Washingtonblade.com, Volume 50, Issue 13, March 29, 2019

Washington Blade photo by Michael Key

LGBT MIGRANTS FROM CENTRAL AMERICA FIND REFUGE IN D.C., PAGE 10

MA RCH 29, 2019 • VOLUME 50 • I S S UE 13 • WA S HI N GTONB LAD E.CO M

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Cuts to Medicare Drug Coverage Will Put Patient Health at Risk.

New insurance rules come between doctors and patients Millions of people with serious diseases like cancer, epilepsy, mental health conditions and HIV are being targeted for insurance company cuts to their Medicare drug coverage.

A one-size-fits-all approach could deny patients access to the individualized therapies they depend on.

And these new Medicare rules will only lower costs 0.01% over ten years, while today’s treatments are saving taxpayers many billions more by helping patients live healthier lives.

Government restrictions on the therapies a doctor can prescribe will put patient health at risk.

Call the White House at 202-456-1111. Protect Medicare Drug Coverage.

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2/8/19 6:08 PM

VOLUME 50 ISSUE 13

Dariana Méndez with her partner, Rony Alexander, sit on a couch at Casa Ruby in D.C. on March 26.

Méndez, 24, is a trans woman from El Salvador.

Alexander, 22, is a gay man from Honduras. They said they became a couple once they arrived in D.C.

ADDRESS

PO Box 53352 Washington DC 20009 PHONE

PAGE 10

06

Looking back: 50 years of the Blade

23

Viewpoint

08

Comings & Goings

29

Weddings

10

LGBT migrants from Central

33

Arts & Culture

America find refuge in D.C.

34

Dancing for ‘Queen’ Janet Jackson

LGBT migrants struggle to survive

36

Queery: Taylor Lianne

11

along Guatemala-Mexico border 12

Chandler

Trans activist speaks out on

38

Dining Out for Life is April 4

prostitution arrest

40

Going back ‘Into the Woods’

D.C. gay club closed temporarily

42

Levi’s return

for code violations

43

Triple ‘TransMilitary’ screenings

Iowa pollster: Buttigieg strikes

44

Bears, beer and beards

chord, could be ‘dark horse’

48

Broadway wunderkind

17

Charges dropped against Jussie Smollett

50

DC Rawhides

19

Cannabis Culture

53

Use your home to save

20

Military: high number of

14 16

trans youth seeking care

money on a wedding 54

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High court’s tie vote affirms favorable ruling — March 29, 1985 Thirty-four years ago today in the Washington Blade was a front-page story about the U.S. Supreme Court’s 4-4 vote on the constitutionality of an Oklahoma law that called for the firing of public schoolteachers who “advocate or encourage homosexuality.”

The tie vote had the effect of upholding a lower federal appeals court’s ruling that voided part of the law, known as the Helms Act, as an unconstitutional violation of teachers’ free speech rights.

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Comings & Goings Bizzell elected president of LGBT Bar Association

By PETER ROSENSTEIN

The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at: comingsandgoings@washblade.com.

Congratulations to Wesley Bizzell elected President of WESLEY the National LGBT Bar Association. Upon his election, he BIZZELL said, “So much has changed since the National LGBT Bar Association was founded over 30 years ago in the midst of the AIDS crisis. However, we continue to face a different crisis today, as both our community and the idea of equality for all remain under attack throughout our country.”

Wesley is Senior Assistant General Counsel, External Affairs and Managing Director of Political Law and Ethics Programs for Altria Client Services LLC (“ALCS”). He is a recognized authority on political compliance law. He chairs the Conference Board’s Committee on Corporate Political Spending, a committee of EVA JUNCKER American corporations dedicated to accountability, education, and engagement on issues of corporate political activity. He is a faculty member for the Practicing Law Institute’s annual Corporate Political Activities conference and co-chair of the Conference Committee for the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws. In 2018, COGEL awarded Bizzell its highest honor, the COGEL Award, for making a “demonstrable and positive contribution to the fields of campaign finance, ethics, elections, lobbying and freedom of information over a significant period of time.”

Previously, he was an attorney in Winston & Strawn LLP’s Federal Government Relations and Regulatory Affairs Practice GLASS Group. He spent more than six years on Capitol Hill, serving as CAUCUS 2019 an aide to Arkansas Sens. David Pryor and Dale Bumpers. Bizzell is active in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within the legal and corporate communities. In both 2017 and 2018, he was named by London’s Financial Times as one of the 100 worldwide OUTstanding Leading LGBT+ Corporate Executives for his work on diversity and inclusion issues.

Congratulations also to Eva N. Juncker who joined Paley Rothman as a principal in the firm’s Family Law practice and a member of its litigation group. She said, “I am thrilled to bring my family law practice to Paley Rothman expanding its Northern Virginia presence and areas of practice to include LGBTQ+ family law and legal services.” Juncker’s years as a qualified guardian ad litem enable her to simultaneously focus on the independent best interests of a child while also focusing on a client’s stated goals. She was lead counsel on a case of nationwide first impression successfully arguing for recognition of a same-sex common law marriage in the District of Columbia. She has been a featured lecturer over the course of her career, educating her peers and the public on matters of family law in all three jurisdictions where she practices: Maryland, District of Columbia, and Virginia. She was selected as a Virginia Rising Star by Super Lawyers in 2008, recognized as one of the Best LGBT Lawyers under 40 by the National LGBT Bar Association in 2011, and recognized as one of Bethesda’s top divorce lawyers by Bethesda Magazine in 2013 and 2017.

Congratulations also to the newly elected GLASS bipartisan steering committee, the Senate LGBTQ staff association. Co-chair: Robert Curis (Sen. Debbie Stabenow), Cochair: Tré Easton (Sen. Patty Murray), Treasurer: Hans Hansen (Agriculture Committee), Secretary: Trelaine Ito (Sen. Brian Schatz), Social Engagement Director: Donald Pollard (Sen. Tim Kaine), Communications Director: Pablo Sierra-Carmona (Sen. Kyrsten Sinema), At-Large Director: Brennen McAndrew (Sen. Bill Cassidy), At-Large Director: Mairéad Lynn (HELP Committee), At-Large Director: Russell Page (Sen. Martin Heinrich).

The GLASS Caucus is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization open to all whose purpose is to raise awareness of issues affecting the LGBTQ community, increase visibility and promote the welfare and dignity of LGBTQ employees of the United States Senate by providing a safe environment for social interaction and professional development. GLASS strives to advance LGBTQ interests on Capitol Hill by hosting various events that enhance LGBTQ visibility and working with offices to strengthen protections for LGBTQ employees.

DC Eagle poised to reopen after license suspension

Liquor board penalized nightclub over shoving incident with former mayor

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. LCHIBBARO@WASHBLADE.COM The D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Board on March 13 suspended the liquor license for the DC Eagle gay bar and nightclub for seven days and fined the club $2,000 over an incident last fall involving former mayor and current D.C. Council member Vincent Gray (D-Ward 7).

News of the license suspension and fine surfaced last week when the Eagle posted a message on its Facebook page saying it would be closed from March 23-March 29 to be followed by a “Grand Reopening” on March 30.

A Case Report of the incident in question prepared by the city’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration, of which the ABC Board is a part, says an investigation found that on Sept. 29, 2018 a male Eagle employee used “unnecessary physical force” to remove Gray from inside the establishment, which is located at 3701 Benning Road, N.E. At the time of the incident Gray’s office said the Council member attempted to enter the Eagle to attend a city funded arts festival hosted by the Eagle and two other establishments in Ward 7 called “Art All Night.”

The report says the employee, who is identified as a member of the club’s security staff, told Gray, then 75, he would have to show identification to enter the bar and Gray produced his official D.C. Council member identification card. When the employee saw that it did not have Gray’s date of birth on it he asked Gray for another form of ID with his birth date.

“Councilmember Gray refused to provide any further identification, and after a verbal exchange, the security guard came from around the counter and physically pushed Councilmember Gray through the front door of the establishment, causing him to fall onto the ground,” the ABRA case report says.

Gray’s office said he received minor injuries from the fall and reported the incident to D.C. police as an assault. Police listed the incident as a misdemeanor simple assault, but did not make an arrest.

Gray spokesperson Sheila Bunn told the Blade on the day following the incident that Gray questioned the security guard

about why his Council ID was unacceptable and asked to speak with one of the owners but she said he never refused to show his driver’s license.

She said it never got to that point because the security guard pushed Gray out of the door before he had a chance to take out his driver’s license.

ABRA released a statement to the Blade shortly after the Gray incident saying establishments that sell alcoholic beverages are not required to ask patrons to show identification as a condition for entering such an establishment, but they may do so if they wish. The ABRA statement says liquor serving establishments are required only to ensure that they do not serve alcohol to individuals under the legal drinking age, which is 21.

“We regret that ABRA has seen it fit to suspend our license for 7 days,” the Eagle says in its Facebook statement. “During that time, we will not be open to the DC community at large and our employees, many of them residents of Ward 7 and other parts of the District, will not receive pay,” it says.

“We have apologized for the incident with Councilmember Gray and hope that we can move forward and continue to thrive as the largest and oldest gay bar in the District of Columbia,” says the statement.

“Since then,” the statement adds, “the DC Eagle has parted ways with the member of the security staff in question, hiring and training new staff.”

A March 13 order approving the fine and license suspension issued by the ABC Board says the order came after the Eagle agreed to an “offer-in-compromise (OIC)” made by ABRA and the Office of the D.C. Attorney General.

“The license holder admits to the primary tier violation described by Charge 1,” the order states. “The Respondent shall pay a $2,000 fine within 90 days.

The failure to pay the fine shall result in an immediate suspension of the license until all money owed is paid,” the order states.

“The Respondent shall also serve a seven day suspension that shall run from March 23, 2019, to March 29, 2010,” it says.

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M AR CH 29, 2 0 1 9 • WA SHINGTONBLA DE.COM • 09

LGBT migrants from Central America find refuge in D.C. Casa Ruby provides a home to 15 fleeing violence, poverty

By MICHAEL K. LAVERS MLAVERS@WASHBLADE.COM

Top row, from left: RONY ALEXANDER, PERLA, JOSELINE URBINA, RACHELL, ARMANDO LINARES. Bottom row, from left: DARIANA MÉNDEZ, EDUARDO DÍAZ, JACOBO. They are among the 15 LGBTI migrants who Casa Ruby brought to D.C. after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement released them from custody.

Washington Blade photo by Michael Key

Dariana Méndez and her partner, Rony Alexander, were sitting next to each other on a large couch at Casa Ruby in Northwest D.C. shortly after 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

Méndez, a transgender woman from San Salvador, El Salvador, told the Washington Blade that she and Rony Alexander, a gay man from Honduras’ Lempira department, became a couple when they arrived in D.C. earlier this month. Méndez also talked about the discrimination and violence she said she suffered in El Salvador because of her gender identity.

“The truth is you cannot live in El Salvador like this,” she said as Rony Alexander listened. “You don’t have work opportunities. You don’t have opportunities to study. In my case the police bothered me a lot.”

Méndez and Rony Alexander, who did not provide his last name, are two of the 15 LGBTI migrants from Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua who are seeking asylum in

the U.S. that Casa Ruby brought to D.C. earlier this month after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement released them from their custody in Texas.

The Blade on Tuesday sat down with nine of them for an exclusive interview.

Joseline Urbina is a trans woman from Honduras’ Yoro department who joined a migrant caravan that left from the city of San Pedro Sula’s main bus station on Jan. 14.

Urbina, 42, said she was an elementary school teacher until she was fired “for being gay.” Urbina told the Blade she left Honduras because “she did not feel protected by the government.”

“They discriminated against us,” she said. “Soldiers, the police tortured us and it is because of this that we decided to leave the country.”

Perla, a trans woman who traveled with a migrant caravan that left from San Pedro Sula’s main bus station on Jan. 15, also told the Blade that Honduran police target people because of their gender identity. Perla also said many trans Hondurans have been killed.

“The police, to be honest, make the decision to persecute us and arrest us ... they even rape us and kill us,” she told the Blade.

Rachell, a 19-year-old trans woman from San Pedro Sula who did not use her last name, on Jan. 14 joined a migrant caravan that passed in front of her home.

Rachell told the Blade she too decided to leave Honduras because of discrimination and violence she said she faced from police officers and others.

She said a man once ripped her wig off of her head and took her high-heel shoes away from her.

“They gave me dirty looks when I was dressed up in the street,” said Rachell.

Eduardo Díaz, a 28-year-old gay man from San Salvador, left the Salvadoran capital with a friend on Oct. 31, 2018. They spent nearly three months in the Mexican city of Tapachula, which is a few miles from the Suchiate River that marks the Mexico-Guatemala border before joining a migrant caravan on Jan. 15.

Díaz told the Blade that Salvadoran police officers once beat him in front of his home. Armando Linares, a 19-year-old gay man from Santa Ana, El Salvador, said harassment from police officers and gang members prompted him to flee the country.

“They humiliated us,” Linares told the Blade as he sat next to Díaz and Jacobo, a 19-year-old gay man from Honduras’ CONTINUES ON PAGE 11

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Cortés department who did not use his last name. “They mistreated us.”

Rampant violence and poverty in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala has prompted tens of thousands of migrants from the three countries to travel to the U.S. and Mexico over the last two years.

Activists in the region with whom the Blade has spoken in recent months say the Trump administration’s immigration policy has done little to deter migrants who hope to reach the U.S. They, along with their U.S. counterparts, continue to criticize ICE over the conditions in which LGBTI migrants are kept while in custody.

An autopsy for which the Transgender Law Center asked indicates Roxsana Hernández, a trans woman with HIV from Honduras, was beaten before she passed away in ICE custody in New Mexico on May 25, 2018.

Perla and the other migrants at Casa Ruby with whom the Blade spoke on Tuesday said they entered the U.S. in January by crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico. They said they spent a week in cold holding cells, known as “hieleras,” which is the Spanish word for “freezers,” after they were taken into custody in Texas.

“We suffered a lot,” said Perla, noting they only received thin metallic sheets to keep them warm. “Seven days in the ‘hielera’ is not easy. It is not easy.”

Urbina said she and the other migrants did not have access to a shower and were unable to brush their teeth while in the holding cells. Urbina, Méndez and other migrants with whom the Blade spoke said the only food they received were cookies, juice and cold mortadella sandwiches.

“We suffered a lot because we didn’t bathe for seven days,” said Jacobo.

Casa Ruby CEO Ruby Corado met the group of migrants in San Antonio after ICE released them from their custody and drove them to D.C. They arrived in the nation’s capital on March 4.

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.); Sheila Alexander-Reid, director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs; Jackie Reyes, director of the Mayor’s Office of Latino Affairs; Rev. Thomas Bowen, director of the D.C. Office of Religious Affairs; Bishop Allyson Abrams of Empowerment Liberation Church in Northeast D.C. and other local activists met with the migrants at Casa Ruby the following day.

“You will find people from your country,” said Norton. “You will find them living here among us.”

Some of the migrants will leave Casa Ruby as they await the outcome of their asylum cases.

Meanwhile, Jacobo told the Blade he has enrolled in an English class. Linares said he hopes to be able to support his family in El Salvador once he receives asylum in the U.S. Joseline and several of the other trans migrants with whom the Blade spoke said they are able to live in D.C. without fear of violence or discrimination because of their gender identity.

“It is a city in which I can imagine myself being able to live,” said Méndez. “I feel comfortable here.”

LGBT migrants struggle to survive along Guatemala-Mexico border Some find their way to D.C.’s Casa Ruby

By MICHAEL K. LAVERS MLAVERS@WASHBLADE.COM

People on makeshift rafts crossing the Suchiate River from Guatemala to Mexico on Jan. 29.

Tens of thousands of Central American migrants who are fleeing violence and poverty in their countries of origin have crossed the river in recent months.

Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers

TECUN UMAN, Guatemala — Gaudy Coutiño Valladares works for the Guatemalan Red Cross in Tecún Umán, a small city in the country’s San Marcos department that is across the Suchiate River from Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico.

The offices from which Coutiño and her colleagues work are behind a large metal gate on which posters that tell migrants the Guatemalan Red Cross will allow them to call their relatives and charge their phones for free have been placed. It also has a map of Central America that lists migrant shelters, railroads and highways on which migrants can travel to the U.S. border.

Coutiño told the Blade on March 8 as she sat next to a door on which a U.N. Refugee Agency sticker with rainbow colors had been placed that the Guatemalan Red Cross has helped more than 10,000 migrants in Tecún Umán since the first large migrant caravan reached the city in October 2018.

Coutiño told the Blade that she and her colleagues have given water, medications, clothes and shoes to migrants and provided them access to free showers.

Coutiño said some of the migrants who arrived in Tecún Umán last fall and in January as part of a second large migrant caravan did not have any underwear.

“They were supported with that,” said Coutiño.

Migrants from Guatemala and other Central American countries have crossed the Suchiate River and entered Mexico’s Chiapas state for decades, in part to find work in the banana industry. Coutiño and other local advocates with whom the Blade has spoken say the number of migrants who have passed through the area over

LOCAL NE WS • MARCH 29, 2019 • WA SHINGTONB L A DE . COM • 11

the last year is unprecedented.

A UNHCR report notes there were 312,000 refugees and asylum seekers from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras around the world in June 2018. This figure is roughly five times higher than the number of refugees and asylum seekers from the three countries that UNHCR documented at the end of 2014.

A group of 30 LGBTI migrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador crossed the Suchiate River and arrived in Ciudad Hidalgo on Feb. 1. Roxsana Hernández, a transgender Honduran woman with HIV who died in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in New Mexico on May 25, 2018, arrived at Una Mano Amiga, an HIV/ AIDS service organization in Tapachula, a city that is roughly 30 miles northwest of Ciudad Hidalgo, a few weeks earlier after she crossed the Suchiate River from Guatemala.

“She came here to the organization to seek services,” Una Mano Amiga Education Coordinator Lilith Hernández told the Blade on Jan. 29 during an interview at Una Mano Amiga’s offices with Yadira Guerrero Castro, who is the group’s coordinator. “We helped her … her health situation was very critical.”

UNHCR has a field office in Tapachula and is planning to open a second in Tecún Umán. Some of the 15 LGBTI migrants from Central America who Casa Ruby brought to D.C. earlier this month after their release from ICE custody were in Tapachula before they traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Brigada Callejera de Apoyo a la Mujer “Elisa Martínez,” an AIDS Healthcare Foundation-supported organization that advocates on behalf of sex workers, and the Fray Matías de Córdova Human Rights

Center are among the Tapachula-based organizations that provide assistance to LGBTI migrants alongside Una Mano Amiga.

Asociación Lambda, which is based in Guatemala City, works with LGBTI migrants on the Guatemalan side of the border.

Tapachula’s Miguel Hidalgo Central Park is a few blocks west of the Fray Matías de Córdova Human Rights Center and Brigada Callejera de Apoyo a la Mujer “Elisa Martínez.”

Hundreds of migrants — some of whom were sleeping in tents, under sheets that had been tied to trees or on pieces of cardboard boxes that had been placed on the ground — and a small number of local police officers and advocates were in the park while the Blade was in the city from Jan. 28-31. It was not clear whether any of the migrants identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex.

Diego Lucero, a psychologist at the Fray Matías de Córdova Human Rights Center, told the Blade on Jan. 30 during an interview his organization is “for everyone.” A poster of a man holding a rainbow flag that reads, “this is a safe space for LGBTI people” is one of many that his colleagues have hung on walls throughout the building in which the Fray Matías de Córdova Human Rights Center is located.

“We serve women; we serve men,” said Lucero. “We also give attention, things to LGBT people because we know that in some ways these people also come from very vulnerable situations.”

Rampant violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and a lack of economic opportunities are among the factors that have prompted LGBTI migrants from Central America to flee their countries of origin.

Many of them hope to seek asylum in the U.S., despite the White House’s immigration policies that include demands for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. President Trump has also threatened to cut aid to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador if their governments don’t do more to prevent migrants from leaving their countries.

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales and his government last October faced criticism over its decision not to allow migrants who were traveling with the first caravan to enter the country. Authorities in January granted migrants permits that allowed them to legally enter Guatemala and travel to the country’s border with Mexico.

Migrants who enter Mexico at legal ports of entry can apply for humanitarian visas that allow them to remain in the country for up to a year.

Trans activist speaks out on prostitution arrest Dee Curry goes public with solicitation charge to draw attention to plight of sex workers

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. LCHIBBARO@WASHBLADE.COM

DEE CURRY said she considers the police tactics used to arrest her as a form of entrapment.

Washingron Blade photo by Michael Key

Dee Curry has been an outspoken advocate for transgender rights in the District of Columbia for many years and has appeared as a speaker at numerous LGBT events. Earlier this year, the mayor’s office appointed her to serve on a newly created city advisory committee on street harassment.

Curry was scheduled to testify on Wednesday, March 27, before the City Council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety to discuss priorities as she sees them for the D.C. Police Department’s fiscal year 2020 budget.

With that as a backdrop, Curry, 64, said she has decided to publicly disclose that she was arrested on Feb. 8 on a charge of misdemeanor solicitation for prostitution as part of a D.C. police “sting” operation.

She said she considers the police tactics used to arrest her as a form of entrapment that she feels the LGBT community and the public at large should view as a misuse of police resources to target commercial sex workers, especially trans sex workers.

D.C. police spokesperson Alaina Gertz said the department cannot comment on the specific circumstances surrounding Curry’s arrest because it is a pending case. But she said the department’s enforcement efforts do not target any specific population.

“We respond to citizen and community complaints and focus our attention in the geographic areas where those complaints are located,” Gertz told the Blade in an email.

Curry said her arrest involved an undercover D.C. police officer who posed as an Uber driver and who invited her into his car, leading her to believe he could drive her home at a time when she needed a ride.

She said she had just finished visiting her godmother, who lives in a house on a side street off of a section of West Virginia Avenue, N.E., next to the campus of Gallaudet University. The area is known as a location

where transgender sex workers congregate.

Curry acknowledges having been arrested for sex work in the past but said she has changed the direction of her life and “absolutely” was not soliciting at the time of her arrest on Feb. 8.

“I was walking and he drove past me,” she said. “And then he turned around and he beckoned me to come to his car. I said I didn’t call for an Uber and he said that’s OK, and I got in the backseat,” Curry told the Blade.

“And he proceeded and I told him where I was living and when he turned the corner he said you know that’s a little too far for me because all my calls come from this area,” Curry recounted.

“I said can you take me a little closer to where I live? And he said I really picked you up because I wanted a blowjob for $30 and we can park in one of these parking spaces.

He said we could park by a school,” Curry quoted him as saying.

“I said no you’re not, not with me,” she continued. “And that’s when the police came.”

When asked by the Blade if she might have said something to the officer that he interpreted as her consenting to his offer, Curry said she did not think so.

“I don’t recall saying yes,” she said. “It was cold that night. I probably said well we could talk about that. Give me a ride home. I might have tried to con him out of a ride home,” Curry said. “I may have given him some indication that I might participate in some shit like that.”

But Curry added, “That doesn’t take away the fact that this man was egregiously masquerading as an Uber driver. I would have never gotten in his car. That’s my point,” she said in characterizing the encounter as a form of entrapment.

The arrest affidavit filed in court by police identifies the driver as undercover officer D. Eley and says he’s a member of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department’s Human Trafficking Unit. It says the unit was “conducting an undercover prostitution operation in reference to complaints of prostitution activity in the area.”

The affidavit gives no indication that sex trafficking was occurring in the area where the undercover operation took place. When the Blade asked police spokesperson Gertz why the Human Trafficking Unit was dispatched to the area she sent a response by email.

“Deployment of MPD’s Human Trafficking Unit is based on requests from district commanders and complaints that are sent directly to the Narcotics and Special Investigations Division (NSID) about prostitution activity,” she said. “Those complaints come from residents and citizens of D.C.” The affidavit provides a short transcript of what it says was a conversation between the undercover officer and “Defendant 1,” who was later identified as Curry.

“Hey baby get in,” it quotes the officer as

saying. “Hey, I’m trying to make some money,” it quotes Defendant 1 as saying. “You driving for Uber tonight?” it quotes Defendant 1 as saying.

“Yeah,” the transcript quotes the officer as saying. “I want something real quick while I’m on a break. I want some head.

Is $30 good for you? For some head,” the officer is quoted as saying.

“Yeah, $30 is good,” it says Defendant 1 replied. “Okay baby,” the officer is quoted as saying.

The affidavit then states, “Undercover Ofc. D. Eley gave a prearranged signal for the arrest team to move in and apprehended D 1. D 1 was stopped and placed under arrest for solicitation for prostitution. D 1 was transported to the 5th District for processing.”

Curry disputes the quotes that the transcript attributes to her.

Court records show that Curry was released on the night of her arrest after being processed and given a citation ordering her to appear in court on March 12 for an arraignment. At that time she pleaded not guilty to the charge through a court appointed lawyer and was instructed to return to court on April 9 for a preliminary hearing.

D.C. attorney Dale Edwin Sanders, who has practiced criminal law in D.C. and Virginia, said an entrapment defense is difficult to prove because courts have ruled that police tactics similar to those used in Curry’s arrest are legal if there is evidence that the person arrested had a “predisposition” for engaging in an illegal activity such as prostitution.

“The government will argue that all they’ve done is to provide an opportunity for the defendant to commit a crime that they were predisposed to commit,” Sanders said. “If the government does more than provide the opportunity but rather is the initiator and the aggressor and overcomes or infringes or compromises the defendant’s will resist the overture of the government, then that would be entrapment,” he said.

Curry said she decided to stop engaging in commercial sex work after a previous arrest in 2011 in which she said she was similarly entrapped by an undercover police officer on a charge of sexual solicitation. Court records show that Curry was found not guilty of the charge by a judge in a non-jury trial in August 2011.

D.C. Police Lt. Brett Parson, who oversees the department’s LGBT Liaison Unit, has said the department aggressively investigates hate crimes and other crimes targeting the transgender community and the LGBT community as a whole.

Parson told the Blade on Wednesday that his response to Dee Curry’s allegation of entrapment and misuse of police resources on prostitution arrests would be the same response offered by police spokesperson Gertz. Because

it’s an open case, he said, he has no further comment on the specifics of the arrest.

He said the department’s deployment of officers for these types of arrests is based on citizen complaints, and that determines the areas where the arrests are made.

“And as far as the allegation of a false arrest, we trust the criminal justice system, and if it’s a false arrest I’m sure she’ll make that defense,” Parson said.

Curry’s latest arrest came less than a month before the International Lesbian and Gay Association announced it has joined a growing number of U.S. and international LGBT rights organizations in calling for the decriminalization of sex work between consenting adults. An increasing number of mainline human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have also called for decriminalizing sex work between adults.

Locally, several LGBT rights groups, including the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, have endorsed a bill introduced in 2017 by D.C. Council member David Grosso (I-At-Large) calling for decriminalizing sex work among consenting adults in the District.

Grosso’s bill died in committee last year, but his office says he plans to reintroduce it this year with some changes that supporters hope will boost its chances for passing.

Curry said she wants to publicize her arrest as a means of drawing attention to what she believes is a misguided policy by D.C. police and some in the community to address the issue of commercial sex work through arrests.

She noted that when the undercover officer posing as the Uber driver gave the signal, three or four police cars with flashing lights and sirens rushed to the scene, with at least two officers in each of the cars, to arrest her.

In thinking back on how her arrest unfolded Curry said she believes the half dozen or more officers involved in her misdemeanor prostitution arrest could have been better utilized to address the city’s growing problem of violent crime.

“The interesting thing for me is we have so many unsolved cold cases involving LGBTQ individuals,” she said. “We have this uptick in gun violence and murders in this city. And to me, and this is my opinion but I’m almost certain it will be shown when we get the data, the most successful crime fighting force in this city is the vice unit against prostitution,” Curry said. “And that’s absolutely ridiculous.”

Last year, D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham declined a request by Council member Grosso that D.C. police temporarily suspend making arrests of sex workers involved in commercial sex between consenting adults.

In response to a question from the Blade at a public appearance last year, Newsham said the department has sufficient resources to make prostitution related arrests and to address violent crime throughout the city.

12 • WA S HI N GTONB LAD E.CO M • M AR C H 2 9 , 2 0 1 9 • N AT IO N AL N EWS

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D.C. gay club closed temporarily for code violations Virginia state Sen. ADAM EBBIN (D-Alexandria) is the only openly gay member of that chamber.

WashingtonBlade photo by Michael K. Lavers

Ebbin to run for re-election in Va.

The D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs earlier this month ordered the Glorious Health Club, which bills itself as a spa, art gallery and community center catering to gay men, to close its doors until it fixes what the city agency said were multiple violations of the city’s building code.

A DCRA spokesperson said inspectors with the D.C. Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services notified DCRA of possible code violations at the club, located at 2120 West Virginia Ave., N.E., after they were called to the club to assist an unconscious customer who died at the club on March 5.

D.C. police and the city’s Medical Examiner’s office have ruled the death a suicide by hanging, according to law enforcement sources familiar with the incident.

DCRA spokesperson Timothy Wilson said DRCA inspectors arrived at the club on March 13 and conducted an inspection that found 28 violations of the city’s building and fire code. He released a copy of the inspection report to the Washington Blade.

The report says three of the violations consist of a failure by the club to obtain a building permit for various renovation work in past years that required a permit, including ventilation duct work, electrical wiring, and construction of “dividing spaces” in the warehouse building where the Glorious Health Club is located.

Robert Siegel, the club’s owner, told the Blade the building was overdue for renovation and pointed to the club’s website, which says major improvements are in the works.

“We are closed because we are upgrading our facilities to make you happier for the hot summer events,” a message on the website says.

“We are renovating and improving 50% of our building,” the message says.

“You will be getting much more. Keep informed by checking this website — really very sorry for your inconvenience,” the message says.

“One of our units on an emergency response entered the club and saw what they thought were potential code violations,” said Vito Maggiolo, a spokesperson for the Fire and EMS Department. “They in turn notified our Fire Prevention Division. The Fire Prevention Division sent an inspector out who indeed found some violations,” said Maggiolo.

According to Maggiolo, an official with the Fire Prevention Division notified DCRA and it was DCRA that sent in its own inspectors and made the decision to temporarily close the club until the violations were corrected.

The club’s website says the club expects to reopen by April 6. But an employee this week said that although the renovation work would be completed at that time it was uncertain whether DCRA inspectors could schedule a required reinspection of the building to enable the club to open by that date.

LOU CHIBBARO JR.

The only openly gay member of the Virginia state Senate is running for re-election.

In the 2019 legislative session, state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) worked to defeat a bill that would have banned the physical components of conversion therapy while keeping “talk therapy” legal.

He also advocated legislation to ban antiLGBT discrimination in housing and public employment that passed the state Senate but failed to receive the necessary support in the Virginia House of Delegates.

This year, the Virginia Progressive Legislative Alert Network recognized Ebbin as having a “Perfect Progressive Voting Record.”

“Over 16 years in the General Assembly I’ve fought for our shared priorities in Richmond and we’ve had many successes.

But we still have far to go,” Ebbin wrote.

His 2020 priorities include passing new gun control legislation, decriminalizing marijuana use, raising the minimum wage and barring anti-LGBT discrimination.

Beyond his own campaign, Ebbin noted he’s “focused on replacing vulnerable Republicans with progressive Democrats.”

JAMES WELLEMEYER

W. Va. ass’t principal fired after forcing trans student to use urinal An assistant principal at a West Virginia high school has been fired following a November 2018 incident in which he demanded a transgender student use a urinal in front of him.

The Harrison County Board of Education on Tuesday voted not to renew Lee Livengood’s contract for another year.

Livengood had been the assistant principal at Liberty High School in Harrison County.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which created a petition that

called for Livengood’s firing, says Livengood followed 15-year-old Michael Critchfield into the boys’ bathroom, prevented him from leaving the bathroom, and urged him to use a urinal to prove that he was male. Livengood also apparently yelled, “I’m not going to lie: You freak me out” at Critchfield.

The incident received national press coverage, leading the school district to place Livengood on a brief leave of absence. Critchfield received an apology from Livengood that stated in its entirety: “I am deeply sorry for raising my voice while in the bathroom on 11/27/18. I promise it won’t happen again.”

After Livengood returned to work, he continued “monitoring” Critchfield during lunch hours.

The ACLU’s petition garnered more than 1,100 signatures, and over 40 individuals attended the recent board meeting at which Livengood’s contract was ended.

Loree Stark, legal director of the ACLU of West Virginia, told the Washington Blade the ACLU is now hoping to help Harrison County Schools adopt trans-inclusive policies. The ACLU in early January held a meeting with representatives at Harrison County Schools about such policies.

“We had thought that the meeting went fairly well at the time,” Stark said.

But the school representatives insisted parents and guardians “always had to be involved” in cases relating to trans students.

“That’s a bad idea if a kid is not in a supportive home environment, and a lot of kids aren’t,” Stark said.

Now that the school board has voted to end Livengood’s career in the district, Stark is hopeful that Harrison County Schools will implement policies that do not involve parental notification.

“We’re going to reach out again,” Stark said. “I do think there is maybe at least now some willingness to make this a better, more supportive environment for Michael and students like Michael.”

“But it’s really important that if they do this, they do it in the right way,” he added.

“We don’t want to make it worse for kids.

We want to make it better.”

On whether Critchfield and his family will take legal action against Harrison County Schools for the urinal incident and resulting inaction, Stark said, “They’re considering all their options.”

JAMES WELLEMEYER

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Music

Check out these upcoming Festival events!

BLOSSOM BASH Friday, April 5 Doors 6:30 PM | Show 8 PM

March 20 – April 14, 2019

The Anthem, 901 Wharf Street, SW

Join iHeartRadio’s HOT 99.5 and 97.1 WASH-FM for the second annual Blossom Bash Concert headlined

by Meghan Trainor.

PETALPALOOZA® AT THE WHARF Presented by Chase

Leadership Circle

Saturday, April 6 12 Noon – 9:30 PM | Fireworks 8:30 PM The Wharf | 735 Water St, SW

Enjoy live music, interactive art installations, activities, a beer garden, a spectacular fireworks show, free product giveaways, and much more!

Petalpalooza is hosted by District Wharf and presented by Chase.

Supporting Sponsors include Hilton and Mars Petcare.

Media sponsors are 97.1 WASH-FM and 98.7 WMZQ.

Take Metrobus & Metrorail

For more information, visit nationalcherryblossomfestival.org.

#SpringBlossomsHere

Get Your Tickets to the Maker of Zoe Today!

Friday, May 17th at 7:00 PM Saturday, May 18th at 1:00 PM & 7:00 PM Doors Open One Hour Before ShowTime.

Late Seating Ends Thirty Minutes After ShowTime

In the heart of Washington DC, Avery, an outwardly confident and whimsical toy designer, finds true meaning and purpose, after a supernatural encounter with an angelic messenger. Avery is transported to the Land of Zoe and embarks on a journey filled with mystery and wonder. This moving and suspenseful tale will delight and intrigue audiences, as it unfolds the truth of The Maker’s Love for all and looks at the common misconceptions of Scripture concerning homosexuality. You will be moved by this inspirational and entertaining performance, enjoy a delicious Italian Dinner served right to your table, and help support God’s message of love for all people!

$37.50 Includes Admission to the Play & your choice of: ~ Regular or Gluten Free Pasta ~ Meat Sauce, Turkey Meat Sauce or Vegetarian Sauce ~ Fresh Garden Salad w/Dressing Choice & Garlic Bread ~ Decadent Chocolate or Lemon Pound Cake ~ Water, Tea, or Lemonade Concessions Available For Sale in the Lobby

M AR CH 29, 2 0 1 9 • WA SHINGTONBLA DE.COM • 15

All Proceeds Support the MCCDC Drama Ministry!

474 Ridge St. Washington DC 20001 mccdc.com/mccdc-fund-raising-events/

202-638-7373

Iowa pollster: Buttigieg strikes chord, could be ‘dark horse’ Gay mayor takes third place in new state poll

By CHRIS JOHNSON CJOHNSON@WASHBLADE.COM

An Iowa pollster says PETE BUTTIGIEG could achieve a dark horse victory.

Washingron Blade photo by Michael Key

In the aftermath of an Iowa poll this week placing Pete Buttigieg in a surprising third place among other candidates, the political expert behind the data said the gay 2020 hopeful could achieve a “dark horse” victory next year.

Spencer Kimball, a professor in political and sports communication at Emerson College, said the poll marks a distinct change for Buttigieg, who was polling at zero in Iowa just two months ago.

“He was in our poll and nobody selected him,” Kimball said. “It was interesting that two months later, he was really able to move the needle more so than any other candidate who was in a similar predicament.”

The poll, conducted March 21-24, found Buttigieg had 11 percent support among Democratic caucus voters in Iowa, placing him in third place in a sea of 2020 hopefuls. The state every four years hosts the Iowa caucuses, which are the first contests for presidential candidates and next year are set to take place Feb. 3.

Buttigieg is behind Joseph Biden, who polled at 25 percent, and Bernie Sanders, who polled at 24 percent, but both those candidates have significant name recognition and have been polling in first and second place in national polls.

Buttigieg’s 11 percent places him ahead of Kamala Harris, who polled at 10 percent, Elizabeth Warren, who polled at 9 percent, Cory Booker at 6 percent, and Beto O’Rourke at 5 percent. Four percent of other respondents said they

wanted someone else; none of the other candidates broke 2 percent.

In contrast to Buttigieg, Kimball said Harris was polling stronger in another Iowa poll two months ago, which was around the time she announced she was running for president. Two months later, Kimball said, Harris has “regressed a little bit back into that more second-tier, middle-ofthe-pack candidacy” That’s the opposite direction Buttigieg has polled in the more recent data.

“The implications are he seems to have been able to strike a chord with the Democratic electorate, and if he’s able to maintain [that], he could become a dark horse,” Kimball said.

Kimball credited Buttigieg’s growth in popularity to the variety of media appearances he has made and his perspicacity in answering questions.

“Because of his last name, it’s a little more difficult to pronounce, and a lot of people just call him Mayor Pete,” Kimball said. “There’s an authenticity about that name that you don’t have with the other candidates, and I think the way he presented himself has been genuine, and I think that is being seen by voters and based on the other data that I’ve seen, his numbers keep inching up as more and more people are learning who he is.”

The South Bend, Ind., mayor has benefited from these media appearances not just in terms of increasing popularity, but in donations. After a CNN town hall in which Buttigieg made headlines by calling

Vice President Mike Pence a “cheerleader of the porn star presidency,” the candidate raised $600,000 from more than 22,000 donors over the course of 24 hours.

It’s not just in Iowa where Buttigieg has grown in popularity. In a national poll Emerson published last week, the South Bend mayor polled at 3 percent among other Democrats. A Morning Consult poll published this week had Buttigieg at 2 percent among all Democratic primary voters, which was one percentage point higher than he was last week.

Kimball said those numbers might not sound impressive at this stage in the Democratic horse race, but observers should keep in mind Buttigieg is “in a field of 15 horses.”

“Jay Inslee hasn’t been able to do that, [John] Hickenlooper hasn’t been able to do that, Kirsten Gillibrand hasn’t been able to do that,” Kimball said. “Look at John Delaney, he’s been running for president for two-and-a-half-years. He’s not measuring anywhere.”

Despite this initial success, Buttigieg needs to increase his standing in Iowa even more to have any success there. To be viable in the Iowa caucuses, a candidate must have support of at least 15 percent of attendees in any particular precinct. With 11 percent support statewide, Buttigieg is still not there.

But Kimball said the upcoming debates would be an opportunity for Buttigieg — as well as other candidates — to see continued growth. As a result of the donations he has received in total, Buttigieg has achieved the 65,000-donor threshold necessary to make the stage at the debates this summer.

“I’m really looking at the debates as the next platform for these candidates to kind of show their worth,” Kimball said.

Kimball also cautioned this newfound growth for Buttigieg might also attract newfound scrutiny, which could jeopardize that growth.

“Now remember, he hasn’t been fully vetted like some of these other candidates in the sense people know his whole record, and we don’t know what negatives might be out there,” Kimball said.

Still, Kimball said the regional appeal Buttigieg enjoys in Iowa — which is next to his home state of Indiana — could spread to other places as he continues his campaign this year and spreads his message.

“He might have some more regional appeal, and…as his candidacy grows, that will increase in New Hampshire, South Carolina as he continues to campaign over the next 10 months or so,” Kimball said.

16 • WA S HI N GTONB LAD E.CO M • M AR C H 2 9 , 2 0 1 9 • N AT IO N AL N EWS

Charges dropped against Jussie Smollett Former HRC president JOE SOLMONESE will serve as CEO for the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

Washington Blade photo by Michael Key

Solmonese named CEO of 2020 Democratic convention JUSSIE SMOLLETT has asserted his innocence, despite what Chicago’s mayor and law enforcement officials have said.

Prosecutors in Cook County, Ill., have dropped all charges against “Empire” star Jussie Smollett. On March 14, Smollett was indicted by a grand jury on 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct for filing a false report. He pled not guilty.

Smollett was summoned to an emergency court hearing at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday where State Attorney Kim Foxx told him that all charges against him had been dropped and his record expunged. Smollett forfeited his bond and the judge also granted a motion to seal the case from the public.

The Office of Cook County State’s Attorney released a statement saying: “After reviewing all of the facts and circumstances of the case, including Mr. Smollett’s volunteer service in the community and agreement to forfeit his bond to the City of Chicago, we believe this outcome is a just disposition and appropriate resolution to this case.”

Smollett’s attorneys also released a statement saying: “Jussie was attacked by two people he was unable to identify on January 29th. He was a victim who was vilified and made to appear as a perpetrator as a result of false and inappropriate remarks made to the public causing an inappropriate rush to judgement. Jussie and many others were hurt by these unfair and unwarranted actions. … Jussie is relieved to have this situation behind him and is very much looking forward to getting back to focusing on his family, friends and career.”

But Chicago officials assailed Smollett in a news conference Tuesday and in interviews. Mayor Rahm Emmanuel called the dismissal of charges a “whitewashing of justice” and a top prosecutor said Smollett was not the victim of a hate crime.

Smollett claimed in January that he was physically and verbally attacked by two men in a homophobic and racist attack. After Chicago police began investigating the case, they claimed that Smollett orchestrated the attack because he was dissatisfied with his salary. Police said Smollett paid $3,500 to brothers Olabinjo (“Ola”) and Abimbola (“Abel”) Osundairo to fake the attack. Police also claimed that Smollett had sent a threatening homophobic and racist letter to himself at the studio where “Empire” is filmed. Smollett did write a check to the brothers for $3,500 but claimed it was for physical training. The letter is also still under investigation by the FBI. Fox had no comment on the latest developments but the “Empire” writers showed their support on Twitter. Smollett’s character Jamal Lyon was cut from the final two episodes of the season due to Smollett’s legal troubles.

Smollett spoke publicly about the case for the first time since his “Good Morning America” appearance shortly after his charges were dropped.

“I have been truthful and consistent on every single level since day one. I would not be my mother’s son if I was capable of one drop of what I’ve been accused of,” Smollett told reporters. “I want to thank my family, my friends, the incredible people of Chicago and all over the country and the world who have prayed for me, who have supported me.”

MARIAH COOPER

N AT I O NAL NE WS • MA RCH 29, 2019 • WA SHINGTON BL A DE . COM • 17

Joe Solmonese, a former head of the Human Rights Campaign, has been named chief executive for the 2020 Democratic National Convention Committee in Milwaukee.

The pick was made less than three weeks after the Democratic Party announced next year Milwaukee would host the Democratic National Convention, where the Democratic presidential candidate who will challenge President Trump in 2020 will be anointed as the party’s nominee.

As chief executive, Solmonese will be charged with overseeing the day-today operations for the committee as it prepares for the convention, which will take place July 13-16, 2020. The news of his appointment was first reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Solmonese was head of the Human Rights Campaign from 2005 to 2012. His tenure took place during the end of the George W. Bush administration, when he oversaw efforts to beat back against a Federal Marriage Amendment that would have banned same-sex marriage nationwide, and the beginning of the Obama administration, when he oversaw efforts to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Additionally, Solmonese served as chief executive of EMILY’s List, which supports female candidates who are pro-choice, and transition chair of Planned Parenthood Federation of America after Cecile Richards ended her 12-year tenure last year.

Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez said in a statement Solmonese “will be an asset in leading our convention team” and “brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to this role and will be instrumental in ensuring we have a successful event.”

“We chose Milwaukee because the city embodies who we are as a party, and under Joe’s leadership, I’m confident those values will be at the forefront as we celebrate our nominee and prepare for the general election,” Perez said. “I am thrilled to have him as a part of the team and look forward to a unifying convention that will put our nominee in the best possible position for victory in November 2020.”

Solmonese said in a statement being selected as the chief executive for the convention is “a tremendous honor and I’m prepared to hit the ground running.”

“There is no better time than now to be a Democrat and next summer we will showcase the ideals and diversity that make our party, the city of Milwaukee, and our nominee special to the American people,” Solmonese said.

CHRIS JOHNSON

Chick-fil-A gave $1.8 million to anti-LGBT groups in 2017 Fast-food chain Chick-fil-A donated $1.8 million to groups with a history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination in 2017.

In tax filings obtained by Think Progress, Chick-fil-A reportedly donated $1,653,416 to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which requires its employees to sign a policy that they will maintain “sexual purity” and not engage in “homosexual acts.” The fast-food chain also donated $6,000 to the Paul Anderson Youth Home, a Christian residential home for troubled youth that teaches that same-sex marriage is “rage against Jesus Christ and His values;” and $150,000 to the Salvation Army which is notoriously anti-LGBTQ. The donations were also listed on the company’s website with a notice that it would no longer be donating to the Paul Anderson Youth Home.

“In 2017, a decision was made by the Chick-fil-A Foundation to no longer donate to the group after a blog post from 2010 surfaced that does not meet Chick-fil-A’s commitment to creating a welcoming environment to all,” Chick-fil-A said in a statement at the time.

In 2012, Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy controversially deemed same-sex marriage as “inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage.”

Chick-fil-A has denied discrimination toward any group in the past. The company released a statement saying that its donations weren’t made with an antiLGBTQ agenda in mind.

“To suggest our giving was done to support a political or non-inclusive agenda is inaccurate and misleading,” Chick-fil-A said in a statement to CBS News.

MARIAH COOPER

1 8 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • M AR C H 2 9 , 2 0 1 9

Cannabis Culture the International Journal of Epidemiology.

A team of Michigan State University researchers assessed the relationship between cannabis use and body mass index (BMI) over time in a nationally representative sample of 33,000 subjects.

Investigators reported that cannabis-using subgroups exhibited “appreciably attenuated BMI gain” over the trial period as compared to non-users and quitters, “with the largest attenuation seen in the ‘persistent use’ group.”

They concluded: “This new prospective study builds from anecdotes, pre-clinical studies and cross-sectional evidence on inverse associations linking cannabis use and obesity and shows an inverse cannabis–BMI increase association. Confirmatory studies with rigorous cannabis and BMI assays will be needed.”

Fla. repeals medical cannabis smoking ban Oklahoma Gov. KEVIN STITT Photo courtesy Stitt’s office

Okla. guv signs medical marijuana measure OKLAHOMA CITY — Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt has signed legislation, HB 2612, clarifying regulations and patient protections specific to the medical use of cannabis. A majority of voters last June approved a statewide initiative authorizing the plant’s use, cultivation, and dispensing.

The new legislation codifies the regulatory bureau, the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, within the State Department of Health, establishes a registry for qualified patients and their caregivers, and establishes a revolving fund to address oversight matters.

It strengthens patient protections by explicitly stipulating that registered cannabis consumers may not be denied public assistance, access to firearms, or employment solely based upon their patient status. It further states, “No employer may refuse to hire, discipline, discharge or otherwise penalize an applicant or employee solely on the basis of a positive test for marijuana components or metabolites.”

The bill seeks to facilitate standards for banks who wish to partner with medical cannabis businesses, and prohibits local governments from enacting “guidelines which restrict or interfere with the rights of a licensed patient or caregiver to possess, purchase, cultivate or transport medical marijuana.”

Members of the House voted 93 to 5 in favor of the legislation.

Senate members voted in favor of the bill by a margin of 43 to 5.

The new law takes effect 90 days following the adjournment of the 2019 legislative session.

An estimated 55,000 Oklahomans are registered with the state to access medical cannabis.

Cannabis use linked to reduced BMI EAST LANSING, Mich. — The use of cannabis over time is inversely related to obesity, according to data published in H E A LT H • MAR CH 29, 2019 • WA SHINGTONBLA DE . COM • 19

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis last week signed legislation, Senate Bill 182, repealing the state’s blanket ban on the inhalation of herbal forms of medical cannabis. Upon taking office, DeSantis demanded lawmakers rescind the ban, which he said was contrary to the provisions of the 2016 voterinitiated medical cannabis access law.

The new law took immediate effect.

Under the law, qualified patients are permitted to possess up to four ounces of herbal cannabis if a recommending physician opines “that the benefits of smoking marijuana for medical use outweigh the risks for the qualified patient.

Lawmakers had previously banned the act of smoking medical cannabis or possessing herbal cannabis flowers, except in instances where they are contained “in a sealed, tamper-proof receptacle for vaping” in 2017.

N.M. approves decriminalization bill ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — House and Senate lawmakers have approved legislation, Senate Bill 323, decriminalizing minor marijuana possession offenses. The proposal now awaits action from Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

The bill reduces first-time penalties for the possession of up to one-half ounce of cannabis from a criminal misdemeanor -punishable by up to 15 days in jail -- to a ‘penalty assessment,’ punishable by a $50 fine. Subsequent offenses, or in situations where the defendant possesses greater amounts of marijuana, will remain punishable by the possibility of jail time.

Police in New Mexico made over 3,600 marijuana possession arrests in 2016.

If signed into law, the reduced penalties take effect on July 1, 2019.

Twenty-one states have either legalized or decriminalized the adult possession and use of cannabis.

Broader legislation that sought to legalize the possession of marijuana by adults and regulate its commercial production and sale passed the House, but stalled in the Senate Finance Committee because the Chair failed to call the bill for a vote.

Nonetheless, the Governor has announced that she will add the issue to the agenda of the 2020 legislative session.

(Cannabis Culture news in the Blade is provided in partnership with NORML. For more information, contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at paul@norml.org.)

Keep your promise to protect each other.

Military: high number of trans youth seeking care

LONDON — The number of transgender children and adolescents receiving care in the U.S. military health system rose substantially from 2010-2017, a new study reported on by Reuters shows.

During that time, the number of children of active or retired military personnel seeking gender-affirming care more than quadrupled, researchers found.

Until September 2016, genderaffirming care was not covered for the 1.7 million youth who may be eligible for military health service care based on their parents’ current or prior service, Reuters reports. At that point, the Department of Defense enacted a policy allowing children of service members to receive full coverage for nonsurgical transgender and gender-diverse care, researchers note in JAMA Pediatrics.

The number of children seeking transgender and gender-diverse care in the military health system rose from 135 in all 12 months of 2010 to 528 in just the first four months of 2017, according to Dr. David A. Klein of the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Maryland and colleagues, Reuters reports.

Overall during the study period, 2,533 youngsters sought this kind of care.

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JAMIE.ARTHURS@DIGNITYMEMORIAL.COM “Approximately 500 children presented to care during early puberty between the ages of 10 and 14,” Klein told Reuters Health in an email. He added, “Because the sex characteristics associated with puberty can be particularly troublesome for transgender and gender-diverse 5130 Wisconsin Ave. NW • DC • (202) 966-6400 • www.JosephGawlers.com adolescents, clinicians caring for such children should promptly refer these ADVERTISING PROOF children to healthcare professionals who ISSUE DATE: 10.26.12 SALES REPRESENTATIVE: BRIAN PITTS (bpitts@washblade.com) are familiar with gender development for consideration of fully reversible treatment REVIEW AD FOR COPY AND DESIGN ACCURACY. Revisions must be submitted within 24 hours of the date of proof. Proof will be considered final and will be submitted for publication if revision is not submitted within 24 hours of to suppress puberty. This treatment the date of proof.

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In Chevy Chase, adjacent to new prescriptions for gender-affirming hormones, compared to 332 in just the first the greenhouse family room. four months of 2017.

Co-author Dr. Elizabeth Hisle-Gorman, also at the Uniformed Services University, told Reuters Health by email, “This study shows that transgender care, which was only officially available to military dependents in 2016, is used and needed.

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Some trans men opt to maintain fertility NEW YORK — Those transitioning from female to male face issues around future fertility. But new research suggests children in the future are a real possibility for these transgender men, HealthDay reports.

Now, research shows that transgender men can remain fertile after even one year of testosterone treatment.

It’s common for transgender men to undergo testosterone therapy as a gender-affirming treatment. But some may later want children through their own pregnancy or via surrogate, the Israeli researchers said.

“Because the long-term effects of testosterone therapy on fertility are unknown, the current recommendation is to stop testosterone at least three months before fertility treatments,” said lead investigator Dr. Yona Greenman. She heads the Transgender Health Center at Tel AvivSourasky Medical Center, HealthDay reports.

The study included 52 transgender men, aged 17-40, who received testosterone therapy over 12 months. They had the expected increase in testosterone blood levels and decrease in estrogen, but their levels of anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) remained in the normal range for fertility, HealthDay reports.

AMH levels are used to appraise remaining eggs in the ovaries. Average levels in study participants decreased only slightly, suggesting their ovarian function was well-preserved, according to Greenman.

Participants also showed no changes in the thickness of their uterine lining. A thick lining is crucial for embryo implantation and a successful pregnancy.

The findings are to be presented Saturday at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting, in New Orleans, HealthDay reports.

“Our research shows for the first time that after one year of testosterone treatment, ovary function is preserved to a degree that may allow reproduction,” Greenman said in a meeting news release. “This information is important for transgender men and their partners who desire to have their own children.”

She said more study is needed to examine the effects of testosterone on other benchmarks of fertility, including the quality of eggs and embryos fertilized in vitro, HealthDay reports.

“These results are a further step toward providing transgender people basic rights such as reproduction,” Greenman said.

Research presented at meetings is typically considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal, HealthDay reports.

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2 2 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • M AR C H 2 9 , 2 0 1 9

BROCK THOMPSON is a D.C.-based writer who contributes regularly to the Blade.

ALEX SLATER founder and chief strategy officer of Clyde Group, is a civil rights campaigner, HIV/AIDS activist and public affairs strategist.

VI E WPO I NT • MARCH 29, 2019 • WA SHINGTONB L A DE . COM • 23

PETER ROSENSTEIN

is a D.C.-based LGBT rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.

MARK LEE

is a long-time entrepreneur and community business advocate. Follow on Twitter: @ MarkLeeDC. Reach him at OurBusinessMatters@gmail.com.

ALEX SLATER

BROCK THOMPSON

founder and chief strategy officer of Clyde Group, is a civil rights campaigner, HIV/ AIDS activist and public affairs strategist.

is a D.C.-based writer.

He contributes regularly to the Blade.

World needs more gay sex in its face Prudishness gets us nowhere and might do damage The world may soon have a gay president. (I predict that statement will age super well.) A gay president, with a gay husband having gay sex in a suddenly gay, gay, gay White House.

It might happen. And America and indeed the whole world should start getting used to the idea of gay sex.

What am I talking about exactly? Two events this week unfolded in the world of entertainment that again illustrated that overall the world is still not even close to being ready to talk about gay sex, much less see some depicted on screen.

First, you had the apparent row over at Paramount Pictures over the upcoming Elton John biopic “Rocketman,” due out later this spring. According to news reports, Paramount was angling to cut all the gay sex stuff featuring a nude Richard Madden and Taron Egerton, who plays the titular character. Let me lay it all on the line, whoever suggested cutting a sex scene between these two men should be kicked out of the business and not allowed to vote in the next presidential election. They’re that stupid and unreasonable. Reason did eventually win out, according to sources, and the scene will be staying in the film. R ratings be damned.

But then you had China and last year’s Freddie Mercury biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody,” another salute to glam gay that already faced criticism for ‘straight washing’ the main character. Back in 2016, Chinese censors banned the portrayal of “abnormal sexual behavior,” including all things gay, in television and movies. When it came to the “Bohemian Rhapsody” upcoming release in China, censors cut so much gayness from the film that the

movie now borders on the nonsensical.

Not only have they cut gay kisses and gay characters, the censors apparently even cut the words ‘gay’ from one scene.

Boyfriends become blurry background characters and the whole thing sort of resembles how my grandmother regarded Liberace. “He’s not gay — just eccentric.”

None of this is really anything new. Gay men have been starved for representations of themselves in entertainment for years.

Depictions of gay intimacy were at best a long shot. Remember the pathetic gay character Matthew that “Melrose Place” threw at us? Generally he was the tragic figure in the apartment complex, desperately so unlucky in love that when he did manage to go in for a gay kiss, the camera would pan away to the coffee table.

This seemed to be more or less the trend.

Even Will from the vaunted “Will and Grace” was damn near asexual for years.

Of course there’s a danger of erasing gay lives, sex and all, from being depicted on the big and small screens. But of course there’s a larger problem here. The inability or outright refusal to talk about gay sex is what more or less brought HIV and AIDS from health crisis to global pandemic in the span of just a few years. If we can’t see it, doesn’t that make it harder to talk about when we might really need to?

Straight sex has been all over the screen for decades. Gays have had to yawn through those vanilla scenes for years. Queer sex - the idea of depicting it at all still throws people, and in the case of China, entire countries into complete fits.

Time for folks to grow up. This prudishness gets us nowhere. And it might actually do some damage.

Pinkwashing at a crossroads

The future of brand involvement in LGBT progress Pinkwashing is a relatively new phenomenon; it refers to the practice of corporations not living up to their purported promises with regard to LGBT rights. The assumption behind the moniker is some companies claim to be supportive of the LGBT community for purely commercial gain, without a tangible commitment to spurring progress.

“In other words, putting their pride effort and dollars where it actually matters,” says Jim Obergefell, a gay rights advocate and adviser to organizations and companies.

Companies seeking to counter charges of pinkwashing can best serve the progress they hope to create by taking actions nobody will hear about. Why would this be the case?

Surely large, powerful companies should publicly encourage progress? Not so, says Open for Business and several of their member companies. At an event hosted by the EU and Clyde Group on this topic, Ed Pilkington of British drinks company Diageo warned that “do no harm” sometimes means that private channels are the safest.

For example, Western companies championing gay rights in countries hostile toward these issues (Nigeria, for example, where 9 out of 10 people are anti LGBT) risk endangering the gay employees or LGBT rights groups they publicly support. The real battleground for LGBT progress lies in other, often developing, countries, where Westernbased companies operate and have large commercial footprints in the public sphere.

Businesses operating in Indonesia, Nigeria and Kenya – where gay rights have come under considerable fire – have so much power that there are questions surrounding their moral responsibility to act.

That doesn’t mean that Western brands can do nothing in these markets. In fact, Pilkington points out that his company has a deliberate strategy to leverage employees as authentic ambassadors of the company’s values through diversity and inclusion training. Support can also be given “in kind” to civil rights groups operating in developing countries; deputy EU Ambassador to the U.S. Caroline Vincini explains that “support (to organizations) can be offered through mentoring, legal services, offering space or expertise.”

These limitations might be a cruel irony to a brand manager eager to showcase

their company’s record on these issues.

But it speaks to the nuanced approach to diversity and inclusion required in an age where pinkwashing is unfortunately common, and companies are wary of it.

These guidelines don’t mean that pinkwashing isn’t an issue for companies operating in the United States; they have plenty of room to grow, and plenty of space to fail too. At the recent SXSW festival in Austin, pinkwashing was a hot button topic among many LGBT advocates, including my panel on LGBT+ rights and the private sector.

The anchor example was pinkwashing at Pride parades; increasingly, brands have chosen to participate in the annual Pride parades of cities where they have a strong operations presence with a high number of employees or suppliers, or where they want to grow their customer base. Countless companies — from Coke to Colgate — have participated in these festivals and, as a result, have drawn scrutiny.

“It’s not enough to slap a rainbow logo on a Pride float anymore,” says Hugh Steeler, an LGBT advocate. “Companies can actually incur greater risk in the delta between their public statements and private actions.” If your company markets itself as an “out and equal” brand but doesn’t truly promote LGBT rights in everything from supply chains to training programs, it is vulnerable.

In the last decade, the leading strategists for corporate diversity and inclusion have come to understand pinkwashing as a potential challenge to their brands; one that requires attention to navigate its complexities. Recent analyses by Open for Business, an organization that works with brands to affect change in countries where gay rights are lagging, shows how concern surrounding pinkwashing is growing.

In the United States, most large companies have acknowledged these realities and worked to improve (though there is room for growth: a study from last year shows that about half of American LGBT+ employees remain closeted at work). Effective companies acknowledge that the promotion of LGBT+ rights is good for their bottom lines and understand that their influence should sometimes be wielded in private ways. The best brands combine those lessons and create an authentic and powerful narrative.

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PETER ROSENSTEIN

is a long-time entrepreneur and community business advocate.

Follow on Twitter: @MarkLeeDC. Reach him at OurBusinessMatters@gmail.com.

is a D.C.-based LGBT rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.

Candidates boycotting Elected official’s AIPAC means nothing D.C. Eagle incident A stunt that generates spotlights ID issue headlines but not much else Occasionally it seems Democrats are more like lemmings than anything else. They jump on bandwagons often without discussion of what the bandwagon means to them. One candidate talks about reparations and they all have to; one talks about the Green New Deal and they all have to; one talks about Medicare-for-All they all have to discuss it. Don’t get me wrong. I am for a version of each of these things myself. But the reality is they mean different things to each of the Democrats who pledge to support them.

The newest bandwagon to jump on is a boycott this year’s annual AIPAC conference.

My reaction to that is who cares? I am not a supporter of AIPAC and am much more aligned with the thoughts of ‘J Street.’ But whether or not a candidate goes to AIPAC this year means nothing. There will be another AIPAC conference before the 2020 election. But whether they attend that one or not what the electorate, both Jewish and non-Jewish alike will want to hear from them is their ideas on how to achieve Middle East peace. What both the Jewish community, the Muslim community, and all other voters will want to see is the platform the Democratic candidate in the general election will run on.

I am a strong supporter of Israel and opposed to the BDS boycott. I am also against Netanyahu, who is a thug. My view is Israel should stop building settlements and be willing to come to peace talks and really negotiate toward a two-state solution.

While I support a Jewish State there must also be a Palestinian State. While getting rid of Netanyahu should be a priority for Israelis, getting rid of Hamas should be a priority for Palestinians. There can never really be a sensible solution if Palestinians support a group whose stated goal is to wipe Israel from the face of the earth. If we ever achieve a twostate agreement, the United States must help in every way it can to build the economy of the new Palestinian state to make it sustainable.

None of this depends on whether Democratic candidates go to AIPAC. Current politics have created a situation in which Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer will attend and speak at AIPAC. They will be going to counter what Trump is doing, which is trying to create a breach between Democrats and Republicans on

Israel where there has never been one. Israel is a Democracy and has always been crucial to our security in the area. There have been many strategic reasons to support Israel and there has been consensus among policymakers that Israel has advanced U.S. interests in the Middle East and beyond.

Among issues credited to Israel has been its work to prevent victories by radical nationalist movements in Lebanon and Jordan.

Israel has helped to keep Syria in check. In some less publicly acknowledged ways Israel has provided battlefield testing for American arms, often against Soviet weapons. Israel’s intelligence service has assisted the U.S. in intelligence gathering and covert operations and today Israel has missiles capable of reaching as far as the former Soviet Union, it possesses a nuclear arsenal of hundreds of weapons, and it has cooperated with the U.S. military-industrial complex with research and development for new jet fighters and antimissile defense systems.

So Democrats should not let two thugs, Trump and Netanyahu, speak before AIPAC in starkly political terms and let their words go unanswered. We live in difficult times and anti-Semitism is on the rise both here in the United States and around the world. I have written about that before. But here I am more concerned with how our Democratic candidates for president will work to craft their positions on the future of the United States relationship with Israel. While they may want to pander to one side or the other they will have to take a clear position if they want to win a general election. They may find it better next year to attend AIPAC and to speak their truth to those attending the conference and make their case to them.

Many of the Democratic candidates have very little foreign policy experience and I would urge them to go out over the next year and talk with those who have been involved in this and other foreign policy issues for years. Barack Obama wasn’t an expert on foreign affairs but he understood that and surrounded himself with people who had more experience and knowledge. There is plenty of time but recognize boycotting an AIPAC conference may get you a headline but accomplish nothing else.

It was an incident sparking news reports and public discussion both at the time and in the past week. The controversy centered on D.C. Council member and former Mayor Vincent Gray having been literally tossed out of the D.C. Eagle gay leather dance club and event venue in northeast Washington last fall when entering a general public arts gathering hosted there on Sept. 29.

The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board ruled on March 13 that Gray suffered “unnecessary physical force” when shoved out of the entrance by a doorperson, propelling him to the ground and inflicting minor cuts and bruises. After being asked for identification and presenting only a Council identification card not displaying a date of birth, Gray was denied admission, according to the city liquor agency investigative report, but was subsequently subjected to illegal and inappropriate physical treatment. The ABC Board fined the nightclub and ordered a seven-day license suspension.

While concerning factually contested and controversial circumstances of an unfortunate nature involving improper action, the occurrence served to indirectly spotlight a larger dilemma facing D.C. bars, restaurants, and nightclubs – and highlighted regulations requiring reform.

The broader problem is that D.C. establishments confront near-functionally impossible proof-of-age enforcement protocols. District politicians must reform the rules to better support venue efforts to preclude and prevent underage drinking.

Local venues have demonstrated a longproven collectively consistent compliance effort, resulting in the District being nationally recognized for a distinctively low rate of underage consumption through diligent prevention efforts and exemplary business practices.

While the national incidence of underage drinking at licensed bars and restaurants is 17 percent, D.C. registers significantly better and as low as 10 percent in recent years.

D.C. law does not require licensed establishments to check IDs for all patrons as a condition of admittance, but they are allowed to do so. Depending on the venue and activity format, particularly at bars and nightclubs, regulation-qualifying valid identification is oftentimes required

to enter. Most restaurants, and many bars, alternatively request ID when an alcoholic beverage is ordered if the patron’s age is not readily apparent.

If a customer is asked for ID, whether for admission or when requesting alcohol, failure or inability to provide it necessitates automatic denial under the law.

Violation of this legal requirement, or compliance failure when tested by the liquor agency’s robust undercover purchasing program, incurs citation and significant fines, and can result in license suspension or loss.

Rigorous business practices serving to prohibit underage customers from purchasing or consuming alcohol protects bartenders or servers who must also abide enforcing the law and whose livelihoods are at stake.

Liquor-serving establishments, however, confront a huge problem in their herculean efforts to fully enforce the law, regularly encountering scores of false IDs. Worse, local businesses have been abandoned by city officials to fend for themselves against great odds and while facing huge liabilities.

As almost any underage person can attest, extremely high quality ‘fake IDs’ are readily purchasable online. These now impossibleto-determine-as-false replicas, commonly originating with sellers in China, pose a major underage enforcement challenge. Even police officers are typically unable to detect these fakes and won’t provide enforcement support when requested, and city officials have refused to enact rules designed to effect customer citation for age falsification.

D.C. regulations, however, establish a “strict liability” standard punishing venues for any violation regardless of whether they employ every due diligence and conscientiously comport with best practices for enforcing the law. Good faith efforts to comply should be a crucial factor in deciding whether a violation warrants an infraction judgment.

Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Council must act to revise the statute and establish an equitable standard that takes into account the procedures and practices utilized by alcohol sellers, necessitating city liquor agency adjudication on an actual case-by-case basis reflecting the facts in each individual case.

Determining violations on an equitable legal basis is the only fair remedy.

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Local couple met via Blade personals ad in ’98 Classifieds were a common way to meet before apps took over

By JAMES WELLEMEYER PAUL CREGO, left, and ISAIAH POOLE on their wedding day — July 24, 2010.

Photo by Sharon Farmer; courtesy the couple

Personal classified ads, as many Washington Blade readers will recall, used to be a huge thing. They started appearing in the early ‘70s not long after the paper launched in 1969.

“That was the first type of advertising that existed,” says Phil Rockstroh, the Blade’s classifieds manager, who has been with the paper since 1986. “The easiest thing to do was to add a couple of lines of text on the back page.”

There were no photos but the ads were “cluttered” with acronyms.

“It was GWM, 34, searching for GBM,” with “GWM” standing for gay white man and “GBM” standing for gay black man.

“Trying to figure out what half of [the acronyms] meant was always the fun,” Rockstroh says.

Two men who remember them fondly are Isaiah Poole and Paul Crego. They met in the summer of 1998 when Poole placed a Blade personal ad stating he was looking for a relationship with a man “for whom spirituality was important.”

One of the men who responded was Paul Crego, a former United Methodist minister with a theology doctorate from Harvard.

“His ad had the word ‘spiritual.’ That’s the tag that I attached to,” Crego says.

The couple says these types of personal ads were a common way for gay men to meet in the late ‘90s and early 2000s.

“Of course, you could do the bar scene.

But I just really felt that the best thing for me to meet people who were outside of my circle would be putting an ad and see what would happen,” Poole says.

Poole remembers that the Blade had multiple sections for personal ads, one for those looking for “encounters,” or hookups, and another for those looking for long-term relationships.

Lesbians, bi and trans folks also placed Blade personal ads.

“At the peak — I would say in the late ‘90s — we would have a whole page of men’s personals, a half page of women’s,” Rockstroh says. “And classifieds altogether had grown into maybe six pages.”

The section continued to grow until the internet all but wiped it out.

“Craigslist and all of the phone services became more sophisticated and took us out of the pie,” Rockstroh says. “Now, Grindr, Tinder and other apps have made ads in the Blade even less common,” though a few still appear.

Crego and Poole went on a date to a Filipino restaurant in 1999. Though the restaurant is now “long gone,” Crego says, he and Poole are still together.

They got married on July 24, 2010, soon after marriage equality legislation passed in the D.C. Council. And their 10year anniversary is fast approaching.

Originally from the D.C. area, Poole grew up in an adoptive family and became a reporter after high school. He started at The Washington Times, where he covered Jesse Jackson’s presidential campaign and served in both writing and editing roles for a decade until 1991.

“There was an actual gay mafia at The Washington Times in the 1980s,” Poole says.

Following his time there, Poole floated

M AR CH 2 9 , 2019 • WA SHINGTONBLA D E.COM • 29

between local papers and even worked for an AIDS advocacy group for a bit. In 2000, he left D.C. for three years to earn his bachelor’s degree in journalism at Penn State.

“I managed to skate through a huge chunk of my life without an undergraduate degree and felt like I had gotten to the end of skating.”

Poole and Crego maintained their relationship while Poole studied in Pennsylvania.

“I wanted to be sure that Paul was the person with whom I wanted to spend the rest of my life. I would say that Paul’s persistence made a difference,” Poole says.

Crego remembers taking the bus from D.C. to Pennsylvania to visit Poole on weekends.

“When someone genuinely loves you, it’s stupid to say no to that, especially when he is as good a person as Paul is,” Poole says.

Once Poole completed his degree, he returned to D.C. to work as a reporter for Congressional Quarterly. He now serves as the editorial manager at the Democracy Collaborative.

Crego’s path has been a little less complicated. From just north of Syracuse, N.Y., he has worked at the Library of Congress for more than 20 years.

Both religious, Crego and Poole always valued marriage as an institution. And both men were involved in early battles for gay rights.

While at The Washington Times, Poole worked with other LGBT journalists to help establish the Association of LGBTQ Journalists (NLGJA) in the mid-1980s.

“It was about a dozen of us who were involved in early meetings to get that organization launched. It’s now a huge

thing,” Poole says. “I think partly because of the NLGJA, it’s not a big deal that Anderson Cooper and Don Lemon have shows on CNN.” Crego presided at a 1984 union service of two men in Syracuse through the Metropolitan Community Church.

“I did it with the proviso that my name was not to be mentioned anywhere because I could have been kicked out of my job,” he says.

The Syracuse Post Standard picked up on the story and it soon reached The New York Times.

“You can look in The New York Times of September 5, 1984, and there’s an article called ‘Homosexual Weddings Stir Dispute.’

They mention the minister of a mainline denomination. That’s me,” Crego says.

On the day same-sex marriage became legal in D.C. in 2010, Crego emailed Poole, asking, “When are you going to get married?”

“That got his attention, and he showed it to everybody in his office,” Crego says.

Poole and Crego wed in July of that year. “Although it wasn’t on the hottest day that summer, it was 102. And the church wasn’t air-conditioned,” Crego says.

The wedding drew approximately 80 people, Poole remembers, including three best men and six clergy members from multiple denominations.

Poole and Crego now live with two cats, Tina and Ketedan, in Northeast D.C. “We go to movies, plays and musicals. We saw ‘Hamilton’ when it was only on Broadway two weeks. We got tickets well before they were $1,000 a piece,” Crego says.

“And it all started,” Poole says, “With an ad in the Washington Blade.”

Resources for same-sex weddings are becoming more common even in mainstream outlets.

Photo by Stefano Bolognini; courtesy Wikimedia

D.C.-area same-sex wedding resources FROM STAFF REPORTS

With same-sex marriage here to stay in the U.S., there’s a booming industry available in the D.C. area and beyond to meet your wedding needs.

The Intrepid Wendell, gay-owned and operated by Daniel Boettcher, is here to “help you fashion your joy and your love into a set of rings that represent who you are and what your love means.”

It’s located “just steps from the White House.” Schedule an appointment by visiting theintrepidwendell.com.

The Bethesda/Washington D.C. LGBTQ Wedding Expo is Sunday, April 14 from 12:30-3:30 p.m. at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel (8120 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda, Md.). “You and your partner will have the opportunity to meet face to face with a diversity of wedding vendors, all proud supporters of LGBTQ equality and eager to work with you on planning your special day,” its website states.

ADVERTISING PROOF Did you know - Georgetown has more wedding related For more information on exhibitor registration, ISSUE DATE: 171208 free tickets for couples and more event details, retail than SALES any REPRESENTATIVE: other neighborhood in DC? visit rainbowweddingnetwork.com.

REVIEW AD FOR COPY AND DESIGN ACCURACY. Revisions must be submitted within 24 hours of the date of proof. Proof will be considered final and will be submitted for publication if revision is not submitted within 24 hours of Need help finding an officiant? The the date of proof.

Revisions will not be accepted after 12:01 pm wednesday, the week of publication.Brown naff pitts NS omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) is not responsible for the content and/or design of your ad. Advertiser is responsible for any legal liability arising out of or relating to the advertisement, and/or any material to which users GN Knot (theknot.com) has a D.C. page Spendcan the day shopping and for your link through the advertisement.

Advertiser represents that its planning advertisement will not violate any criminal laws orwedding in EVISIONS any rgihts of third parties, including, but not limited to, such violations as infringement or misapporpriation of any with 148 affirming ministers, rabbis, precopyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, music, image, or other proprietary or propety right, false advertising, unfair /LOGO REVISIONS competition, defamation, invasion of privacy or rights of celebrity, violation of anti-discrimination law or regulation, Georgetown.

Enjoy events andllc (dba activities marriage counselors and more. or any other right of any person or entity.

Advertiser special agrees to idemnify brown naff pitts omnimedia the ADVERTISER SIGNATURE SIONS washington blade) and to hold brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) harmless from any and all By signing this proof you are agreeing to your contract obligations with the liability, loss, damages, claims, or causes of action, including reasonable legal fees and expenses that may be incurred washington blade newspaper. This includesProposition but is not limited to placement, Love is another gayby brown naff pitts omnimedia llc, arising out of or related to advertiser’s breach of any of the foregoing representations payment and insertion schedule. throughout the day. Win raffle prizes for exciting dining and and warranties. owned jewelry outlet that offers bracelets, necklaces and, of course, wedding bands. shopping experiences.

Find it online at propositionlove.com.

A sure sign the movement is maturing is when you start seeing same-sex wedding Free! RSVP today - georgetownmainstreet.com/i-do products on the shelves at mainstream outlets. Nothing yet in Michael’s or — big surprise — Hobby Lobby, but the Paper Source now sells “Mr & Mr.” and “Mrs. The Georgetown Main Street Program is funded by the Department of Small and Local Business Development and & Mrs.” rubber stamps along the more officially recognized as a DC Main Streets Program. traditional “Mr. & Mrs.” version. They’re

Saturday, May 11, 2019

available for $8.95 each at Paper Source outlets in Old Town Alexandria, Bethesda and Georgetown though oddly only the “Mr. & Mrs.” version is for sale online. Location details are online at shop.papersource.com.

Two members of Bet Mishpachah offer officiating services. Just Right Ceremonies (justrightceremonies.com)

by Ruth Potts and Alex Carter promise “your ceremony, your way” and specialize in LGBT and interfaith weddings.

Consider holding your reception and/ or wedding at City Winery (1350 Okie St., N.W.). With 40,000 sq. ft. of event space, City Winery can customze an unforgettable experience for a seated dinner, wedding reception, corporate event, baby shower, team builder, wine tasting or more. Look for the “wedding brochure” bar under the events tab at citywinery.com.

Mia’s Italian Kitchen, The Majestic, Vola’s Dockside Grill and many others are part of Alexandria Restaurant Partners and all host wedding events. Details at alexandriaresaurantpartners.com.

Georgetown Main Street has its wedding event I Do on Saturday, May 11 at 11 a.m. and promises the “highest concentration of businesss catering to brides, couples and families planning weddings in the D.C. region.” Events and discounts are promised throughout the day along Wisconsin Ave. Check-in at Tudor Place (1670 31st St., N.W.) from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. to get started with a map of all participating vendors, guide to events including makeovers, calligraphy lessons, tastings and more. It’s free but raffle tickets and prizes are available. Full details at georgetownmainstreet.com/i-do.

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10 great D.C. spots to pop the question Region teeming with gorgeous, thrilling places to get engaged

By MARIAH COOPER MCOOPER@WASHBLADE.COM The Kennedy Center rooftop is a romantic spot to propose.

Washington Blade photo

As the District finally starts to shake the winter doldrums away and welcome the blooms of spring, love is also in the air. If you’re thinking about taking the next big step in your relationship, the pressure of finding the perfect venue can be stressful.

Whether you and your partner are suckers for a classic romantic proposal or want something a little out of the ordinary, here is a list of some local places to consider popping the question.

Blagden Alley ‘Love’ Mural Looking for an LGBTQ touch to include in your proposal? Consider taking your significant other to the “Love” mural in Blagden Alley (926 N St., N.W.). Artist Lisa Marie Thalhammer, who identifies as an activist and member of the LGBTQ community, painted the word “Love” in rainbow colors on four garage doors in 2017. The mural is also available to purchase in a set of four prints so you and your partner can always have a piece of the proposal moment with you. lisamariestudio.com.

Fiola For a classic dinner proposal, consider Italian hotspot Fiola (601 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.). The upscale restaurant is known for its contemporary Italian cuisine and creative cocktails which will add that extra flavor to the special evening. When making your reservation, be sure to let Fiola know you’re planning to propose.

The restaurant will try to make special food and table accommodations to suit the occasion. fioladc.com.

iFly Indoor Skydiving

The thrill-seeking couple can get pumped with a double dose of adrenaline at iFly Indoor Skydiving. Experience the heart-pumping jump out of an aircraft without ever taking flight. iFly Indoor Skydiving is the equivalent to 1.5 skydives.

You can pop the question to your significant other after you both have taken flight and are buzzing with adrenaline or celebrate the engagement by taking a flight right after the proposal. A venue is only a short drive away with locations in Baltimore and Montgomery County. Flight prices range from $79.95-127.95. iflyworld.com.

Roof Terrace Restaurant at the Kennedy Center

Performing arts lovers should consider taking in a show at the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) before whisking away their loved one to the Roof Terrace Restaurant. The two of you can enjoy a show of a lifetime from any of the Kennedy Center’s programming which includes dance, theater, comedy, opera and more.

After the show, take in the view of the city from the open-air rooftop terrace where you can pop the question. Later, you can commemorate the engagement with a celebratory toast at the Roof Terrace Restaurant. kennedy-center.org.

Martin’s Tavern If you want to make your proposal one for the history books, ask for booth number three at Martin’s Tavern (1264 Wisconsin Ave., N.W.) located on the bustling main street of Georgetown. The

M AR CH 2 9 , 2019 • WA SHINGTONBLA D E.COM • 31

oldest family-owned restaurant in D.C. is said to have been the place where John F. Kennedy proposed to his girlfriend, the one and only Jacqueline Bouvier, in booth number three. The two of you can relish in knowing you share a proposal spot with former President Kennedy and Jackie O. martinstavern.com.

National Cherry Blossom Festival An Instagram-worthy proposal wouldn’t be complete without beautiful scenery.

Take your significant other to see the cherry blossoms during their peak bloom dates in April for engagement photos that will display both your love for each other and D.C. The soft pink trees are the ideal backdrop to showcase that love and spring were in the air when you got down on one knee. nationalcherryblossomfestival.org.

National Harbor Capital Wheel Soar to new heights with your love by proposing on the Capital Wheel at National Harbor (116 Waterfront St., Oxon Hill, Md.). Spring for the VIP experience which offers a luxurious ride with leather bucket seats and a glass floor. The package can accommodate up to four riders so you can bring along two family members or friends to witness the moment and snap some photos.

The package allows your group to skip the line and includes a photo package.

Tickets are $50 per person. You also have the option to light the wheel up with your partner’s favorite color for a more personalized experience. Email events@ iconattractions.com for availability and

rates. thecapitalwheel.com.

Nationals Park A proposal at Nationals Park (1500 S Capitol St., S.E.) could be the best option if you and your sweetheart are sports enthusiasts. If you want to pull out all the stops, you can pay $1,500 for the proposal to be broadcast on the scoreboard between innings. Plan ahead because the park only allows two video proposals per season. For a more discounted option, you can have the question shown on the scoreboard for $500. For an even cheaper, but still memorable, option, opt to get down on one knee outside the Nationals Park gates or in the stands. mlb.com/nationals/ballpark.

The Observation Deck at CEB Tower For stunning, unobstructed views of the city to be the backdrop for your proposal look no further than the Observation Deck at CEB Tower (1201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Va.). If unexpected weather conditions encroach on your proposal plans, don’t worry. The deck is open rain or shine. Tickets range from $12-22. theviewofdc.com.

The Wharf Another picturesque proposal spot is at the Wharf (1100 Maine Ave., S.W.). Stroll along the waterfront enjoying the various shops and restaurants before taking your significant other to the pier. You can propose on a clear, sunny day or during a romantic sunset over the water. If you’re feeling adventurous, take your partner out on a boat, kayak or water taxi for an on-thewaterfront proposal. wharfdc.com.

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Now that you’re married, make a financial plan Assess withholdings, update beneficiaries and more

By ALEX GRAHAM

Congratulations on your marriage!

After spending the last several months on planning, your special day and the honeymoon have come and gone, and now you’re wondering what’s next.

Whether you’re planning on buying a home, having a child, or simply enjoying life as a married couple, it should all start with you and your spouse establishing a financial roadmap, which includes assessing paycheck tax withholding and updating financial beneficiaries.

The first step in establishing a roadmap as a married couple involves your taxes, specifically your paycheck withholding taxes.

Some think I should dress more like Due in part to the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of a woman. Some think I should dress 2017,” signed into law by President Trump, more like a man. some have experienced confusion and other unpleasant surprises because of changes to the withholding tables. While I always advise reaching out to a tax professional, here is a quick way to do it yourself: Step one: Determine if it is best to file your taxes married jointly or married separately. This will depend on how close in salary each spouse makes. There are many ‘marriage calculators’ available to you, but the simplest calculator is hosted by the Tax Policy Center.

ADVERTISING PROOF Step two: The IRS website offers ISSUE DATE: 181026 SALES REPRESENTATIVE: a withholding calculator that determines Please treat me the same way any how much tax you should actually withhold REVIEW AD FOR COPY AND DESIGN ACCURACY. Revisions must be submitted within 24 hours of the date of proof. Proof will be considered final and will be submitted for publication if revision is not submitted within 24 hours of person would want to be treated: based on your filing status. It’s important the date of proof.

Revisions will not be accepted after 12:01 pm wednesday, the week of publication.Brown naff pitts NS omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) is not responsible for the content and/or design of your ad. Advertiser is with courtesy and respect. responsible for any legal liability arising out of or relating to the advertisement, and/or any material to which users GN to make sure to account for any dividends/ can link through the advertisement. Advertiser represents that its advertisement will not violate any criminal laws or EVISIONS any rgihts of third parties, including, but not limited to, such violations as infringement or misapporpriation of any interest and short-term capital gains. The copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, music, image, or other proprietary or propety right,based false advertising, unfair identity and Discrimination on gender /LOGO REVISIONS competition, defamation, invasion of privacy or rights of celebrity, violation of anti-discrimination law or regulation, calculator will tell you what filing status, how or any other right of any person or entity. Advertiser agrees to idemnify brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the ADVERTISER SIGNATURE SIONS expression is illegal in the District of Columbia. washington blade) and to hold brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) harmless from any and all By signing this proof you are agreeing to your contract obligations with the liability, loss, damages, claims, or causes of action, including reasonable legal fees and expenses that may be incurred washington blade newspaper. This includes but iswithholdings not limited to placement, (usually 0 or 1) and if many by brown naff pitts omnimedia llc, arising out of or related to advertiser’s breach of any of the foregoing representations payment and insertion schedule.

If you think you’ve been the target of and warranties. you should request an extra specific dollar discrimination, visit www.ohr.dc.gov amount to be withheld. It’s important to note or call (202) 727-4559. that the IRS expects you to withhold around 90% of your tax due (although this tax season has been different) or face a penalty.

GLBT To ensure you’re on the right path, it may AFFAIRS be smart to do another check-up around November to make sure you’re on track.

Once you have given the IRS calculator’s Show your support! Spread word of the #TransRespect recommendations to your employer’s campaign by photographing this ad and sharing on Twitter. payroll team, you will most likely have a new

“

I may not fit some ideas about gender, and I am a proud part of DC.

OFFICE OF

take home pay amount. From here, you’ll be able to use your new combined take home pay to determine your monthly budget.

As newlyweds, approaching budgeting will be a little different than when you were single. For many people, merging finances after being previously financially independent can cause uneasiness. I recommend creating one family budget this includes housing, groceries, and, most importantly, joint social expenses (evenings out, travel, etc.). To help manage these expenses create a joint cash and credit account, so both partners can see how the family budget is doing. Split the total expected expense in an amount that seems fair relative to each spouse’s income. Many payroll departments allow you to deposit a portion of income into more than one bank account, which makes things a lot simpler.

The balance of your paycheck remains yours to spend or save – and hopefully surprise your spouse with something nice every once and awhile. Overtime, many couples further consolidate their finances, but the above is a good way to begin your life together.

Finally, don’t forget to compare your respective employee benefit plans. Update any beneficiary information on your retirement plans (don’t stop maxing out those contributions!) and determine who has the best health coverage. Do not just look at the per paycheck cost, but rather weigh the different deductibles, health network type (HMO, PPO, etc.), and total coverage. I won’t lie - it can be very confusing, but your human resources representative or current insurance carrier’s customer service are highly trained in describing each policy’s features.

Just remember, financial planning at the start of your marriage will ensure a strong foundation for the future.

(Information contained herein is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice or recommendations. Advice may only be provided after entering into an advisory agreement with an Advisor.)

3 2 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • M AR C H 2 9 , 2 0 1 9

This Week in the Arts provided by CultureCapital.com Topdog/Underdog.

Thru Apr 14.

Avant Bard at Gunston Arts Center. wscavantbard.org.

DANCE

Foon Sham: Twist of Lime Thru Apr 20. gallery neptune & brown. galleryneptunebrown.com.

Gallery neptune & brown presents recent sculptures and drawings by internationally renowned artist Foon Sham. This most recent body of work synthesizes the vibrant colors of Auvillar, France experienced during Sham’s residency at the Arkad Centre d’Art in the summer of 2018. Sham captures and recreates Auvillar’s varied, vivid palette of textiles, architecture, and food for a Washington, DC audience in Twist of Lime.

Tastes of the Mediterranean Mar 29-Mar 31. Folger Consort at Folger Theatre. folger.edu.

Renaissance music of Spain and Italy offers a variety of tastes and flavors— from rustic to courtly to the sublime. Tuneful and lyric Spanish villançicos and Italian frottole express a wide range of emotions about food, drink, loss, and, of course, love. Instrumental works include lively dances and diminutions from Italy and some of the great wind band repertoire from Spain. With soprano and wind ensemble Piffaro, The Renaissance Band.

New York City Ballet: Works by Reisen, Balanchine & Robbins Apr 2-Apr 7. Kennedy Center. kennedy-center.org.

Choreographer Gianna Reisen’s Composer’s Holiday is set to Lukas Foss’s Three American Pieces, for violin and piano. George Balanchine’s Kammermusik No. 2 echoes Hindemith’s modernist score with jagged lines and stylized gestures, while Symphony in C—his grand classical masterpiece performed to Bizet—dazzles with over 50 dancers.

Amanda Palmer Apr 5. National Theatre. thenationaldc.org.

Amanda Palmer comes to D.C. for a concert in support of her first solo album in more than six years - the eagerly awaited THERE WILL BE NO INTERMISSION, which will be released on March 8, 2019. Palmer’s third solo LP, it is the multi-faceted artist’s most powerful and personal collection to date, with songs that tackle the big questions: life, death, grief and how we make sense with it all. While the themes may be dark, the album’s overall sonic and lyrical mood is one of triumph.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GALLERY NEPTUNE & BROWN

THEATRE Aquila Theatre: A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Mar 31. Mason’s Center for the Arts. cfa.gmu.edu.

Eugene Onegin. Thru Mar 29. Faust.

Thru Mar 30. WNO at Kennedy Center. kennedy-center.org.

Hands on a Hardbody. Thru Apr 6. From Gumbo to Mumbo. Thru Apr 7. Keegan Theatre. keegantheatre.com.

30th Anniversary Season Preview. Apr 4.

Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Thru Apr 7.

Grand Hotel, The Musical. Apr 2-May 19.

Signature Theatre. sigtheatre.org.

One Destiny. Thru Oct 26. Ford’s Theatre. fords.org.

Landless Theatre Company: The Doyle and Debbie Show. Mar 29. DC Arts Center. dcartscenter.org.

Native Son. Thru Apr 28. Mosaic Theater Company at Atlas. mosaictheater.org.

Oil. Thru Mar 31. Madeline and the Bad Hat. Mar 30-Mar 31. Olney Theatre. olneytheatre.org.

Shear Madness. Thru Jun 19. Kennedy Center. shearmadness.com.

The Jewish Queen Lear. Thru Apr 7.

Theater J at Davis Performing Arts Center, Georgetown University. theaterj.org.

M AR CH 29, 2 0 1 9 • WA SHINGTONBLA DE.COM • 33

Ananya Dance Theatre. Mar 30-Mar 31.

Dance Place. danceplace.org.

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company: Analogy Trilogy. Thru Mar 30. Demo II. Mar 29-Mar 30. New York City Ballet: New Works & New Productions. Apr 4-Apr 6. Kennedy Center. kennedy-center.org.

MUSIC Annapolis Symphony Orchestra: Cosmic Depth. Mar 31. Strathmore. strathmore.org.

Arctica. Mar 30. The Washington Chorus at Kennedy Center. thewashingtonchorus.org.

Capitol Cantata Series. Apr 1-May 6.

Washington Bach Consort at St. Peters Catholic Church. bachconsort.org.

Dead Rock West Workshop & Concert.

Mar 30. Arts on the Green at Arts Barn. gaithersburgmd.gov.

NSO: Glass’s Itaipu & Auerbach’s ARCTICA. Thru Mar 30. I’m With Her. Mar 31. Brooklyn Youth Chorus: Silent Voices: Lovestate. Apr 1. Mason Bates’s KC Jukebox: Chanticleer—Sirens. Apr 2.

Theo Bleckmann. Apr 4. Moon Medicin.

Apr 4. Phantom Limb Company: Falling Out. Apr 4-Apr 5. Kennedy Center. kennedy-center.org.

Julian Schwarz, Cello; Marika Bournaki, Piano- A Night in Vienna. Mar 29.

Embassy Series at Embassy of Austria. embassyseries.org.

Fauré Quartett. Mar 31. National Gallery of Art. nga.gov.

Harlem QuartetMar 30. Dumbarton Concerts at Dumbarton United Methodist Church. dumbartonconcerts.org.

La Paloma at the Wall. Thru Mar 31. In Series at GALA Hispanic Theatre. inseries.org.

La Grande Fête. Mar 29. Alliance Française at Embassy of France. francedc.org.

Little Miss Ann. Mar 30. National Theatre. thenationaldc.org.

Mountain Man. Mar 29. Tom Paxton & The DonJuans. Apr 4. The Barns at Wolf Trap. wolftrap.org.

The Knights, with Kinan Azmeh. Mar 31Apr 1. Dumbarton Oaks. doaks.org.

Sing For Your Stamps. Apr 4. Postal Museum. postalmuseum.si.edu.

Sakura Taiko Takeover. Mar 31. ANA Performance Stage at the Tidal Basin.

The Spring of Akira Nishimura: Jasper Quartet. At Freer Gallery of Art. Apr 4. nationalcherryblossomfestival.org.

Sounds of New Orleans: A Tribute to Louis Armstrong.

Mar 30.

National Philharmonic at Strathmore. nationalphilharmonic.org.

Veronica Swift & the U.S. Air Force Band.

Mar 31. Washington Performing Arts at LINE Hotel. washingtonperformingarts.org.

Vespers: Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil.

Mar 31. Voce Chamber Singers at Church of The Holy Comforter. voce.org.

MUSEUMS Dumbarton Oaks. Written in Knots: Undeciphered Accounts of Andean Life.

Apr 2-Aug 18. Beyond Knotting: Wari and Inka Tunics from the Collection. Apr 2-Aug 18. doaks.org.

Folger Shakespeare Library. First Chefs: Fame and Foodways from Britain to the Americas. Thru Mar 31. folger.edu.

Library of Congress. Baseball Americana.

Thru Jun 29. loc.gov.

National Gallery of Art. In the Library: The Evans-Tibbs Archive of African American Art. Thru Apr 12. Drawing in Tintoretto’s Venice. Thru May 26. Venetian Prints in the Time of Tintoretto. Thru May 26. Tintoretto: Artist of Renaissance Venice. Thru Jul 9. nga.gov.

National Geographic. Queens of Egypt.

Thru Sep 2. nglive.org.

National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Ambreen Butt—Mark My Words. Thru Apr 14. Ursula von Rydingsvard: The Contour of Feeling. Thru Jul 28. nmwa.org.

Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian. The REDress Project. Thru Mar 31. The Great Inka Road: Engineering an Empire. Thru Jun 1. americanindian.si.edu.

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian.

Orchids: Amazing Adaptations. Thru Apr 28. Lincoln’s Contemporaries. Thru May 19. npg.si.edu.

Postal Museum. Beautiful Blooms: Flowering Plants on Stamps. Thru Jul 14. postalmuseum.si.edu.

Woodlawn and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Pope-Leighey House. 2019 Woodlawn Needlework Show & Sale. Thru Mar 31. woodlawnpopeleighey.org.

GALLERIES DC Arts Center. Lush: Reinvention Wayson R. Jones. Thru Apr 7. Then/Again. Mar 29Apr 28. dcartscenter.org.

Del Ray Artisans. For The Artist Art Exhibit.

Thru Mar 31. delrayartisans.org.

District Architecture Center.

Transforming Cities, Transforming Lives: The Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme.

Thru Mar 29. aiadac.com.

Glen Echo Park. A Singular Vision of Outer Cape Cod: Catherine Hess. Thru Mar 30. glenechopark.org.

JCCNV. Meaning Making Through Art Making. Mar 29-May 10. jccnv.org.

Korean Cultural Center DC. Painted in Light: Digital Media Artist HyeGyung Kim. Thru Apr 22. koreaculturedc.org.

Waverly Street Gallery. Unstuck in Space and Time: An Annotated Exhibit by Jeffrey Human. Thru Apr 6. waverlystreetgallery.com.

TYCE DIORIO (left) dancing with Janet Jackson on her 1998 ‘Velvet Rope’ world tour.

Photo courtesy Diorio

Dancing for ‘Queen’ Janet Jackson Tyce Diorio reflects on his time with the icon as she prepares for Rock Hall induction

By KEVIN NAFF KNAFF@WASHBLADE.COM

Janet Jackson has made innumerable contributions to popular culture, from chart-topping music to pioneering videos to memorable film roles. She’s a bestselling author, a philanthropist and outspoken advocate for racial, gender and LGBTQ equality. She’s a fashion icon, a sitcom star and award-winning writer.

But perhaps the work for which she will be best remembered is as a dancer.

From strutting alongside Paula Abdul in 1986’s breakthrough “Nasty” to her oftimitated solo performance in “Pleasure Principal” to the militaristic “Rhythm Nation” to the mid-tempo grooves with Jennifer Lopez in “That’s the Way Love Goes” and beyond, Jackson has created some of the most iconic dance moves in modern music.

And so, as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame belatedly prepares to induct Jackson on March 29, it seems fitting to talk to one of her best-known dancers, Tyce Diorio, about her legacy and her importance to the dance world.

Diorio first came to Jackson’s attention after he auditioned and was booked for her “If” video, the second single from 1993’s “janet.” album. He said mastering Jackson’s intricate choreography can be like solving a math problem.

“Every part of the choreography of ‘If’ is a masterpiece,” Diorio said in an interview with the Blade. “[Choreographer] Tina Landon is such an expert at building a piece of work around an artist, she did it so well.

You know good choreography when it’s still being done 25 years later. It feels so good to do even still today, it’s still relevant.”

After the “janet.” album, Diorio auditioned and was hired for the follow-up project, “The Velvet Rope,” accompanying Jackson on a hit world tour and appearing in more videos, including the No. 1 smash single “Together Again.” He describes that period of his career as life changing, performing all over the world and on major award shows. “‘Velvet Rope’ was a masterpiece album,” Diorio said. “The tone and message were so brave and so individualized and personal but also resonated with us on the tour. And she really pushed the envelope creatively as artists should do.”

He described the tight bond that developed among the dancers and the close involvement Jackson had in all areas of production, from the dancers’ hairstyles to their moves.

“We had tattoos, piercings, different colored hair, no one was doing all that on the music scene. Janet has always been one of those artists that was groundbreaking,” he said. “It’s so rare that an artist is so involved in a project from the makeup and hair to the choreography, she was involved in every portion of it.”

Also on “The Velvet Rope” tour was

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TYCE DIORIO returns this summer to Fox’s ‘So You Think You Can Dance.’

Photo courtesy Diorio

the upstart group NSYNC, which Jackson featured as her opening act for part of the tour. So Diorio knew the group’s lead singer, Justin Timberlake, who would later share the stage with Jackson during her infamous Super Bowl performance.

“When NSYNC started as opening act they were very friendly and fun,” Diorio said. “We all had a nice rapport.”

Reflecting on the Super Bowl controversy, Diorio says, “things happen.”

“I thought the Super Bowl performance was fantastic and so well designed in terms of the set and choreography and the way Janet performed with the dancers,” he said. “So for me in terms of the controversy I don’t have any thoughts on that. What happened was an unfortunate situation that just happened and we all move on from it.” Agreed.

Jackson is known for letting her dancers share the spotlight and many have gone on to tremendous success on their own, from Abdul and Lopez to Jenna Dewan and Diorio, who won an Emmy Award for his work on “So You Think You Can Dance.” Diorio is in production on his 16th season as a judge on the hit show now, which will air this summer on Fox. The LA-based dancer/choreographer, who’s gay, also recently finished shooting a film in Europe called “High Strung.”

Diorio has danced and choreographed for a number of major pop stars, going on tour with Paula Abdul when he was just 19. Later, he appeared in Ricky Martin’s video for hit song “Livin’ La Vida Loca” and danced in Jennifer Lopez’s debut tour.

But it’s his work with Jackson that remains “transcendent.”

“When I took the stage with her it was an otherworldly experience. You can’t explain it fully. There are no words. It’s transcendent. You feel like you’re in another space and time, it’s such a journey.”

It’s difficult to put into words the experience of performing on stage in front of 20,000 screaming fans — the adrenalin rush and the stamina required to pull it off night after night — and the feeling when the tour ends.

“When the tours were over it was bittersweet but I go back to my life and that’s magical too,” Diorio says. “I feel lucky in my life whether I’m in front of millions of people or not. That’s the challenge in our business, separating those moments from the rest. It’s like a chapter in one’s life. All good things come to an end.”

Last year, Diorio received an unexpected call from Jackson’s team, inviting him along with many of her previous tour dancers to a reunion in

M AR CH 29, 2 0 1 9 • WA SHINGTONBLA DE.COM • 35

L.A. and a blockbuster performance of “Rhythm Nation” at the Hollywood Bowl.

The performance — part of her “State of the World Tour” — can be found on YouTube.

In it, dancers from all of her previous tours take the stage to recreate those iconic moves. Then Jackson took time to introduce each dancer to the audience.

“Which artist would do something like this? There’s no one else who could pull this off,” Diorio recalls. “It was magical, we were all blown away. Being on the stage, we came together so seamlessly. We all knew each other, we were so inspired and motivated, an awe-inspiring moment. It only happens once. One for the books.”

Asked to name one Jackson song he’d like to choreograph, he said “Runaway.” His favorite choreography to perform? “Throb.”

The hardest to perform? “Rhythm Nation.”

What’s more stressful — performing on the “Oprah Winfrey Show” or “Saturday Night Live?” Oprah. “Because it’s Oprah!”

Diorio says it was an honor to dance for Jackson because she chooses all of her own dancers personally.

“Working with Janet and her being who she is, it’s something special … so you feel so special if she chooses you,” he said.

“To the dance community she’s such an icon and such a queen. It was my absolute dream to dance for her.”

To say that Jackson’s career is in resurgence mode would be an understatement. In 2015, she released “Unbreakable,” her seventh No. 1 album, making her only the fourth act in music history to chart No. 1 albums in four consecutive decades (along with Barbra Streisand, Bruce Springsteen and U2).

She followed that with the “Unbreakable” tour, took a break to have her son, Eissa, then launched her massively successful “State of the World Tour,” which played 76 dates across North America and two recent shows in Japan. She was last year’s Billboard Icon Award recipient, then picked up several more awards in 2018, including the Icon Award at the BMI R&B/ Hip-Hop Awards; the Inspiration Award at the MNET Asian Music Awards; the MTV Europe Global Icon Award and the Impact Award from Radio Disney, to name a few.

In August, she debuted a new single, “Made for Now” with Daddy Yankee, her 20th No. 1 Billboard Dance single; a Spanish version spent a month atop the Mexican charts. In December, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced she would — finally! — be inducted on March 29. And earlier this month, Jackson announced a 15-date Las Vegas residency called “Metamorphosis” beginning in May and will co-headline the U.K.’s Glastonbury Festival in June.

Given all her success, fans and critics have wondered why it took the Rock Hall so long to induct her. Jackson was first eligible in 2007.

“The important part is that she is being inducted now,” Diorio says. “It doesn’t always make sense, you have to keep doing what you do. In terms of Janet, it’s so great that she’s being honored in this way. Everything has its right time.”

Indeed, but others have speculated that a combination of the Super Bowl scandal and other less apparent factors led to the delayed induction. Perhaps Jackson’s most prominent cheerleader for Rock Hall induction is Mike Litherland, who has worked since 2012 to get Jackson into the Hall. He started a Facebook page that year titled, “Induct Janet Jackson into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” which has more than 120,000 followers. Why does he think it took so long for the Hall to induct her?

“I blame the nomination committee from years and years ago,” Litherland said. “It still had that ‘boys club’ mentality. Thankfully, the R&R Hall of Fame Foundation completely overhauled their nomination committee in 2015 and brought in fresh, smart, music industry experts. They eliminated some of the dead weight and injected that new blood into the mix. They added several key women as well — previously there were only a handful of women. I think that had an incredibly positive impact.”

Litherland was in his car when he heard the news about Jackson’s induction.

“As soon as I heard Janet’s name, I leaned back a little in the car seat and just beamed from ear to ear,” he said. “And I have to admit that I got a little tearyeyed. It feels good to finally have Janet’s induction come full circle. I’m beyond thrilled for her because she’s so deserving of this honor.”

He’s attending the induction ceremony and hosting a pre-party, as well as an after-party featuring DJ Aktive, Jackson’s touring DJ. For information and tickets, visit the #InductJanet Facebook page.

Fans of other artists yet to be inducted have reached out for advice thanks to the success of Litherland’s social media campaign for Jackson. He’s heard from fans of Duran Duran, Whitney Houston, Carly Simon, George Michael and others hoping to emulate his success. So what’s next for Litherland’s campaign?

“I took a bit of a break from the #InductJanet social media pages after the induction announcement,” he said. “I just needed to take a breather. It’s tons of work and I’ve committed a lot of time, energy and money to the movement along the way. Ultimately, I think I’ll continue and just run it as a general Janet fan page since the Rock Hall focus is now officially behind us.”

Jackson will be inducted by Janelle Monae at the ceremony held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The other six 2019 inductees are: The Cure, Def Leppard, Stevie Nicks, Radiohead, Roxy Music and The Zombies.

QUEERY Taylor Lianne Chandler Photo by Diva Murillo; courtesy Chandler

QUEERY: Taylor Lianne Chandler

The D.C.-area trans/intersex activist answers 20 gay questions

By JOEY DIGUGLIELMO JOEYD@WASHBLADE.COM Taylor Lianne Chandler arrived in the D.C. area in 2013 newly divorced, seeking a fresh start and ready to find work full time as a sign language interpreter.

Listing her job titles as author/actress/ activist/model, Chandler soon got involved with the local trans/intersex community.

Chandler will appear as a celebrity judge at the annual “#AskRayceen Mini Ball,” this month’s installment of “The Ask Rayceen Show” slated for Wednesday, April 3 at HRC Equality Center (1640 Rhode Island Ave., N.W.) at 7 p.m. It’s free and open to the public. Now in its eighth season, “Ask Rayceen” runs the first Wednesday of each month March through November with hostess Rayceen Pendarvis.

“She always makes me smile,” Chandler says of Rayceen. “I’m happy to support anything she does. We always take a selfie together every time we see each other. It’s our thing.”

She calls “Ask Rayceen” and the ball competition “an amazing time to see our

community come together in a safe space and shine.”

Chandler is also active with We the People, SaVanna Wanzer’s local trans group that’s gearing up for May’s launch of its second annual May Is? All About Trans series of events.

“Under this administration that wants to ban and erase us, we need a chance to celebrate and come together in safe spaces,” the 46-year-old Cape Coral, Fla., native says. “I was the first person she asked two years ago. I didn’t hesitate.

When SaVanna asks, you step to the plate and do what is necessary. You just do it.”

Chandler credits Wanzer with helping her bounce back after an ugly breakup — more below — a few years ago. Full details of May Is? at mayistransdc.com.

Chandler is engaged to Matthew Meagher-Walker. They live in Burke, Va. Chandler enjoys reading, travel, coffee and being near the water in her free time.

How long have you been out and who was the hardest person to tell?

I was outed on the cover of the National Enquirer, TMZ and Radar Online November 19, 2014. I didn’t choose on my own to be out. My relationship with Michael Phelps put my life in a public forum for all to see and scrutinize and pass judgment. I don’t have the luxury of telling someone. My whole life is public, the good, the bad and the ugly!

Who’s your LGBT hero?

Caroline Cossey, Tula. She was the first person I ever saw myself in. She has been a rock over the last five years as she was outed and went through it all publicly too.

She tells me often, “chin up always.”

What’s Washington’s best nightspot, past or present?

I love me some Dirty Goose, but I pretty much like them all! I truly miss Town, but now we have Avalon Saturdays. If I’m feeling a little naughty, Secrets is a guilty pleasure!

Describe your dream wedding.

Something small and simple with close friends, but elegant and traditional. I want it to have an outdoor stage with jazz, classical and contemporary music. I want it formal but fun down to every detail. I want to marry my best friend who loves and adores me. A man who will be loyal and cherish me. I want a love that others wish they had. I’m so lucky to have found my fairytale with Matthew.

What non-LGBT issue are you most passionate about?

Being intersex, I’m passionate about laws stopping gender mutilation surgery in infants to fit conveniently into a binary world. Close second is economic justice, health equity and equal pay for women.

What historical outcome would you change?

Trump becoming president. He has

taken the intersex and transgender communities back 100 years with no end in sight. Our country has never been so divided!

What’s been the most memorable pop culture moment of your lifetime?

For me, it was when I did “The Howard Stern Show” with Bradley Cooper in January 2015.

On what do you insist?

Not waiting in lines, one small perk of fame.

What was your last Facebook post or Tweet?

My last tweet was a video of me speaking at Trans Day of Remembrance about the state of the world under President Trump last year. My last Facebook post was promoting my friend Rhonda Sheer on HSN.

If your life were a book, what would the title be?

My first book is “The Making of Going For the Gold.” My next book is called “Beyond the Gold: The TaylorLianne Chandler Story.” I hope to finish it by the end of this year. I also wrote a fiction book called “Super Bowl Surprise.”

If science discovered a way to change sexual orientation, what would you do?

Not a damn thing, I like being straight and I love my gay friends just the way they are! The world would be boring if we were all the same! I’d rather science discover a way to stop hate.

What do you believe in beyond the physical world?

I believe in God and I’m anxious to meet my mom, who died when I was 3 months old. I think of her as my angel watching over me.

What’s your advice for LGBT movement leaders?

Come together, try to play nice. You get more bees with honey. The people who

3 6 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • M AR C H 2 9 , 2 0 1 9

Mariinsky Ballet Valery Gergiev, Artistic Director of the Mariinsky Theatre Yuri Fateev, Acting Director of the Mariinsky Ballet

had to fight hard against the establishment deserve our respect, but we need to welcome a kinder, deliberate strategy to take over the reins for the better good going forward into the future. Coming together as a whole we can accomplish so much more. We need the Caitlyn Jenners as much as the Janet Mocks, Laverne Coxs, Jazz Jennings and Kim Petras of the world.

Le Corsaire CALL FOR RESERVATIONS M-TH 11:30AM-10PM • F-SAT 11:30AM-11PM SUN. BRUNCH 11AM-3PM / DINNER 3-10PM

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What would you walk across hot coals for?

To let go of the pain of the past. To be free of the trauma of my childhood that haunts me.

CAFEBERLIN-DC.COM

Renata Shakirova and David Zaleyev, photo by Natasha Razina

What LGBT stereotype annoys you most?

When people ask, “What is Intersex”?

Does that mean you are trans?” No, not the way you think, but I did choose to become one gender different from what I was originally corrected to be so I identify as both.

What’s your favorite LGBT movie?

“Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” Swedish versions.

What’s the most overrated social custom?

Valentine’s Day PROOF #1trophy or prize What

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April 9–14 | Opera House

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When people show you who they are believe them right away. Also how precious time is and you don’t get it back.

Why Washington?

It’s a city rich in history and fueled by constant change. I love the political game here. I like feeling like I am at the front line of change for the better.

M AR CH 29, 2 0 1 9 • WA SHINGTONBLA DE.COM • 37

with the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra Vladislav Karklin, conductor ADVERTISER SIGNATURE

By signing this proof you are agreeing to your contract obligations with the

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This includesprincipal but is not limited to placement, payment and insertion schedule.

Kennedy-Center.org (202) 467-4600

Groups call (202) 416-8400 For all other ticket-related customer service inquiries, call the Advance Sales Box Office at (202) 416-8540

Support for Ballet at the Kennedy Center is generously provided by Elizabeth and C. Michael Kojaian.

International Programming at the Kennedy Center is made possible through the generosity of the Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts.

Top photo: Dining Out for Life returns April 4 Washington Blade photo by Michael Key; The Victory Fund Champagne Brunch is next weekend Washington Blade photo by Wyatt Reid Westlund; Rainbow Theatre Project presents a ghost story by late gay playwright Tennessee Williams throughout April Photo courtesy RTP

Dining Out for Life is April 4

WCO to perform ‘Zelmira’

Dining Out for Life is Thursday, April 4 at various restaurants in D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

About 75 restaurants will donate a portion of their sales to Food & Friends to provide home-delivered meals for adults, children and people facing HIV/AIDS, cancer and other serious illnesses. All Set Restaurant and Bar, Comet Ping Pong and Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant are among the restaurants donating 50 percent or more of their proceeds. Annie’s Paramount Steak House will donate 100 percent of its proceeds.

For a complete list of participating restaurants and more information, visit foodandfriends.org.

Washington Concert Opera presents Gioachino Rossini’s “Zelmira” at Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University (730 21st St., N.W.) on Friday, April 5 at 7 p.m.

“Zelmira” tells the story of Zelmira who goes on a mission to save her father, King Polidoro, from a murderous tyrant. This opera is one of a series of Rossini’s nine dramas titled the “Neapolitan Operas.”

These operas are considered his best works and are praised for kickstarting the Italian Romantic opera. Spanish mezzo-soprano Silvia Tro Santafé will portray Zelmira, bel canto tenor Lawrence Brownlee will play Zelmira’s husband Ilo, mezzo soprano Vivica Genaux will portray Emma, bass-baritone Patrick Carfizzi will be King Polidoro and bass-baritone Matthew Scollin will be Leucippo. Tickets

range from $40-110.

For more details, visit concertopera.org.

Rainbow Theatre Project tackles Tennessee “Clothes for a Summer Hotel: A Ghost Story” by Tennessee Williams, presented by the Rainbow Theatre Project, runs at the D.C. Arts Center (2438 18th St., N.W.) from April 4-28.

The story recounts the final days of tumultuous couple F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. F. Scott visits his wife Zelda in a North Carolina asylum where their past is revealed through a series of flashbacks.

Greg Stevens directs. Tickets are $35.

For more information, visit rainbowtheatreproject.org.

3 8 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • M AR C H 2 9 , 2 0 1 9

TODAY The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.) hosts queer tango classes tonight at 7 p.m. Instructor Liz Sabatiuk of Tango Mercurio will lead the course. The class is intended for beginner students and will combine instruction on tango vocabulary and technique. There will also be a discussion on how assumptions about gender can affect dancing. Students will be invited to experiment with both gender roles during the class. Admission requires a $10 donation. For more details, visit thedccenter.org/events/queertangoclass.

Gay District hosts game night at the D..C Center (2000 14th St., N.W.) tonight from 8-10 p.m. Board games will be provided but feel free to bring your own.

Gay District is a community organization focused on building understanding of gay culture and personal identity. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

ONYX Mid-Atlantic presents Leather & Lace at the Green Lantern (1335 Green Ct., N.W.) tonight from 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Dress code is leather and lace. Drink specials will include $5 Fireballs, $8 Long Islands and $5 margaritas. IcyFunk will spin tracks.

Cover is $5. For more information, visit greenlanterndc.com.

D.C. Bear Crue hosts Bear Happy Hour at Uproar Lounge & Restaurant (639 Florida Ave., N.W.) today from 5-10 p.m.

Drink specials include $5 rail cocktails and $5 32 oz. draft pithcers. Free appetizers will be handed out throughout the night.

For more details, visit facebook.com/ bearhappyhour.

Saturday, March 30 Victory Fund Brunch is April 7 The Victory Fund hosts its National Champagne Brunch at JW Marriott (1331 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) on Sunday, April 7 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Mayor Annise Parker and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth will be the featured guests. More than 700 LGBTQ elected officials, community leaders and Victory Fund supporters will gather together to celebrate all LGBTQ candidates. There will be food and bottomless champagne. Tickets range from $250-50,000.

For more details, visit victoryfund.org.

The 39th annual Capital Art Fair is at the Holiday Inn Rosslyn (1900 Fort Myer Dr., Arlington, Va.) today from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and tomorrow from 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

About 21 art dealers will will have fine prints, drawings, photos and other works on paper for sale. Works range from the 15th century to present day and include American, European and Japanese art.

Tickets are free. For more details, visit capitalartprintfair.com.

The D.C. Eagle (3701 Benning Rd., N.E.) hosts Code RED V: Stigma Can’t Stop Us, a red-themed masquerade ball supporting the fight against HIV/AIDS, tonight from 9 p.m.-3 a.m. DJ Vjuan Allure will spin tracks and recording artist Kevin Aviance will perform. Attendees are encouraged to wear masks and gear. The color red is suggested but not required.

There will be giveaways, raffles, a silent

M AR CH 29, 2019 • WA SHINGTONBLA D E.COM • 39

auction and Code Red baked goods.

Main event tickets are $25. Tickets for Code Red and the 9:30 p.m. drag and cabaret extravaganza are $30. For more information, visit dceagle.com.

Center Trans hosts its pot luck at the D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.) today from noon-2 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring a dish to share. Center Trans’ mission is to be a safe space for transgender individuals to share their stories. Allies are asked to reach out to other groups for ally support. Admission is free. For more details, visit thedccenter.org.

DCATS hosts the Trans Visibility Community Festival at Spaces (1140 3rd St., N.E.) today from 1-5 p.m.

Organizations that serve the transgender community and transgender artists and creatives will all exhibit their services and work. There will be an open mic, film screenings, art exhibitors and a raffle. All ages welcome. For more information, visit transvisibilityfestival.com.

CTRL hosts Qwerty, a queer dance party, at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.) tonight from 10 p.m.-2:45 a.m. DJ Adam Koussari-Amin, DJ Dvonne and DJ Jeff Prior will spin tracks. Sippi will give a performance. No cover. For more details, visit facebook.com/ctrldc.

The Imperial Court of Washington hosts an underwear dance party at Green Lantern (1335 Green Ct., N.W.) tonight from 10 p.m.-3 a.m. DJ Alpha and DJ Omega will play music. Cover is $5 and will benefit the True Colors Fund. For more information, visit facebook.com/ imperialcourtdc.

Sunday, March 31 Atlas Obscura Society D.C. hosts Wine, Spirits and Stories, a guided tour of LGBT icons, at the Congressional Cemetery (1801 E St., S.E.) today from 5-7 p.m. Jeff Rollins will guide the tour and focus on the “Gay Corner” of the cemetery. Tickets are $36 and include the tour, two drink tickets and light snacks. For more details, visit facebook.com/atlasobscura.

Mariah Carey brings her “Caution World Tour” to the MGM National Harbor (101 MGM National Ave., Oxon Hill, Md.) tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $200-624. For more information, visit ticketmaster.com.

Monday, April 1 The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.) hosts coffee drop-in hours this morning from 10 a.m.-noon for the senior LGBT

community. Older LGBT adults can come and enjoy complimentary coffee and conversation with other community members. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

Tuesday, April 2 Artechouse (1238 Maryland Ave., S.W.) presents “In Peak Bloom,” an interactive and immersive digital art installation inspired by the cherry blossoms, through May 27. Artists Liza Park, Akiko Yamashita, Scenocosme and Sachiko Yamashita designed the exhibit.

Sunday-Thursday daytime hours are from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. and after hours are from 7-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday daytime hours are from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and after hours are from 5:30-11:30 p.m. After hours will include Augmented Reality Cocktails which will be sold separately. Attendees must be 21 and over to attend after hours. Daytime general admission tickets for adults are $16 online and $20 on-site. Student, senior and military ID holders tickets are $13 online and $15 on-site. Children ages 2-14 are $8 online and $10 on-site. After hours tickets are $16 online and $20 on-site. For more details, visit dc.artechouse.com.

Wednesday, April 3 “The Ask Rayceen Show” hosts its annual #AskRayceen Mini Ball at Human Rights Campaign (1640 Rhode Island Ave., N.W.) tonight from 6-9 p.m. This live monthly variety program and community festival will feature vendors, exhibitors, food, a cash bar and a raffle. Rayceen Pendarvis and Anthony Oakes host the show. DJ Vjuan Allure will play music. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Show starts at 7 p.m. For more details, visit facebook.com/teamrayceen.

Bookmen D.C., an informal gay men’s literature group, discusses “Don’t Call Us Dead” by Danez Smith at the Cleveland Park Library (3310 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) tonight at 7:30 p.m. All are welcome. For more information, visit bookmendc.blogspot.com.

Thursday, April 4 A support group for the Asian and Pacific Islander Queer Community meets at the D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.) tonight from 7-8 p.m. The group is cosponsored by the Asian Pacific Islander Queer Society D.C. and Asian Queers United for Action. For more details, visit thedccenter.org.

New York City Ballet

RAYANNE GONZALES as Jack’s mother, SAMY NOURS YOUNS as Jack and TIZIANO D’AFFUSO as Milky White in ‘Into the Woods.’

Photo by Carol Rosegg; courtesy Ford’s Theatre

Going back ‘Into the Woods’

By PATRICK FOLLIARD

Sterling Hyltin and Gonzalo Garcia in Opus 19/The Dreamer, photo by Paul Kolnik

Balanchine, Robbins & Reisen (Apr. 2, 3 & 7) Composer’s Holiday (Foss/Reisen) Kammermusik No. 2 (Hindemith/Balanchine) Opus 19/The Dreamer (Prokofiev/Robbins) Symphony in C (Bizet/Balanchine)

New Works & New Productions (Apr. 4, 5, 6m & 6e) Easy (Bernstein/Peck) In the Night (Chopin/Robbins) The Runaway (Muhly, West, Jay-Z, Blake, add. artists/Abraham)* SOMETHING TO DANCE ABOUT Jerome Robbins, Broadway at the Ballet (Bernstein, Bock, Gould, Rodgers, Styne/Robbins, direction and musical staging by Carlyle) *Music used in The Runaway contains lyrics with strong language and mature themes.

See website for casting details.

April 2–7 | Opera House with the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra

Kennedy-Center.org (202) 467-4600

Support for Ballet at the Kennedy Center is generously provided by Elizabeth and C. Michael Kojaian.

Groups call (202) 416-8400 For all other ticket-related customer service inquiries, call the Advance Sales Box Office at (202) 416-8540

Be careful what you wish for. An adage worth considering and one which composer/ lyricist Stephen Sondheim and librettist James Lapine delightfully explore in their Tony Award-winning musical “Into the Woods.” Set against a fairytale landscape, the darkly funny foray into wants and needs tunefully asks: what happens after happily ever?

Now at Ford’s Theatre in an enjoyable and a well-acted production helmed by Peter Flynn, “Into the Woods” is probably the most accessible of Sondheim’s work, yet retains the composer’s trademark scope and masterful lyrics.

Things begin with the Narrator, played

by Scott Sedar cleverly costumed in a National Park Service ranger uniform, opening the tale. He barely gets out “once upon a time” before the bouncy musical prologue begins. At nearly 15 minutes, the title song introduces characters, problems and both farcical and tragic possibilities.

Interweaving familiar fairytales and an original story, the plot centers on the Baker (Evan Casey) and the Baker’s Wife (Awa Sal Secka) who remain childless because of a curse cast by their neighbor the Witch (Rachel Zampelli). Reversing said curse entails going deep into the woods where they cross paths and stories with Cinderella (Erin Driscoll), greedy Little Red Riding Hood (out actor Jade Jones), naïve Jack of beanstalk fame played transgender actor Samy Nour Younes, and a solitarily confined Rapunzel (Quynh My Luu), just to name a few. There’s a lot going on, but under Flynn’s lucid direction, it’s easy to follow.

Act One is about wishes and desires; whereas Act Two focuses on attainment and dealing with life despite its many imperfections. And just when things seem to be settling into a state of regular unfulfillment, the dead giant’s vengeful wife smashes on to the scene, indiscriminately squashing everything in her path.

Drawing from the Brothers Grimm, “Into the Woods” has no truck with Disneyfied bedtime stories, but rather the kind of tales that terrify listening children. Details include stepsisters who hack off bits of their feet to fit into glass slippers and a flock of helpful birds who peck out eyes on command. Certainly, it’s the dark element that makes the show.

Everything looks as it should: Milagro Ponce de León transforms Ford’s proscenium stage into a charming bucolic village backed by ominous, dark trees and golden, stylized

vines. Ingenious projections add to the magic.

Wade Laboissonniere’s spot-on cutaway coats, breeches, peasant blouses, sparkly ballgowns and sumptuous hooded cloaks add to the enchanting picture book environs.

Sondheim’s music is legendarily tough both to play and sing. Here, the talented cast accompanied by a fabulous pit orchestra led

by William Yanesh, nails the score with feeling.

Terrific tunes include “Children Will Listen,” “Into the Woods” and the Witch’s “Last Mindnight.”

As Cinderella, Driscoll mines the work for what makes it tick and instills the audience with the confidence to accompany the cast on its wild journey. Other standouts include Casey and Sal Secka as the fractious couple eager to have a family; Zampelli’s cranky witch; Christopher Mueller and Hasani Allen as a pair of fickle, lady killer Princes; Jones’ greedy Little Red Ridinghood; and Karen Vincent in multiple roles including Cinderella’s kind mother and the Giant’s Wife.

Vincent also ably and hilariously handles a flock of bird puppets.

Smothering mothers, unexpected deaths and looming giants all make for grist for the pycholanalysis mill. Zampelli’s helicopter mom Witch sings “Our Little World” to Rapunzel, the daughter she’s made neurotic with over protection. Through “No More” Evans’ Baker heals his relationship with his long-absent father (Sedar, again); and with “No One is Alone,” Cinderella matures as she agrees to be mother to orphaned Jack and Little Red Ridinghood.

When the musical premiered on Broadway in 1987 at the height of the AIDS crisis, many theatergoers equated the Giant who indifferently kills anyone in her path with the epidemic. The Witch remark to the grieving Baker, “Wake up! People are dying all around you.” You’re not the only one to suffer a loss,” reinforced the theory. (Sondheim, who is gay, has remarked that was never his intention.)

In the end, “happily ever after” is determined by the characters. It’s what they do individually and as a group that secures a happy ending. A relatable and encouraging message.

‘Into the Woods’ Through May 22 Ford’s Theatre 511 10th St., N.W. $20-83 Fords.org

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LEVI KREIS considers himself a pioneer of openly gay fin de siecle-era performers.

Photo courtesy Rachel Love Photography

Levi’s return

Singer/actor Kreis reunites with Nova Payton for D.C. cabaret

By JOEY DIGUGLIELMO JOEYD@WASHBLADE.COM

Americana singer/songwriter and actor Levi Kreis has fond memories of working in Washington. In 2014, he led the Arena Stage cast of “Smokey Joe’s Cafe” along with actress/singer Nova Payton.

They reunite Wednesday, April 3 at City Winery for “an evening of jazz, soul and storytelling.”

Kreis, perhaps best known for his Tonywinning role as Jerry Lee Lewis in “Million Dollar Quartet,” spoke to the Blade by phone last week from Nashville. His comments have been slightly edited for length.

WASHINGTON BLADE: What are you doing in Nashville?

LEVI KREIS: I’m from Tennessee so a lot of my musical connections are here. I’m developing and working on new music I’ll be recording in Los Angeles next week.

BLADE: How and why did you come to make Chicago your home base?

KREIS: That’s the second city where we played “Million Dollar Quartet.” I found a home there for about a year and a half while we continued to further the story and prepare for Broadway. I just fell in love with the city so much. I also found my husband there which is pretty amazing so it holds a lot of really wonderful moments for me — the beginning of “Million Dollar Quartet,” meeting my husband, getting sober, I’ll be 10 years sober in May. Chicago has a great soul to it.

BLADE: You said you consider yourself a “pioneer of the out music movement” of the early 2000s. What do you mean?

KREIS: There weren’t many of us beginning our careers as out. I got kicked out of my conservative Southern Baptist college in Nashville and dropped from a gospel music label. It took a lot of painful turns to come to terms with who I am and what my platform as an LGBT performer, especially one of the first people to contribute to the out music movement in the early 2000s. If it hadn’t been for the challenges I encountered in Nashville, I don’t know that I would have had the boldness to take the platform that I eventually took.

BLADE: What label were you signed with?

KREIS: Myrrh BLADE: Had you released anything with them?

KREIS: We were recording.

BLADE: Did you realize the ripple effect coming out would have?

KREIS: I didn’t come out, actually. I had been in my sixth year of conversion therapy and I was sitting in my dorm room looking at different translations of scripture and Strong’s concordance at every scripture that deals either directly or indirectly with homosexuality. My roommate was curious and he went to the student union to request prayer for me.

BLADE: Did you see “Boy Erased”?

KREIS: No, but I read the book.

BLADE: How did your primary scriptural research line up with others who’ve studied those passages?

KREIS: I have my own opinions about it but at the end of the day, I don’t care what people believe about the scriptures. … For me, I have a clean conscience and no inkling of being broken, a mistake or needing any type of healing.

BLADE: Have you stayed in touch with Nova since “Smokey Joe’s”?

KREIS: Yeah, we have. We’ve had a couple performances together. I have such respect for her talent. There’s a real genuineness from her and that’s rare in this world.

BLADE: What do you have planned for City Winery?

KREIS: I’m excited to bring a show that was voted by L.A. critics as the no. 1 cabaret show of 2017 and I can’t put the show down because people continue to ask for it. I haven’t had an opportunity to share it with D.C. but a lot of it chronicles what we’re talking about — how does a small-town Tennessee boy navigate all these challenges and find himself in Times Square on Broadway with a very different life than what he grew up with? I reimagine Broadway classics and I do my originals too. … Also, I bonded with the musical theater world in D.C. so it’s great to come back and I wish I could do it more.

BLADE: How was (your 2018 album of originals) “Liberated” received?

KREIS: That was a CD dedicated to my Kickstarter backers, my passion people who have been there for me since the beginning.

A lot of it was super personal. We talk a lot about gay marriage but not much about gay divorce and I had a pretty brutal one. It was sort of wanting to take a microscope and look at all the bullshit and just find a patyway to

forgiveness because I don’t think we can really get rid of that stuff if you don’t find a way of making sense of it that allows you to let go.

BLADE: How did you and (partner) Jason (Antone) meet? Are you married?

KREIS: We’ve been together 10 years and we were married in November. We had the same publicist in Chicago. He was also an out artist. I knew of him from the Pride circuit but I’d never met him. At the time we met, he was leaving a 15-year relationship and I was divorcing and we just hit it off as friends but then like a month later we were like, “Wow, this is super easy and I like you a lot.”

BLADE: You look so buff in some of your videos. Do you put on weight between projects?

KREIS: Oh gosh, I’m not in tip-top shape these days. Have you been on my Instagram lately? But as long as I’m under 185 and can fit into my suits, I’m OK to operate. My weakness is Keebler Grasshoppers. They’re like crack.

BLADE: Having played Jerry Lee Lewis (who at age 22 married a 13-year-old cousin to much controversy), what do you think of the trend of reassessing historical figures and judging them by #MeToo/2019 standards?

KREIS: I don’t think it’s fair. I think it’s dangerous, actually. I think it’s more important to focus on our current responsibilities in shifting the consciousness of our culture.

I believe we’re all too ready to demonize every single person we possibly can. We’ve become like a bunch of church ladies. We enjoy looking for fault in people when more love is needed, more compassion is needed, more understanding is needed. I do think we need personal accountability too, I’m not saying that, but it’s a balance, a spiritual balance.

BLADE: It sounds like Jerry Lee was really cool with you. What was it like hanging out with him?

KREIS: Well “Great Balls of Fire,” was like my family reunion trick when I was 12 years old so he’s kind of been the conversation around my household for my whole life. … He used to use a Bible verse, I wish I could remember it, to make the point to people who said he was doing the devil’s music, so I had him sign my Bible right next to that verse. He was very funny and told me I was the best actor who’d ever played him. I’ll never forget that.

BLADE: How’s the rest of 2019 shaping up for you?

KREIS: I’m excited about this new music and a brand new team who is ready to introduce a new yet old side of me to the rest of the world. … I’ve been workshopping some new stuff. It’s gonna be a year on the road. I’m excited.

Levi Kreis With guest Nova Payton An Evening of Jazz, Soul and Storytelling City Winery 1350 Okie St., N.E. Wednesday, April 3 8 p.m. $20-30 (VIP) citywinery.com

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Triple ‘TransMilitary’ screenings

琀栀攀

Powerful ’18 doc follows travails of trans service members

By BRIAN T. CARNEY

With President Trump’s proposed ban on trans troops in the military still in the courts and in the news, the excellent documentary “TransMilitary” is back in the spotlight.

That’s a wonderful thing, because the film is a great primer on trans lives in general as well as a thorough introduction to the battle trans service members have waged to continue their brave military service.

First-time directors Gabriel Silverman and Fiona Dawson capture both the broad sweep of the fight and the beautiful intimate details of the lives of transgender warriors. Their professional struggles will leave you outraged; their personal stories may move you to tears.

Silverman and Dawson follow four trans servicemembers as they navigate military codes of conduct and fight for change. Staff Sergeant Logan Ireland loves serving in the dangerous Kandahar province in Afghanistan. When the film opens, his fellow troops don’t know he’s trans. As he says, “What I like about the deployment is I can be my authentic self,” including growing a wispy mustache.

His scratchy mustache is an issue for his girlfriend Laila Villenueva, an Army Corporal. Her family had a difficult time accepting her transition, but she was more devastated when she realized that the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” did not apply to trans servicemembers. As she says, “I had no idea it didn’t cover the T in LGBT.” Captain Jennifer Peace escaped a troubled family life by joining the military.

“I enlisted because I had nowhere else to go,” she says. “I love being military. It gave me a home.”

Finally, El Cook is an Army First Lieutenant. He wears his hair in a long ponytail, just in case he is required to present himself as a woman, All four are members of SPART*A, (spartapride.org), an organization for current or former trans members of the military. Working with SPART*A members and other allies, Board Member Sue Fulton arranges for secret meeting with top Pentagon officials. As the wily veteran says, “They need to understand who they might be losing because of this stupid policy.”

From there, the movie tracks the elation of the four servicemembers when the military trans ban is repealed by President Obama, their despair when President Trump attempts to reinstate the ban and the current state of limbo they live in as the issue works its way through the court system.

Even though they are first-time directors, Silverman and Dawson offer a masterclass in documentary filmmaking.

They use visually engaging titles to lay out the broad parameters of the issue in a clear-headed manner. An opening title reads: “Despite the ban, there are an estimated 15,500 transgender people currently serving in the military. This makes the U.S. military the largest employer of transgender people in America.”

They then fill in this broad outline with the deeply moving personal stories of the four servicemembers and their families to show how these military policies and political talking points affect the lives of trans troops.

Silverman and Dawson also highlight the importance of the military’s heavily gendered rules and regulations for appearance. Laila, for example, wears her hair in style that can be slicked back when she is forced to present as a male. When she is outed at one of her postings, Jenn is forced to stop using makeup and wear a regulation male hairstyle.

The military obsession with regulating appearance and the impact these codes have on trans servicemembers, is fascinating.

Winner of a number of awards on the festival circuit, including the Audience Award at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival and the Red Poppy Award for Best Film at the 2018 Veterans Film Festival. “TransMilitary” is a must-see film for LGBT audiences and their allies. It’s a clear and comprehensive guide to the challenges currently facing trans servicemembers and a powerful example of how the best documentaries use both statistics and personal stories to explore an issue.

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Red Bear Brewing Co. co-owners (from left) CAMERON RASPET, BRYAN VAN DEN OEVER and SIMON BEE open their new business on March 23.

Photo by Evan Caplan

Bears, beer and beards

NoMa’s Red Bear Brewing Co. opens

By EVAN CAPLAN

On a rapidly expanding corner of NoMa just past the shadow of a Metro underpass, stands the city’s newest industrial-chic watering hole.

Gay-owned Red Bear Brewing Co. (209 M St., N.E.) opened this month, a place where inclusion is as critical to the business as the hops.

Bryan Van Den Oever, Simon Bee and Cameron Raspet — all gay — own this brewbar-hangout that’s campy in every sense of the word. As central to anything else at the brewery, “Red Bear Brewing Co. is a safe space,” say the owners.

The three hail from Seattle, a city where beer can be seen as another food group.

Their geographic origin inspired the name. It’s also a subtle signifier, as bear is a term used to describe certain members of the gay community. Two of the founders are also redheads.

The brewery encompasses 7,000 square feet abutting the new REI outpost.

Red Bear mashes, ferments, matures and carbonates, from grain to glass, its own craft beers in its on-site facility.

The industrial design echoes similar spaces in the neighborhood — unfinished concrete sits underfoot and exposed steel beams and piping and string lighting drop from the ceiling.

One half of the floor plan is dedicated to the taproom for guests. It’s split into two spaces: the Front Yard and the Backyard, bisected by an enormous U-shaped bar.

Bee oversaw the building of picnic-style tables and benches and high tops, all sourced from reclaimed timber. Board games abound, stocked high on shelves in the Front Yard section, where painted planks form a mountain range mural. The lively area is equal parts campground and living room.

The Backyard space is more relaxed, hidden from the entrance behind that ample bar. Notably, the Backyard hosts a stage for events like drag performances. Other community events in the works include yoga, comedy, ASL trivia and live music.

Beyond the taproom are several genderneutral restrooms, detailed with offbeat prints of Jeff Goldblum and space cats.

Alongside are all 10 enormous barrels and lots of shiny machinery. A small kitchen

churns out beer-friendly noshes.

Down to the brew: Two dozen lines snake to the bar to feed 50-plus taps for the diversity of beers, from sweet and fruity to dark, thick and malty. Selections from the initial 10 offerings (the owners aim to have a total of at least 16) are self-referential: Skookum Red Ale, using barley from Washington State, pays homage to the owners’ home Pacific Northwest region; Twinsies (a Double IPA clocking in at 10 percent ABV) notes that Van Den Oever is a twin and keeps his “hop-lust at bay”; and Swampoodle, an Imperial Oatmeal Stout, jokingly includes “400 pounds of four-leafclovers to capture the luck of the Irish” and refers to the neighborhood’s original name before the North of Mass Avenue portmanteau took over.

The brewery supports local by serving City Winery vintages and ciders and meads from Maryland distilleries. There’s also a full bar and discussions for beer cocktails are in the works. Hard liquor from neighboring Northeast distilleries like Republic Restoratives are poured from bartenders, some of whom are already conversant in ASL, though all certainly speak the language of beer.

While Red Bear is not a gay bar, it’s proudly loud about its identity and its inclusivity. It’s a community space first, insists Van Den Oever. While he also takes ASL classes, Braille menus are in the works and there’s space at the bar for wheelchairs.

The owners are proud they’re helping turn the gay community onto beer, providing customers with creative offerings, wide flavor profiles, tongue-in-cheek explanations and a playful environment.

“The gays are not exclusively about spirits,” Van Den Oever says. “In fact, I think they aren’t exclusive to anything.”

On opening night of March 23, a line of patrons flowed well past REI to make it in the doors in time for the show. A few minutes after 6 p.m., drag queen Kitti Chanel Fairfield owned the Backyard, setting the stage for the grand-opening ribbon cutting of the taproom. Bearing oversized scissors, the three owners — Van Den Oever donning a bright-red sequined dinner jacket — officially opened the brewery for business.

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BEN PLATT has conquered Broadway. His vocal abilities are on solid display on is debut pop album.

Photo courtesy Atlantic Records

Broadway wunderkind

Debut album from Ben Platt is emotional, well paced

By THOM MURPHY

Needless to say, the bridge between Broadway and Music Row is well traveled.

Sara Bareilles and Brendon Urie are only the most recent examples of pop artists who have gone on to work successfully in the world of musical theater. But Ben Platt is one of the rarer examples of someone taking the opposite direction — from Broadway to a pop album. His debut album “Sing To Me Instead” attempts to bring together these two very different worlds.

The 25-year-old openly gay Platt made his Broadway debut in “The Book of Mormon” as Elder Cunningham. He later starred as Evan Hansen in “Dear Evan Hansen” on Broadway, for which he won a Grammy (Best Musical Theatre Album) and a Tony (Best Actor in a Musical).

Add to that the role of Benji Applebaum in the “Pitch Perfect” movie franchise.

Platt sits right at the happy junction of Broadway songwriting and gay pop performers. Gay pop artists are still something of a rarity, though their presence has been steading growing with performers like Troye Sivan, Years & Years, Jake Shears and Sam Smith. Yet Platt finds himself in the even smaller company of out singers who use genderspecific pronouns for their love interests.

The album opens with Platt accompanied by a slightly out-of-tune upright piano, singing the somber tune “Bad Habit.” He sings in a clear, powerful baritone, resorting to falsetto in the final choruses. The reason for his extraordinary Broadway success becomes quickly apparent. And while no doubt he is an excellent singer, he has an incredible ability to communicate emotionally with the listener. Saying so seems banal, but Platt pushes this communication far beyond the regular boundaries of pop music.

So far four music videos have been released to promote the album, for singles “Ease My Mind,” “Bad Habit,” “Grow As We Go” and “Temporary Love.” The video for “Ease My Mind” centers on the break up of a gay relationship, a theme Platt touches on

in a number of the new tracks. It is a beautiful song, which could almost be categorized as gospel, complete with a blues organ and vocal humming. It may be the best song on the album. The videos already have almost five million views combined, a good start for a debut album release.

The single “Grow As You Go” is another great track, with an acoustic sound. One can’t help but be reminded of recent tracks such as Family of the Year’s “Hero.” And the lyrics are especially touching: “If to change is what you need/you can change right next to me.” Platt is one of the rare artists whose lyrics are completely absorbing.

The album has much in common with Sara Bareilles’ 2007 album “Little Voice” with its piano-driven uptempo songs and numerous ballads, though “Sing To Me Instead” is lacking an equally chart-ready single like Bareilles’ “Love Song.” Platt’s “Temporary Love” is perhaps the closest thing to a typical pop single on the album, a well-produced song about proving one’s love to a partner. It’s catchy, uptempo and soulful. And though decidedly baritone, Platt makes good use of his range and his falsetto has plaintive, breathy quality to it.

Some of the best tracks are saved for the tail end of the album. “Share Your Address” has a charmingly theatrical quality and it’s almost hard it to picture it off-stage. “In Case You Don’t Live Forever” is one of the best songs on the album. Like Platt’s other songs, it is perfectly paced and has the remarkable yet rare capacity to take the listener on an emotional journey. The story-driven songs are both compelling and catchy.

Like songs from most contemporary Broadway, Platt appeals to the most universal human stories. And unlike so much of pop music, the relatability of his music does not come at the expense of their quality. If anything, he is lacking somewhat in the charisma one associates with a typical pop artist. But what he lacks in charisma, he makes up abundantly elsewhere.

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Use your home to save money on a wedding Reduce costs by using house for rehearsal dinner, reception and more

By VALERIE BLAKE Almost everyone on HGTV who is hunting for a house wants “space to entertain,” but what do they really use it for, other than Thanksgiving dinner and other holidays?

How about a wedding?

The average cost of a wedding is more than $33,000 and, in some areas of the country, as much as $70,000.

Engagements last for a year or more while people prepare for their lavish and expensive wedding.

Costs are skyrocketing – a $12,000 Oscar de la Renta dress, matching $2,000 Jimmy Choo heels, and $3,500 Armani suits for starters. Wedding planners are there to help you spend your money on a pre-wedding checklist.

The venue for the reception is one of the first decisions a couple will make, even basing the wedding date on the availability of the chosen reception hall. Booking the photographer and videographer is also high on the list, as well as finding a caterer, a florist, and either live music or a DJ. Wedding websites with names like www.herbandjohngethitched.com are very popular. You can tell the story of how you met, include information about the wedding and reception destinations, create a photo gallery, and post the everpopular gift registry, where people can see what’s on your wish list, then go on Amazon to buy it much cheaper.

You’ll also need to create a guest list.

This exercise will be in the running for “first big fight of the engagement,” so kiss and make up, attend the cake tasting, and buy insurance for your engagement ring, just

Host your wedding or rehearsal dinner at home to save money.

Photo by Yastremska; photo courtesy of Bigstock

in case.

Once you’ve agreed on who and how many will attend, send out your Save the Date e-cards, add the guest list to your website with a link to confirm attendance, plan your menu, and follow up with formal invitations as you get closer to the actual wedding date.

Wow! I’m exhausted and broke already, and there’s still a lot of stuff to check off the wedding planner’s cheat sheet. Thankfully, the price of a wedding can be reduced by using your home for such things as rehearsal dinners, receptions, and space for overnight guests.

My favorite wedding was in 1976, before people began to spend their life savings, inheritance, or trust funds for one day of happiness.

M AR CH 29, 2 0 1 9 • WA SHINGTONBLA DE.COM • 53

It was an unconventional church wedding, held at 9 p.m. The bride wore flowers in her hair instead of a veil and carried candles instead of flowers. Her dress was made by her mother’s best friend and the bridesmaids wore halter dresses made from a Simplicity pattern – something they would be able to wear post-wedding.

The reception was held on the screened porch of the family home. Food and alcohol flowed freely. The bride’s mother, who was getting her master’s degree in music therapy at the University of Miami, hired their jazz combo to play at the reception.

The bride’s father, however, left a lasting impression when he dove into the pool in his tuxedo, swam to the other end,

raised his glass and asked, “Will somebody get me a Scotch?”

The next wedding of note was in 1988.

The bride and groom were living in a studio apartment while their new home was being built. Their wedding was as small and as cheap as that apartment.

Two friends served as best man and maid of honor. The ceremony was conducted by a justice of the peace in her living room, followed by a reception at Bob’s Big Boy for their all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet.

The next wedding took place in 2005 in the bride’s backyard. The officiant was a city councilman who had been ordained on the Internet just for this purpose. While the bride and groom were reciting their vows, a jetliner flew overhead, drowning out the ceremony. The reception made up for it with authentic Mexican food prepared by the groom’s family.

The pictures of the event came out badly and the videographer took his payment of $350 and was never seen or heard from again. Lesson learned: don’t rely on Craigslist to find your wedding professionals.

So, as the season approaches, make your wedding memorable but less expensive by including something personal - grooms in matching, yellow tennis shoes, brides in tuxedos, barefoot on the beach with margaritas, or maybe a reception on the roof deck of your condo, with a panoramic view of D.C. monuments.

You’ll find many ways to conserve your cash, but whatever you do, get the Jimmy Choo shoes. I’ll look for you at our annual high-heel race.

Valerie M. Blake is a licensed Associate Broker in D.C., Maryland and Virginia and Director of Education & Mentorship at RLAH Real Estate. Call or text her at 202-2468602, email her via DCHomeQuest. com, or follow her on Facebook at TheRealst8ofAffairs.

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