after D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser tightened COVID-19 restrictions to combat a surge in cases.
“We acknowledge that it is each individual’s personal choice to attend the Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend 2022,” Centaur MC wrote on the official Mid-Atlantic Leather website. “More details are to come and will include any additional rules, restrictions, or other changes to help make the weekend as safe and fun as possible.”
According to Centaur MC, those who have registered for MAL 2022 but decide not to attend should contact Box Office Tickets for a refund by emailing service@boxofficetickets.com. Cancellations will incur a $30 fee, and bookings cannot be transferred to future MAL weekends. (UPDATE: Box Office Tickets is waiving the cancellation fee.) However, bookings can be transferred to another person, aged 21+, by emailing Box Office Tickets.
For MAL attendees with hotel bookings, both the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill and the Phoenix Park hotel will refund the entire room amount to guests who cancel, including their 1-night deposit. This currently only applies to the Hyatt Regency and Phoenix Park hotels. [Editor’s Note: Updated to include new information on the Leather Weekend website.]
You can also “transfer your room to another individual by contacting the hotel directly and arranging the transfer,” according to Centaur MC. “You will need to make your own financial arrangements with the person you transfer the room to. You will not be able to carry your room over to any future MAL weekend.”
Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend last took place in January 2020. Centaur MC voted to cancel MAL 2021 due to uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
In December 2021, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and indoor gathering spaces to require proof of vaccination for entry beginning on Jan. 15, 2022.
The order came after Bowser reinstated a mandate requiring that masks be worn in indoor venues until Jan. 31, in response to an uptick in confirmed COVID-19 cases in part due to the new, more contagious omicron variant.
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