Budding Cherry
The Cherry Fund aims to warm spirits this weekend with a preview of the club heat it will bring this spring
This weekend, organizers of the annual charity dance event Cherry aim to warm spirits with a preview of the club heat to come this spring. This Saturday, Feb. 7, the Cherry Fund helps Town Danceboutique welcome back DJ Paulo, the main event DJ at Cherry last year and the draw for its debut at the Howard Theatre in April. And Paulo’s set this Saturday at Town will be followed by a party at the club that has become Cherry’s partner in reviving after-hours events the past couple years. Late into the night Saturday, Feb. 7, Tropicalia, the stellar-sounding subterranean club below Subway at 14th and U Streets NW, will offer the D.C. debut of DJ Billy Lace. The New York DJ has been the resident at an increasingly popular after-hours party in Chelsea over the past year.
The back-to-back parties this weekend will give a small taste of what’s to come the third weekend in April, when Cherry launches this year’s event, astronomy-themed “Nova.” Over the past several years the Cherry Fund has been reinvigorated with a new board and a renewed focus on its fundraising mission — last year’s event raised $12,000 for local charities, up $5,000 from the year before and a vast improvement from when the event, which started roughly 20 years ago, broke even at best.
See 12 years of photos from past Cherry events
Cherry 2015 is gearing up to be the biggest in years. Organizers, including veteran board member James Decker, have planned six events, including an opening party on Thursday, April 16, at Cobalt and a closing party at Flash Nightclub, the intimate club, with superb sound and lighting systems, near both the Howard Theatre and Town. This year’s Cherry will also present the long-overdue return of Tom “Superchumbo” Stephan, who spun for the much-larger party 13 years ago when Cherry helped christen the Washington Convention Center. Stephan will be the DJ for the main event at Town Saturday, April 18. Meanwhile, Joe Gauthreaux will return as DJ at Town’s Saturday afternoon party for Moody Mustafa, the “president emeritus/founder of Cherry,” according to Decker, who adds, “It would not be Cherry without his birthday party.”
And it wouldn’t be April without Cherry, which always adds extra luster, even when at Town. “We throw a lot of production into it,” Decker says. “It really has no equal in Washington, D.C.”
This weekend’s Cherry preview starts Saturday, Feb. 7, at Town Danceboutique, 2009 8th NW. Tickets are $8 before 11 p.m., or $12 after. Call 202-234-TOWN or visit towndc.com. The night continues at 3 a.m. at Tropicalia, 2001 14th St. NW. Tickets are $15 in advance, or $20 at the door. Call 202-629-4535 or visit tropicaliadc.com.
For more on the full Cherry event in April, visit cherryfund.org. Weekend passes, which can be purchased at Town on Feb. 7, cost $75 until Feb. 15; $100 after.
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