Bars & Parties
Queer Queens and Hot Bits show off Baltimore’s racier side
Poppy and her ladies serve up laughs March 25; next weekend looks steamy
Gloria Bigelow joins the rotating cast of the Queer Queens of Qomedy this weekend in Baltimore. (Photo courtesy QQQ)
Sometimes there’s just too much worthy stuff happening to fit into our usual calendars or Out & About page. Here are two upcoming LGBT Baltimore events you may want to check out.
On Sunday, March 25, the Queer Queens of Qomedy play Magooby’s Joke House (9603 Deerco Rd., Timonium, Md.) at 5 p.m.
Gloria Bigelow (“Last Comic Standing,” OWN’s “Wanda Sykes Presents Herlarious”), Poppy Champlin (producer and host who has been on Showtime, HBO and more) and Michele Durante, a veteran of New York’s top comedy clubs, trade off doing mini-sets. It will mark the first time Bigelow is playing Baltimore since she lived there around the year 2000.
“I think any show that has three women on it is a political statement,” the Rhode Island-based Champlin says. “We don’t need a man to have a sell-out comedy show. Women are funny and appreciate women’s humor.”
Tickets are $25. VIP tickets are $40.
Next weekend Hot Bits, a queer erotic short film and arts festival that celebrates queer and transgender people of color, will be held in Baltimore.
“This festival is part of rewriting the alienating categories defined by the mainstream commercial porn and sex industries of who and what are desirable and what desire looks and feels like,” organizers said in a release. “We believe erotic art holds the potential for uncovering the sexual self-determination necessary for fully liberated connection and healing.”
While the Blade typically does not peddle in porn — no judgement, just not our thing — Hot Bits is so refreshingly off the beaten path, we feel it deserves a shout out. Fair warning, though: Hot Bits indie shorts range from erotic softcore to hardcore (its poster proudly boasts “XXX”). It’s curated and produced by a collective of queer artists including Baltimore-based TopShelf.
It runs Saturday, March 31 (8 p.m.)-Sunday, April 1 (7 p.m.) at Creative Alliance (3134 Eastern Ave., Baltimore). Tickets are $10 or $7 for Creative Alliance members. Festival passes are $18 ($15 for members). More details here.
The festival, in its second year, received more than a hundred submissions from all over the world.
Wet Bits, an after party, will be held Saturday night at 10 p.m. at Trip’s Place (1813 N. Charles St., Baltimore). GRL PWR, a Baltimore-based events collective for female-identified, non-binary femme and queer artists, hosts the afterparty. Details here.
Model Luzifer Priest in a photo by Evie Snax that’s part of the Hot Bits queer erotic festival next weekend in Baltimore. (Photo courtesy Hot Bits)
Bars & Parties
MIXTAPE returns Jan. 4
“MIXTAPE with DJs Matt Bailer and Shea Van Horn” will be on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 10 p.m. at the Atlantis.
This event is D.C.’s legendary LGBTQ dance party. Founded in 2008 by DJs Matt Bailer and Shea Van Horn, MIXTAPE quickly became a staple of the city’s queer nightlife, bringing together a vibrant crowd of music lovers, dancers, and everyone in between. Known for its eclectic blend of indie, house, nudisco, and throwbacks, MIXTAPE creates a unique, inclusive experience that brings people back to the dance floor time and again.
Tickets are $20 and can be purchased on the Atlantis website.
Bars & Parties
Ring in the New Year with Capital Pride
Rainbow Masquerade features drag shows, aerial silk performances
Capital Pride will host “Rainbow Masquerade NYE Party” on Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 9 p.m. at 3400 Georgia Ave. NW.
There will be an all-night open bar, midnight Champagne, drag shows and aerial silk performances. There will also be dessert and midnight snack tables and themed photo ops.
To get tickets and a discount (Code: CAPPRIDE for $25 off), visit Capital Pride’s website.
Capital Pride/World Pride will host Rainbow Masquerade at Hook Hall, a New Year’s Eve party featuring drag shows, silk aerial acts, private lounges and the venue’s Hot Tub Cabana. According to Brandon Bayton, Capital Pride executive producer, “Step into the Fabric of Freedom and toast World Pride 2025 in style—where every moment sparkles, every performance dazzles and every toast makes a difference. It’s going to be an amazing night!”
The party is Tuesday, Dec. 31, 10 p.m.-2 a.m. at Hook Hall, 3400 Georgia Ave., N.W. Proceeds benefit Capital Pride D.C. and tickets are available on Eventbrite.
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