THE FUSE, an inclusive nightclub in Millersville, held its first event Saturday. The 350-ticket event sold out.

Opportunity Builders’ CEO Marsha Legg said the company, which promotes inclusion for those with disabilities and sponsored the event, set out to create a clubbing destination that is fun for people with or without disabilities.

Legg, while working at the League for People with Disabilities around a decade ago, had a hand in starting CLUB1111, a similar venue in Baltimore — though that club is exclusively for people with disabilities. Both clubs are based on the idea that many inclusivity efforts focus on work, while fewer focus on recreation.

“For me, my vision was folks with disabilities, yes, and [CLUB1111] proved that there was such a demand for it, but they shouldn’t only be able to meet and hang out with other folks with disabilities and paid staff, right? It should be a forum where everyone can connect. And really, that’s the difference,” Legg said. “We really wanted to create this fusion, if you will, of people who never would have met otherwise, and the challenge was adding in components that would be attractive to people without disabilities, because they have all of the options in the world when they want to go do something.”

Their efforts were successful. Legg and her staff estimate that Saturday’s crowd was evenly split between those with disabilities and those without.

On the first Saturday of every month, THE FUSE is held at Opportunity Builders’ facility in Millersville. It’s 21-plus, features live music, a DJ, food trucks, and a bar, but also has several amenities to support those with disabilities. These include a sensory lounge with $25,000 of equipment like beanbag chairs and bubble tubes, an on-site nurse and behaviorist, image-based signage, and specially trained staff and security.

Saturday’s event featured genre mashup band Kanye Twitty, who played the venue pro bono. Upcoming performers include Pasadena-based Mach 3 and Oracle and Side Hustle, both from Odenton.

Before 2019, when Maryland laws changed, the venue was a below-minimum-wage sheltered workshop that employed people with disabilities. When Legg arrived in 2020, she was tasked with reimagining what the building could be used for. Now, it’s an activity center with cooking, arts, crafts, and more.

“I showed one of the ladies I just met literal claw marks in my arm, still, because one [other] lady grabbed me so hard Saturday night with tears in her eyes and said, ‘Oh my gosh. Thank you so much for this. This means everything to my daughter,'” Legg said. “We’ll be back every month.”

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