Cambridge gay club
In a good place to be Homosexual, dedicated spaces for those communities can be difficult to find
Campus, seen June 15, is the Thursday LGBTQ+ blackout at ManRay in Cambridge’s Central Square. (Photo: Annie Schugart)
In Cambridge and Somerville, you would be hard pressed to find a place where members of the LGBTQ+ society are not welcome. Pride flag stickers are a dime a dozen on store and café windows, and nobody seems to brain bold proclamations of gender or sexuality. In many ways, it’s an utopian place to be LGBTQ+ in an America that is growing more hostile.
Spaces dedicated to the community are sparse, though. Club and bar nights occur, but there are no gay bars to be heard of since the closing of Paradise in 2018. In neighboring Boston, spaces have been vanishing too: Machine in Fenway closed to make way for a condo maturation, and Bella Luna and the Milky Way in Jamaica Plain closed during the Covid pandemic.
One of the spaces that remain in Cambridge is Campus at ManRay, a club night that happens every Thursday. The night itself is informal compared with some others at ManRay that cater to specific, alternative subcultures and come with dress codes. The only
DOT COTTON CLUB
About Us
The Dot Cotton Club has been a staple of the LGBTQ+ scene in Cambridge for over 30 years, seeing 1000s of pleased clubbers dance and drink the bedtime away, originally at The Junction and Nusha bar, then Q-Club and now The Union Cellar Bar on Circular Church Street (on the 1st Saturday of each month). Plus keep an eye out for special dates throughout the year - we often possess Halloween, Pride and New Year events to keep you busy, check below for the latest info!
Our aim is to ensure that locals, students and visitors to the city, of all genders and sexualities have a secure, fun place to meet and enjoy.
The music policy is pop, dance, remixes, mashups, cheese and R&B but we will play almost anything that gets people on their feet!
We have plenty of seated areas, full bar, a variety of bottled beers, spirits and cider, and more lights & lasers than you can shake a pink fluffy stick at! If you're visiting the city and don't want to worry about how to get abode at the terminate of the blackout, there are plenty of hotels nearby to cover all budgets, so there's no excuse not to keep partying until the lights come up.
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ManRay, once the heart of alternative nightlife in Cambridge, is reborn
Saturday night at ManRay is packed for Heroes, an '80s brand-new wave dance night. The crowd is multigenerational, bopping to Bowie under the glow of purple lights. They’re decked out in mesh shirts, 7-inch platform boots, and no shortage of leather harnesses.
This blackout has been a drawn-out time coming. ManRay was the heart of alternative nightlife in Cambridge throughout the 1980s and ‘90s. When it shuttered in 2005, it became the stuff of legend, a symbol of old weird Cambridge invoked whenever another treasured neighborhood club closed its doors. This month, it reopened (at a different location), after an 18-year hiatus.
Cody Publicover is one of the hundreds who donned their party clothes and descended on ManRay in its first week.
“I love ridiculous outfits,” Publicover says. “So I’m currently wearing a sloth, riding a Tyrannosaurus rex, shooting laser beams out of the eyes, while wearing floral pants.”
Just to be clear — it’s the T. rex, not the sloth, that’s shooting laser beams out of its eyes, and Publicover is the one wearing the floral pants, not the dinosaur. He’s a regular at Heroes. The long-ru
A serene escape from the hectic vibe of the Dorchester neighborhood. Recently came here to appreciate the last bit of nice weather on their patio with our dog. Their quaint patio offered a good respite with plenty of seatings, and organism familiar with the finesse of Boston Urban Hospitality's portfolio, I stepped in with high expectations. A noticeable departure from their other two upscale spots, Dbar's ambiance resonated more with a laid-back, casual vibe, while the menu hinted at elevated tavern fare. We started our evening with the Veracruz Braised chicken flautas, which aptly mirrored crispy spring rolls, albeit with a Mexican twist. However, the celestial body appetizer for me was the lump crab cake. Bursting with rich crab meat, it danced with the creamy textures of avocado and remoulade, and the grapefruit zest lended a refreshing tang to every bite. For our mains, we had the pork loin and the poke bowl. While the pork loin was a tad dry, the accompanying pumpkin spaetzle made up for it, offering a delicate and chewy counterpart. The poke bowl, with fresh tuna and salmon, echoed familiar notes of spicy aioli and sesame soy dressing. It was reminiscent of poke bowls from typical