Washington Wizards hosting Pride Night on Friday, March 4
The night will feature Shi-Queeta Lee as an in-game host, dance and choral performances, a happy hour, and a 50/50 raffle benefitting SMYAL.
The Washington Wizards, D.C.’s professional men’s basketball team, will host the team’s annual Pride game on Friday, March 4, at 7 p.m. at Capital One Arena as the Wizards face off against the Atlanta Hawks.
Prior to the game, a happy hour will take place in the Devils Backbone Lounge. GenOUT, the youth chorus arm of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C., will perform the national anthem at the start of the game. At some point in the evening, there will be a video presentation featuring highlights from the D.C. Gay Basketball League.
At halftime, the Wizards Dance Team, led by guest performer, burlesque entertainer, and Baltimore drag artist Betty O’Hellno, will perform a new routine to Madonna’s “Vogue” that pays tribute to voguing and other dance styles prominent within the LGBTQ community. D.C.-area drag performer Shi-Queeta Lee will be a surprise guest host and emcee for the evening, sharing hosting duties with regular in-game hosts Britt Waters and Dennis T.
Throughout the night, the Wizards will recognize and support the LGBTQ community, with LED signage and logos being displayed in Pride flag-themed colors, all arena staff wearing special Pride pins, and the Team Store selling Wizards Pride-themed merchandise, including a D.C. Pride shirt that can be purchase online or in-person.
Tickets, which are available online through the e-commerce website Fevo.com, will offer special seating in the 400, 200 and 100-level sections of the arena where Pride Night-specific attendees can congregate and watch the game together after attending the pre-game happy hour. Those who purchase Pride Night tickets online via Fevo will also receive a Wizards-branded scarf.
As part of Pride Night, the team will hold a 50/50 raffle benefitting Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders (SMYAL), a local nonprofit serving LGBTQ youth in the D.C. metro area.
“We’ve been holding Pride Night for years,” notes Eliza Lawrence, the Wizards group sales manager for Monumental Sports, the entertainment group that owns the Wizards, Capitals and Mystics major professional sports teams and the G League [minor league basketball] Capital City Go-Go team. “This year, we’re actually doing back-to-back nights with the Capitals, which will occur on March 3.
“In years past, we’ve done dance parties on the court, or had the D.C. Gay Basketball League play a tournament on the court before the game. This year, with COVID, we’ve had to scale it back just a hair, but we’re trying to do a lot of really fun in-game stuff as well.”
The Washington Wizards’ Pride Night celebration will take place on Friday, March 4, at Capital One Arena, 601 F St. NW, Washington, D.C. A pre-game happy hour will take place in the Devils Backbone Lounge starting at 6 p.m., and tip-off will be at 7 p.m. To purchase tickets, or for more information, visit https://fevo.me/wizardspride2122.
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
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.