TO Pride 99
Jun. 28th, 1999 07:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
c9"He could be having a seizure! Maybe he needs help!"
or
"No, no! He's the ClearNet frog! That's it!"
or
"Wandering on Church Street"
[Note: this presentation has been edited to fit your television and to protect the guilty. If you need to ask who a "_____" is, you are designated not-knower. Sorry.]
So my trip began on Friday afternoon, when I skipped out on work early to pick up our rental car. My boss tried to head me off at the pass with some questions, but I managed to knock him out, trip Mike Cowpland, and make the elevator. Pete and I got the rental car, where the following conversation occurred:
Robert (Hertz guy): "...so you two are... uh... (mimes quotation marks)*spouses* for the free second driver charge, *right*??"
Cam & Pete: "Sure."
Robert: "I didn't really want to ask that, but you know..."
Cam (somewhat coldly) "Welcome to the nineties."
Robert: "Hmm, yeah."
But he didn't believe us, I guess -- we're too straight-acting? -- cause we were charged for the second driver. Fixed that upon our return by simply explaining that "my partner is the second driver" yada yada yada, and it was no problem. (For those of you going "I *knew* they weren't just roommates!!", I hate to burst your bubble but we are, in fact, just roommates. But the way the laws are going, we'll be legally common-law before the next snowfall! (kidding) )
Picked up Brika and Emily (friend of Brika) and got on the road -- made goodtime, got to T.O. in about 4.5 hours. Plus a stop for dinner at Denny's in Kingston. Scary place -- Tammy Faye Bakker is apparently in hiding there, working as a waitress. Yikes.
Got to Toronto, found our "hotel" (more on that later), and then found parking space. Got lucky with parking this weekend, actually, spending only$30 for 3.5 days of *very* downtown parking. Walked the block back to the hotel. Went to our room.
Now I should give some background here -- we were heading for a room with two double beds, in downtown T.O. It's a "college hotel", so we figured okay, not exactly top of the line. When we arrived, it was a single room with 4 single beds, all little foam mattresses, no air conditioning, one window, no working phone, shared bathrooms for 6 rooms. For the price, it was tolerable. But we weren't what you'd call prepared for it. :) Knowing now the situation there, I'd go back though. Too convenient and cheap toot.
Pete headed for Guelph to pick up Adrienne, and Brika, Gord and I headed forth lobby. Emily, you may have noticed, is missing. She was heading for Toronto to visit friends, not for Pride. Gord we found at the hotel, sincere seemed to think he could just crash with us. He probably thought this because we told him he could, but ... you never know. Brika ran into her friend Andria (yes, spelled like that) and ditched us as well. Gord and Were sad. Then we headed out anyway.
Wandered Church Street, which for the unknowing is Toronto's queer village. And on the last weekend of June every year, it closes for about 72 hours(five blocks at least) and fills up with people. Found my friends Jill and Benn, and headed along Church some more. Hit some stores, just browsing, and kept manually closing my jaw after seeing impossibly attractive people.
Went to Babylon, a martini bar that stretches the definitions of both. Tiny, crowded, and filled with couches. Located less than one floor above street level, Gord observed that they make it easy to skip out on the bill -- one little jump, and that's that. "That" being the call to 911,methinks. The menu is an actual book. Thick. "Over 100 Martinis!" the billboard claims. I believe it. They're listed alphabetically. There’s also martini stories (like novellas, not one-pagers) and martini poetry inhere. Wacky. We ordered "Da Bomb," "Chocolate Sundae," and a couple others I can't remember the names of. Each had way too much alcohol for me, and they were all quite strong in their own way. One of those things that are just beyond an ol' country boy like me. (Sheesh.)
Continued around, and wandered into Woodys. Note lack of apostrophe -- such a subtle community, this. Had a few more drinks, caught up with Jill and Benn, and talked about the festivities of the weekend. Eventually, Jill and Benn began to think it was time to head out (this would be about 1:30-2:00in the morning). We went, got pizza, and then they went to the bus stop-Go was (as usual) raring to go, so we went.
To "Boots", of all places. After last year, when we hit Boots every night, we had vowed to not do that this time. Alas, that idea was not followed upon, so maybe next time. Boots, for those who just joined us, is a loud90%-men meat market near Bloor and Jarvis. The size is a good thing, since you can bring a large group of friends and reasonably expect to get in and spend time with them. As well, Boots has a great big patio ("She's got*huge*... tracts of land!!") to relax / flirt / play eye-tag on. Gord and I were there until probably 3 or so, dancing and boy-watching and such. Very enjoyable. Walked back home, collapsed into our beds. Couldn't sleep hardly at all because of the heat.
Next day: awake by noon, breakfast/lunch at Golden Griddle near Church Street(experiencing huge surge in business, judging by a cross-referencing of the clientele and my gaydar), then up the street we go. Hit more stores, buying a few things, wishing I could buy much more. Found ourselves in Priape, which is a popular "theme" clothing store (shirts with "FAG" on them, or other such things, along with porn, books, pants, lack-of-pants-items, etc). Several tank-tops were purchased by various members of our entourage, along with a book of "great and sensual stories"(though a cursory glance through this book uncovered the (again)lack of subtlety to it all)
Wandered more (need a theme song here, but "The Wanderer" by Bono and Johnny Cash just doesn't work), bought water, milkshakes, popsicles, more water, and a water gun (very important for Pride Weekend). As a very hot weekend, water is precious, especially surprise water. As well, I know that flirting is made ever-so-much more fun (and easier) by this fact. Certainly in my case (in both directions).
At 2:30, watched the Dyke March. Marred only by Nazi imagery displayed on a nearby balcony (which disappeared the next morning), it was amazing -- the GLBT community spends so much time being such a Gay Male Community, and I can only imagine how hard it must be to be female and oppressed "by your own". Very empowering to see thousands of women marching and dancing in their own parade. Saw a sign that said "Real fags support the dyke march."
Eventually headed back to the "hotel". Other friends joined us. Showered, and ____ tried on his new tank-top. He realized that his chest hair was a little ... off-putting, and so, in a fit of do-something-different-ness, between one and three chests were shaved. This provided for hours of amusement and jokes at the expense of the shavee(s). The decision is, apparently, occasionally regretted and occasionally enjoyed.
We headed for dinner with a friend of mine from UNB, Kenney, who is mad as a hatter. In a good way. Hadn't seen him in a while, so that was nice. Had dinner at a bar, so the food was bar food. As well, the clientele of the bar are (according to Kenney) more often than not the type to order and then(for various reasons) forget what they ordered. Our expectations for a lot of food, the correct food, and the like, were somewhat discomforting for the staff. All ended well though.
Back to the hotel. We were planning on going to see the Symphony of Fire fireworks competitions at Ontario Place, but the distance, time, money, and apathy conspired to keep us just on the roof of the hotel, where we had a pretty good view. Some pretty amazing stuff. It was the evening slotted for China's team that we saw, so there were many jokes about what/who they were blowing up...
Moved on to the club again -- yes, Boots again. But that was okay... lots of friends from Ottawa, and lots of people I'd like to be friends with(though I know they'd be total non-friend material in the real world, which Boots is most certainly not). Pete and I were bored, and decided to do the total "club kid" thing -- we dressed about as trendy and clubby and possible. There are pictures, we were total twins.
A word about the pictures. Pete brought the digital camera, so you can see a bit of our trip and the parade athttp://www.bigbackpack.ca/pictures/pride/ . Some pictures turned out better than others -- Gord, in his well-meaning but occasionally annoying a certain subsection of the queer population (the ones with curfews),took a lot of pictures that were zoomed in, moving, and turned out badly. Which is too bad, but c'est la vie. They're up too. I took a roll of real film too, which will be developed sometime, for another view of the excitement.
At Boots on Saturday, we had a pretty good time. I was in the mood to be very bad (for me, which as you know is not that bad really), but of course wasn’t. Had a good time though. Headed home well before dawn.
On Sunday, we awoke by noon again, and met up again with friends. Golden Griddle again, then up Church Street again. It sounds repetitive, but it was fun. More people, and way too much scheduling. In my inimitable way, I tried to please everyone and make sure we all were together as much as possible, meeting here there and everywhere. Which just doesn't work. I’ve learned my lesson. Next year, no meeting places and times, no major sub-trips. Just me enjoying pride with my boyfriend (with any luck), Pete and his boyfriend (sending luck his way too). Anything else, (shrugs shoulders).
I managed to snag about ten minutes to sneak onto a complete stranger’s roof-top patio located behind Church & Wellesley, past fierce restaurant back-ends, and up the stairs to where a door was sitting open. Hoping it was the right place, I prepared to clear my throat. Before I could, there walked out the woman I was looking for, a much-missed friend from UNB who is now a big name in Toronto (or that's the rumour!)... it was great to see her, if only to trade one-minute updates, phone numbers, and hugs! Had to run, promised to email.
Found our place on the roof to watch the parade (that's why so many photos are crooked, imagine watching a parade from 30 feet up). Very crowded up there -- the ease with which we climbed up encouraged others, as per usual. Some of us got great seats (if hard seats) on the edge, while others were behind people, sometimes straining to see details of the parade. And god help anyone who had to actually leave their spot for a washroom or anything -- they'd be lucky to get back to their spot, never mind getting down, getting across the street, or anything else like that. Fun time though. The store across the street from us had young men dancing in the windows, for entertainment value I suppose. They presumably had music, but that music could not be heard by us in the street, so much discussion ensued regarding their dancing. Maybe it *was* a seizure... I believe there are pictures of this.
"They're handing out Diesel-branded water?"
"No, it's actually diesel fuel."
"Oh, that's *good*."
"Now they're handing out... wow. That's a lot of condoms."
"Oh, see that Pizza-Pizza t-shirt? It's painted on."
"Wow! Can I remove it?"
Three hour parade, end-to-end, and it was pretty cool. Two hours for it to pass us, then the whole place went crazy with Yonge street impassable. We had to wait 15 minutes just to get off the roof. Then another year or two at least to get the few blocks back down the street.
Over one million people watch the parade. One Million. That makes Toronto pride the largest Pride celebration anywhere in the world, hands down. Yes, I’ve checked. It makes me proud for sure.
Went back to the hotel for a nap, which never happened -- ended up shopping more, and this time spending money. Again, c'est la vie. I'm glad I have paycheques coming in, cause I've already spent them!! Then I watched some free concerts (largest free festival in Toronto, don't y'know), and then headed back to the hotel once more. The hotel, as you might have guessed, was really close to everything. Nice.
Our final night at Pride. Wandered up Church Street, dancing and partying with thousands and thousands of people. The deconstruction of the street’s decorations began in earnest around 11:30 PM, since they had about 7 hours to open the street again to real traffic. Lots of free balloons to be had. Back to Boots, where ____ took a big risk in being honest with someone, and was neither laughed at nor slapped. _____ did not take any such risks, and was thus left feeling kinda ... well, alone. Fate knows what's best for us all, though, so no worries.
Jill's boyfriend Joe came to the bar, and he got his introduction to the..."subtlety" of the queer community (here, actually the gay/bi male community)at Boots. Though he seemed to have fun, so... ?
Left early, went to the hotel, and crashed. Gord did not come with us, as is his occasional habit. He arrived a little later, though, alone -- zero for three, the mighty Casey had struck out. (he's gonna kill me)
Sleep, wake, shower, dress, drive drive drive. Arrive back at the car rental place with about 30 seconds to spare -- not bad, really. A brisk walk back to our apartment (walked at least 16 kilometres this weekend, if not more). Got hundreds of emails. Worked on this trip report. Tried not to think about waking up for work tomorrow.
Next trick: Canada Day, a 5 day meal for friends and family from the world over. That'll be fun -- not a weekend though! I'm so dead already.
Trick after that: Ottawa Pride, July 10th-18th. Parade on the 11th, down Bank Street. Do visit and see! Pete and I are planning another ultra-club-kid outing, with who-knows-what-shade of hair. Likely green or blue or something for me, anyway.
If you're still reading, that's amazing -- did I keep you interested all that time? Or did you just doze off with auto scroll on? In any event, thesis public-domain information. Feel free to forward, or send people tohttp://www.bigbackpack.ca/pictures/pride/ .
"Thank you my friends, radio land, and the world... we'll see you all next time..."
Cam
or
"No, no! He's the ClearNet frog! That's it!"
or
"Wandering on Church Street"
[Note: this presentation has been edited to fit your television and to protect the guilty. If you need to ask who a "_____" is, you are designated not-knower. Sorry.]
So my trip began on Friday afternoon, when I skipped out on work early to pick up our rental car. My boss tried to head me off at the pass with some questions, but I managed to knock him out, trip Mike Cowpland, and make the elevator. Pete and I got the rental car, where the following conversation occurred:
Robert (Hertz guy): "...so you two are... uh... (mimes quotation marks)*spouses* for the free second driver charge, *right*??"
Cam & Pete: "Sure."
Robert: "I didn't really want to ask that, but you know..."
Cam (somewhat coldly) "Welcome to the nineties."
Robert: "Hmm, yeah."
But he didn't believe us, I guess -- we're too straight-acting? -- cause we were charged for the second driver. Fixed that upon our return by simply explaining that "my partner is the second driver" yada yada yada, and it was no problem. (For those of you going "I *knew* they weren't just roommates!!", I hate to burst your bubble but we are, in fact, just roommates. But the way the laws are going, we'll be legally common-law before the next snowfall! (kidding) )
Picked up Brika and Emily (friend of Brika) and got on the road -- made goodtime, got to T.O. in about 4.5 hours. Plus a stop for dinner at Denny's in Kingston. Scary place -- Tammy Faye Bakker is apparently in hiding there, working as a waitress. Yikes.
Got to Toronto, found our "hotel" (more on that later), and then found parking space. Got lucky with parking this weekend, actually, spending only$30 for 3.5 days of *very* downtown parking. Walked the block back to the hotel. Went to our room.
Now I should give some background here -- we were heading for a room with two double beds, in downtown T.O. It's a "college hotel", so we figured okay, not exactly top of the line. When we arrived, it was a single room with 4 single beds, all little foam mattresses, no air conditioning, one window, no working phone, shared bathrooms for 6 rooms. For the price, it was tolerable. But we weren't what you'd call prepared for it. :) Knowing now the situation there, I'd go back though. Too convenient and cheap toot.
Pete headed for Guelph to pick up Adrienne, and Brika, Gord and I headed forth lobby. Emily, you may have noticed, is missing. She was heading for Toronto to visit friends, not for Pride. Gord we found at the hotel, sincere seemed to think he could just crash with us. He probably thought this because we told him he could, but ... you never know. Brika ran into her friend Andria (yes, spelled like that) and ditched us as well. Gord and Were sad. Then we headed out anyway.
Wandered Church Street, which for the unknowing is Toronto's queer village. And on the last weekend of June every year, it closes for about 72 hours(five blocks at least) and fills up with people. Found my friends Jill and Benn, and headed along Church some more. Hit some stores, just browsing, and kept manually closing my jaw after seeing impossibly attractive people.
Went to Babylon, a martini bar that stretches the definitions of both. Tiny, crowded, and filled with couches. Located less than one floor above street level, Gord observed that they make it easy to skip out on the bill -- one little jump, and that's that. "That" being the call to 911,methinks. The menu is an actual book. Thick. "Over 100 Martinis!" the billboard claims. I believe it. They're listed alphabetically. There’s also martini stories (like novellas, not one-pagers) and martini poetry inhere. Wacky. We ordered "Da Bomb," "Chocolate Sundae," and a couple others I can't remember the names of. Each had way too much alcohol for me, and they were all quite strong in their own way. One of those things that are just beyond an ol' country boy like me. (Sheesh.)
Continued around, and wandered into Woodys. Note lack of apostrophe -- such a subtle community, this. Had a few more drinks, caught up with Jill and Benn, and talked about the festivities of the weekend. Eventually, Jill and Benn began to think it was time to head out (this would be about 1:30-2:00in the morning). We went, got pizza, and then they went to the bus stop-Go was (as usual) raring to go, so we went.
To "Boots", of all places. After last year, when we hit Boots every night, we had vowed to not do that this time. Alas, that idea was not followed upon, so maybe next time. Boots, for those who just joined us, is a loud90%-men meat market near Bloor and Jarvis. The size is a good thing, since you can bring a large group of friends and reasonably expect to get in and spend time with them. As well, Boots has a great big patio ("She's got*huge*... tracts of land!!") to relax / flirt / play eye-tag on. Gord and I were there until probably 3 or so, dancing and boy-watching and such. Very enjoyable. Walked back home, collapsed into our beds. Couldn't sleep hardly at all because of the heat.
Next day: awake by noon, breakfast/lunch at Golden Griddle near Church Street(experiencing huge surge in business, judging by a cross-referencing of the clientele and my gaydar), then up the street we go. Hit more stores, buying a few things, wishing I could buy much more. Found ourselves in Priape, which is a popular "theme" clothing store (shirts with "FAG" on them, or other such things, along with porn, books, pants, lack-of-pants-items, etc). Several tank-tops were purchased by various members of our entourage, along with a book of "great and sensual stories"(though a cursory glance through this book uncovered the (again)lack of subtlety to it all)
Wandered more (need a theme song here, but "The Wanderer" by Bono and Johnny Cash just doesn't work), bought water, milkshakes, popsicles, more water, and a water gun (very important for Pride Weekend). As a very hot weekend, water is precious, especially surprise water. As well, I know that flirting is made ever-so-much more fun (and easier) by this fact. Certainly in my case (in both directions).
At 2:30, watched the Dyke March. Marred only by Nazi imagery displayed on a nearby balcony (which disappeared the next morning), it was amazing -- the GLBT community spends so much time being such a Gay Male Community, and I can only imagine how hard it must be to be female and oppressed "by your own". Very empowering to see thousands of women marching and dancing in their own parade. Saw a sign that said "Real fags support the dyke march."
Eventually headed back to the "hotel". Other friends joined us. Showered, and ____ tried on his new tank-top. He realized that his chest hair was a little ... off-putting, and so, in a fit of do-something-different-ness, between one and three chests were shaved. This provided for hours of amusement and jokes at the expense of the shavee(s). The decision is, apparently, occasionally regretted and occasionally enjoyed.
We headed for dinner with a friend of mine from UNB, Kenney, who is mad as a hatter. In a good way. Hadn't seen him in a while, so that was nice. Had dinner at a bar, so the food was bar food. As well, the clientele of the bar are (according to Kenney) more often than not the type to order and then(for various reasons) forget what they ordered. Our expectations for a lot of food, the correct food, and the like, were somewhat discomforting for the staff. All ended well though.
Back to the hotel. We were planning on going to see the Symphony of Fire fireworks competitions at Ontario Place, but the distance, time, money, and apathy conspired to keep us just on the roof of the hotel, where we had a pretty good view. Some pretty amazing stuff. It was the evening slotted for China's team that we saw, so there were many jokes about what/who they were blowing up...
Moved on to the club again -- yes, Boots again. But that was okay... lots of friends from Ottawa, and lots of people I'd like to be friends with(though I know they'd be total non-friend material in the real world, which Boots is most certainly not). Pete and I were bored, and decided to do the total "club kid" thing -- we dressed about as trendy and clubby and possible. There are pictures, we were total twins.
A word about the pictures. Pete brought the digital camera, so you can see a bit of our trip and the parade athttp://www.bigbackpack.ca/pictures/pride/ . Some pictures turned out better than others -- Gord, in his well-meaning but occasionally annoying a certain subsection of the queer population (the ones with curfews),took a lot of pictures that were zoomed in, moving, and turned out badly. Which is too bad, but c'est la vie. They're up too. I took a roll of real film too, which will be developed sometime, for another view of the excitement.
At Boots on Saturday, we had a pretty good time. I was in the mood to be very bad (for me, which as you know is not that bad really), but of course wasn’t. Had a good time though. Headed home well before dawn.
On Sunday, we awoke by noon again, and met up again with friends. Golden Griddle again, then up Church Street again. It sounds repetitive, but it was fun. More people, and way too much scheduling. In my inimitable way, I tried to please everyone and make sure we all were together as much as possible, meeting here there and everywhere. Which just doesn't work. I’ve learned my lesson. Next year, no meeting places and times, no major sub-trips. Just me enjoying pride with my boyfriend (with any luck), Pete and his boyfriend (sending luck his way too). Anything else, (shrugs shoulders).
I managed to snag about ten minutes to sneak onto a complete stranger’s roof-top patio located behind Church & Wellesley, past fierce restaurant back-ends, and up the stairs to where a door was sitting open. Hoping it was the right place, I prepared to clear my throat. Before I could, there walked out the woman I was looking for, a much-missed friend from UNB who is now a big name in Toronto (or that's the rumour!)... it was great to see her, if only to trade one-minute updates, phone numbers, and hugs! Had to run, promised to email.
Found our place on the roof to watch the parade (that's why so many photos are crooked, imagine watching a parade from 30 feet up). Very crowded up there -- the ease with which we climbed up encouraged others, as per usual. Some of us got great seats (if hard seats) on the edge, while others were behind people, sometimes straining to see details of the parade. And god help anyone who had to actually leave their spot for a washroom or anything -- they'd be lucky to get back to their spot, never mind getting down, getting across the street, or anything else like that. Fun time though. The store across the street from us had young men dancing in the windows, for entertainment value I suppose. They presumably had music, but that music could not be heard by us in the street, so much discussion ensued regarding their dancing. Maybe it *was* a seizure... I believe there are pictures of this.
"They're handing out Diesel-branded water?"
"No, it's actually diesel fuel."
"Oh, that's *good*."
"Now they're handing out... wow. That's a lot of condoms."
"Oh, see that Pizza-Pizza t-shirt? It's painted on."
"Wow! Can I remove it?"
Three hour parade, end-to-end, and it was pretty cool. Two hours for it to pass us, then the whole place went crazy with Yonge street impassable. We had to wait 15 minutes just to get off the roof. Then another year or two at least to get the few blocks back down the street.
Over one million people watch the parade. One Million. That makes Toronto pride the largest Pride celebration anywhere in the world, hands down. Yes, I’ve checked. It makes me proud for sure.
Went back to the hotel for a nap, which never happened -- ended up shopping more, and this time spending money. Again, c'est la vie. I'm glad I have paycheques coming in, cause I've already spent them!! Then I watched some free concerts (largest free festival in Toronto, don't y'know), and then headed back to the hotel once more. The hotel, as you might have guessed, was really close to everything. Nice.
Our final night at Pride. Wandered up Church Street, dancing and partying with thousands and thousands of people. The deconstruction of the street’s decorations began in earnest around 11:30 PM, since they had about 7 hours to open the street again to real traffic. Lots of free balloons to be had. Back to Boots, where ____ took a big risk in being honest with someone, and was neither laughed at nor slapped. _____ did not take any such risks, and was thus left feeling kinda ... well, alone. Fate knows what's best for us all, though, so no worries.
Jill's boyfriend Joe came to the bar, and he got his introduction to the..."subtlety" of the queer community (here, actually the gay/bi male community)at Boots. Though he seemed to have fun, so... ?
Left early, went to the hotel, and crashed. Gord did not come with us, as is his occasional habit. He arrived a little later, though, alone -- zero for three, the mighty Casey had struck out. (he's gonna kill me)
Sleep, wake, shower, dress, drive drive drive. Arrive back at the car rental place with about 30 seconds to spare -- not bad, really. A brisk walk back to our apartment (walked at least 16 kilometres this weekend, if not more). Got hundreds of emails. Worked on this trip report. Tried not to think about waking up for work tomorrow.
Next trick: Canada Day, a 5 day meal for friends and family from the world over. That'll be fun -- not a weekend though! I'm so dead already.
Trick after that: Ottawa Pride, July 10th-18th. Parade on the 11th, down Bank Street. Do visit and see! Pete and I are planning another ultra-club-kid outing, with who-knows-what-shade of hair. Likely green or blue or something for me, anyway.
If you're still reading, that's amazing -- did I keep you interested all that time? Or did you just doze off with auto scroll on? In any event, thesis public-domain information. Feel free to forward, or send people tohttp://www.bigbackpack.ca/pictures/pride/ .
"Thank you my friends, radio land, and the world... we'll see you all next time..."
Cam
