ManDate Returns to D.C.

The ManDate Conference, an annual gathering of about 200 African-American gay and bisexual men, will return to Washington for three days next month.

The conference is hosted by Project Healthy Living, a group of African-American gay and bisexual men associated with DC Care and the HIV/Hepatitis, STD and TB Administration (HAHSTA) of the D.C. Department of Health. The organizers' aim is to encourage healthier choices and improve sexual health outcomes. To that end, they offer the annual gathering as a forum to discuss specific issues of concern to the black ''MSM'' (men who have sex with men) community.

Conference attendees will participate in various panels or group discussions that tackle issues including mental and physical well-being and health, relationships, sex and sexuality, integrating different generations, and community mobilization.

This year's conference theme is ''I Am a Man,'' which according to the conference's organizers means, ''unapologetically celebrat[ing] the presence, beauty, inherent power, resiliency, dignity and value of all black gay and same gender loving men.''

Registration for the conference includes admission to all programs and events, continental breakfast and lunch on the first two days of the conference, and entry to the evening dinner and cocktail receptions Friday, Nov. 8 and Saturday, Nov. 9. Registrations cost $40 until Nov. 7, or $50 for on-site registration.

The 2013 ManDate Conference will runs Friday, Nov. 8, to Sunday, Nov. 10, at the Human Rights Campaign Equality Center, 1640 Rhode Island Ave. NW. For more information or to register online, visit at themandate-dc.com.