Arts & Entertainment
MAL-wear
Gay leather lovers gather on the Hill this weekend
![Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend, gay news, Washington Blade](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2014/01/2012_Mid-Atlantic_Leather_Weekend_insert_c_Washington_Blade_by_Denis_Largeron.jpg)
![MAL, Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather, Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend, gay news, Washington Blade](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2014/01/Mr_Mid-Atlantic_Leather_2013_insert_c_Washington_Blade_by_Tyler_Grigsby.jpg)
Last yearās Mid-Atlantic Leather festivities. (Washington Blade file photo by Tyler Grigsby)
Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend
Friday through Monday
Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill (host hotel)
400 New Jersey Ave., N.W.
MAL Full Run Package ā $200
Limited number available at 3 p.m. Friday in the
registration area at the Hyatt
Weekend admission passes also available
Full weekend schedule and admission information
available at leatherweekend.com
It all began with a party and a cock ring.
That was the basis of the first Mid-Atlantic Leather WeekendĀ in 1976 and over the ensuing 37 years, the event has grown into one of the most popular and anticipated leather/fetish events in the world.
Friday through Monday, thousands of leathermen, skins, gearheads, kinksters and rubber freaks will descend on the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill for a four-day-long party of fetish fun.
āWe have lots of things going on at the hotel 24-7 so to speak, such as MIR hosting a meet and greet on the Friday night, and they havenāt had an event with us before,ā says Patrick Grady, chair of the event. āPeople need to just come out to the lobby and see the mass humanity of people. Itās the largest gay bar in the city over that weekend.ā
Steve Ranger, past president of Centaur MC and Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather 2005, says the number of events in the hotel have expanded this year, including three new parties. Last year, several new dances made their debut and will return and this yearās new entries will see Sigma (once again sponsoring the dungeon parties) bringing a demonstration and instruction on safe practices. New parties include those thrown by the Boys of Leather and the Highway Men.
āA lot of the guests really like the ability to stay in the hotel and really enjoy themselves, so we have made a concerted effort to provide more events and themed parties,ā Ranger says. āThereās a brotherhood and sisterhood and people just have a great time and people accept you for who you are.ā
The heart of the weekend is the historic leather formal Saturday evening cocktail social, Leather Cocktails.Ā This year marks the 30th anniversary that the Centaur MC has hosted the party and it will commemorate the event with specialty cocktails and 3-D miniature mock-ups of what the stage will be like for the event. Additionally, Leather Archives is bringing in an award that has been handed down over the years.
āThe focus will be on the fact that this is a weekend that started from a simple cocktail party and has grown into what it has become and a big focus on the back-patch leather clubs in the District,ā says Todd White, president of Centaur MC. āThe Centaurs are honored and blessed that the community trusts us with their tradition and the weekend, and we appreciate that itās a joint effort of all the clubs in the D.C.-area coming together. Without the parties planned by the clubs throughout the weekend, it just wouldnāt be the same.ā
Some welcome news came in early January when the D.C. Eagle, a popular gay bar with many of the attendees in yearās past, announced that it would remain open throughout the weekend of the show, having previously thought it would be closed as it made way for construction of a new office building.
āWe will have a shuttle bus for our package holders taking them to the Eagle and the Green Lantern,ā Ranger says. āPeople who have come to Washington for many years are used to going to the Eagle, so this is a chance for them to say farewell.ā
Thereās been a lot of change in the regionās leather community of late.
Eagle co-owners Ted Clements and Peter Lloyd are working on transporting the venue to a three-story warehouse building at 3701 Benning Rd, N.E., proposing to operate as a tavern and restaurant and offer live entertainment, dancing, a rooftop āsummer gardenā and a small retail gift shop.
On New Yearās Eve, the L Bar, a popular leather bar in Rehoboth, closed its doors after 16 years and will reportedly reopen as a non-leather, non-gay bar.
The leather community also lost a dear friend and Centaur brother Jim Raymond before New Yearās, and many look to honor his memory at the celebration.
The Weekend also includes official events organized by weekend hosts, Centaur MC that include a bustling Leather Exhibit Hall, Sunday brunch, Mr. MAL Contest and the official Sunday night closing party, REACTION.
āThis weekend is a time to see friends who come from all over the country, Canada, Europe and even Australia and socialize, enjoy cocktails and have one comfortable social environment filled with camaraderie,ā Ranger says. āYou can wear your clothes, your leather, your gear all around the hotel and itās a very welcoming environment.ā
The contest has changed a great deal since Ranger took home the award in ā05, with a much better prize package being offered and more people letting down their inhibitions and competing.
The hotel is already sold out and the pre-numbers that Centaur MC are seeing reflect possibly the biggest turnout ever.
āItās definitely going to be one of our biggest ones in recent history,ā Grady says. āThereās nothing to be afraid of. The leather community is very friendly. For those who want to come out or maybe are just curious, you should take advantage of it while you can because you donāt know when it could be your last.ā
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The 2024 New York City Pride Parade wound through the streets of Manhattan and past the historic Stonewall Inn on Sunday, June 30.
(Washington Blade photos by Daniel Truitt)
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The fourth annual Fredericksburg Pride march and festival was held at Riverfront Park in Fredericksburg, Va. on Saturday, June 29. The event began with a march around downtown Fredericksburg beginning and ending in the park.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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Covering Fredericksburg Pride for @WashBlade . City Council member @WillMackintosh speaking: pic.twitter.com/tDdVD2IVsM
— Michael Patrick Key (@MichaelKeyWB) June 29, 2024
Photos
PHOTOS: Goodwin Living Pride
Senior living and healthcare organization holds fourth annual march at Falls Church campus
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The senior living and healthcare organization Goodwin Living held its fourth annual community Pride march around its Bailey’s Crossroads campus in Falls Church, Va. with residents, friends and supporters on Tuesday, June 25. Following the march, a drag brunch was held with performances by drag artists of SADBrunch: Crimsyn, Sapphire Dupree and Evon Dior Michelle.
(Photos courtesy of Goodwin Living)
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