The
Blade’s
annual
roundup
of
the
Best
of
Gay
D.C.
includes
many
perennial
favorites,
like
Annie’s
and
JR.’s,
along
with
a
few
fresh
faces
that
help
keep
this
city
lively
and
dynamic.
In
a
year
marked
by
disappointments
on
the
gay
rights
front
—
from
anti-gay
marriage
amendments
winning
approval
in
11
states
on
Election
Day
to
the
untimely
death
of
activist
Wanda
Alston
to
a
push
by
the
Catholic
Church
to
bar
gay
seminarians
—
it
is
refreshing
to
read
the
story
of
Revs.
Dennis
and
Christine
Wiley,
two
pro-gay
ministers
who
preside
at
Covenant
Baptist
Church.
The
Wileys
are
our
pick
for
best
straight
ally.
Blade
readers
voted
for
the
best
of
gay
D.C.
in
our
online
poll,
while
the
editors
debated
choices
that
frequently
diverged
from
the
readers’
picks.
Chris
Crain,
Kevin
Naff,
Rhonda
Smith,
Ken
Sain,
Brian
Moylan,
Lou
Chibbaro
Jr.,
Eartha
Melzer,
Elizabeth
Weill-Greenberg,
Katherine
Volin,
Jorge
Valencia
and
Patrick
Folliard
contributed
to
this
year’s
guide.
It’s
one
thing
to
turn
out
a
dance
floor
with
the
latest
house
music,
but
it’s
a
whole
different
challenge
running
the
city’s
most
successful
retro
night.
Cobalt’s
Jason
Royce,
who
also
serves
as
the
bar’s
promotions
manager
and
books
its
DJs,
plays
every
other
Saturday
night
to
a
packed
crowd
and
every
Tuesday
night
for
those
who
come
out
to
hear
all
the
classics
from
the
’70s
and
’80s
at
the
venue’s
retro
night.
Though
he
only
started
behind
the
turntables
in
2001,
Royce
quickly
learned
what
the
crowd
reacts
to
and
delivers
tunes
that
are
as
danceable
as
they
are
distinctive.
His
vision
has
certainly
made
Cobalt
one
of
the
city’s
premier
venues
for
gay
dance
music.
Jason
Royce
www.djjasonroyce.com
This
is
Harris’
third
appearance
in
this
survey,
and
it’s
not
by
mistake.
No
one
mixes
it
up
like
this
former
military
boy,
who
spins
regularly
in
town
at
both
Cobalt
and
Apex
and
the
annual
Cherry
circuit
party,
but
also
in
places
like
Baltimore,
Philadelphia,
Rehoboth
Beach,
Del.
and
Provincetown,
Mass.
D.C.-based
party
promoter
Don
Turner
selected
him
to
co-headline
his
annual
“Soaking
Wet”
summer
party
in
New
York
City
because
of
Harris’
fun
sound
and
choice
of
music
that
will
always
keep
the
crowd
moving.
With
a
track
record
like
his,
don’t
be
surprised
to
find
Harris
on
more
“best
of”
lists.
Rob
Harris
www.djrobharris.com
Gay
organizations
and
activist
leaders
have
praised
Robert
York,
the
longtime
director
of
Capital
Pride
who
resigned
from
the
post
in
July,
for
his
skills
in
coordinating
D.C.’s
Gay
Pride
event
since
1999.
Last
October,
the
National
Gay
&
Lesbian
Chamber
of
Commerce
presented
York
with
its
Excellence
in
Community
Service
Award,
saying
his
leadership
on
behalf
of
Capital
Pride
has
had
a
positive
impact
on
the
community.
York
resigned
this
summer
as
director
of
Capital
Pride
as
well
as
from
his
role
as
director
of
the
Clinic’s
AIDS
Walk,
which
took
place
on
Oct.
1.
He
did
not
publicly
disclose
a
reason.
It
followed
the
resignation
of
the
Clinic’s
development
director
and
chief
fund-raiser,
Tim
Turnham,
and
a
series
of
resignations
of
upper-
and
middle-level
managers
at
Whitman-Walker
earlier
in
2005.
Longtime
gay
civil
rights
advocate
Phil
Pannell’s
highly
vocal
and
visible
efforts
this
year
to
get
organizers
of
the
Millions
More
Movement
to
include
black
gay
men
and
women
in
organizing
the
10th
anniversary
of
the
Million
Man
March
seems
to
be
paying
off
in
various
ways.
During
a
planning
meeting
earlier
this
year
at
D.C.’s
Union
Temple
Baptist
Church,
Pannell
asked
Nation
of
Islam
leader
Louis
Farrakhan
whether
black
gay
people
would
be
welcome
to
take
part
in
all
aspects
of
the
Millions
More
Movement.
Farrakhan
said
yes,
according
to
Pannell.
Subsequently,
black
gay
supporters
of
the
upcoming
event
were
not
invited
to
attend
a
May
2
news
conference
announcing
the
massive
rally
geared
toward
empowering
African
Americans.
Pannell
and
longtime
gay
civil
rights
advocate
Carlene
Cheatam,
among
others,
began
holding
monthly
community
meetings
to
rally
support
for
their
cause
and
respond
to
being
snubbed.
Their
efforts
seem
to
be
energizing
what
largely
has
been
a
dormant
black
gay
political
base
in
Washington,
D.C.,
in
recent
years.
Pannell
also
recently
led
efforts
to
get
Rev.
Willie
Wilson,
pastor
of
Union
Temple
Baptist
Church
and
executive
director
of
the
Millions
More
Movement
march,
to
apologize
for
anti-gay
comments
he
made
in
a
July
sermon.
Wilson
subsequently
apologized
but
later
reiterated
his
claims
that
“lesbianism”
remains
a
serious
threat
to
African-American
teenage
girls.
...
