First Gay Bar Launches in Fairfax County

So Addictive, located in Herndon, is “the only almost full-time gay bar in Fairfax County,” the suburban home to more than 1 million people in Northern Virginia, about 25 miles from Washington, D.C.

The Washington Post reports on the bar and manager Austin Jennings, who recently began to operate for gay patrons nearly full-time after starting with a weekly gay night last summer.

“Now, the Wednesday night drag shows — featuring a wild mix of makeup, wigs, spangles and Lady Gaga impersonations — fill the place,” reports the Post. “Their success has persuaded Jennings and So Addictive's owner to swap out the bar's weekly hip-hop and Latin nights and turn their place into the only almost full-time gay bar in Fairfax County, home to more than 1 million people. The new format took effect on New Year's Eve; the only straight holdover on the schedule, for now, is heavy-metal Monday.”

So Addictive is one of only two gay bars in the northern half of Virginia, a state where elected officials including Atty. Gen. Ken Cuccinelli have taken stances against LGBT rights in the past year.