Fresh Talk: Gender & Performance
2025-06-11 18:00 - 20:30 UTC | National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave., NW, Washington, DC, 20005
On Wednesday, June 11, 2025 from 6 to 8:30 pm, the National Museum of Women in the Arts is hosting Fresh Talk: Gender & Performance, a discussion around the bold and creative world of drag, where artistry and activism collide. The program spotlights four exceptional drag performers, Citrine the Queen (she/her in drag), Evry Pleasure (she/her in drag; he/him out of drag), Sweet Pickles (she/they in drag) and King Molasses (they/them in and out of drag), who use their craft to challenge societal norms, foster inclusive communities and redefine artistic expression.
Through a conversation moderated by Tyler Cargill, the performers share their perspectives on drag’s transformative power to disrupt conventional ideas of gender and identity. They also discuss the role of drag in building connections and creating spaces of belonging, particularly within the LGBTQIA+ community. The event highlights drag as a multifaceted art form that weaves together elements of fashion, makeup, performance and storytelling, showcasing its power to inspire and connect.
Following the discussion, attendees are invited to a salon-style cocktail hour to continue the conversation.
The event takes place within 2025’s combined World Pride and Capital Pride in Washington, D.C. The museum will also offer a Tour: Celebrating Pride on Saturday, June 21 from 12 noon to 1 pm, which invites visitors to explore the creative contributions of LGBTQIA+ artists in NMWA’s collection. Free with admission, registration required.
About the Speakers
Citrine the Queen is a Washington, DC based drag queen, nominated makeup artist, theatre producer, and model known for her conceptual and creative fashions. After debuting in 2018, Citrine continues to regularly host and perform at a variety of events all throughout the DMV. Currently, she serves as show director for all drag shows at the historic JRs Bar in Dupont Circle and as Executive Producer for the theatre group Highball Productions DC who bring to life live drag parodies of popular musicals.
Evry Pleasure is a Puerto Rican plus-size diva making waves in Washington, DC’s drag scene. Known for blending glamour, dance, and comedy, Evry was voted DC’s Best Drag Queen in 2023. Passionate about uplifting fellow performers and fostering a sense of community, Evry hosts the award-winning all-Latinx drag show Con Acento and the celebrated all-BIPOC showcase Brown Sugar, while regularly performing and hosting at venues across the DMV. Evry’s style is a fusion of Puerto Rican culture and DC’s performance flair, creating a unique, larger-than-life persona.
Sweet Pickles is a drag artist, event host, and content creator based in Richmond, Virginia. For the past seven years, she has been working as a full-time artist, performing on stages all across the DMV. Known as the Technicolored Troll Doll, her drag is heavily inspired by the colorful toys and media of her childhood. Her love of whimsy led her to the creation of her handmade yarn and ribbon wigs, which have become a signature part of her aesthetic. Some of her favorite moments of her drag career thus far include getting to host Youth Pride at Virginia PrideFest for the past three years, performing on the Anthem stage alongside Kesha during her Only Love tour, and opening up for Chappell Roan on three separate shows during her Midwest Princess tour. When she is not performing for a live audience, she is actively engaging with her online audience, creating drag-centric content for all of her social media platforms.
King Molasses is an award-winning drag king and performing artist based in Washington, DC. They consecutively reigned as DC’s Best Drag King from 2022 through 2025 and were voted Best Gender Non-Conforming Artist 2024-2025 by the DC Drag Awards. They have been featured on Bravo, The Washington Post, Good Morning America, and NPR. A DMV native from Prince George’s County, Maryland, Molasses debuted in 2018 and has since become a fixture in the district’s performing arts scene. Their work has been commissioned in venues nationwide, including the John F. Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts, the Smithsonian, and Sasha Velour’s acclaimed NYC drag revue, NightGowns. Their drag is a call to mindfulness, black surrealism, and heritage-based movements that dare to create images of self-liberation.
Tyler Cargill is a dynamic genderfluid educator, anthropologist, and advocate with over 18 years of experience specializing in fostering cultural understanding and engagement. Passionate about building bridges and creating opportunities across diverse communities, he has led transformative training programs, developed innovative outreach strategies, and built meaningful partnerships to advance human rights and promote a sense of belonging in both private and public sectors. A dedicated advocate for gender and queer rights, Tyler harnesses the power of art, fashion, and policy to address the complexities of intersectional human rights. Their work is driven by a commitment to ensuring that marginalized voices are not only heard but celebrated in every sphere.
Event Sponsors
The Women, Arts, and Social Change public programs initiative is made possible through leadership gifts from Denise Littlefield Sobel and the Davis/Dauray Family Fund with additional support provided by Anne N. Edwards, the Revada Foundation of the Logan Family, and the Susan and Jim Swartz Public Programs Fund.
Tickets and Reservations
Registration required.
General admission: $25
Students, seniors, DC residents: $22
Members: $20
Reserve Your Spot
When
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
6 to 8 :30 pm ET
Where
Performance Hall, 5th floor
National Museum of Women in the Arts
1250 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20005

A League of Their Own on Hillwood's Lunar Lawn
2025-06-12 18:00 - 22:45 | Hillwood Museum & Gardens, 4155 Linnean Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20008
Revel in a summer evening in Hillwood’s gardens, participate in the picnic competition, and enjoy the iconic film A League of Their Own on the Lunar Lawn.
Thursday, June 12, 2025
6-10:45 p.m. (Film begins at 8:45 p.m.)

Register

Gates open at 6 p.m. The mansion, gardens, and special exhibition From Exile to Avant-Garde: The Life of Princess Natalie Paley will be open for self-guided touring until 8:30 p.m. The film begins at 8:45 p.m. Light fare and beverages can be purchased from Merriweather To Go until 9:30 p.m.

$20; $10 Hillwood member. As with all festivals and programs, members do not receive free admission to Divas Outdoors and guest passes are not accepted.

Artist in Conversation: Alison Saar
2025-06-22 16:00 - 18:00 | National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave., NW, Washington, DC, 20005
On Sunday, June 22, 2025 from 4 to 6 pm, the National Museum of Women in the Arts is hosting a public conversation with acclaimed artist Alison Saar on the intersection of art, literature, social change and how image making can amplify storytelling. Artist in Conversation: Alison Saar will explore Saar’s collaboration with Arion Press, the last printer in the United States to make books entirely by hand, to create a new edition of Octavia Butler’s groundbreaking novel Kindred (1979).

Saar’s limited-run artist’s book reimagines Butler’s iconic neo-slave narrative, which blends speculative fiction with powerful social critique. Saar’s striking linoleum block prints explore themes of identity, endurance and the African American experience.
Presented in partnership with Arion Press, the event coincides with the anniversary of Octavia Butler’s birthday. Butler died in 2006 at the age of 58, but her books continue to present timely perspectives on topics of racism and history.
The talk will be moderated by Elizabeth Ajunwa, director of the Betty Boyd Dettre Library and Research Center at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
About Alison Saar
Through her sculptures, installations, drawings, prints and found object assemblages, Alison Saar (b. 1956) explores the subjects of racism, sexism, ageism, heritage, history and the specific challenges of being biracial in America. Saar studied studio art and art history at Scripps College in Claremont, California and earned her MFA from the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. Saar’s work is included in museums and private collections across the United States.
Event Sponsors
Artist in Conversation: Alison Saar is part of an ongoing series that reflects NMWA’s commitment to championing the transformative work of women artists. The program is sponsored by Amanda Minami and the Minami Legacy Fund for the Arts. The talk’s reception is generously sponsored by Fred Levin and the Shenson Foundation. Additional support for the Women, Arts, and Social Change public programs initiative is made possible through leadership gifts from Denise Littlefield Sobel and the Davis/Dauray Family Fund with additional support provided by Anne N. Edwards, the Revada Foundation of the Logan Family, and the Susan and Jim Swartz Public Programs Fund.
Tickets and Reservations
Registration required.
General admission: $25
Students, seniors, DC residents: $22
Members: $20
Reserve Your Spot
When
Sunday, June 22, 2025
4 to 6 pm ET
Where
Performance Hall, 5th floor
National Museum of Women in the Arts
1250 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20005

Dinnertime Classics | Sylvia Scarlett (1935)
2025-07-24 17:30 - 21:00 | Hillwood Museum & Gardens, 4155 Linnean Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20008
Dinnertime Classics | Sylvia Scarlett (1935)
Thursday, July 24, 2025, 5:30-9 p.m. (Film begins at 7:30 p.m.)
Enjoy a summer evening at Hillwood with a classic film! Tour Hillwood’s mansion, gardens, greenhouse, and special exhibition From Exile to Avant-Garde: The Life of Princess Natalie Paley; eat a delicious meal at Merriweather Café; and view Sylvia Scarlett (1935), featuring Katharine Hepburn and the exhibition’s own Natalie Paley.
www.HillwoodMuseum.org
4155 Linnean Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20008

Film Night at Hillwood: Sylvia Scarlett
2025-07-24 17:30 - 21:00 | Hillwood Museum & Gardens, 4155 Linnean Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20008
Enjoy a summer evening at Hillwood with a classic film!
Tour Hillwood’s mansion, gardens, greenhouse, and special exhibition From Exile to Avant-Garde: The Life of Princess Natalie Paley, eat a delicious meal at Merriweather Café*, and view Sylvia Scarlett (1935), featuring Katharine Hepburn and the exhibition’s own Natalie Paley.
Thursday, July 24, 2025
5:30-9 p.m. (Film begins at 7:30 p.m.)

*For guests who have a dinner reservation for full-service dining at Merriweather Café, dress up in 1930s period-themed attire or Sylvia Scarlett-specific costumes to receive a complimentary glass of sparkling wine with your meal.

$22; $12 Hillwood member. As with all festivals and programs, members do not receive free admission to Dinnertime Classics and guest passes are not accepted. To enjoy Hillwood member pricing, sign up for membership online or call 202.686.5807.

South Pacific (One Night Only) @ Olney Theatre
2025-07-31 20:00 - 22:00 | Olney Theatre, 2001 Olney Sandy Spring Rd, Olney, Maryland, 20832
William Michals returns to Olney Theatre Center, to reprise his 2018 performance as Emile de Becque along with his co-star Jessica Lauren Ball, who played Nellie Forbush, in a one-night concert version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific on Thursday, July 31 at 8:00 pm on the Root Family Stage at Omi’s Pavilion. They will be joined by Rayanne Gonzales (Bloody Mary), Justine “Icy” Moral (Liat), Ben Lurye (Lt. Joseph Cable), Calvin McCullough (Luther Billis), and Bobby Smith (Brackett). The chorus and remaining roles will be filled by members of the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, performing under the musical direction of Anthony Blake Clark. Tickets for the concert are $60 – $75 and can be purchased at olneytheatre.org/outdoors or by calling 301-924-3400.
The concert is the first event in Olney Outdoors, Olney Theatre’s summer program on the Root Family Stage at Omi’s Pavilion, which runs July 31 – August 24, 2025. In addition to South Pacific, two other musicals will receive concert performances: Jason Robert Brown’s Songs For A New World will be performed for two nights, August 14-15; and U.S. audiences will get their first taste of To Wong Foo – The Musical (Adapted by original screenwriter Douglas Carter Beane, with Lyrics and Music by Lewis Flinn) on August 21. In addition to musical theatre, Olney Outdoors features concerts by leading tribute bands, drag shows, cabarets (including a special performance by Broadway star Tituss Burgess on August 7), family programs, and more.
Olney Theatre continues to offer a limited number of All-Access Passes for the summer. Starting at $175, these passes provide entry to almost all the events on the schedule and deep discounts to the few that aren’t already included. The passes are on sale at: olneytheatre.org/all-access.

The Art League Open House Block Party
2025-09-06 17:00 - 20:00 | The Art League, 105 North Union Street, Arlington, VA, 22314
The Art League invites you to celebrate the opening of its two new locations in Old Town North at an Open House Block Party on Saturday, September 6, from 5 to 8 pm.
This festive evening marks the debut of MUSE Studios (1201 N. Royal Street) and Slaters Annex (800 Slaters Lane) — the culmination of years of planning, fundraising, and steadfast support. Together, these new spaces form a creative campus where art and community flourish.
The evening will also feature a 6:15 p.m. ribbon cutting at MUSE Studios with Alexandria City Mayor Alyia Gaskins and other city leaders, officially launching this exciting new chapter for the arts in Old Town North.
Take a campus crawl through the new spaces and enjoy:

touring classrooms and meeting The Art League’s talented instructors.
live painting, jewelry, welding, and ceramics demonstrations.
a sneak peek of the Ice Cream Bowl Fundraiser: pick up a handmade bowl in advance of the official event at the Alexandria Art Festival (September 13–14).
unique finds at an art and art supply sale.
drinks and light fare while mingling with fellow art lovers.

A complimentary shuttle bus will connect MUSE Studios and Slaters Annex throughout the evening, making it easy to experience everything the new creative campus has to offer. Visitors to MUSE Studios can also enjoy refreshments courtesy of the MUSE Social Committee, Royal Restaurant, Pupatella, and Slaters Market.
“This Open House is our way of saying thank you to Alexandria,” said Suzanne Bethel, Executive Director of The Art League. “Together, we’re opening not just new art spaces, but the door to a flourishing arts district in Old Town North.”
The Art League’s Open House Block Party promises to be an unforgettable evening — one that highlights the powerful role of art in building connection and inspiring creativity.

Art Ave
2025-09-10 11:00 - 12:00 | Connecticut Ave. & K Street W, Washington, DC
Join the Golden Triangle BID as it welcomes Mayor Muriel Bowser to celebrate the launch of Art Ave, a brand-new people-centered experience just steps from the White House.

Art Ave features a stunning outdoor gallery of artworks by acclaimed artists and includes 13 large-scale, museum-quality sculptures and ground floor window art encasing three blocks of the Golden Triangle in the heart of Washington, DC’s downtown.
Be one of the first people to experience Art Ave at our opening event on September 10, at 11:00 a.m., and take part in a variety of fun activities:

Meet and chat with the artists as you explore Art Ave
Discover the full outdoor gallery with a self-guided tour
Listen to live music with performances by local groups
Shop for your next read at the used book sale with Carpe Librum
Create arts and crafts with the Renwick Gallery
Play lawn games like giant Jenga and Connect4 with Volo Sports

Art Ave is free and open to the public from September 2025 through January 2026. Each vivid artwork serves as a beacon to the next, inviting a continued journey that summons imagination, interaction, and the discovery of spectacular moments.
Art Ave is brought to you by the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District and funded by a Streets for People grant program through the DC Office of Planning.

Let us know you’ll attend

Hocus Pocus Screening at Bridge District
2025-10-10 18:00 - 21:00 | Bridge District, 633 Howard Road SE, Washington, DC, 20020
WHAT: Bridge District invites the community to its free, fall outdoor movie series along the waterfront. In partnership with Firefly Hospitality, BLEX Media and Sandlot Anacostia, guests can bring picnic blankets and lawn chairs to get cozy in front of the big screen. Complimentary popcorn will also be served, with local food and drink offerings available for purchase.
WHEN:

Hocus Pocus: Friday, October 10

Doors open at 6:00 p.m.

Movie begins at 7:00 p.m.

WHERE: Bridge District | 633 Howard Road SE, 20020

HOW: This event is free and open to the public. Register at the Eventbrite HERE.

Russian Chamber Art Society Opening Gala Performance
2025-10-21 19:30 - 22:00 | La Maison Francaise, 4101 Reservoir Rd NW,, Washington, DC, DC, 20007
P. I. Tchaikovsky | The Queen of Spades
Opening Night Gala Performance
Tuesday, October 21, 2025 • 7:30 PM
The RCAS celebrates its 20th Anniversary Season with A Night at the Gaming Tables, an elegant gala performance. The evening features RCAS Artistic Director Vera Danchenko-Stern’s acclaimed abridgement of P.I. Tchaikovsky’s beloved opera The Queen of Spades. The concert is followed by a champagne toast celebrating our 20th Anniversary and a festive reception with wine, hors d’oeuvres, and petit fours.
Tickets: $79* – Black Tie Optional

La Maison Française
4101 Reservoir Road Northwest
Washington, DC, 20007

BUY TICKETS

*Admission includes the performance and a post-concert reception with wine, light hors d’oeuvres, and desserts. Pre-registration and photo ID are required to enter the embassy grounds. Patrons without pre-registration or photo ID will not be permitted inside the embassy.

The Emily Dickinson and Jane Austen Birthday Tribute
2025-12-09 19:30 - 20:30 | Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 E Capital Street NE, Washington, DC, DC, 20002
The Emily Dickinson and Jane Austen Birthday Tribute
December 9, 2025, at 7:30pm
This year, our annual birthday tribute to American poet Emily Dickinson will also honor English novelist Jane Austen on her 250th birthday. Noted scholars Martha Nell Smith and Patricia A. Matthew will discuss the life, work, and legacy of Dickinson and Austen and how they continue to shape writers of today, highlighting well-known passages. The reading, which is co-sponsored by the Emily Dickinson Museum, will be followed by a book signing in the Great Hall. Emily Dickinson’s famous black cake, based on her own recipe, will also be served.

The 2026 Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize Reading
2026-04-07 19:30 - 20:30 | Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 E Capital Street NE, Washington, DC, DC, 20002
The 2026 Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize Reading
April 7, 2026, at 7:30pm

The Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize, created in honor of the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Anthony Hecht, is awarded annually for a poetry collection by a writer who has published no more than one book of poetry. This April, we celebrate the 20th winner, Anna Lena Phillips Bell, for her manuscript Might Could, as selected by judge Shane McCrae (Pulling the Chariot of the Sun, In the Language of My Captor), who will also read. The reading will be followed by a book signing in the Great Hall.

The O.B. Hardison Poetry Series Finale Reading
2026-05-19 19:30 - 20:30 | Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 E Capital Street NE, Washington, DC, DC, 20002
The O.B. Hardison Poetry Series Finale Reading
May 19, 2026, at 7:30pm

The Poetry season concludes with a finale reading by a poet chosen by a group of Folger Poetry supporters. The evening’s honored guest will read from the work of other poets cited as their literary influences as well as from their own work. Previous poets invited for this finale reading include Ellen Bass, Billy Collins, Carolyn Forché, and Jane Hirshfield. The reading will be followed by a book signing in the Great Hall.
