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Celebrities in Vancouver

Monday, December 28th, 2009

I first heard about this club from a Facebook post from the Perry Twins saying they were spinning at a place called Celebrities in Vancouver BC Canada. I thought if these talented dj’s are performing there then it must be a hot place to party. We checked out this club just a few days before Christmas at a party that looked hotter on the flyer than could ever possibly be in real life. The party was fun but hey I thought there were going to be boys in thongs or without clothes wrapped in chocolate. This was the hottest flyer of the year it turned us on…

I stayed over at the Sheraton hotel Wall Centre just a block from Celebrities. The perfect hotel if you plan a trip to Vancouver and wish for a Starwood location close to the gay bars. Once I walked in the club I could not take my eyes off the dj who resembled Nick Lachey. He had his shirt off and was hella hot but I think that was his gf on the lights from the vibes they gave each other.

The boys in this town were loud and fun it seemed. Just not a mass orgi of hotties by any means. This was a Wednesday night club night so it may have been much jucier on a Saturday night. I would have expected more from a club that was 18 to enter and drink with more hottie action. They had an upstairs that was sort of a walk around but there was really nothing up there but a red light… maybe it was a babylon type area that I did not know about :)

When in Vancouver Canada you should check out Celebrities. We did not get a chance to check out the other gay bars in Vancouver but plan to sometime next year. Vancouver is such a beautiful city!

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Rio De Janeiro gay pride and clubs

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

Fancy a holiday south of the border, as they say? Heard something about Rio de Janeiro but want to know more about the gay life? Well, I did and so I did some searching around to see exactly what was on offer for the gay traveler.

First things first: Rio is a great destination for a holiday, combining sun, sea and sand with bars, clubs and an annual pride event. So get you timing right and you can will able to find the famous carnival, the famous beaches and many other attractions with a gay theme. Many people there will speak English so you don’t need to now the local lingo, though it always helps, and I am sure most men will understand your body language when the time comes.

Rio’s Gay Carnival happens in he height of summer every year. It starts on a Saturday and finishes on Fat Tuesday, when Mardi Gras takes place. So expect to party for a full weekend and more. Thousands of people come from all over the world for this event so we’d recommend finding accommodation early. Actually the carnival has been taking place for hundreds of years, the first recorded event being in 1723, so it’s certainly a well established parade, made more glamorous by today’s lust for costumes, music and wild and outrageous people.

ipanema.com is a well informed site that tells you about carnival, the gay parade, the samba schools and all other aspects of Brazil’s top city. But for a gay specialist site with loads of information and links then try riogayguide.com. There are links to accommodation here too. You may have seen the famous beach front shots with the massive hotels lining the coast, well, you may have to settle for a straight hotel rather than a gay specialist one, but at least you will have a room close to the beach and the nightlife.

And, when you’re looking for a gay bar, club or place to eat, I mean specifically a gay run, gay owned or just gay friendly one, then the pages at rio.gaycities.com/bars would be a good place to start. This site arranges locations by district of the city, so you can start to put together your own itinerary based on where you have found your hotel. Copacabana is going to be the most popular place, being close to the beach and those mighty hotels, but six other neighborhoods are also listed. Looks like plenty to do and see then!

Actually, just from this one site and its listings I was able to find as wide a range of gay entertainment as you’d find in any major city. These Latino boys and girls know how to have fun. There are sex shops and bathhouses, strip bars, drag shows and dance clubs, places for guys and gals of all ages, mixed gay and straight places and all manner of mouth-watering places to go and eat. Generally speaking the less fussy you are the better. I mean if you only want gay environments then that’s fine but your choices are going to be more limited. If you want the real flavor of the city you’re going to need to get into the salsa bars and clubs, the local eateries and meeting places. But if you do, don’t expect everyone to be as gay as you. Rio is one of South America’s most gay friendly cities, but not every inhabitant will share that view, so always approach with caution and don’t assume.

So, you’ve got your hotel and your flights, you’ve worked out an itinerary to take you from the beach at Farme de Amoedo (popular with pretty boys) to your meal and drink at Bar de Mineiro, and on to one of the seedier but more fun hotspots. What’s left but to enjoy the bossa nova beat and have a great time.

Read about Sao Paulo Brazil.

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Sao Paulo Pride and clubs

Friday, November 27th, 2009

This is the first in our part of the Brazil gay scene on gaypartyblog.com.

Sao Paulo is the richest and most populated city in Brazil. Sounds like the perfect place to find your Latin sugardaddy doesn’t it? And where else are you more likely to do this that at the annual gay pride event.

They say that the Sao Paulo gay pride event is the largest of its kind on the planet: back in 1997 there were 2,000 people attending, it hit the Guinness book or records in 2006 when 2.5 million attended and… wait for it, the 2010 event is expected to top the 4 million mark for participants and spectators. Best not go if you don’t like crowds!

There’s a theme for next year’s (2010) pride: “Without Homophobia, More Citizenship – By isonomy Rights” and that last part refers to the constitutional rights that have long been denied to Brazil’s (and other countries’) LGBT community; things like civil partnerships and adoptions. Let’s hope that 4 million people marching in support makes their government sit up and take notice.

But apart from the political message – which always used to be and should still be the main thrust and purpose of any gay pride march methinks – what else can visitors expect from this massive event? Well, everything kicks off at 12 noon on Sunday June 6th, in case you want to plan a trip. The parade is followed by debates on the 7th, an awards ceremony on the next day, a cultural fair the day after and the ‘must go’ event on June 13th the Gay Day. You will need a ticket, but these can easily be arranged, for the big dance and music party to which free transportation is provided. Check out http://www.gaypridebrazil.org/sao-paulo for full details of all events and the biggest gay parade in the world’s background information.

And while you’re there in that rich and diverse city what else is there to do? As if attending the parade was not enough? http://www.sao-paulo.info/gay-sao-paulo.html has a neat and well presented set of pages that list the places to go and be seen. You will want to experience the Latin music wherever you go surely, so we’re advised to check out Azucar which starts late and goes on all night; it has a ‘drink minimum’ police which appeals to older folk –or those who don’t drink much. Grazie a Dio! Has live music and is one of the more well known clubs to attend. Like many establishments around the city it starts late, around 10.00pm, and goes on until well after midnight.

You can also take dance lessons at some of the famous salsa clubs, learn how to movie your hips and then, when you go out later, you can really get into the swing of things. The Sao Paulo info site (mentioned above) also has lists of these clubs and even private tutors for you to visit and learn from.

Looking around at other sites that talk about this amazing city it occurred to me that Sao Paulo has been overlooked. When you hear about Brazil and carnivals and gay life, you think of Rio don’t you? I’d not heard much about SP, but once I started looking into it I found it sounded more appealing than Rio. I think that was because I’d also heard, and seen on TV, much about the rougher side of Rio, the crime and squalor. I dare say it exists in Sao Paulo too but I got the impression that if it does then it is more hidden. For some reason I felt that Sao Paulo would be a safer place to be.

The proof of the spicy pudding, of course, would be in the eating. But don’t eat too much or you won’t be able to salsa!

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Vegas Cheaper and Free Krave VIP

Friday, November 6th, 2009

krave-planet-hollywood-offerEverybody loves Las Vegas and I happened to find a really good offer for those who like to go clubbing and stay at the hotel/casino with the only gay club on the strip. This is what you call perfect gay travel booking. I will say if you are going to Vegas for your gay honeymoon or for a romantic time you might want to do the Bellagio or the Paris hotel but to party down single style then why not book a hotel walking distance to the Krave Nightclub?

Planet Hollywood happens to not only house the only gay nightclub on the strip but they are also the only hotel rewards program on the strip. Planet Hollywood is part of the Starwood program and you get basically miles for each stay for staying at this Sheraton managed property. There is a shopping mall outside the casino which walks you to the club called Krave.

The shopping mall in the Casino building, The Miracle Mile, has a Sephora, MetroPark, and FCUK. Can it get better than this? Well its just down the street from the Fruit loop which has you close to Piranha 8 1/2 nightclub.

How do you save money by doing this? You take less cabs and they are even offering a special for free VIP entrance to Krave and a special rate at this Casino. This is actually the best rate I have seen for this casino compared to all the other promotional rates and you even get a free bottle of Vodka, Wine, or spirits. The strange thing is that it did not take the promo for Friday night so I had to book that separately but it did take it for Saturday and Sunday but that may change every week because they sell out some nights. You have to play around with it some if you book last minute like I do.

What you need to get this gay fabulous rate is to goto this link for the Starwood website and pull down the rate preferences menu on the advanced search and type in SKRAVE. You can also try going to the Planet Hollywood website directly.

Package Includes special Room Rates, 2 Complimentary Admissions to Krave Nightclub, 2 Complimentary Admissions to the Planet Hollywood Spa by Mandara, Guests will also receive one complimentary bottle of their choice from the “Drinks Are On Us” menu per stay at Planet Hollywood and a $40 Gaming Bonus.

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Gay community Toronto

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

“Toronto’s gay village, the Church and Wellesley neighborhood, is alive with a diverse G.L.B.T. community. It has an array of dance clubs, cafés, restaurants, community centers, and many other gay-owned businesses catering to the gay community and tourists…” So says Toronto Tourism and who are we to argue? But what exactly is this community, what is there for gay and lesbian residents and visitors to do? I had a bit of a virtual look around and here are some of the things that I came up with.

Toronto’s gay ‘village’ is situated right in the heart of the city in ‘The Garden District’ as it is called. It is said to be one of the biggest gay villages in the world, rivaling Sydney in Australia and Manchester in England. It’s close to Chinatown and the university, the fashion district and the theaters, so you can expect a diversity of villagers and visitors alike.

In 2008 there were at least three major events in the community. Folsom Fair took place in July. This fair, or expo if you like, is for sellers of leather, fetish and other sex gear to get together to not only show off what they produce but to let the local community get to see it, and, we assume, to buy it. It sounds a bit like having a traveling salesman come to your street, only here there are loads of salesmen and you don’t have to buy anything. It’s a really popular event in Canada and even draws visitors from the USA.

Mister Leather Toronto takes place annually in the village too. It started as a single event in a single bar back in 1988 and has now grown to the size where over 2,000 people come to see it and the event requires 350 volunteers to run it. And now it isn’t just one show but takes place over an entire weekend and attracts both men and women alike. In 2008 the event was staged in November.

While back in June, Toronto Pride took place. The summer is usually Pride season around the world and there is no difference here. Pride Toronto has an annual theme, this year it was ‘Unified!’ and, like Prides around the world, it started small (in 1981 when 1,500 people turned up) and is now huge – about one million people this year. It culminates in the famous parade and encompasses all of the LGBT community.

So there are three major events taking place in Toronto’s gay community but there must be other things going on? Smaller events and gatherings? Yes of course. Toronto has its shares of bathhouses, saunas and massage parlous, plus cafes, bars and clubs. Villagers can dance the night away at clubs like Fly, with its 10,000 feet of ‘pure vibe’; there is the Pegasus Bar too and several themed clubs and bars such as Black Eagle for leather and denim guys and Crews/Tango for women. Eating is catered for by a wealth of restaurants and cafes with a worldwide fare from English food to Korean. There are also piano bars, shops and places to stay in the village.

Having had a quick look at some of what’s going on in the Toronto Gay Village I came away with a feeling that this is a place that knows what it is doing. The needs of the GLBT community seem well catered for but it’s not simply geared up to grab their money. It sounds like a friendly and welcoming place and one that also offers support, with community venues and sexual health education. It’s not often that a web-browse inspires me to actually visit a place but this time I think I will put Toronto on my list of places to visit as soon as possible.

gaytorontotourism.com
churchwellesleyvillage.ca

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Mexico Spring Break Alert

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

The US State Department is warning college and high school students on going to Mexico for Spring Break.  Spring Break for many Universities comes in just a few weeks and students will be planning their trips to places such as Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Rosarito Beach, Cabo San Lucas, and Acapulco.  The beaches, warm weather, hotties, clubs, non-stop drinking, and being able to drink under 21 are definitely the temptation of going to Mexico over going snow skiing or staying at home and being bored.

The travel alert is pretty serious due to the escalated violence near the border in Mexico.  Tijuana and northern Baja California have had spikes lately in violent crimes.

Ciudad Juarez, Tijuana and Nogales are among the cities which have recently experienced public shootouts during daylight hours in shopping centers and other public venues.  Criminals have followed and harassed U.S. citizens traveling in their vehicles in border areas including Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros, and Tijuana. – travel.state.gov

If you are planning on going to Mexico for the clubs consider Canada for the 19+ drinking just make sure you bring a coat.  Then again you could consider Orlando and Tampa which are warm and have good clubs and most of them are 18 to enter but 21 to drink.

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Hotel Deals in Vegas

Friday, February 6th, 2009

Well OK there are Hotel deals everywhere right now due to the mess of an economic storm that keeps getting worse.  You know things are really bad in the World when hotels are begging for more people in each of their rooms.  The Luxor Las Vegas recently sent out an email that said you can stay for $9 a night.  Yup, $9 a night if 4 other people stay in the same room with you.  How many queens can you stuff in a room?  Too much drama for me to have that many in a room but I will take the lower rates all the casinos are offering.

If you happen to stay at the Luxor you can walk next door and go clubbing on Sunday nights (that was easy).  I prefer Planet Hollywood (next to Krave and a mile long mall) which is a Starwood hotel but may be priced a few bucks higher than the MGM Grand or Luxor.  You might even try for the Bellagio, Venetian, or Paris hotel which actually advertises to the GLBT crowd.

Need an excuse to make a trip out to Vegas?  Cher is performing once again at  The Colosseum at Caesars Palace with lots of dates in March.  Elton John and the Red Piano ends the long running show on April 22nd.

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Boystown Chicago

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

shirtless boys playing volleyball beach I am loosing my mind (just like that Leona Lewis song) because I could have sworn I made a post about Chicago a few years back when I visited the great city back when Madonna had her Confessions tour. I looked and searched all over my site to try to remember what clubs to goto again and realized that this blog has only been around since October 2006 and that there was no way I had made a post about June 2006. So as you can imagine I had to do lots of searching online and asking around the best places to go in Chicago.

Not much has changed dramatically since we first went in 2006 to see Madonna . The neighborhood of Boystown located in the Lakeview area is still kept well and full of gay or gay friendly life. There was a community center built that houses the Whole Foods market which is highly convenient.

The largest and most well known gay area in Chicago is located in what some call Boystown. Some know it from the Boystownlive.com radio station which plays some of the best music you can find with these online stations (and it’s free). The real address is the Lakeview area located just a minute from Wrigley Field home to the Cubs. This makes it harder to book hotels in the gay district since there is always some type of sporting event close by.

gay beach hollywood chicago One of my favorite things to do in Chicago is rent bikes down Lincoln Park with the view of Lake Michigan and the many hotties roaming the beaches. If you ride down to the Bryn Mar exit off Lake Shore Drive just before the Hollywood area you will find the Gay Beach also called Hollywood Beach or Kathy Osterman Beach
(5800 S Lake Shore Dr). There are so many things to do on a beautiful day along the beach including tennis, bike riding, rollerblading, sunbathing, swimming, volleyball, well ok just about everything.

There are so many great places to eat in Boystown. If you like good home cookin’, homestyle spaghetti, and Mexican food then Chicago has it all including some of the worlds best pizza.

The hotels near Boystown are City Suites Hotel over on Belmont and Halsted, Best Western off Broadway, Majestic, Abbott, and a Days Inn not too far off. The Best Western Hawthorne Terrace seemed like the best hotel for the area if you do not mind it being sold out most of the time or paying a little more for a room than your average hotel. This hotel is located in a perfect area off of 3434 Broadway Avenue and is a few blocks from Charlie’s and a walkable distance from Roscoe’s and anything you can imagine to eat or do. You get free Wifi (very slow connection) and no room service but you can go down the street to the Melrose 24 hour diner and order those drunken munchies.

Nightlife

text a trick If you need to know what to do every night while you are in Chicago the best guide I found was at chicagopride.com/calendar which breaks it down every night and seemed updated frequently. I actually had a link before that was a great source located at boystownchicago.com but the link I had was broken to the 21 under page. If you are under 21 and are looking for an 18 to enter club then you are mostly out of luck in Chicago. I could not find anything for 18 year olds in the Boystown area and did not even see any information on the Fag Frat website that used to have a updated calendar for that. It seems the Fratboy Fridays and the Wild Thursdays parties must not be going on anymore because I could get no good information on them.

It was hard to find a drag show in this town. Not that I am a drag queen groupie haha… It would be nice to see some drama queen performances . We did stop into Amigo night at a club called Circuit where we saw a few queens performing but it wasn’t dance music I was desiring. I did enjoy the Selena song though. We never did track down Miss Foozie this trip but sure saw her a few years ago and loved taking fun pics with her.

Here is my breakdown for the Chicago Club Scene:

THURS / FRI / SAT – Berlin had a great crowd located over on Belmont it was several blocks walk from Roscoe’s but on the same street as Spin. This was a cool atmosphere with club kids and some boys that looked like Boy George. An alternative setting that played some kick ass music. The site is berlinchicago.com/berlin.htm.

miss foozie drag FRI / SAT / SUN – Roscoe’s – If I were to call this a bar I would make it my favorite bar in the US just under the Abbey in Los Angeles. Although I am not sure some would call it a bar because it has a reasonable dance floor so does it fall in that category? I would not make it my favorite club because it is way smaller than what im used to and I feel kind of claustrophobic inside there walking around and bumping into everyone. The music was great in the dance room and in the video bar room. The outdoor patio is a nice place to relax. Sunday nights are packed early in the night from 5pm to 10pm for Male Call with Miss Foozie.

club berlin club kids Sidetracks is a multi-level bar that features show tunes nights and good drinks. You will find Sidetracks next door to the MiniBar which really is a micro-sized bar with a long narrow path but with a bumpin’ dj whom is even friendly. The drinks seemed small and pricey but hey they gotta pay that high Chicago lease. If you walk down the street you will find Hydrate which is more exciting on the outside than the inside with the water show they have outdoors. Hydrate is a small sized club that I thought was even smaller until I realized that part of it was not a mirror. I think with the large gay population in Chicago that a much bigger club is needed…

Crowbar hosts a Sunday night party weekly that I heard were only good on holiday weekends. Crobar is located at 1543 N. Kingsbury and more info is at crowbar.com.

Afterhours in Chicago was my favorite thing to do because it was the only place I felt I could dance (since I could not maneuver to the Roscoe’s dance floor). Charlie’s (3726 N Broadway St / CharliesChicago.com) which is where the afterhours begins has the best lighting, sound, and nitrogen pumping down from the ceiling. This is by far the best club in Chicago open all weekend long and even masks itself as a Country bar during the early hours of the night. The only annoying thing was the text message screens and the long lines for the bathroom. You could drink and that was delightful to keep going after Vodka Redbulls after 2am! Groovin’ music and boxes to dance on until the wee hours of the 5am morning.

The best times of the year to check out Boystown Chicago are during some of the big events such as Halsted Market Days, Halloween street party, and Gay Pride. Market Days is held the second week in August on Halsted from Belmont to Addison streets.

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