Kinetic The Official Parties for
MAL Washington DC 2025

Kinetic – The Official Parties for MAL Washington DC 2025

MAL Weekend in Washington, D.C., attracts thousands of leather men, kinksters, fetish-lovers and curious spectators from all over the world.

• MAL is one of the biggest gay weekends of the year in DC, and the official host hotel, The Hilton, sells out fast.

Hotels Close to the Host Hotel

• Hotels close to the official hotel include:
• Royal Sonesta Washington DC Dupont Circle (3 min taxi, 13 min walk),
• The Line, Washington DC (4 min taxi, 10 min walk)

The Parties

• Next Edition – Jan 9th to 12th 2025 – Due to the Presidential Inauguration next year, MAL weekend will not be held over the Martin Luther King weekend.
• MAL Weekend has partnered with KINETIC to bring you 5 official events, 11 international DJs, and massive venues where you and thousands of other men can dance, cruise, and slide into each other.
• Whether you’re a jock, bear, wolf, otter, or any other member of our community, all are welcome to unleash their urges on the largest dance floors MAL has ever seen.

The Party Schedule

• Events typically kick off on Thursday and run throught to Sunday and include Kinetic’s signature parties, Bootcamp, Uncut, Kink and DiscoVers.
• Awaiting full schedule of parties for the 2025 edition.
• We recommend you stay in the centre of DC during the event and take a rideshare to the parties. Check out the top hotels in downtown Washington DC. 

The Venues

• Echostage is a music venue located in Washington, D.C.. Opened in 2012, the hybrid nightclub and concert hall has over 30,000 square feet of space and is capable of hosting up to 3,000 guests. This Vast nightspot features bars, a dance floor and a smoking area.
• Republiq – Spacious, elegant, luxurious, cutting-edge, stylish and hip lounge dance club with multiple dance floors in Washington, D.C. Warehouse District.  The club is a 20-minute drive from Dupont Circle.
• Zebbie’s Garden – Featuring a 4,000-square-foot rooftop garden with a retractable glass roof, glitzy disco balls, a faux grass floor, lush flower arrangements, a dazzling LED wall and a an epic sound system, Zebbie’s Garden is the go-to club for house and techno in the Dupont Circle.
• Bunker – Underground gay bar and club with nightly entertainment, live DJs, and transportive decor; a 60s Cold War shelter made fabulous. A custom stonework steel door weighing 600 pounds leads the way to Bunker. Located on the U Street corridor in the heart of DC. Located 6-minutes drive from Dupont Circle.

Gay Washington DC

• With rainbow-colored crosswalks, it’s obvious that this Dupont Circle neighborhood street is the place to be. A few blocks east of the neighborhood’s namesake circle, 17th Street NW is home to JR’s.
• If you’re looking for a speakeasy feel, try Dito’s, located in the basement of Italian restaurant Floriana. The Lilliputian lounge serves up cocktails and great conversation. Or pick a theme night at JR’s: the longtime gay bar does Retro Fridays, Sunday Fundays and even drag-themed trivia on Wednesday nights. In an unofficial nod to the nabe’s LGBTQ+ scene, look for the “Frank Kameny Way” street sign at 17th and R streets. Kameny, an astronomer by trade, became a gay rights activist when he was fired from the U.S. Army in 1957.
• The LGBTQ+-friendly The Ven Embassy Row Hotel is a member of the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association and it was named “one of the best rooftop pools in America” by USA Today. The bar stays open until 11 p.m. on summer Friday and Saturday nights, and delights with its cocktails and nibbles.
• Adams Morgan’s cozy restaurants and trendy shops also make it a must-see during the day. Explore the shops along 18th Street NW and then cap off a dinner at Duplex Diner with dancing and drink specials (all wines are half off for Wine-O Wednesday, plus there’s Rosé All Day on weekends).

Recommended Hotels in Washington DC

The following hotels are close to the city’s top attractions and a short walk to the gay bars and MAL events:

Hotel Palomar,    The Dupont,    Rouge Hotel,    Mason & Rook Hotel