gaypartyblog.com gay nightlife scene

When you think of Shreveport you normally think of one of the gambling cities of the Southern states close to the swamps of Louisiana.  We recently traveled to an event in Pensacola, FL and decided to stop in on the way to Baton Rouge, LA.  We looked over the websites online first to see if anything was open on a Thursday night.  We found out they have bars open until 6am.  I am jealous of a city that has bars open until 6am since I am normally in cities that only serve alcohol until around 2am (sometimes closing around 1:40 or so).

Baton Rouge bars close at 3am so since we were going to be driving through at 2am we thought Shreveport would be our best bet.  We drove first to the Central Station club which is located right underneath I-20 and near the Line exit.  We had trouble finding a street sign that was not faded out to make sure we were turning on the right streets.  We finally found the street and there was no lights on or anything and it was completely dark outside with some bum following our car.

I was actually just joking around saying that was the club and it really turned out to be the building that the club was in called Central Station.  Since the outside lights were not turned on we thought the club was dead and it was not exactly the safest looking area so we jolted out of there.  Our return trip we went by there in the semi-daylight and learned that they had just not had the light strands on the outside that night and that the parking was in the rear.

People from out of town would have no idea that the parking was in the rear or that the club was even still in business since there are no gay pride signs facing the street or no real signage.  Although there is an old engraved sign on the historic building that is hard to see at night.

On the return trip we discovered that this place looked like alot of fun.  We stopped by and had a few drinks and saw they had a nice outside patio, 2 dancefloors and one of them was rather big in another room they open for Fridays and Saturdays.  I totally want to check out this club when it is hopping on the weekends.

We also stopped into the Korner Lounge which is just a few blocks down the street and near some buildings with neat paintings.  It was seductive inside playing videos and a hunk of a bartender.

Both bars had video cameras on the parking lot which kind of made me weary to leave my car parked outside for too long.   Maybe because it is a casino town or because it is high crime? I am not sure.

Shreveport is a great place for a weekend trip to go gambling, drinking, and watch drag shows at the Korner Lounge and Central Station.

I have to admit that skiing is a sport I have only tried once and, although I remember the experience well, I didn’t actually do very much. Mind you it was in Scotland in December, in a blizzard and I had had no training. Consequently I slid downhill at great speed for a few seconds before I realised I didn’t know how to stop. After purposefully falling into a snow drift I trudged back up through the snow and fog to find the café and drank hot chocolate for the next hour while my friends had a great time. I also had a great time with the après-ski as the place I stayed at had ice skating, saunas and other attractions. But it wasn’t a gay resort or skiing holiday and if you want to get into the sport with other like minded guys and gals then you may want to check out some of the functions and events I found recently.

In North America most of the gay ski weeks (as the gatherings are called) take place in the West, in places like Aspen, Park City and Whistler. Over in Picturesque Stowe, Vermont, a popular gay ski gathering has been taking place annually for over 20 years. The Winter Rendezvous, as it is called, traditionally takes place at the end of January/beginning of February. The best way to find out more about this (and other events) that I found was to visit a specialist gay travel website and browse around. For example, I discovered that it’s not just a question of turning up to a gathering and joining in. These are popular events and you are advised to book early. Bear in mind that you will need accommodation, lift passes, equipment if you don’t have your own and that entertainments may also be provided with tickets selling out fast. The Winter Rendezvous this year features a drag show and cabaret including live singers and guests DJs. Plenty of après-ski there.

The Aspen Gay Ski Week runs at a similar time to the event at Stowe and also features extras, with plenty to do after your skiing or snowboarding activities during the day. At this gathering you can expect to find club nights, costume parties, a comedy night and a pool party. The Utah Gay Ski Week, which has just taken place, included a welcome party, social dinners and meetings and a different mountain, or collection of runs to try out every day.

I don’t want you to think that the only reason guys and gals go to these gatherings is for the evening entertainment but I just wanted to point out that there is plenty to do once you have finished you’re skiing or snowboarding. Not everyone is a good skier and I didn’t find any information about the level of expertise needed to attend these events. I assume that beginners are welcome and that like most if not all ski resorts, you can pick up some training from professionals when you are there. But having the extra entertainment makes for a great holiday for partners who don’t ski, for example, so whatever your level of ability or interest, if you like the great outdoors, snowy conditions (with warm hot chocolate and cafes as an alternative), roaring fires and great scenery then you may well want to consider a ski week as an alternative holiday.

As for other countries around the world, well, after a quick search around I found events being held in France, Switzerland, Italy and Austria. For more information and details there was a great collection of news and ideas at gaytravel.about.com (search ‘ski’).

And we thought Republican jerks took over the country without harming San Francisco. It is so sad that San Francisco did not have its Annual Halloween street party and that the Castro gay area is being extinguished of gays. Of course the housing is becoming too expensive for younger gays and the “crime is increasing” are some of the excuses they are using but what about other big cities like Dallas and West Hollywood, CA. You can also find a kick butt street party in Houston of all places.

The city of San Francisco can shove the HomeforHalloween.com site up your butts. It is sickening you even have that website as if your bragging that all the clubs are closed and there is absolutely NOTHING to do in the Castro on one of the biggest party nights of the year. It is also too bad that Chris Crocker or Matthew Lush (well he has one issue = being a Vegan and a gay but no issues besides his own selfish agenda) don’t entertain real issues like this. Instead they talk about stupid things all day long and stare into a web camera queening around making our entire community feel completely dumb and embarrassed. We need to stand up to these mayors and city officials who are stopping gay activities in NYC, San Francisco, and every other city these jerks control.

I say don’t spend any money in the Castro or NYC until they get things changed. Keep your money in cities where they are happy to have the queers and appreciate our fabulous companionship. Money talks and creates change — you are what you eat and you are what you buy!

Update: (From PlanetOut.com)

On Wednesday night, bars and restaurants closed early, public transportation halted nighttime service to the area and sidewalk barricades were set up to discourage pedestrians from spilling into the road. The landmark Castro Theatre stood with its lights shut off, guarded by barricades and nine police officers.

I don’t want to go into a history lesson here so I’ll just say that, since the wall came down in 1990, when we talk about Berlin now we talk about both East and West Berlin combined. However the city still has various ‘districts’ and they are each as diverse as each other, but the news is that gay people are generally accepted in most of them and you can often see gay couples walking hand in hand and enjoying a relatively accepting society. This is particularly true in districts such as Kreuzberg, Schoneberg, Mitte and Friedrichshain. However if you travel to the eastern districts of the city there is a certain right wing element there which means you have to be more cautions and probably less public in your affections.

If you are visiting Berlin and are a bit of a culture vulture then you’ll be pleased to know there are many museums and galleries, plus the cathedrals and other architectural sites to visit. Including the Gay Museum which also has an archive of mainly English language and gay related books that you can browse, on site. schwulesmuseum.de is their website is you want to take a look.

But that might be jumping straight in; first you’ll need somewhere to base yourself for your visit. out-in-berlin.com/hotels.shtml has a comprehensive list of places to stay. This site is in German and English and you can easily follow the links to the individual hotels where you will find locations and prices to suit you. Staying with that site you’ll see lots of information about things to do after dark. There are many gay cafes, restaurants, bars and clubs in Berlin though no one area where you find them all together – as you might in say Soho, London or Canal Street Manchester, UK. That means there is no gay ‘ghetto’ and, some people think, this adds to the individuality of the city as each business does its own thing and each district has its own vibe.

Check out the Mitte (central) area of e city as this is where the trendy and the young hang out at the new and sleek Sony centre – free wi-fi, open air and crowded with hip tourists. The Maritim ProArte is a recommended hotel in this district, it features original artwork on each of its 11 floors and the nightlife of Schoneberg and Kreuzberg is only five minutes away by cab. In these areas you will find some of the oldest and most notorious of Berlin’s clubs, such as SO36 and Eldorado. There’s a saying that cameras are not allowed in many of Berlin’s clubs for a reason and you can probably guess what that reason is!

But it’s not all sex clubs in Berlin, there are other, dance and chill out places too. It’s just that you might have to go searching for them. One of the biggest party nights in the city can be found at Club Weekend (week-end-berlin.de for up to date opening times) but it takes place in what looks like an office building. As gaytravelnews.com says, these wild clubs are ‘often hidden in plain sight.’

And staying with that site there’s some very handy tips on having a good time listed there. Such as: The various nights and dates of certain events can change and you need to be ‘in’ to know where and when the party will be. Remember out-in-berlin.com which will have the details on the nightlife or nachtleben as the Germans call it. Also don’t forget the gay museum schwulesmuseum.de and the various cultural events that the city hosts including the Love Parade, a giant street party – see loveparade.net. And as for getting there LTU offers non-stop flights from NY, LA and Las Vegas, see www.ltu.com/world.

As usual that’s only a quick dip into a huge city that is teaming with varied night (and day) life and loads of gay things to do and see. Check those websites, there are many more too if you use your search engine and keyword ‘gay Berlin’ for example. But one thing is for sure: if you are planning a European vacation then Berlin needs to be on your itinerary.

Upcoming circuit events in Berlin include the Hustlaball held October 19 at the Kit Kat Club.  Gay pride comes around the end of every June with half a million people attending between Ku’damm and the Siegessäule.