Our toast to 25 years of Woody`s E17–24

Transcription

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#781 OCT 2–15, 2014
TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
Our toast to 25 years
of Woody’s E17–24
“The story so far of River City … has not quite prepared us for the most vivid surprise
of all: Phase 3. Saucier + Perrotte’s building will be amongst the most artistically
exciting high rises constructed in Toronto since the onset of the condo boom.”
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2 OCT 2–15, 2014 XTRA!
PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Brandon Matheson
#781 OCT 2–15, 2014
EUGEN SAKHNENKO
Roundup
XTRA Published by Pink Triangle Press
TORONTO’S
GAY& LESBIAN
NEWS
FASHION
IF LOOKS
COULD KILL
Politics and fashion
mix and clash in new
Design Exchange
exhibit E 26
Editorial
Here we go again
By Matthew DiMera E4
Feedback E4
Xcetera E5
Upfront
History Boys
Da Vinci’s little devil
By Michael Lyons E14
Special supplement
25 years of Woody’s
Celebrating the vibrant history
of Toronto’s greatest gay bar
Confronting suicide
Study reveals gay men die from
suicide more than HIV/AIDS E7
E17–24
Sean Hillier resigns
Pride co-chair steps down E8
Arts roundup
Jordan Tannahill’s Concord
Floral, Dark Chocolate erotic
tales and Operanation E25
Man attacked on Church
Street Alleged assault took
place near O’Grady’s E9
Election updates John Tory,
Ward 27 and wishful thinking E10
Out in the City
Playlisp
Perfume Genius, the
flaming pop star E28
What’s On E30
ondailyxtra.com
E Community mourns
death of Jim Deva
E Daniel Paquette digs
up Woody’s dish
E Queers of colour shine
in the second annual
afteRock Plays
E Toronto council
candidate says Pride
not about nudity
MORE AT DAILYXTRA.COM
Club Scene E31
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Xposed
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XTRA! OCT 2–15, 2014 3
Comment
EDITORIAL
MATTHEW DIMERA
4 OCT 2–15, 2014 XTRA!
Tim McCaskell would like this to be “a
dead issue,” but as long as QuAIA continues its hypocritical and very vocal
stance, there is no reason to believe it
is dead at all. Tory is right. The QuAIA
mantra doesn’t belong at Pride — it has
nothing to do with gays, and it isn’t
even honest in its declarations. KEN
DAILYXTRA.COM
Doug Ford and Pride
The mayor represents the people
and should therefore represent all
the people, not just the straight ones
[“Doug Ford Won’t Commit to Attending Pride Parade,” dailyxtra.com, Sept
24]. He shouldn’t be running for mayor
if he’s not prepared to support all of his
constituents.
CHRISTOPHER PARR
FACEBOOK
The last thing happy people want is
someone in their midst who doesn’t
want to be. There is no victory or celebration in this.
HOWARD WELLS
FACEBOOK
I think Jesus will make his “second
coming” long before Doug Ford marches in any gay pride parade.
MARKKU VUORENSIVU
FACEBOOK
John Tory is gay-positive. I know [many]
won’t support him because, as leader
of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, he supported state funding
of religious schools (including Muslim schools). But Doug Ford is just too
crass. We need a centrist mayor like
Tory (rather than a far-right mayor like
Ford or a far-left mayor like Chow) to
bring the city of Toronto together on
the things that we can all agree on, like
better transit and less wasteful spending
at city hall.
BRENT S
DAILYXTRA.COM
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E11
ANN-MARIE
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The scandalous
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Ibáñez-Carrasco
E18
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Xtra is published by Pink Triangle Press, at 2 Carlton St, Ste 1600, Toronto, M5B 1J3.
KEVIN BROWN
DAILYXTRA.COM
RE: GAY MEN AND SUICIDE
facebook.com/dailyxtra
The outcome that we seek is this — gay and lesbian
people daring together to set love free.
John Tory is right [“John Tory Says
QuAIA Has No Place in Pride Parade,”
dailyxtra.com, Sept 20]. Yes, Pride
has always been about politics — gay
liberation politics. What does a proPalestinian group have to do with gay
liberation politics? Absolutely nothing.
Why is a group that has nothing to do
with gay politics or gay life allowed to
hijack the Pride parade year after year? dailyxtra.com
Matthew DiMera is the new managing
editor of Xtra.
John Tory and QuAIA
I believe we would have less
suicide in our community if we
learned to have more compassion
for each other and ourselves.
More at
That was the feeling
in the Xtra newsroom
when mayoral hopeful and current
frontrunner John Tory announced
recently that he would vote to
deny funding to Toronto’s Pride
celebrations if Queers Against Israeli
Apartheid (QuAIA) were allowed
to continue to march in the annual
parade.
At a Sept 19 afternoon debate held
at the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal
Center for Holocaust Studies and
then again that night at an LGBT
issues debate, Tory held his ground
and reiterated his view that the
phrase “Israeli apartheid” is hateful
and has no place at city-funded
events. To his credit, and despite
accusations that he was trying to
score political points with supporters
of Israel, Tory was merely repeating
the same position he has taken
publicly several times before.
Less to his credit was the
subsequent release by his campaign
team of a list of prominent LGBT
endorsements, in what seemed like a
clumsy attempt to point out that Tory
does in fact have gay friends.
To QuAIA members and their
supporters, the right to march has
been long-fought and is a dead issue.
But for those on the other side of the
controversial issue, who believe that
QuAIA is anti-Semitic, Tory’s position
is a welcome invitation to resurrect a
debate that has left a bad taste in their
collective mouths.
While we have often heard from
the very vocal pro-QuAIA and
anti-QuAIA camps, we sometimes
forget about a different faction. To
those who don’t support QuAIA’s
message but who rankle at the idea of
inhibiting free speech, the spectre of
another round of political wrangling
over Pride is exhausting.
Now all we’re left with are
speculation and supposition. A
lot can happen between today and
election day, and Tory’s win is by
no means guaranteed. If Tory does
become mayor, there’s no telling
if a majority of the newly elected
councillors would vote to support
his desired changes to the city’s antidiscrimination policy that would
effectively exclude QuAIA. Even then, we don’t know how
Pride Toronto would respond. Three
Pride board members have said
they won’t run for reelection this
fall and a new executive director is
being sought. Would Pride side with
QuAIA in the name of free speech, or
would the organization fall in line to
maintain its civic funding?
What I find concerning is the oftrepeated and nonsensical refrain
that Pride shouldn’t be political.
Pride started off as a protest — a
protest for the very existence of
our communities. To argue now
that it should be stripped of any
controversy is a blow to the freedoms
that our elders fought so hard to
win. Besides, what is more political
than politicians? Yet, I don’t hear
anyone saying — at least not very
loudly — that we should also keep the
politicians out of the parade.
Equally concerning to me,
however, is the idea that the very
existence of the Pride parade could
be subject to the mercurial whims
of Toronto’s oh-so-dysfunctional
city council. Despite legal opinions
from the city manager and the city’s
lawyer that the phrase “Israeli
apartheid” is protected speech and
doesn’t violate any city policies,
Tory wants to ban it from the
parade anyway. Today it’s QuAIA
they want removed; who will it be
tomorrow? The leather and rubber
community? The nudists? It would
set a dangerous precedent for Pride
Toronto to give in to any demands
from city politicians.
FEEDBACK
#780 SEPT 18–OCT 1, 2014
Here we go again
email [email protected]
comment dailyxtra.com & facebook/dailyxtra.com
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Jim Deva
Jim Deva was a doer not only in the
Vancouver LGBT community, but
in LGBT communities everywhere
[“Community Mourns Sudden Death
of Hero Jim Deva,” dailyxtra.com, Sept
22]. LGBT folks everywhere are far
better off because of his work in our
community.
WAYNE M
DAILYXTRA.COM
Gay men and suicide
In addition to homophobia, there are
other factors that may explain why too
many [depressed] gay men end their
own lives [“Study Finds More Gay Men
Now Die of Suicide than HIV,” dailyxtra.com, Sept 17]. These include a lack
of traditional supports like spouses
and in-laws; a lack of community connectedness, with gay neighbourhoods
declining; alienation and isolation;
alcoholism; unhealthy social connections; and unfriendly gay spaces (both
real and online); et cetera. Obviously,
suicide is more complex than just one
or two things, but I do believe we would
have less suicide in our community if
we learned to have more compassion
for each other and ourselves. RYAN
DAILYXTRA.COM
Matthew Vines
Be careful what you wish for, Matthew,
because I’m quite certain you’ll get it
[“Matthew Vines Wants to Convince
Christians,” dailyxtra.com, Sept 20].
Pandering for the acceptance and approval of Christianity in general will
eventually lead to just that. They’ll
accept gay people with open arms if it
means that LGBT people will join their
cult of delusion. They’re in need of numbers and members to perpetuate their
dogma. It’s going to take a long time
for that acceptance, but it will happen.
It always happens. The church always
adapts to what they’ve previously condemned and then carries on as if they’ve
never persecuted a soul. LGBT people
need to be beacons of humanity because
they know with intimate pain the experience of being hated for something
beyond their control or choosing. If you
believe in a deity, feel free to pursue your
spirituality, but please spare the rational
thinkers in your midst the public display
of begging for acceptance and love from
humanity’s most prominent purveyors
of our segregation and disdain.
JOHN
DAILYXTRA.COM
Nunziata and
Pride nudity
Why is the sight of humans offensive to the general public [“Toronto
Council Candidate Says Pride Not
About Nudity,” dailyxtra.com, Sept 16]?
Everyone there is human. We all know
what humans look like, more or less.
The only thing it could possibly be is
that it offends your delicate sensibilities. If your sensibilities are that easily
offended by humans, the way humans
dress, human sexuality and more, just
stay away from Pride. TOM BALINT
DAILYXTRA.COM
LGBT Ugandans
Meeting a Ugandan lesbian who qualified for asylum was incredible [“LGBT
Ugandans Brace for Déjà Vu,” dailyxtra.com, Sept 16]. Her face was full of
joy. She couldn’t stop speaking about
WorldPride. One of her greatest joys
was to hold the hand of the woman she
loves on Church Street.
PAULA KEY
DAILYXTRA.COM
Sushi
XCETERA
A BIWEEKLY HELPING
OF POP CULTURE,
SERVED À LA CARTE
S
‘There Must Be More
to Life Than This’
T
Title
of an unreleased
duet by Michael
Jackson and
Freddie M
Mercury.
FROM THE ARCHIVES 30 YEARS AGO
BODY POLITIC #107, OCT 1984
Between Dinner Along the Amazon
and Not Wanted on the Voyage, author
Timothy Findley finds time to sit
down for a conversation with Gordon
Montador: “I hope people don’t have to
go through that kind of thing now. It’s
so silly, but I’m sure they do,” Findley
says of homophobia. “The stigma is
still the same, although the world you
can move in is so much wider.”
OUT ON THE STREET BY KYLE BURTON
Freddie Mercury
A three
three-metre
statue
st
crea
created in
his honour
h
overlooks
over
Lake G
Geneva
in Montreux,
Mo
Swi
Switzerland.
QUOTABLE
What was your
craziest night
at Woody’s?
Barbie
Swallows
Ricky
ADULT ENTERTAINER
I pulled my pants
down there once.
It was for the best
ass contest. It
was fun.
I’m banned from
Woody’s. They think
I’m a troublemaker.
Maybe it’s my
alternative attire.
The Circle
Gay docudrama
that is Switzerland’s
submission for the
2014 Best Foreign
Language Oscar
category.
Travis
STUDENT
FULL-TIME REDHEAD
I went up for the
best ass contest.
I made out with the
contestant next to
me and we were both
disqualified.
I got a blowjob in the
bathroom, and the
guy wanted me to
take photos of him
going down on me.
We got caught by a
friendly bouncer.
Real Estate Sales Representative
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Altstadt
This city centre
neighbourhood is
home to much of
Zurich, Switzerland’s
gay scene.
SERVER
Dylan
Mountain
M
Studios
Montreux studio
where Mercury
recorded his last
songs.
Gaelen Patrick
Woody’s asked me to
decorate the bar for their
opening party. I ripped
up the fabric from my
leopard-print couch to
make the decorations.
They thought it was cool,
and I’ve been working
there ever since. I’m
always most happy with
my Christmas display.
People bring their
mothers to look at
my work.
Barry Booth, Woody’s
full-time decorator for
25 years.
300
Approximate
number of bars and
discotheques in this
Old Town district.
Skinny-dipping
300 people recently
attempted to break
the world record for
most nude swimmers
in Druridge Bay,
England.
Butt cheeks
600 of them got in
the water that day.
4
Number of butt
cheeks featured in
the new Jennifer
Lopez video,
“Booty.”
Turn to pages 17 to 24 for our special Woody’s 25th anniversary supplement.
XTRA! OCT 2–15, 2014 5
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Help make the annual Bowlathon a striking success! Join a team, lead a team, or donate to support
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programs, supporting LGBTQ spectrum youth across the GTA. Saturday, October 25, 1-4pm,
Bowlerama West, 5429 Dundas St. W. For information or to register your team contact
Leslie at 416-324-5082 or [email protected].
DR. ELON GRIFFITH
Cosmetic & General Dentistry
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Run, walk or ride your wheelchair with SOY in the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Join
SOY in the Marathon on October 19th! We are registered as “Sherbourne Health Centre - SOY”
in the charities list, and if you’re interested in fundraising to motivate your run, contact Claire at
416-324-4169 or cjarrold@ sherbourne.on.ca for a free or discounted entry.
Second
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trial hears
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ALPHABET SOUP CHURCH STREET MURAL ADVENTURE – TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2014
Alphabet Soup is a weekly group for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, 2 Spirited, or questioning
teens (under 20 years old). The groups runs every Tuesday from 4-6pm. On Tuesday October
7th, the group is exploring the 10 artworks created for the Church Street Mural Project!
*VU[HJ[1VOUH[QJHɈLY`'ZOLYIV\YULVUJHVY_ Pride of ownership
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Fluid is a sassy program for young people 29 & under who are exploring bisexuality, bicuriosity,
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with snacks and TTC tokens provided. Tuesdays, Oct. 7 to Nov. 25, 7-9pm starting October 7.
Contact Naty at [email protected] or call SOY at 416-324-5077.
OUR MAD SELVES: QUEER AND TRANS* YOUTH EXPLORING OUR MENTAL HEALTH
communityone
F O U N D AT I O N
6 OCT 2–15, 2014 XTRA!
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E
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C
Supporting Our
Youth
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VќLYHUVWWVY[\UP[`[VJVUMYVU[[OLZOHTLHUKVWWYLZZPVU^LOH]LL_WLYPLUJLZHZHYLZ\S[VMV\Y
psychiatric histories/experiences and our encounters with the mental health system.
Wednesdays, Oct. 22 to Dec. 10, 6-8pm. Contact Agnes for dates and registration:
HMVYMH'ZOLYIV\YULVUJHVYL_[ TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
Upfront
I was very happy to serve with the organization
and wish them the best of luck. Sean Hillier E8
Confronting suicide
Study suggests HIV/
AIDS is no longer
biggest health issue
for gay men
HEALTH
NATHANIEL CHRISTOPHER
New research suggests that suicide has surpassed
HIV as a leading cause of death among gay and
bisexual men in Canada.
The study, published in the current issue of
Critical Public Health, examines suicide and HIVrelated mortality data from Statistics Canada, the
Canadian Community Health Survey and other
sources from 2000 to 2011.
The findings reveal that gay and bisexual men
are four times more likely to have attempted
suicide than straight men and are 42 times more
likely to be living with HIV. In 2011, the most recent year of data, 157 gay and bisexual men died
from suicide compared to 97 who died as a result
of HIV-related illnesses.
“I think that the underlying cause of all of these
problems, including suicide, is pervasive antigay or homophobic societal attitudes,” says lead
author Travis Salway Hottes, who is a doctoral
student at the University of Toronto.
“We know from Statistics Canada data, as
well as individual stories, that sexual minorities
experience higher rates of violence and face very
overt forms of oppression, as well as incidents
that happen in more minor ways that accumulate day-to-day. Unfortunately, I think the most
severe outcome that we see as a result of those
factors is suicide. It’s the most immediate and
stark example of what’s happening to gay and
bisexual people who are facing this level of antigay sentiment.”
For the purpose of the study, the authors estimate that two percent of Canadian men are either
gay or bisexual.
“If anything, that’s an underestimate, which
is probably on the low end of actual number of
deaths,” Salway Hottes says. “This is our most
conservative, cautious estimate. In reality, it’s
probably a lot higher. Even at that low bar, the
really key point for us is the number of deaths by
suicides is higher than or as high as HIV. This surprises a lot of people because it’s a common idea
that HIV is the biggest health issue for gay men.
It still is important, but there are other causes of
of 30. How do we reach out to people who aren’t
necessarily going to reach out for help when they
are 30 or 40?”
Salway Hottes notes that research on gay, lesbian and bisexual people is constrained by the
lack of sexual-orientation data in demographic
studies such as the census.
Research addressing suicide among gay and
bisexual men is sparse. The study found that from
2003 to 2012, four percent of research on HIV and
0.5 percent of research on suicide are specific to
gay and bisexual men.
“There is no easy way to go about studying
LGBT people, but [we] shouldn’t be deterred by
that,” he says. “Even if we had sexual orientation
on the census — which I think would be a major
step forward in terms of getting data — we need
to acknowledge that as long as non-heterosexual
sexualities are stigmatized, we should expect that
people will underreport LGB identity on a census
or community health survey. We have to expect
people won’t feel comfortable. We shouldn’t not
do it but need to acknowledge that limitation.”
He says that heavy focus on HIV research narrows the scope of mental-health services for gay
and bisexual men.
“The way we organize our services are all
around sexuality and sex with other men,” he
says. “What if the issues are bigger than that?
How do we prevent other mental-health issues
like suicide? It might not mean bathhouse or
going to bars.”
He says that organizations such as Vancouver’s
Health Initiative for Men
(HIM), which address the
overall mental-health needs
of gay and bisexual men, are
crucial supports.
If you or a friend or loved one
“We have dedicated proare thinking about suicide,
grams to improving gay men’s
there are people who can
mental and social health, inhelp you find other solutions.
In an urgent situation, concluding a social-marketing
tact your local crisis centre.
campaign called Take Time for
Visit suicideprevention.ca for
Your Mind, professional counassistance finding help near
selling, as well as a peer supyou.
port program called Change
Doctoral student Travis Salway Hottes is lead author of a new study entitled “Suicide
In Toronto, Egale and
Advocates,” HIM program
As a Leading Cause of Death Among Gay and Bisexual Men.” NATHANIEL CHRISTOPHER
PFLAG offer support services
manager Jody Jollimore says.
related to mental health for
death that are probably right up there with HIV.” make sure children are getting a
“We also are working with
LGBT communities.
While HIV-related deaths in Canada have de- good education and a good start
AIDS Vancouver to help declined steadily since 2000, suicide rates remain and support around sexuality,
liver their health-promotion
relatively static, surpassing HIV as a leading cause we also need to figure out what we can do for the case-management project, and we know that’s goof death for gay and bisexual men in 2007.
person who doesn’t come out until they are an ing to rely heavily on improving, again, gay men’s
Salway Hottes notes that suicide attempts are adult,” he says. “I think we need to pay attention to mental and social health. So that program will
more common during adolescent years but that adults who are struggling with this issue because be dedicated to working with HIV-negative men
fatality rates increase with age. “While we need to most people dying from suicide are over the age around some of their mental-health needs.”
THERE IS HELP
XTRA! OCT 2–15, 2014 7
Pride co-chair to leave board
Board plans to
hire new ED by
mid-December
COMMUNITY
HG WATSON
The co-chair of Pride Toronto’s board
of directors is leaving the organization,
along with two other directors, this fall.
Sean Hillier — who co-chairs with
Shelley Craig — Chad Simon and Mark
Smith will not be running for reelection at Pride’s annual general meeting
on Oct 30. Susan Gapka, whose term
is also up, has confirmed she will run
again for her seat.
Hillier, who has served on the board
for three years and worked with Pride
Toronto for seven, feels that it is time
to inject some fresh blood into the organization. He also wants more time to
focus on completing his PhD. He notes
that this level of turnover is not unusual
for the board on a year-to-year basis.
Pride Toronto co-chair Sean Hillier is not running for reelection.
“I was very happy to serve with the
organization and wish them the best of
luck,” he says. Hillier will also be staying
on to help with board transition and
the search for a new executive director. After Kevin Beaulieu’s departure
on Aug 31, the Pride Toronto board
took over the operational roles usually
overseen by the executive director. An
executive hiring firm has been retained
to start the search for the new executive
director; Hillier hopes they will hire a
replacement by mid-December.
He and Simon are hopeful that the
organization will continue in the positive direction it has found. Smith could
not be reached for comment.
“I took on this role because I always
believed that Pride isn’t just a thing; it
wasn’t an entity. For me it has always
been that feeling I get during Pride,”
says Simon, who served two and a half
terms on the board. “I just hope . . . I
was able to express and share with everybody else that feeling.”
Simon, who works at Ryerson University as an academic adviser, had reached
his term limit and was unable to run
again. “It’s going to be interesting to be
a spectator,” he says.
The application deadline for the vacant Pride Toronto board seats was Sept
26. Voting for board positions will take
place at Pride Toronto’s annual general
meeting Oct 30.
ON OCTOBER 27,
VOTE TO GET
TORONTO
BACK ON TRACK.
Find out more at JohnTory.ca
Authorized by the official agent, John Tory, for mayor campaign.
8 OCT 2–15, 2014 XTRA!
Man attacked on Church Street
Victim required stitches and hospitalization after assault
CRIME
HG WATSON
Toronto police are investigating
an alleged gaybashing on Church
Street in early September.
On Sept 10, just after 5pm, Mathieu Warren was walking past
the parking lot that separates
Crews & Tangos, a drag nightclub,
and O’Grady’s pub when, he says,
his umbrella accidentally hit a
woman who was walking in the
opposite direction.
“I said, ‘Excuse me, sorry,’” Warren says. “And then she turned
around and said, ‘You fucking
faggot.’”
Warren, who was shocked by the
exchange, says he responded to her
by saying, “Excuse me.” “Then next thing you know, I
had a punch in my face,” he alleges.
He says he tried to push her off
but in doing so ripped her shirt. As
a result, her friends joined the fray.
Warren alleges they also called him
a batty boy — a Caribbean slur for
a gay man.
Several witnesses interviewed
by Xtra gave conflicting answers
about the number and gender of
people who allegedly attacked
Warren but agreed that he was
beaten by a group of people who,
once bystanders became aware
what was happening, fled south
on Church Street.
Though the detective assigned
to the case was not available to
comment, Toronto Police Service’s
(TPS) Constable Victor Kwong
confirms that police were dispatched to O’Grady’s at 5:38pm
on Sept 10. Their records indicate
that there were three suspects
involved in an incident that is now
being investigated as a case of assault causing bodily harm.
Kwong says police have looked
at surveillance-tape footage from a
nearby business that may have captured one or more of the suspects
leaving the premises just prior to
Mathieu Warren says he was assaulted near O’Grady’s. ROB SALERNO
the alleged incident. TPS is not
releasing the footage at this time.
Two bystanders assisted Warren and called police and an
ambulance. Warren says he was
transported to Toronto Western
Hospital, where he was treated
for bruising and given seven
stitches for a cut under one eye.
In pictures Warren provided to
Xtra that were taken after the
incident, his face is swollen and
clearly shows at least one laceration.
HOMOPHOBIA IN SPORTS
Organizers of an international study on gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people in sports are
seeking Canadian input, saying the country is underrepresented in fact-finding so far. The researchers
want to hear about the experiences of LGBT community members in schools, the homophobia they may have
faced in team sport situations, and how those experiences have influenced sports involvement in later life.
“It’s about what kind of decisions you made around
sport because of homophobia,” explains Erik Denison, a former CBC reporter now living in Australia,
where he helped kick off the project. Sports is one
those areas that causes us much trauma when we’re
younger. This is the last frontier of homophobia in
general society.”
“By launching the study, we will get the data needed
to hopefully motivate change around the world,” he
says. “Without identifying the extent of the problem,
it’s hard to motivate sport administrators to do anything. We need really accurate data as to why people
are going into individual sports instead of team
sports,” he says. “We need to understand the ‘why’ of
that. It’s the only way we’re going to be able to ensure
team sports are safe for LGBT people.” The study is
being done in partnership with the Federation of Gay
Games and You Can Play, an American organization
started by hockey’s Burke family and dedicated to
ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes,
without regard to sexual orientation. — Jeremy Willard
To participate in the study, visit outonthefields.com.
EEN
QU EST
W
NEW
NATHAN PHILLIPS
SQUARE
2014 LOCATIO
SPADINA
Experience Toronto Transformed by Artists
OCT 4, 2014 - Sunset to sunrise
scotiabanknuitblanche.ca
|
sbnuitblancheTO
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FORT
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XTRA! OCT 2–15, 2014 9
Tory speaks out on QuAIA
Mayoral candidate would change human rights policy to ban term ‘Israeli apartheid’
HG WATSON
POLITICS
John Tory isn’t budging from his stance
that the phrase “Israeli apartheid”
shouldn’t have a place at Pride, or any
other city event.
At a debate held at the Friends of
Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies on Sept 19, the Toronto
mayoral candidate waded into the issue of whether Queers Against Israeli
Apartheid (QuAIA) should march in
the yearly Pride parade.
Tory told the audience that he
would vote against funding Pride if
QuAIA were allowed to march, and he
held firm to his opinion later that night
when the question was asked again at
proudTOvote’s debate on LGBT issues.
He explained that while he believes
in free speech and understands that
QuAIA’s actions have not been found
to be in violation of the city’s human
rights policy, he would be willing to
change the policy so that the phrase
“Israeli apartheid” could not be used
at city-funded events.
Tory says that for him, this is a matter
of principle. “I think a lot of people who
support Pride as I do, and understand
its fundamental importance to the community and support public funding
for it, would also support what I said,”
he says.
“We probably have to have a better,
more explicit policy than to say if you
are going to use words like that, which
in my view are hateful and are abusive
of a community that shares our city of
Toronto with the LGBT community
and everybody else, that we shouldn’t
publicly fund those, or they can withdraw the use of those words,” he adds.
“They have a choice.”
Olivia Chow and John Tory get the LGBT “chain of office” from moderator Jaime Watt after the Sept 19 proudTOvote LGBT issues debate.
“This is a dead issue,” says Tim McCaskell, a spokesperson for QuAIA.
He points out that QuAIA has twice
faced Pride Toronto’s internal disputeresolution panel, which ruled that they
applicable laws.
“For him to once again attack freedom of speech at Pride and Pride’s
independence, promising to use his
position of mayor to open up this whole
I think a lot of people who support Pride as I do,
and understand its fundamental importance to the
community and support public funding for it, would
also support what I said.
Tory’s views might be old news, but
the fact that they are raised now, after
QuAIA quietly marched in the WorldPride parade this past June, is surprising to both QuAIA and Pride Toronto.
10 OCT 2–15, 2014 XTRA!
could march. As well, both the city
manager and city solicitor have found
separately that the phrase “Israeli
apartheid” does not violate the city’s
anti-discrimination policy or any other
divisive issue and potentially defund
one of the city’s largest summer festivals is probably the most foolish thing
I could think of him to actually do as a
mayoral candidate,” McCaskell adds.
Sean Hillier, co-chair of Pride Toronto’s board of directors, says he is
disappointed that this debate is being
raised again. “It always put the festival
in a great deal of limbo in the lead-up
to it, so we were hoping that this was
behind us,” he says. In 2013, Pride Toronto received
$139,960 of city grant funding, though
that amount reportedly rose to about
$160,000 this year. In 2013, the organization also received just over $1.3 million in sponsorships, which makes up
a significant part of its yearly revenue. Pride Toronto will always adhere to
the city’s policies, Hillier says. But he
thinks that it is important that the parade maintain its identity as a political
demonstration. Changing the human rights policy
to ban “Israeli apartheid” could have
HG WATSON
consequences beyond Pride. In April
2013, Xtra reported that QuAIA had
previously partnered with the Images
Festival, which takes place at the Art
Gallery of Ontario and the TIFF Bell
Lightbox — two institutions that also
receive city funding. Tory’s rival Chow said at both debates that, while she doesn’t agree
with QuAIA’s message, she respects
the decision of Toronto City Council to
continue to provide funding for Pride.
“The Pride parade is about celebration, it’s about inclusion, it’s about
celebrating who you are,” she said after
the proudTOvote debate, adding that
QuAIA is a small organization taking
part in the parade.
“I would hate to see that the parade
itself would lose its funding because of
it.”
Doug Ford noncommittal on Pride parade
Mayoral candidate refuses to say
whether he will march if elected
HG WATSON
POLITICS
Doug Ford, during his first mayoral
debate on Sept 23, ducked a question
on whether he would march in future
Pride parades.
In front of a packed auditorium at
York Memorial Collegiate in the city’s
west end, the mayoral candidates were
all asked if they would attend the annual
event. Olivia Chow and John Tory were
emphatic yeses, both explaining that
they have already attended the parade
multiple times.
However, when Ford was asked, he
refused to answer the question directly,
instead explaining that he supports
equality, has been to one Pride event
and has made a $3,500 donation to
Pride in the past. His opponents took
the opportunity to hammer him on
the question, with Tory using part of
his allotted speaking time to demand
that Ford answer the question directly.
Ford still refused to answer and attempted to pivot to his position on
transit instead.
An Xtra investigation in 2011 found
that members of Family Pride, a group
within Pride Toronto, contacted Deco
Labels, the Ford family’s label-making
company, and requested a sticker donation. The donation was provided,
though the financial worth of the contribution was never clear. Separately, the
Ford family printed stickers advertising
Rob Ford for mayor that Doug says
they handed out during Pride festivities in 2010.
After the debate, Ford dodged most
of the reporters assembled, leaving
through the auditorium’s back door
into the parking lot. He refused to answer Xtra’s questions about why he
wouldn’t say whether he would attend
the Pride parade if elected mayor.
A majority of the audience were Ford
supporters; many openly heckled Tory
and Chow, at one point drowning out
the latter’s pre-debate media scrum
with cheers. The circus-like atmosphere
of the debate harkened back to this summer’s Ford Fest, where several LGBT
protesters were faced with a loud and
taunting crowd.
Police escorted Iola Fortino, an outspoken Ford supporter, out of the debate after she repeatedly interrupted
the candidates. Fortino told Xtra she
had wanted to ask a question — questions could be submitted only on paper
— but no one came around to give her a
paper. National Post reporter Christie
Doug Ford tried to divert attention to his transit plans after being grilled about Pride by John Tory and Olivia Chow.
Blatchford identified another man who
yelled that Olivia Chow should “go back
to China.”
Though Rob Ford officially dropped
out of the race on Sept 12, after he announced he was ill, his presence still
loomed large at the debate, with many
supporters cheering his name. Several
Ford supporters told Xtra after that it
made no difference to them that Doug
was running in Rob’s place.
“It’s the same platform,” said Mohamed Belkadi, a Ford supporter who
attended the debate. “Given it’s Doug,
and knowing that he’s run a company
as a CEO, gives me further assurance
that we’ve got the right guy on the
spot.”
He says he believes that it’s Doug’s
prerogative to march in the Pride pa-
HG WATSON
rade or not, a sentiment echoed by other
members of Ford Nation.
“He’s probably like the way I am,”
says Ines Anra, who adds that she’s not
prejudiced but would be embarrassed to
attend the parade because of her Italian
upbringing. “It’s just the way we are.
We can agree with things, but we don’t
want to participate. I understand why
he doesn’t want to participate.”
Ward 27 candidates canvass for votes
HG WATSON
POLITICS
Every vote counts in Ward 27, which is
why local candidates took to the campuses and the airwaves to get the word
out about their campaigns.
On Sept 16, three local city council
candidates — Benjamin Dichter, Megan McIver and incumbent Kristyn
Wong-Tam — camped out at Ryerson
University’s Pitman Hall residence,
trying to catch students to chat with
as they made their way out of a nearby
dining hall.
It was a chance for candidates to get to
know what students want for Ward 27,
and for the students to get to know them.
There are just over 38,000 students who
attend Ryerson, and their actions have a
significant impact on the ward.
Megan McIver, a former provincial
Liberal policy adviser, was one of the
candidates canvassing. When asked
what issue students were raising the
most, she identified transit as a primary
concern.
There was also a lot of talk about
neighbourhood revitalization. Dichter,
an entrepreneur who owns a print shop
on Ryerson’s campus, told one passing
student that he wants Church Street to
feel like Miami Beach.
Wong-Tam’s canvassing table came
complete with renderings for a revitalization of Yonge Street that her office has been working on since 2011.
Environmental assessments for the
proposed plan could begin as early as
2015, at which point Wong-Tam hopes
more concrete visioning of what Yonge
Street will look like will take place.
Dichter and Wong-Tam, along with
candidates Alain D’Amours, Rob Wol-
Benjamin Dichter, city council candidate for Ward 27, canvasses for votes outside
Ryerson’s Pitman Hall residence. HG WATSON
vin and Jordan Stone, later took part
in a pre-recorded debate that aired on
Rogers TV Sept 23.
Wong-Tam took the brunt of criticism from candidates, who took turns
criticizing her for not living in the ward,
her “ideological” bent and, according to
some, grandstanding, when she led a
pink-shirt anti-bullying protest against
Mayor Rob Ford at the last city council
meeting of the year.
However, Wong-Tam pointed to her
history of business ownership in the area
and the fact that she now has four years
of experience acting as councillor for
Ward 27. None of the other candidates
at the debate have held Toronto city
council positions before.
The Ward 27 candidates will meet
again for a debate on Oct 8, during the
ABC Residents Association general
meeting.
XTRA! OCT 2–15, 2014 11
A swish list for city hall
ELECTION
ROB SALERNO
Every election, we try to grill candidates
on whether they support queer issues that
are already top of mind. But this year, in
an effort to lead the conversation, Xtra is
tossing out new ideas to make our city better
and our community stronger. We’re calling
it the Swish List, and between now and the
election, we’ll be publishing new ideas from
our writers and members of the community.
#1. Tear down
Wellesley Station
While candidates are busily promising
new subway lines across the city, I have
a simple proposal to improve public
transit: destroy Wellesley Station.
Hear me out.
Wellesley is by far the ugliest station in the subway network from the
outside. And it’s not even functional.
It’s wheelchair inaccessible — and the
TTC recently announced it was putting
plans on hold for elevator installation.
Worse, Wellesley Street itself is
treacherously narrow for the 94 Wellesley buses turning in and out of the
station loop — they’ve been known to
clip cars on their turns or hold up traffic as they wait for a large enough gap
to turn safely. They’re also a hazard to
pedestrians and cyclists crossing the
driveways.
What if I told you the city could solve
all these problems — free?
The city is gearing up to sell the
Green P parking lot across the street
for condo development. What if, as part
of the proposal, the street was widened
enough to create safe bus lay-bys on
both sides of the street, eliminating the
need for the bus loop?
The proposal could also include a
new entrance structure and shelter on
the south side of the street, with elevators to the subway platform. The city
could require the developer to build the
structure as part of the approval process
for the new building — it’s already doing
something similar with a new entrance
to the station in a condo building on
Dundonald Street.
Once the two new entrances to the
12 OCT 2–15, 2014 XTRA!
station are open, the existing building
could be redeveloped into a condo or
office building, with another entrance
and shelter built in at ground level.
The station entrance/shelters could
be designed to reflect the LGBT community in the neighbourhood with public
art (more so than the tiny WorldPride
plaque in the current station).
We couldn’t possibly make it worse.
#2. Make the
Village the most
bike-friendly
neighbourhood
in Toronto
Bike lanes. Every good activist loves
’em. But instead of just moaning for
“more bike lanes now,” let’s put up a
specific plan for how we can make our
neighbourhood a model for the rest of
the city with minimal fuss.
The Village is already decently connected to the city’s bikeway network,
with cycle tracks on Sherbourne and
Wellesley. With just a few painted lines,
the network could become even stronger, with minimal impact on traffic and
businesses.
Starting with the easy parts, let’s get
the Bay Street bike lanes completed
from Bloor to Queen — there are already
bike lanes from College to Dundas, and
the street is plenty wide enough for
lanes in the missing sections.
The College Street lanes could be
extended from Bay Street along Carlton
to Parliament. The only thing affected
here are a handful of lightly used
Wellesley is by far the ugliest station in the subway network from the outside. And it’s not even functional.
parking spots.
Next, create bike boulevards on all
the Village’s east-west streets between
Church and Carlton. Most of these
streets are one-way with parking on
the side but with enough room to add
a counter-flow lane and sharrows, like
what has been done recently on Shaw
Street in the Annex. These would increase connectivity and convenience
for cyclists while having almost zero
impact on cars.
Next comes the hard part: make
Church Street a new north-south spine
for the bike network. The bike lane
would run right from Davenport and
Bay down Church to Front Street.
North of Bloor, there would likely be
no impact on traffic, as the street is
quite wide. Between Bloor and Carlton,
we’d lose a lane of parking, but the
street could be redesigned to preserve
some of it. South of Carlton, all parking would likely have to go, because
the streetcar tracks make a redesign
impossible.
Church Street lanes would have
the advantage of adding capacity on
a corridor where lots of people live
and where there are a lot of destinations for cyclists. It would also be much
less controversial than reinstalling the
Jarvis lanes would likely be.
Top off the lanes with the already
proposed (but not yet approved) Bloor
Street bikeway from Sherbourne to St
George, and the proposed extensions
ROB SALERNO
efficient bike-parking structures that
could be added to the neighbourhood at
convenient locations along Church and
Yonge, near corners and parks where
the sidewalk has a bit more space.
With minimal impact on traffic, this
proposal would add almost 15 kilometres of protected routes just through
The Downtown Yonge BIA has
developed very efficient bike-parking
structures that could be added to the
neighbourhood at convenient locations
along Church and Yonge.
of the Richmond and Adelaide cycle
tracks from University to Parliament.
Neither would have a large impact on
parking or traffic flow.
Suddenly, the Village becomes a major route for cyclists across the city. But
because we’d like them to stop, shop
and hang out, we’re going to have to
increase bike parking, too. The Downtown Yonge BIA has developed very
this section of the city. For comparison’s
sake, that’s more than the total length of
all bike lanes installed in Toronto from
2008 to 2013.
If this model for safe neighbourhood
bikeways works out, it could be easily
recreated in places like Cabbagetown,
the University of Toronto and the Annex,
allowing the network to grow quickly and
simply.
Are gay people avoiding the doctor?
New program encourages
early screening for colorectal,
breast and cervical cancers
HEALTH
ROB SALERNO
Talking to a doctor about one’s sexual organs is uncomfortable for many
people. But for LGBT people, asking
questions and getting examined can
open up a whole host of embarrassing,
and scary, issues.
The Canadian Cancer Society (CCS)
believes that fear causes queer people
to avoid being screened for treatable
cancers, thereby endangering their
lives. The organization is launching a
new program called Get Screened to
encourage LGBT people to screen for
colon, breast and cervical cancers early
while also training doctors to approach
LGBT health issues in a sensitive way.
“When working with LGBT clients,
many have faced barriers to care in the
past and may not absolutely be comfortable about discussing issues of sexual
orientation or gender identity,” says
Ed Kucharski, a physician at the Sherbourne Health Centre and a member
of the Get Screened steering committee. “Often there’s sensitivity around
discussing cancer screening because
they’re in sensitive parts of the body,
such as breasts or the cervix.”
A targeted campaign has already
distributed quirky, romance-moviethemed flyers and posters to doctors’
offices and LGBT organizations, while
print ads are being placed in select
newspapers and on public transit.
The CCS is helping to train health
ambassadors in the LGBT community
in an attempt to start the discussion on
cancer screening.
“ We have a cross section of all
LGBTQ communities of different races
and abilities, and they go out and talk
to their friends and families, so if
someone is experiencing a barrier to
getting screened, they can talk about
it with their friends,” says Arti Mehta,
a coordinator of the Get Screened
initiative.
The message is clear: cancer doesn’t
care if you’re gay, straight, bi or trans
— everyone over 50 should be tested
regularly for colon cancer. Women over
50 should get regular mammograms to
check for breast cancer. These types of
cancers, if caught early enough, can be
successfully treated, and the tests are
covered by provincial health plans.
Not only concerned with empowering
patients, the campaign looks to educate
doctors and other healthcare providers
about LGBT issues.
“Lesbian women are still told that
they don’t need pap tests, and we know
that’s completely untrue,” Mehta says.
All women who have ever had sex, even
once, need to have regular pap smears
to check for and prevent cervical cancer.
A trans man, however, may not feel
comfortable in a gynecologist’s waiting
room or coming out to a technician who
Many LGBT clients have faced barriers to care in the past and may not be comfortable discussing issues of sexual
orientation or gender identity, says Ed Kucharski, a physician at the Sherbourne Health Centre in Toronto. ADAM COISH
performs a mammogram.
“Some providers will very coarsely
say, ‘Everybody needs a pap who has a
cervix’ and try and encourage a patient
to get a pap smear for screening for
cervical when they might not be ready,”
Kucharski says. “I look at it as kind of
a journey you have with a patient in
developing trust and talking about the
risks and benefits to screening.”
The CCS is compiling research on
best practices in LGBT health to help
train practitioners, but there is not a
lot of conclusive research on treatment
and screening options for trans people.
“We don’t have a comprehensive
evidence-based approach for how hormones and surgeries affect cancer and
cancer screenings, but we’ve compiled
as much information as is out there
for service providers and trans people
around how to get screened and how
often,” Mehta says.
The Get Screened materials were
developed with the support of the Public
Health Agency of Canada, but its ongoing operations are funded out of donations to the Canadian Cancer Society.
A fundraiser for the program,
Cancer Is a Drag, will take place Nov 7 to
9 at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. Information and tickets are available at
buddiesinbadtimes.com.
Learn more about cancer screening for
LGBT people at cancer.ca/getscreened.
Navigating sexual intimacy after cancer treatment
A positive test for cancer is the start
of a journey, not the end. But the road
can be particularly fraught for gay and
lesbian people who may not have the
resources or the family to lean on for
support. Luckily, there are community
supports available.
The Wellspring Centre offers two
support groups for gay and lesbian people living with and affected by cancer to
meet and discuss any issues they need
to and ask questions of others who are
experiencing the same things they are.
“When men in general discuss cancer,
it’s rarely ever discussed in the context
of one’s sexuality,” says Tristan McFarland, a facilitator of the gay men’s group.
“It’s an opportunity for people to know
that they’re not on their own. There’s
an opportunity to relate to others in
a way that’s meaningful, relevant and
supportive, so they can come out of it
with a skill set that helps them gain more
confidence in navigating what can be, at
times, a complicated healthcare system.” The group can be helpful for couples
trying to navigate sexual intimacy after
cancer treatments or to understand
what different cancer treatment options
mean for their sex lives. “I don’t think anyone ever talks about
that,” says Stephen Weiss, a cancer
survivor who had his prostate removed
10 years ago. Surgical removal of the
prostate can reduce enjoyment of anal
sex and make it impossible to experience normal ejaculations. “There has been no studying on the
issue of topping and bottoming. It’s all
about the penis, whether you can get it
up and penetrate,” says Weiss’s partner,
Richard Durk. McFarland says hearing the stories
from people who’ve been there helps
the newly diagnosed cope through
treatment.
“Newcomers are often awed by the
experience these men have had as
longtime survivors of cancer,” he says.
— Rob Salerno
The Gay Men’s Cancer Support Group
meets the first and third Monday of each
month from 6:30 to 8:30pm. The Lesbian
Cancer Support Group meets the first
Tuesday of every month from 7 to 9pm.
Both meet at Wellspring, 4 Charles St E.
Stephen Weiss (right) and his partner, Richard Durk, found the group helpful for
understanding how cancer treatment might affect their sex lives. ADAM COISH
XTRA! OCT 2–15, 2014 13
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Da Vinci’s little devil
Leonardo’s erotic transfixion with a lifelong servant
HISTORY BOYS
MICHAEL LYONS
Leonardo da Vinci, one
of history’s greatest artists and the definition of a Renaissance
man, was an accused sodomite by 1476.
Homosexuality was endemic in his
hometown of Florence; city council, in
response, created a squad of officers
of the night, preservers of morality.
Da Vinci stood accused, along with
three other men, of having sex with
17-year-old Jacopo Saltarelli. The
charges were made anonymously and
eventually were dropped, because
the accuser never came forward with
evidence.
Saltarelli may never have been his
lover, but someone did come into da
Vinci’s life during the summer of 1490.
Gian Giacomo Caprotti da Oreno was
the son of a resident of da Vinci’s vineyard outside Milan. He was 10 years old
when he joined the da Vinci household
as a fattorino — an errand boy who
worked for lodging.
Giorgio Vasari, a 16th-century Italian art historian, described Gian as
a youth “most comely in grace and
beauty, having fine locks, curling in
ringlets, in which Leonardo greatly
delighted.” Da Vinci and his household had a better description for him:
salaì, Tuscan slang for devil, demon or
unclean one.
The nickname quickly proved suitable to the child — da Vinci wrote in
a letter to Salaì’s father that on the
second day of his employment, da Vinci
bought some clothes for his new errand
boy, and “when I put aside some money
SISSYDUDE
Historian Ross King, in his biography Leonardo and the Last Supper,
writes that not only did da Vinci keep
Salaì in his household for years, he
was constantly giving the boy gifts
and clothing him in finery. King notes
that in 1560, decades after da Vinci’s
death, one artist wrote an imagined
conversation between da Vinci and
a Greek sculptor, where da Vinci reveals that he loved Salaì most deeply
when the boy was 15, illustrating how
Salaì was a brat and an incorrigible
larcenist, constantly stealing from
da Vinci and his fellow assistants.
to pay for these things he stole four lire,
the money out of the purse, and I could
never make him confess, though I was
quite certain of the fact.”
Evidence continued to mount
against Salaì during his career with
da Vinci; it’s not surprising that his
father might have wanted to send the
boy away from home. He was a brat
— da Vinci wrote of how at a dinner,
“Salaì supped for two and did mischief
for four, for he broke three cruets and
spilled the wine” — and an incorrigible
larcenist, constantly stealing from da
Vinci and his fellow assistants.
speculation about their relationship
continued long after they were gone.
King points out that when Salaì was
15, da Vinci had just started The Last
Supper in the Milanese convent.
Indeed, Salaì was something of a
muse to da Vinci. No official image
of Salaì by his mentor exists, but a
face crops up time and time again,
most notably in da Vinci’s painting
St John the Baptist. This bizarre, androgynous figure could very well be
Salaì in his 30s — still working for da
Vinci as an assistant and doing some
minor painting of his own. Another
sketch, now referred to as The Angel
Incarnate, gives the same figure a
breast and an erection, making it
something of an early transsexual
porno. If this figure is Salaì, da Vinci
seems to have had an erotic transfixion with his model.
While Salaì continued his thieving
ways, he was also a lifelong companion to da Vinci until the artist died in
1519. Mysteriously, while one younger
assistant was the principal heir and
executor of da Vinci’s estate, his will
noted Salaì as only a servant but left
him half the da Vinci vineyard, where
Salaì had a house.
Salaì married in 1523, at the age of
43, though the marriage was shortlived. He died from a crossbow wound
received in a duel. Even with all the
information King brought together
about Salaì in Leonardo and the Last
Supper, I was saddened to learn that
da Vinci’s lover and muse remains a
marginal figure in the artist’s history.
He may not be remembered as a great
artist or even a great apprentice, but
at least he has a place in history as a
mischievous scamp who was nothing
but trouble his whole life — da Vinci’s
beloved, lifelong devil.
History Boys appears in every issue
of Xtra.
Road
bangers
Your car may be falling apart,
but your dating life won’t be
WHEELS
MIKE VICHNITCHKINE
I write about cars with a bit of anxiety
in my mind — I drive a junker.
It’s bad. It’s the archetypal jalopy,
grunting and puffing down a country
road. The brakes squeak, one of the
side mirrors is bolted on, and it has
scratches on every surface, including
the top (I don’t know how). It drives,
which is its most important feature,
but sometimes I wish it looked a little
nicer. It’s embarrassing parking it next
to a Mercedes.
Having been stared at like a piece
of meat during brisk walks through
the Village, I was certain that other
gay men judge my pathetic clunker
at first sight.
So I was curious: do gay men in
Toronto prioritize automotive accoutrements as a means of distinguishing
the duds from the studs? Do men like
to be courted by expensive cars with
cushy interiors?
I might long for heated seats, but
it seems many Toronto men just
don’t count cars on their list of deal
breakers.
In an informal survey I conducted
over a number of gay social apps, I
found that the vast majority of men
take a far more utilitarian approach
to their vehicles.
Many took the time to indicate their
Driving a lemon doesn’t seem to be a deal breaker for many Toronto men, so long as the back seat still works. THINKSTOCK
distaste with the shallow behaviour
implied by my cheeky questions and
stressed that cars should be considered first in terms of functionality and
second in terms of appearance. One
responder stated flatly, “Cars aren’t
sexy . . . [they are] just meant to get
you from point A to point B.”
But not everyone was against the
automobile.
One commenter recalled his teenaged years out in London, where his
car was the only place he could be
alone with his boyfriend. Another
responder fondly remembered his
partner’s car, which he described as
“the best shaggin’ wagon ever.” One
can only imagine the joys his boyfriend’s spacious SUV afforded. A third
had fond memories of a date picking
him up to go camping in a beautiful,
vintage Jaguar.
So clearly, while we do maintain a
relatively pragmatic attitude toward
our automobiles, we also don’t mind
being taken for a spin.
Thankfully, the overwhelming consensus tended away from expectation
and entitlement. In the city, we see
cars as luxuries — fun, sexy, tushwarming-in-the-winter luxuries, but
luxuries nonetheless.
I can rest a little easier driving my
lemon around, knowing that most guys
would be happier in it than braving the
TTC.
VIDEO: Pride week
in September!
dailyxtra.com
XTRA! OCT 2–15, 2014 15
16 OCT 2–15, 2014 XTRA!
25 YEARS OF
Looking back on the history of Toronto’s greatest gay bar
BY JP LAROCQUE
Woody’s is a sacred space.
It’s a statement that could be seen as controversial
to some, but for many people in Toronto’s queer
community, the Church Street institution is much
more than your average neighbourhood watering
hole. And on a busy Friday or Saturday night, with
the establishment’s four bars buzzing with life,
the space possesses both a vibrancy and relevancy
that belies its 25 years of existence.
“For queers, bars are our temples; drag queens
are the priests and DJs are the choir,” says Mitchel
Raphael, photographer and former Fab magazine
editor-in-chief. “Woody’s is the holy of holies of
gay bars. [And] much like the best of true religious
institutions, it has been incredible at giving back
to the community it serves — whether it be funding for the arts or donating money for political
battles like same-sex marriage.”
Patricia Wilson, bar manager at Buddies in Bad
Times Theatre, agrees. “Woody’s was everything
the world around us was not for the queers.
Without that bar, the people in the community
would have been like zombies wandering the
streets looking for compassion, strength and sex.”
Tracing a true lineage of the bar requires going
back to the late 1970s, when the city looked quite
different. Long before Pride festivities brought
huge crowds to Church Street, most of the city’s
gay establishments were sprinkled along Yonge
Street, an area Torontonians rather dubiously
referred to as the Sin Strip.
It was around this time that Alex Korn, a
heterosexual entrepreneur and owner of the
Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Charles Street, met
Ward Hagar, the front-desk manager of the same
facility. Korn, who had been in the bar business
for years, forged a fast, if unlikely, friendship with
the openly gay Hagar.
One evening, Hagar invited Korn out to some
of the city’s various queer establishments. Korn
was surprised by what he discovered.
“He took him on a tour of the gay bars in
Toronto, and there weren’t a lot of nice options
available,” says Dean Odorico, general manager
at Woody’s. “So [Korn] saw an opportunity...
He wanted to open a gay bar to be proud of and
travelled to New York City for research. And
[partnering with Hagar in 1983], he opened Chaps
on Isabella Street and put a lot of money into it.”
A dance space with a restaurant and a bar
downstairs, Chaps was an immediate success
that attracted large crowds and had a huge impact on the city’s gay scene. But within a year of
the bar’s opening, Hagar would succumb to an
AIDS-related illness; the death had a tremendous
impact on Korn. The bar began doing benefits for
the Toronto People with AIDS Foundation.
“It was a horrible time,” Odorico says. “But
it was [in those spaces] where all the activism
came from during the AIDS crisis. The money
was raised in the bars and the clubs.”
Korn and his wife, Dorry, established a resort in
the Muskokas called Ward’s Retreat, where people
living with HIV/AIDS could rest and escape the
city. Still, he felt that there was more he could do.
“He wanted to open another bar that was more
community based,” Odorico says. “He had done
so well with the community that he wanted to
continue to give something back. So that was the
AN XTRA SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
mandate when he got [our current] space.”
Korn chose a location on Church Street that
had previously been a gay piano bar called Jingles.
At that time, aside from a few queer staples like
The Barn and 457, the area was occupied mostly
by production facilities for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation or bars and steakhouses that
catered to industry workers and the Maple Leaf
Gardens crowd.
Hiring a number of young staffers with experience in community establishments, including
current general managers Odorico and Steven
Clegg, Korn wanted the new spot to be different
in a number of key ways.
“When we opened [in June 1989], pretty much
any gay bar wouldn’t have any window openings
or anything like that,” Clegg says. “It would be
blacked out or brick walls because of safety concerns. That was one of the things we did early on,
open up the windows. People wouldn’t necessarily
want to sit in them in the early days. They just
didn’t want to be seen in a gay bar. And that was
part of the evolution of Church Street. People
XTRA! OCT 2–15, 2014 17
were more willing to be seen.”
On the first night the bar was open, staff passed
around donation baskets for the AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT), with Korn matching the
amounts given by patrons. The bar later introduced a regular Staff Night on Mondays, with
tips going to ACT and donations again being
matched by Korn.
The first version of Woody’s was a quarter the
size of its current space. It was made up of two
rooms, a kitchen, an office and a beer cooler in
the back. Brunch was served on Sundays, and the
capacity was small — roughly 100 people. The bar
deliberately established itself as edgier than the
more traditional gay dance clubs in town.
“Previously, there had only been piano bars or
dance bars,” Clegg says. “We weren’t either [of
these], so we were kind of a new animal. We were
the only bar that had alternative music, which was
new wave back then. That was the music we all
listened to at the time. Plus, we didn’t play disco
and dance music, which worked really well for us.”
Wilson remembers the early years fondly.
“There was a middle bar and sawdust on the
floor. It was an eye-opening experience,” she says.
“I walked into [the bar] on my own the first time,
and I was greeted by the bartender as I walked in
with ‘Hey! You must be Patricia, the new person
Sky [Gilbert] hired to work at Buddies. They’re
all in the back.’”
“So friendly and welcoming over 20 years ago,
and it’s still the same.”
Woody’s became immensely popular, with
beer sales rivalling those of the Skydome (now
the Rogers Centre) and the neighbouring Maple
Leaf Gardens. At one point, the bar was selling
the third-highest amount of beer of any establishment in Ontario.
“It was busy every day,” Odorico says. “In those
days, gay bars were like the epicentre of the community. That’s where you met guys, and that’s
where you met friends. Gay bars and bathhouses
were the two biggest options.”
The bar expanded and began to incorporate
various forms of live entertainment. The Best
Chest Contest on Thursday nights was the first
to appear, which drew in the college-aged crowd,
followed soon after by regular drag nights and a
rotating group of DJs.
With the departure of the CBC and the closure
of the Gardens, large sections of real estate along
Church became available to entrepreneurs within
the community. Crews opened across the street
from the bar, and Xtra moved into the offices
above Pusateri’s. Many of the old-style steakhouses transformed into gay bars, like Hair of the
Dog and what would eventually become O’Grady’s,
Flash and Church on Church.
Korn soon took over the space next to Woody’s
EVERYBODY SAID WE’D
BE CLOSED WITHIN SIX
MONTHS, AND WE SORTA
OUTLIVED THEM ALL.
Steven Clegg, general manager
18 OCT 2–15, 2014 XTRA!
PHOTOS COURTESY OF WOODY’S
25 YEARS OF
Faces (and bodies) of Woody’s staff and patrons from years gone by.
with the intention of creating a two-storey dance
bar. City bylaws prevented him from doing so, which
led to the creation of the nautical-themed bar Sailor.
“That’s been a big part of our work,” Clegg says.
“Not working around the rules, but working with
the rules that [the City of Toronto] gives us. Like
smoking bylaws — it changed so many times
over five years. And every time, we would make
changes and evolve.”
The bar attracted more attention in the early
2000s when the producers of the US version of
Queer as Folk modelled the show’s fictional pub
on it. They retained the name, used exterior shots
of the bar and constructed a replica of it on a
soundstage in Mississauga.
“I remember the first Pride after the show aired
and became a hit,” Clegg says. “It was just astounding, the people who came up and stood under the
awning to have their picture taken. There was
this huge stream of people wanting to do that.”
The bar has continued to evolve in the last decade, hosting fundraisers for various local sports
teams, visiting theatre companies and TIFF parties for celebrities. And a number of famous faces
have stopped by over the years.
“Billy Zane was here for a movie of his,” Odorico
says. “So was Billy Corgan from Smashing Pumpkins and the Scissor Sisters. Chi Chi LaRue and a
lot of gay pornstars.”
“Ian McKellen was here,” Clegg says with a
laugh. “I wasn’t here that night, which really
annoyed me.”
Though other businesses in the Village face
challenges because of the advent of dating apps
and internet hookups, Clegg is optimistic about
Woody’s future.
25 YEARS OF WOODY’S
“I don’t think [the importance of a physical
space] is diminishing,” he says. “Toronto has
grown as a city, and other areas have popped
up, and that’s all positive. I think there’s a need
for them, and I think there’s still a need for
this area, and there will always continue to be
a need for it.”
“The social aspect is still very, very important
in people’s lives. They want to go out and meet
up and have fun together. Certainly there are
more options for people to hook up and explore
that. But I don’t usually hear people say, ‘I met
my boyfriend or I met my husband on a hook-up
site.’ So I think better connections are made here,
and they still are.”
“Everybody said we’d be closed within six
months, and we sorta outlived them all. So I’m
Q
not worried.”
QUEER CHEERS!
HEY, MR DJ
Woody’s regulars (and not-soregulars) share their thoughts on
our favourite watering hole.
“I brought my father to Woody’s
once. He thought it was a
straight strip joint. We saw a drag
show together and he loved it.
I love that my father had a great
time at Woody’s. I have had
several thousand good times at
Woody’s.”
— Keith Cole
The musical evolution of Woody’s
EDUARDO SABATE
To every great bar, there is a soundtrack.
From vinyl all the way to MP3s, we
spoke to the DJs who have shaped the
sounds and vibes at Woody’s for the
past 25 years.
“As the Village implodes, bar by
bar, into condo oblivion, Woody’s
is a beacon to me, a folksy
church.”
— Greg Kearney
When the plastic wasn’t spinning,
cassettes were played during the daytime and drag queens brought in music
for their shows.
“I don’t know if Woody’s was
named for an erection, a cowboy
puppet, a folk singer or a woodpecker, but I’ve met all four of
them inside the place.”
— Paul Bellini
DJ MARK FALCO
Ace of Base and Whitney Houston were
topping the charts in 1993, but Woody’s
was still breaking out the REM and
Nirvana. “It was such a different bar
back then, a lot smaller obviously, and
the music that played was rock and
alternative,” Falco says of his first year.
“I started working at Woody’s about 21
years ago, right before Sailor opened.”
“I’ve only been inside a handful of times. The stand ’n’ stare
scene never appealed, but from
my early days of being out, I just
knew what Woody’s was. It was
like unconscious information
that had been downloaded.”
— David Benjamin Tomlinson
SAILOR
DJ Shawn Riker
NEW WAVES
Right from the start, Woody’s stood out.
While everyone played pop favourites
like Rick Astley and Belinda Carlisle,
Dean Odorico and Steve Clegg and their
staff filled the speakers with something
harder.
“We opened with new wave and rock,
like Toni Childs, B-52s and the Pretenders,” Odorico says. “All the other places
[on Church Street] were either piano
bars or played dance music — and maybe
a country and western one as well. We
did have a piano. The owner thought
everybody had a piano, so we had to
have one. It took me six months to get
rid of it.”
In 1989, DJs David Christie, Robin
and Jeanette spun the first sets, but if
it weren’t for another big name in the
community, they would have just been
pushing down the play button on a cassette deck. Odorico is eternally grateful
to Fly Nightclub’s Shawn Riker, who was
responsible for setting up the sound system without taking a cent for his services.
“Back then, it was more community.
It wasn’t everybody after each other’s
throats; it wasn’t like that,” Riker says.
Cue Smashing Pumpkins’ “Disarm.”
Odorico remembers hearing the lyrics “I
used to be a little boy” when the firewalls
came down between the two buildings.
As the space widened, the music got
louder — it needed to fill the bigger
venue — and became more mainstream.
“Some people missed the old format,
but it was something we needed to do.
We still had Tuesday’s Bad Boys’ Night
Out, which was all rock and retro with
lots of Bowie,” Odorico says.
It was 1994, and chart-topping divas
like Mariah, Janet and Madonna were
welcomed onto the collection shelf.
BLUE PETER
The DJs undoubtedly keep spirits up
“I’m 55 and stopped going to
bars regularly quite a while ago.
Not going to Woody’s has been
particularly hard because I now
have no place to wear my beautiful sweaters.”
— Brad Fraser
“What does Woody’s mean to
me? It means the Village. It was
one of the first bars I ever went
to. It’s been open in the same location the longest and it’s known
worldwide.”
— Richard Ryder
DJ Mark Falco
through the evenings, but it’s normal to
see folks downing brews while mesmerized by what’s playing on the television
screens. VJ Blue Peter Elie has ruled the
video decks since 1998. His Mondaynight gigs are as popular as ever, with
top 40 videos and all-time faves filling
the screens.
Elie and Falco remain loyal to
Woody’s to this day.
“A lot of gay bars have come and
gone, but Woody’s has stayed
consistent. A lot of bars just collapse over time.” — David Hawe
“Woody’s is quite simply a Toronto institution. It’s a place where
everyone is welcome and
accepted.” — Brooke Lynn Hytes
DJ CHRIS STEINBACH
VJ Blue Peter
“I went into Woody’s when it was first
being built and applied for a job. They
told me it wasn’t going to be a dance
bar, so I never really took it anywhere
forward. Here I am 20 years later coming back,” says Chris Steinbach, whose
eventual first gig was in 2010. “Sooner
or later, everybody comes through
Woody’s.”
There’s an old saying that every road
leads to Woody’s, and that’s not far from
the truth.
To this day, people meet up with
friends, exchange pleasantries with
acquaintances and make new connections. Woody’s remains popular
as an after-concert destination with
DJ Chris Steinbach
both attendees and performers: the
Scissor Sisters and the cast of Wicked
have paid visits to Woody’s after their
shows. This past summer saw Nelly
Furtado, Adam Lambert, Ron Goddard
(from The Amazing Race Canada) and
folks from Big Brother Canada walk
through the doors. “I hope I get to stay
here a long time. I’m in no rush to go
Q
anywhere,” Steinbach says.
“One year, Ken Fraser and I created a Pride intervention with
‘Woody’s lost our coats’ written
big on our picket signs and a long
story about showing up some
cold February evening only to
be told our coats weren’t there
when we went to leave. All fabricated. Along the parade route,
people advised us to sue them
and demand our rights — ‘they
had money.’ Others told us to ‘get
over’ our coatcheck nightmare.
Some told us it was terrible
and typical of Woody’s — ‘just
ridiculous.’ The best was an old
drunk queen who came up and
said, ‘Honey, when I go there,
I always look good, but I wear a
shitty old jacket to avoid that ever
happening.’”
— Roy Mitchell
continued on page 23 E
XTRA! OCT 2–15, 2014 19
25 YEARS OF
HOMO PROMOS
A collection of early ads from our archives
WOODY’S MOST MEMORABLE MOMENTS
Woody’s first-ever ad in Xtra was simply its name, address and the words “glad to
be gay.” The bar opened its doors July 26, 1989, exposing its randy rhino horn and
almost entirely mustachioed staff to the public for the first time. Behold, a timeline
of the bar’s most notable events and accomplishments. — Jeremy Willard
1989
Woody’s sells food, making it possible to eat a
Horny Rhino Hot Dog
while listening to kd lang’s
“Big Boned Gal.”
The popular
Sunday
brunch ran
until 2000.
Woody’s kicks
off a tradition
of supporting local groups
and teams by hosting the
20 OCT 2–15, 2014 XTRA!
Tour of Toronto ’89 volleyball tournament.
Bad Boys Nite Out begins
every Tuesday — because
you have to be a bad boy
to spend a Tuesday
night at a bar.
Woody’s advertisements include
the names of
songs it would play
that night. According to
one ad in Xtra, a visit to
Woody’s would mean a
night of rockin’ out to Kate
Bush’s “Sensual World,”
Bonnie Raitt’s “Thing
Called Love” and David
Bowie’s “Panic in Detroit.”
1989–1991
Woody’s is heavily involved with JOLD (Jocks
or Leather and Denim),
a community group
that gives out awards in
categories such as best
bartender, best community event, best fundraiser
and more.
1990
On its first anniversary,
Woody’s hammers home
its rhino logo by publishing
a full-page, highly detailed
and beautiful drawing of a
rhino in Xtra.
The first Mr Woody’s
Leatherman contest
begins.
Woody’s begins its annual
win-a-date contest,
where patrons can win a
date with a staff member
of their choosing: $1 per
ballot, and all proceeds
go to the Toronto People
with AIDS Foundation.
MID-1990
The bar starts a monthly
Woody’s “Man of the
Month” tradition. The
first man is Rick Wood,
a long-distance swimmer about to attempt a
double crossing of Lake
Erie to raise funds for the
Canadian Diabetes Association. Pledge sheets are
available at the bar.
1991
Woody’s
challenges
owners, staff
and patrons of
all other bars and
restaurants to
participate
in From All
Walks of Life
1991, an AIDS
walkathon.
Woody’s begins
a recurring event called
Miss Draft, where folks
can win prizes for their
drinking technique, evening wear and ability
to answer swill-testing
questions. Hosted by
Crystal Lite, the event is
a fundraiser for Ward’s
Retreat and the
AIDS Committee of Toronto.
1992
Woody’s hosts its
first underwear
party, with the
slogan “Come
in your
pants!”
Woody’s
introduces what
is perhaps one of its most
bizarre slogans: “Feeling
bonerable? Like, come on
home to Woody’s.”
When folks donate a large
stuffed animal to the
Woody’s Christmas toy
drive, Woody’s gives $10
to charity.
Woody’s buys a full-page
ad in Xtra just to print the
message “Take care of
each other.”
LATE 1992
The Best Chest
competition begins, luring
pec-hungry pervs out to
the bar for a glimpse of
muscular man bosoms.
1993
Woody’s hosts its first
down-home screech
Newfie night.
Priape Toronto is opening,
and Woody’s hosts the
launch party, advertising
“Help us welcome those
Montreal men to our
neighbourhood.”
SPECIAL THANKS TO TIM PRENTICE AND JEREMY WILLARD
1994
1995
1998
2005
Woody’s opens its nautically themed counterpart,
Sailor. A short time later,
the bar holds its first
Sailor of the Year contest.
Men compete in such
categories as street wear,
sailor wear and swim
wear to win a cruise and
$300.
For Halloween, preposterous possums compete
in a Dame Edna lookalike competition, with a
chance to win $300.
Their ninth-anniversary
extravaganza is a salute to
Studio 54, complete with
disco divas, go-go boys
from Remington’s and
music by DJ Mark Falco.
Local laws change, and
Woody’s installs a glasswalled smoking area.
Woody’s hosts its first
Latino Night, complete
with tequila boys and a
draw for a trip for two to
Mexico.
MID-1990S
Growing Pride attendance
brings the crowds at
Woody’s to dangerous
proportions.
1996
Woody’s throws a launch
party for RuPaul’s new
album Foxy Lady, which
includes the single
“Snapshot.”
1997
Woody’s continues the
nights where staff donate
their tips to ACT, with the
total being matched by
the bar; by 1997, the bar
has raised $100,000.
In a benefit for Fashion
Cares 1997, Woody’s
auctions off RuPaul’s sequined high heels, Antonio
Sabato Jr’s autographed
underwear and Rosie
O’Donnell’s autographed
Hush Puppies watch.
Woody’s strongly recommends voting for Olivia
Chow and Kyle Rae as city
councillors and Barbara
Hall as mayor.
LATE 1990S
Woody’s makes it to the
top five in the entire province for beer sales.
1999
In addition to extended
bar hours and coverless
entry, New Year’s Eve
at Woody’s has a “New
Year’s Baby,” courtesy of
Remington’s. (Anyone
have any idea what this
means? Is it bad?)
Hosted by Pepsi, the Best
Legs competition kicks
off with a chance to win
$200 in cash prizes.
2006
2000
The bar gains international fame when its
façade is used in Queer as
Folk, inspiring gaggles of
gays to make pilgrimages
to Woody’s and have their
photos taken out front.
Woody’s celebrates its
Sweet 16 with a highschool-style evening.
Georgie Girl is the head
mistress, Donnarama
is the class clown,
and Farra N Hyte and
Heaven Lee Hytes are the
cheerleaders.
2003
2008
Miss Conception wins
Drag Idol at Zelda’s; part
of her winning package is
a booking at Woody’s. She
calls it her “big break.”
Woody’s debuts its
annual Smirnoff Czarina
Pageant with a $2,000
first prize. The first
winner is Pussy Noir, who
performed Jully Black’s
“Seven Day Fool” with
Black in the audience!
2009
Woody’s celebrates
20 years with Big Daddy.
Fab magazine features
Woody’s bartender Big
Dave on its cover.
2010
The Toronto Firefighters Calendar launch
at Woody’s raises the
temperature.
2012
Woody’s sponsors
the new gay dodgeball league, which
packs the house every
Monday night.
2013
Woody’s theme for
WorldPride — Nice Peace,
a throwback to the
1970s — results in record
sales and the highest
attendance ever at
the bar.
XTRA! OCT 2–15, 2014 21
25 YEARS OF
LIFE OF A WOODY’S GIRL
The cream of the drag scene
has always risen via the
legendary bar’s stage
ROLYN CHAMBERS
“What good is sitting alone in your
room? Come hear the music play.
Life is a cabaret, old chum, come to
the cabaret.”
Though “Cabaret” wasn’t the song drag
queen Georgie Girl was singing live
the first night Dean Odorico saw her
performing at a bar called Solitaros,
it was indeed Liza Minnelli she was
channelling. As the general manager
of Woody’s, Odorico had no idea who
she was but knew he had to have her
perform at the then four-year-old bar.
“We didn’t start out with entertainment,” he recalls. Though Georgie was
one of the original queens to perform at
Woody’s, the first drag host was Pepsi,
who enticed men up onstage with her
acid tongue for the first Best Chest
contest in 1992. “The only reason we
created that night was because [former Fly manager and promoter] Gilles
Belanger and Stephen Wong [now the
designer behind fashion label Greta
Constantine] were doing a night at The
Phoenix, which really hurt our business
on Thursdays.”
The Best Chest Contest took off, effectively killing the night at The Phoenix. Pepsi, however, would not last as
Pepsi
22 OCT 2–15, 2014 XTRA!
Christopher Peterson
Georgie Girl
Bitch Diva
host. “I replaced Pepsi because she
was off her nut on drugs at the time,”
Georgie says. At 49 years old, Georgie
jokingly admits that she’s worked with
the best and survived the rest.
With the success of their Thursday nights, Odorico launched Woody’s
Dream Girls, a drag queen revue every
Sunday. Queens like Morgan Holiday,
Phyllis, Connie, Bitch Diva and Georgie
could be found on the small portable
stage at the end of the now torn-down
square bar. The success of this night
spawned shows three nights a week,
which allowed Michelle Ross, Robin
Loren, Jackaé Baker, Chris Edwards,
Dani Love, Crystal Lite, Scarlette Fever,
Christopher Peterson and others to
hone their craft.
“You do drag at Woody’s not for
money or tips,” Peterson quips from
her home in Key West. “You tip cows.
We were shown respect with gifts of
monetary value or libations. You do
drag for the love and maybe a quickie
in the bathroom.”
Singing live, Peterson became famous
for her masterful skill at imitating the
voice and mannerisms of famous gay
icons like Lucille Ball, Barbra Streisand,
Judy Garland, Joan Crawford, Bette
Davis, Joan Rivers and others. Since
Chris Edwards
getting her start in Toronto, she’s taken
her act all over the US, even appearing as
Lucille Ball in the film Rat Race in 2001.
The addition of Sailor in 1994 doubled
capacity and allowed for even more
shows on an even larger, permanent
stage. Woody’s was now a show bar, a
cabaret of sorts.
“Our contest nights helped propel
stars like Sofonda and Miss Conception,” Odorico says. “Look at what
they’ve become now.”
Currently touring her one-man live
singing show through North America
and Mexico, Miss Conception remembers her start. “It was May 13, 2001,” she
says. “The crowd was quiet that night
as it was a Tuesday, but when I went
onstage as Little Orphan Annie, they
slowly moved in to see what was going
on. To be a Woody’s Girl was a huge
thing because the best of the best performed there. When I got my chance to
shine on the stage at Woody’s, I knew I
had to work hard to keep getting hired.”
But working that prime piece of
gay-bar real estate is not all
glitter and sequins.
“Every now and then
some weird tranny-chaser
will come after me,” Georgie says. “I had this one guy
from Montreal who wanted
to cut my eyes out with a knife and eat
them. Another guy wanted to chop
my head off and keep it. To them, it’s
a compliment. To me, it’s a threat.”
Most of the performers have stalkers/fans. It’s part of being a celebrity
in the gay scene, but a bouncer is always
posted by the stage.
New queens shouldn’t be frightened
of putting on a wig, donning a dress and
taking a chance on the stage: Odorico will
give almost anyone itching to show her
talent a try. But if someone wants to host
a night, Odorico pairs them with Georgie.
If they last the night, they’ll get rebooked.
“Georgie doesn’t put up with any
shit,” Odorico says. “You gotta have a
thick skin and you gotta have a personality and be able to handle the crowd.
There are some talented queens out
there, but to be a host is a special category. You have the whole business in
the palm of your hand. You can clear the
bar out like that.”
“Dean is a lovely man. [Assistant
manager] Steve is a lovely man. [Owner]
Mr Gordon is a lovely man. And if you’re
allowed into their circle, appreciate
it, but don’t assume that you will stay
in that circle. You have to work at it.
You have to be a lovely person back.
You have to show up to work on time.
Do your job. It’s a professional work
ethic. I don’t believe in berating your
audience because you think that they
haven’t given you the just attention
that you deserve because you bought a
dress off the rack.”
Drag queens aren’t the only ones
who prance up those steps in heels.
It’s an inclusive space where men and
women — straight, gay and bi — are all
welcome. The acceptance of gay communities worldwide ushered in hordes
of straight women, sometimes accompanied by their boyfriends. And those
ladies weren’t here to play: many would
enter, and win, Woody’s contests. The
new contest names — Best Men’s Chest,
Best Men’s Legs and Best Men’s Ass —
put the focus back on the boys. “It’s the
objectivity of men for women’s happiness,” Georgie says, spinning the new
rules into a positive. “Besides, no one
wants to see your hairy lips up there.”
But in the end, the stage is a showcase
for the queens. “Toronto has the best
talent in the world for drag performers,”
Odorico says. “It’s unparalleled. Not just
the old crew who have made a career
of it — the new girls are brilliant, too.
Woody’s is lucky to have some of it.” Q
Special thanks to David Hawe for his
drag queen identification skills.
QUEER CHEERS!
THE GATEKEEPER
E continued from page 19
“I forget how some straight
friends and I ended up there, but
I remember us drinking beers
while they awkwardly tried to
avoid watching the hardcore
porn on the televisions. I loved it.”
— Jaime Woo
A chat with Big Bob, Woody’s beloved security daddy
JOHNNIE WALKER
and they wanna see what’s happening,
Woody’s is probably the first place
they come to.
You’ve met Big Bob. That is to say, if
you’ve been to Woody’s in the past
decade or so (and of course you have),
chances are he was the one checking
your ID on the way in or kindly
escorting you from the premises on
your way out. For many queers new
to Toronto, Woody’s is the gateway
to the entire LGBT scene, and that
makes Bob the gatekeeper. As part
of our coverage of Woody’s 25th
anniversary, we asked Bob to share
his thoughts on the changing face of
Church Street and some of his most
memorable nights working the door.
And do they stick around,
or do they tend to move on?
Well, you see different waves of
young people. They come and you’ll
see them for a period of three to five
years, and then you’ll kind of get a
new wave and you’ll see different
people. They get older or have
relationships and you see them less.
And then you get to see a new crop.
But Woody’s itself has remained
very calm and very stable. Maybe the
décor has changed and some of the
personnel has changed, that’s all.
XTRA: So, how long have you
been working at Woody’s?
What are some of the most
memorable nights you’ve worked?
BIG BOB: I have been at Woody’s
since 2003 and have been working
security there during that time. I have
enjoyed it very much, and I’ve come
to know an awful lot of people. The
ownership here has always been
great. It’s a good family, a good place
to work and a good place to drink and
be entertained.
There’s a lot of history. I remember
quite vividly that we had a ceremony
of remembrance for [Toronto gay
activist] George Hislop when he died.
And Jack Layton and Olivia Chow
were there, of course. And I believe
John Tory was as well. I’ve seen him
at Woody’s many times. There were
a lot of notable people there that
afternoon. George was an important
part of our community.
What were you up to before you
started at Woody’s?
I’ve worked in the gay community for
almost 40 years. I was at Remington’s
for 10 years. And before that, I had
worked at Colby’s and Chaps, and
before that I worked at Club Manatee.
So, I’d been at a lot of places over
the years.
You must have seen some big
changes in the neighbourhood
over the years.
Very much so. The whole scene has
moved from the Yonge and Bloor
area to Church Street. The bar scene
has probably diminished somewhat
because of everything that’s evolved
with technology. When smoking
became illegal in the bars, it really
changed the whole dynamic. And the
main thing I find now is that there’s
really no after-hours place in the gay
scene. There used to be so much, you
know? There used to be three or four
places where you could go when the
And what about the parties?
ALEJANDRO SANTIAGO
WOODY’S IS
WHERE YOU HANG
OUT. THAT’S WHERE
YOU MEET PEOPLE;
THAT’S WHERE YOU
GET YOUR FEET WET
IN THE GAY
COMMUNITY.
bars closed. You could go and dance
or hang out, but there’s really nothing
like that anymore.
Do you think Woody’s still holds
its place as a tent pole for the
community?
When people are new in town, they
come to Woody’s. That’s where you
hang out. That’s where you meet
people; that’s where you get your
feet wet in the gay community, as it
were. It’s very well known. And we get
people from all over the world on any
given night. If they’re new in town
There was our 20th anniversary;
I remember that very well. That was
a really wild night. We were very,
very busy. We had a lineup over to
Maitland and beyond. And then there
was the time we had the release party
for Madonna’s Confessions on a Dance
Floor. And that was a really mad night,
because the people from the record
company had a big stretch limo all
painted up like Madonna with all this
about her release, and they parked
in front. There was a big lineup, and
everyone thought that Madonna was
either at Woody’s or coming for this
CD release. As long as that big limo
was outside, you couldn’t move; it was
crazy. Of course, Madonna was never
there. She was never going to be there,
but people never realized. Rumours,
Q
you know. That’s the way it goes.
“Woody’s was the first venue
that gave me a place to perform
and grow my live show, and
I will forever think of it as my
home away from home!”
— Lexi Tellings
“Woody’s staff and clients
always were willing to stand
behind all those that needed the
support. Besides, if they stood
close enough behind, who knows
what great, mutual, sexy pleasures could be had.”
— Patricia Wilson
“Dean and Steven have worked
hard over all these years to keep
it a friendly place, knowing what
to change and mostly what to
keep the same, which has helped
it thrive when so many establishments have come and gone.”
— John Caffery
“OMG, Woody’s is 25? I have been
working there for over 20 years,
so I must have been underage
when they hired me! I have nothing but love and respect for Dean
and Steven and all of the managers and staff who have kept this
place going for this long. Here’s to
another 25!”
— Mark Falco
“I love that Woody’s has reliably
served as a queer community
anchor on an increasingly franchise-dotted strip. Woody’s gives
back, and we should give it up for
Dean and crew in return!”
— Denise Benson
“Even though I went only once
or twice, I always admired Dean
Odorico and his commitment to
balancing business smarts and
community smarts. Not many
attempt that, and even fewer
succeed.”
– Gerald Hannon
“Woody’s opened in 1989 with a
simple mandate: to give back to
the community. And they have.
Dean, Woody’s manager — a
gentle giant with the most twisted sense of humour — has keen
business acumen and deserves
his many accolades. There is one
person at Woody’s who is rarely
given his due and that is Mr Steven Clegg. Alex and Dean have
done some great work, but they
couldn’t have done it without
Steven. I was a night manager
at Woody’s for over eight years.
Those are times I remember
fondly.”
— Crystal Lite
XTRA! OCT 2–15, 2014 23
CELEBRATING 25 YEARS!
To our families, management team, staff,
entertainers, DJs, suppliers, friends, community
and most of all to our patrons...
THANK-YOU, THANK-YOU, THANK-YOU!
Without you we are nothing.
Thanks for 25 most amazing years!
JOIN US
465-467 Church Street, Toronto 416-972-0887 woodystoronto.com
24 OCT 2–15, 2014 XTRA!
Outinthe City
You do drag for the love and maybe a quickie in
the bathroom. Christopher Peterson E19
Disturbia
The next time you’re driving back into the city, take a second
look at the discarded and disused spaces around its edges.
Those empty buildings, fields and parking lots are more
alive than you’d think. Not just a haven for skyrocketing
weeds and ingenious raccoons, they serve as an escape for
suburban teenagers.
“These places become sites for communion and coming
of age,” writer Jordan Tannahill says. “The suburbs are
specifically designed to counter subversion, so those who act
subversively have to create their own spaces. Parents often
see these environments as corrupting. But particularly for
queer teens, they often become community meeting points
and spaces of refuge.”
Concord Floral imagines the goings-on at one such space.
Named for a Vaughan-region greenhouse that sat vacant
for 15 years, the “Twin Peaks–style” tale follows a group of
teens fleeing both societal conventions and a mysterious
skin ailment that seems to be infecting them one by one.
Believing it might be some kind of curse connected to the
disappearance of a girl after a debaucherous field party, they
flock to the ramshackle nursery hoping distance from society
will keep them safe.
Though sexuality is foregrounded, in keeping with teenaged reality, much is left bubbling just below the surface.
Relationships are ambiguous; touches are furtive. Sex is
talked about more than it happens. Though not the defining element, Tannahill’s own experience growing up in an
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HOT CHOCOLATE
play Man 2 Man left off, reconnecting
readers with Damien and Emmanuel:
two guys who met and fell in love at
church, now about to get hitched and
head out on their honeymoon.
The stories, in keeping with
Stephens’s tenets on
erotica, aren’t pure
wank material. His
characters struggle
with family, abuse,
loss, health, history
and cultural identity.
With all those extra
issues, is Dark Hard
Chocolate pure intellectual stimulation or
something you can
genuinely get off to?
“How can you tell a
black gay story without talking about
dick and ass?” Stephens asks with a laugh. “Seriously
though, you should have some lube
and tissues available while reading.”—Chris Dupuis
The Dark Hard Chocolate book
launch is Sun, Oct 12, 8pm, at
Club120, 120 Church St. Followed
by Ol Skool, with DJs Craig Dominic
and Blackcat. club120.ca
TARA NOELLE/MEDIA NEEDS
There’s a definitive line separating
erotica from porn for writer Kwame
Stephens. According to him, it all comes
down to a compelling plot — something he’s aiming for with Dark Hard
Chocolate, his collection of sexy short
stories about ebony
dudes getting it on.
He’s never found
a shortage of black
men in conventional
spank-bank material, but what’s always
been missing, in his
eyes, was a representation of the blackon-black experience
in Toronto. True to
the city’s diversity,
Chocolate features
men from Jamaica,
Ghana, South Africa
and Canada, each at
a different phase in negotiating his
sexuality.
“Street” follows a young guy who
ends up working as a stripper after his
mother finds porn on his phone and
kicks him out. “Thabo’s Secret” looks
at a couple struggling to negotiate
their sexual relationship when one
of them refuses to suck dick. The title
story picks up where Stephens’s 2011
The cast of Concord Floral. ERIN BRUBACHER
Ottawa suburb percolates throughout.
“I had dalliances, but I never actually dated anyone in high
school or had an official relationship,” he says. “My sexual
experiences were always furtive blowjobs in basements illuminated by the Lord of the Rings DVD menu. There was
this sense of getting sex done quickly and quietly because
the partner was always a straight-identified friend. I think
that really informed my views on sexuality, and I had this
idea that queer love was perpetually unrequited. It wasn’t
until I got older I realized healthy, reciprocal relationships
were possible.”—Chris Dupuis
Concord Floral runs Sun, Oct 12–Sun, Oct 26, at
The Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen St W. theatrecentre.org
OPERA RAVE
Gesamtkunstwerk — the German term
for artwork — was used by composer
Richard Wagner to describe the intoxicating combination of drama, music, movement and design that fed his
operas. Luckily for the thousands of
pretty young things who will pack the
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing
Arts, the Canadian Opera Company’s
Operanation: Light up the Night will
channel this spirit of artistic mashups
and put it on fabulous display.
Operanation is the COC’s premier
fundraising event. It has grown from
humble beginnings in 2005 to become
an annual sold-out extravaganza that
routinely raises $100,000 in support
of the Ensemble Studio professional
training program. Since its inception,
the party has drawn influence from
each season’s operas to create a unique,
multidisciplinary party experience.
This year sees Randi Bergman, executive digital editor of Fashion magazine
and co-chair of this season’s fundraiser,
creating a pan-artistic experience for
partygoers. “Fashion is the clearest connector between culture and everyday
life,” she says. “This year’s Operanation brings all of that together pretty
fabulously by utilizing both the [COC’s]
costumes and some of Toronto’s top
design talents in ways that are both
performance-like and wearable for
the guests.” It’s neon ’90s rave revival meets Latin
heat, all inspired by Rossini’s The Barber of Seville (Il barbiere di Siviglia), a
crowd pleaser in the operatic repertoire.
Bergman describes her curatorial vision
for the evening — which includes live
musical performances, fashions from
The Room and installations by Canadian light artist and designer Orest Tataryn — as “Pablo Picasso meets Tracey
Emin,” and she promises a “neon, ravelike atmosphere, with Spanish bits
mixed in through the food, colours and
nods to Cubism.”
And as to the evening’s headlining
performance — which in past years
has featured members of the Ensemble
Studio alongside Broken Social Scene
and performances by Rufus Wainwright
and Arkells? Bergman remains tantalizingly vague, though entirely encouraging. “I will say one thing: Keith
Cole.”—Alistair Newton
Operanation is Thurs, Oct 16, 9pm, at
the Four Seasons Centre, 145 Queen St
W. coc.ca
XTRA! OCT 2–15, 2014 25
Sending
love & light to
on their 2sa5rthy!
Anniver
/TorontoSisters
@TorontoSisters
[email protected] torontosisters.org
If looks could kill
Politics and fashion mix and clash
in a new exhibit at the Design Exchange
FASHION
JOHNNIE WALKER
Can the right outfit start a revolution?
That’s the question posed by Politics
of Fashion | Fashion of Politics, a new
exhibit at the Design Exchange, guestcurated by former Fashion Television
doyenne Jeanne Beker. “The show
opens with some examples of groups
who are vocal about causes related
to clothing, particularly PETA and
Femen, as well as designers who are
particularly active around issues, like
Vivienne Westwood, whose recent
work is drawing attention to climate
change,” says Jeremy Laing, who designed the environment housing the
show. “From there, the exhibit looks at
subcultural movements, starting with
the ’60s youthquake and hippie culture and moving through the decades
to punk, as well as skinhead culture,
exploring the role clothing has played
26 OCT 2–15, 2014 XTRA!
in defining such groups.”
For couture junkies, there’s plenty to
gag over in this exhibit, which features
work by queer fashion giants Jean Paul
Gaultier and Alexander McQueen.
“Gaultier’s work in the show — skirts
for men, underwear as outerwear —
reflects his propensity for subverting
and playing with notions of propriety,
‘good morals’ and ‘good taste,’” Laing
explains. “The McQueen pieces are
used to explore the synthesis of royalist and military influences in the work
of a designer who was, himself, an
anti-royalist and a pacifist.”
While the exhibit features work
by sartorial heavy hitters like Rei
Kawakubo, Issey Miyake, Stella McCartney and Mary Quant, it also saves
room for work by underground icons.
“I particularly love the pieces from
Joey Arias, who sent a jumpsuit he
used to perform in as well as Klaus
Nomi’s space tuxedo costume,” Laing
says. “RuPaul’s red patent-leather Mac
Viva Glam outfit from the ’90s is a treat
to see. Klaus, Joey and Ru are part of
a section that looks at permissiveness around gender play in nightclub
culture.”
And what about that revolution?
Can fashion really effect change, or is
it all just playing dress-up? For Laing,
the answer is clear: “From mayoral
campaign T-shirts to a women’s basketball team pulling out of a competition instead of abandoning their
hijabs, clothing plays an active role in
the sociopolitical landscape.”
Politics of Fashion runs until Sun, Jan
25 at the Design Exchange, 243 Bay
St. dx.org
Decidedly different.
Condominiums at Sherbourne & Bloor.
Clockwise from top: 1960s London,
from the collection of Matt Robinson
and Lena Kim; RuPaul’s Mac Viva
Glam outfit, from 1994; metal gun
dress, by Jeremy Scott. EUGEN SAKHNENKO
STAY CONNECTED. REGISTER TODAY.
The Selby Condos .com
XTRA! OCT 2–15, 2014 27
From gay rage to gay realness
Perfume
Genius goes
pop on his
latest album
PLAYLISP
KEVIN RITCHIE
Many musicians have a
backstage ritual.
Madonna gets a massage and a facial.
The members of Coldplay reportedly
engage in a “quiet and gentle” group
hug. Erykah Badu lubricates her raspy
wail with a bag of salted, plain potato
chips. How does Mike Hadreas get the
engine running pre-concert? By making up some bullshit and taking it to
his boyfriend.
“Before I go onstage, I always pick a
fight with my boyfriend,” the 32-yearold known as Perfume Genius explains,
laughing, over the phone from his home
in Tacoma, Washington. “It’s helpful
because I get anxious. I think he knows
what I’m doing, but I need a little bit of
defiance.”
Hadreas’s Too Bright album is lit by
a similarly rebellious fire, though it
did not start out that way. Initially, the
Seattle-raised singer/songwriter took
a career-minded approach to record
number three. He is ready to settle
down; he recently moved with his boyfriend from Seattle to more affordable
digs in Tacoma, considered one of the
most livable cities in the US.
“I mostly watch Netflix at home, so I
might as well do that in a nicer house,”
he explains.
A full-time career in music was never Hadreas’s intent, but after posting
homemade music videos online in 2010,
he caught the attention of indie label
Matador, which released his debut,
Learning, to critical acclaim. The album
was a collection of sparse piano ballads
that bluntly tackled themes such as gay
sex, addiction, hustling and suicide,
recorded at home as a form of therapy
following a stint in rehab.
He recorded the follow-up, Put Your
Back N 2 It, in a proper studio to give
his striking melodies a greater clarity.
For his third album, he tried to
lighten up the dark subject matter and
downplay the gayness by writing pop
songs with universal (read: commercial) appeal.
“That was a paralyzing thing,” he
admits. “It just didn’t work, and I ended
28 OCT 2–15, 2014 XTRA!
A lot of my
rage comes
from growing
up as a
small-framed,
feminine, weird,
creature-like
person.
up making a darker, more experimental
and harsher album. The weird thing is
I ended up making poppier music than I
had before, even though the intent was
to do the opposite.”
Produced with Portishead’s Adrian Utley and engineer Ali Chant,Too Bright articulates Hadreas’s long-simmering rage
at the very notion of having to water
down his gayness. Swaggering riffs, demonic vocal effects, burbling synths on
songs such as “My Body” and “Longpig”
intermingle with the elegant piano bal-
weird, creature-like person. That didn’t
always go over very well with other
people. It made me feel embarrassed
and ashamed, even.
“But the way that I look at the world
and myself is not working,” he says.
“I don’t want to feel victimized, and
I needed to filter that into something
more empowering. A lot of the music is
defiant towards both myself and other
people at the same time.”
Asked if he is over those feelings of
resentment, Hadreas lowers his voice
sheepishly.
“No,” he replies. “I’m more overly
defensive than I need to be. Nine times
out of 10, you don’t need to have your
guard up, but that one time that you
should’ve and didn’t makes you feel like
you constantly need to be on guard.”
Sometimes he catches himself trying to ease other people’s discomfort
with homosexuality by
camping it up, an urge he
PERFUME GENIUS
satirizes on the fingerSat, Oct 4
snapping “Fool” — the
The Mod Club
722 College St
funkiest Perfume Genius
matadorrecords.com/
song to date.
perfume_genius
“Sometimes people
say things like, ‘I love gay
guys! Like, just in general they’re all
so funny! And they’re so good at doing
hae-yer,’” he says, repeating the word
in his gayest accent to emphasize the
point. “‘Hae-yer!’ All that crap can make
you feel like a non-person.”
The middle part of “Fool” lapses into
an eerie, show-stopping howl that he recorded in a studio lit with candles. “I was
trying to summon up some gay ancestral, spiritual thing,” he says. “That’s,
like, some gay realness in the middle.”
During the sessions in Utley’s studio,
Hadreas experimented with vintage
synths, pitch-shifted vocals and saxophone freak-outs only to edit most of
that down to his preferred two- to threeminute song length.
The studio wizardry gives Too
Bright a more visceral impact than his
previous albums, but not at the expense
of emotion. The challenge now will be
ladry of “No Good” and “All Along.”
conveying that energy onstage. He is
Whereas the first two albums drew touring with a full band and will spend
strength from vulnerability, Too Bright is more time at the front of the stage,
occasionally sneering and confronta- mic in hand. To brush up he has been
tional, much like the female-fronted studying Nina Simone and Karen O
rock act Sleater-Kinney he adored as a performances on YouTube.
teen. “No family is safe when I sashay,”
“I like to see people that have comhe sings on lead single “Queen.”
pletely lost themselves onstage, even if
“Sometimes defiant women were it’s for a split second,” he says. “They’re
the closest I got to hearing some of completely locked into the moment.
my feelings being processed,” he says. That’s what I’ve always wanted to do
“A lot of my rage comes from grow- emotionally, but now I have to get the
ing up as a small-framed, feminine, message across physically.”
E xtralivingtoronto.com
Mortgages
Investors
Group Financial
Services – Kenton
Waterman
416-860-1668
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gesund
416-913-5170
Painting
THE BEST OF GAY & LESBIAN TORONTO
Accommodations
– Ontario
Holiday Inn
holidayinn.com
Accountants
Ms Hema
Murdock, CA
416-696-6653
Susan Calverley,
MBA, MSc, CMA
416-605-1553
Adult
Yonge Cinemas
yongecinemas.com
Advertising
Raymond Helkio
Advertising/
Design
raymondhelkio.com
Automotive
Sales & Leasing
Ken Shaw Lexus
416-776-0055
Bars & Clubs
(Toronto)
Chiropractors
Dental Services
gesund
416-913-5170
Adelaide Dental
416-429-0150
Churches
Broadview
Dental Clinic
416-466-6400
Metropolitan
Community
Church of Toronto
416-406-6228
Clinics
Yonge Wellesley
Medical Clinic
416-960-1441
yongewellesley
medicalclinic.com
Coffee Shops
Fuel Plus
647-352-8807
City of Toronto,
Economic
Development
Division
toronto.ca/business
Counselling
Change4U2
416-827-7578
woodystoronto.com
David Moulton,
MEd, Canadian
Certified
Counsellor
davidmoulton.ca
St Jamestown
Steak & Chops
416-925-7665
Career
Counselling
CareerCycles.com
416-465-9222
Cemeteries
Dr Iudita Costache
– Galleria Dental
416-534-9991
Bryant
Renovations Ltd
Dr Kevin Russelo
& Associates
416-966-0117
Internet
Dr Martin Sterling
416-923-8042
Juice Bars
Fashion
Phillip Coupal
Counselling
416-557-7312
astraflorists.com
Graphic Design
Services
Cosmetic
Dermatology
on Bloor
416-922-6869
Legal Services
Handcrafted
wood furniture
Craig Penney,
Toronto Criminal
Defence Lawyer
416-410-2266
Massage–
Certified/
Registered
gesund
416-913-5170
Meats &
Delicatessens
St Jamestown
Steak & Chops
416-925-7665
THE BEST OF
GAY & LESBIAN
TORONTO
A taste
of Havana
Harvey L Hamburg
416-968-9054
Timothy E Leahy
– Forefront
Migration Ltd
416-226-9889
Astra Florists
Health &
Personal Care
Lawyers
Law Office of
El-Farouk Khaki
416-925-7227
Take a Walk on
the Wildside™
416-921-6112
mixtapestrategy.
com
Juice Box
416-924-4671
Ivan Steele
Law Office
647-342-0568
Tailspin Dog Spa
416-920-7387
Florists
David W
Routledge
(MSW, RSW)
Psychotherapist
416-944-1291
416-260-0818
Squirt
squirt.org
Mixtape Strategy
APRIL–SEPT 2014
St John's Norway
Cemetery and
Crematorium
416-691-2965
Home
Improvement
& Repairs
Dog & Cat
Grooming
Woody’s
and Sailor
416-972-0887
Butchers
The Big Carrot
416-466-2129
Galleria Dental,
Dr Iudita Costache
416-534-9991
Community
Groups &
Services
Health Foods
& Nutrition
Philip Kocev
416-364-2036
Renovations &
Restorations
Bryant
Renovations Ltd
416-260-0818
Newbright
Construction
416-985-8639
Newbright
Painting
416-985-8639
Restaurants
& Cafés
Personal
Trainers
Cora Breakfast
& Lunch
chezcora.com
SKLPT your body
1-866-600-3428
Pet Care
Hair of the Dog
416-964-2708
Tailspin Dog Spa
416-920-7387
Lola’s Kitchen
lolaskitchen.ca
Pharmacies
The Blake House
416-975-1867
Pace Pharmacy
and Compounding
Experts
416-515-7223
The Village
Pharmacy
416-967-9221
Psychotherapy
Bruce M Small,
Conscious SelfIntegration
416-598-4888
Nick Mulé,
PhD, RSW,
Psychotherapist
416-926-9135
Publications
Pink Triangle
Press
416-925-6665
Xtra
416-925-6665
Radio Stations
Proud FM
416-213-1035
Real Estate
Agents
Gaelen Patrick
– Sutton
Group Realty
Systems Inc
416-801-9265
The Churchmouse
& Firkin
416-927-1735
Spa Services
Cosmetic
Dermatology
on Bloor
416-922-6869
Tax Services
CJH Tax Services
647-270-8057
Telecommunications
Acanac
416-849-8530
Veterinarians
Blue Cross
Animal Hospital
416-469-1121
Waterproofing
Waterproof
Masters
905-822-2888
Websites
dailyxtra.com
416-925-6665
Squirt.org
squirt.org
Nicholas Banks
iPro Realty
877-306-4776
The best of gay &
lesbian Toronto —
on your desktop and
your mobile device!
Check out the interactive
digital edition of Xtra Living
at xtralivingtoronto.com
Riverdale
café culture
East-end art
institution
XTRA! OCT 2–15, 2014 29
WHAT'S ON
FOR MORE EVENT LISTINGS, GO TO DAILYXTRA.COM
ART & LITERATURE
Queer Zine Fair
This alternative fair focuses
on the subversive history of
zines and provides a platform
for under-represented folks,
including trans women and
two-spirited people. Sat, Oct 4,
11am–7pm. United Steelworkers
Hall, 25 Cecil St. PWYC–$5.
torontoqueerzinefair.tumblr.com
Nuit Blanche
Hundreds of artists transform
Toronto into an all-night,
multimedia, contemporary art
exhibition. Sat, Oct 4, 6:53pm–
sunrise. scotiabanknuitblanche.ca
Arsenal Author Showcase
Raziel Reid, Vivek Shraya and
Shawn Syms read from and sign
their latest books. Mon, Oct 6, 7pm.
Glad Day Bookshop, 598 Yonge St.
Free. arsenalpulp.com
Stephen Andrews:
Possible Outcomes
An exhibition in two parts: part one
is about finding ways to describe
light using paint; part two is a “sexcelebratory” work commissioned
by the Canadian AIDS Treatment
Information Exchange. Runs Fri,
Oct 10–Sat, Nov 8. Paul Petro
Contemporary Art, 980 Queen St W.
Free. paulpetro.com
Dark Hard Chocolate
Kwame Stephens launches his
new book with an evening of
erotic stories about black men
in Toronto. Sun, Oct 12, 8pm.
Club120, 120 Church St. $10.
darkhardchocolate.com
COMEDY & CABARET
Richard Ryder Live
The 103.9 Proud FM host performs
adult-oriented, gay-centric, curseword-riddled comedy. Fri, Oct
3, 9pm. The Flying Beaver, 488
Parliament St. $15 advance, $20
door. pubaret.com
Singular Sensation: A
Musical-Theatre Open Mic
Jennifer Walls invites amateur
crooners to perform their favourite
songs accompanied by a live band.
Every Monday, 9:30pm–12:30am.
Statlers, 487 Church St. No cover.
statlers.ca
Queer As Fuck: The
Feedback Show
Standup comedians don’t often
know why some of their jokes
get weird responses. This show
helps them sort it out by soliciting
feedback from the audience. Thurs,
Oct 16, 9pm. The Steady, 1051 Bloor
St W. PWYC. thesteadycafe.com
HEALTH & ISSUES
The 519 Legal Clinic
A free, accessible service for lowincome people. Volunteer lawyers
provide legal advice, referrals and
help with forms and letters. The
confidential and private visits
are first-come, first-served. Bring
any necessary documents. Every
Thursday; registration 6–6:30pm.
The 519 Community Centre, 519
Church St. Free. the519.org
underwear or Lycra costumes.
urgetoronto.com
SOY Monday
Night Drop-In
New Wave: Rope
Bondage for Group Play
Queer youth ages 14 to 29 gather
to watch movies, participate in
art projects and workshops, and
chat with Supporting Our Youth’s
community mentors. For more info,
contact [email protected].
Every Monday, 5:30–8pm.
Sherbourne Health Centre, 2nd
floor, 333 Sherbourne St. Free.
soytoronto.org
Men aged 35 and under participate
in a workshop focused on tying
multiple partners together for
everyone’s fucking pleasure.
Sat, Oct 4, 5–8pm. Black
Eagle, 457 Church St. No cover.
blackeagletoronto.com
Japanese Rope Bondage
Workshop with Midori
Kinky folks learn the ins and outs of
rope work from an internationally
renowned author and instructor.
Pre-registration required. Sat,
Oct 4, 7:30–10pm. Come As You
Are, 493 Queen St W. Cost varies.
comeasyouare.com
The Black Queer
Youth Initiative
Black and multiracial youth aged
29 and under who identify as queer
or questioning gather in a safe,
social space. Every Wednesday,
6:30–8:30pm. Sherbourne Health
Centre, 333 Sherbourne St. Free.
soytoronto.org
Pup Night’s
Sixth Anniversary
(42 in Dog Years)
LGBT Peer Support
Drop-In Group
Adorable puppies and their
handlers gather for belly rubs
and puppy-on-puppy romping.
Thurs, Oct 9, 9pm–midnight. Black
Queer people with mood disorders
gather for support and discussion. If
the building door is locked, press the
button under the intercom near the
wheelchair entrance. Wed, Oct 15,
7–9pm. Mood Disorders Association
of Ontario, 36 Eglinton Ave W, Ste
602. Free. mooddisorders.ca
Possible
Outcomes
— Paul Petro
Contemporary
Art, Fri, Oct 10
LEISURE & PLEASURE
STEPHEN ANREWS
ProArteDanza 2014
The dance company celebrates its
10th anniversary with a stunning
retrospective that features the Dora
Award–winning ...In Between... Runs
until Sat, Oct 4, various times. Fleck
Dance Theatre, Harbourfront Centre,
207 Queens Quay W. $20–40.
proartedanza.com
Queer Slowdance:
Nuit Noir
Booty-shakers make dance dates
with one another, while designated
dancers coax out the wallflowers.
Fri, Oct 3, 9:30pm–3am. Gladstone
Hotel, 1214 Queen St W. $10
includes dance-card booklet.
gladstonehotel.com
I’m Sexy
and I Know It
The Rose Centre for Love, Sex and
Disability hosts a night of festivities
that includes a fashion show, a
burlesque performance and a
silent auction. Sun, Oct 5, 6–10pm.
Buddies in Bad Times, 12 Alexander
St. No cover. therosecentre.ca
Pup Night — Black
Eagle, Thurs, Oct 9
TONY FONG
Rainbow Toastmasters
Open House
An opportunity to learn about
the Toastmasters program and
club by socializing and observing
one of its meetings. Mon, Oct 6,
6:30pm. Metropolitan Community
Church, 115 Simpson Ave. Free.
rainbow.toastmastersclub.org
Board Games Night
The irretrievably geeky gather for
a night of horror-themed board
and card games. Sat, Oct 11, 7pm–
midnight. Glad Day Bookshop, 598
Yonge St. $6 before 9:30pm, $3
after. facebook.com/torontogaymers
Nagata Shachu: Kaiso
Toronto’s preeminent taiko drum
ensemble performs live. The event
also marks the release of the group’s
third DVD. Sat, Oct 18, 8pm. Fleck
Dance Theatre, Harbourfront Centre,
207 Queens Quay W. $25–35.
nagatashachu.com
SOY’s Fierce
15th Bowlathon
Bowling for a cause with prizes,
raffles, food and friends. Sat, Oct
25, 1–4pm. Bowlerama West, 5429
Dundas St W. For more info, visit
soytoronto.org.
THEATRE
The Importance of
Being Earnest
Full of biting social commentary
disguised as triviality, Oscar Wilde’s
comedy about two Victorian
aristocrats trying to escape their
social burdens has stood the test of
time. Runs until Sat, Oct 4, various
showtimes. Hart House, 7 Hart
House Circle. $10–28. harthouse.ca
Freda and Jem’s
Best of the Week
When two women who raised a
family together split up, their family
discovers that love doesn’t have
to end at divorce, but it does have
to change. Runs until Sun, Oct 5,
various showtimes. Buddies in Bad
Times, 12 Alexander St. PWYC–$37.
buddiesinbadtimes.com
Wicked
Long before Dorothy drops in, two
girls meet in the Land of Oz. One is
smart, fiery and misunderstood; the
other is beautiful and popular — the
untold story about the witches of Oz
returns. Runs until Sun, Nov 2, various
showtimes. Ed Mirvish Theatre, 244
Victoria St. $36–150. mirvish.com
Stupefied
Comedian Paul Hutcheson
workshops his new solo cabaret
show. Runs Thurs, Oct 9–Sat, Oct
11, 8pm. The Box Toronto, 103-89
Niagara St. $15, $12 arts workers and
students.
Evita
SEX
Urge Sex Maze
While wandering the sex maze,
guys enjoy glimpses of soccer hunks
and Spider-Man (or some slutty
approximation). Every Thursday,
5pm–midnight. Urge, 199 Church
St. Free entry for guys in sportswear,
30 OCT 2–15, 2014 XTRA!
The hit musical about Eva Perón,
who used her charisma not only to
ascend to the presidential mansion,
but to win the hearts of her people
as a champion of the poor. Runs
Thurs, Oct 16–Sun, Nov 23, various
showtimes. Lower Ossington
Theatre, 100A Ossington Ave. $50–
60. lowerossingtontheatre.com
CLUB SCENE
Thurs, Oct 2
Crews & Tangos Thursday Beauty
& The Bitch, with Daytona Bitch and
Katinka Kature, at 9pm; DJ Craig
Dominic in Tangos, and Vocal Rehab
karaoke with Elyse in the Zone,
both at 10pm; Drama Queens, with
Ivory Towers and guest, at 11:30pm.
Crews & Tangos, 508 Church St.
crewsandtangos.com
Random Play DJ Dwayne Minard
spins disco, yacht rock, new wave
and classic rock for the queer-east
peeps. 10pm. WAYLA, 996 Queen
St E. No cover. facebook.com/
waylabarnounge
Fri, Oct 3
Butch Femme Salon: Fantasies
and Fairytales Titus Androgynous
and Belle Jumelles take a trip to
fairy-tale lands of fearsome beasts
and seductive sirens. DJ Linguist
plays tribal tech, nu disco and
house for trans, two-spirit, femme
and butch folks and more. 8pm–
2am. Buddies, 12 Alexander St. $10.
buddiesinbadtimes.com
Big Primpin’ DJs Kevin Ritchie,
Max Mohenu and Blackcat spin
homo-rific hip hop and R&B
for the west-end queers. 10pm.
Wrongbar, 1279 Queen St W. $5.
facebook.com/bigprimpin
Out and Out Fundraiser DJ Mark
Falco spins retro to raise money
for the LGBT activities club. 10pm.
WAYLA, 996 Queen St E. $5.
facebook.com/waylabarnounge
Woof Bearcode hosts a bears’
night the first and third Friday
of every month. 10pm. Black
Righteous Reunion Gavin Bradley
and Dwayne Minard reunite for
a live DJ set. 10pm. WAYLA, 996
Queen St E. $5. facebook.com/
waylabarnounge
Bad Tuck: Attack of the Nob
Gobbler Judy Virago and Igby
Lizzard host a Thanksgiving
festivity, featuring performances by
Buzz Hunneedew and Champagna
Enemea. DJ Aeryn Pfaff on decks.
10:30m. The Beaver, 1192 Queen
St W. $5, no cover in turkey drag.
beavertoronto.ca
10:30pm. Fly 2.0, 8 Gloucester
St. No cover for first 150 before
11:30pm, $10 before 1am, $15 after.
flyyyz.com
Tapette: Edition Nuit Blanche
DJ Phil V spins French disco, house
and pop for French boys alongside a
special art installation: a giant penis
made from baguettes. Hercules &
Love Affair ticket-holders get in free.
10:30. Henhouse, 1532 Dundas St
W. $5.
Sun, Oct 12
Haus 101 DJ Relentless spins a
lesson in house music, with all
donations benefiting the Toronto
People with AIDS Foundation.
8pm. WAYLA, 996 Queen St
E. No cover. facebook.com/
waylabarnounge
Sun, Oct 5
Woody’s Sunday The Hollywoody
Broadway Show, hosted by Miss
Conception, at 6pm; Old School,
hosted by Georgie Girl with Brooke
Lynn Hytes and Carlotta Carlisle,
at 9pm; Five Smokin’ Hot Divas,
hosted by Georgie Girl, with Devine
Darlin, Cassandra Moore, Scarlett
Bobo and Vitality Black performing,
at 11pm. DJ Blue Peter works the
decks. Woody’s, 467 Church St. No
cover. woodystoronto.com
The Danny Show Danny
Adhim hosts a night that
sees seven fresh
standup acts taking
the stage. 7pm. 120
Diner, 120 Church
St. No cover.
club120.ca
Crews & Tangos
Sunday Diva
Supreme, with
Michelle Ross
and Alisha Van
Horne, at 8:30pm;
Sultry Sunday,
with Farra N Hyte and
guest, at 11:30pm.
DJ Blackcat at Go Hard:
Noir — Club120, Sun, Oct 12
CHRISTOPHER CUSHMAN
Crews & Tangos, 508 Church St.
crewsandtangos.com
Mon, Oct 6
Woody’s Monday Blue
Peter takes the DJ/
VJ deck for the
dodgeball league’s
theme-night party.
8pm. Woody’s, 467
Church St. No cover.
woodystoronto.com
Tues, Oct 7
Tits & Dicks Mandy
Goodhandy hosts the
sexy T-girl strip night,
with pole, lap and VIP
dances all night. 9pm.
Club120, 120 Church
St. club120.ca
Crews & Tangos Tuesday Do
Gooders, with Carlotta Carlisle and
Katherine Hytes Dior, at 9pm; Vocal
Rehab karaoke, with Elyse, at 10pm;
Industry Night, with Brooke Lynn
Hytes and Vitality Black, at 11:30pm.
Crews & Tangos, 508 Church St. No
cover. crewsandtangos.com
Bingo with a Twist DManda
Tension and the Gay Squad host a
weekly evening of prizes, surprises
and big bingo daubers. 9pm.
Pegasus, 489B Church St. No cover.
pegasusonchurch.com
Thurs, Oct 9
Woody’s Thursday The Absolut
Best Chest Contest, with Sofonda
Cox and Cassandra Moore
performing before bringing
the boys onstage for a chance
to win $300 in cash prizes. DJ
Mark Falco on decks. Midnight.
Woody’s, 467 Church St. No cover.
woodystoronto.com
Daddy Next Door DJs Dwayne
Minard and Mike B spin for
beefy, house-loving gents
and the boys who lust after
them. 10pm. WAYLA, 996
waylabarnounge
Fly 2.0 White Party Local DJs get
decked out in the angelic colour
for devilish boys on the dancefloor
in celebration of Nuit Blanche.
DJ Linguist at Cherry Bomb
— Round, Sat, Oct 4
Mon, Oct 13
Witchness Woman’s Special DJs
Sammy Royale and Nino Brown
can’t wait for Halloween, with a
performance by Allysin Chaynes.
10pm. Round, 152A Augusta Ave.
$6. roundvenue.com
Crews & Tangos Monday Glitz
& Glam, with Carlotta Carlisle and
Katinka Kature bringing the bling
to the drag stage, at 9pm; Dirty
Monday, with Daytona Bitch and
guest tarnishing the wholesome
crowd, at 11:30pm. Crews &
Tangos, 508 Church St. No cover.
crewsandtangos.com
Trade: Wrestling Singlet Party
Tues, Oct 14
Karaoke with Foofer Belt out
one of the thousands of songs
to choose from. 10pm. WAYLA,
996 Queen St E. No cover.
facebook.com/waylabarnounge
Birkenrock Daniel McIntyre and
David Van Poppel present a night
of female alternative music and
new jams. 11pm–2:30am. The
Beaver, 1192 Queen St W. No cover.
beavertoronto.ca
Cherry Bomb Launch Party
Resident DJs Cozmic Cat and
Denise Benson join DJ Linguist on
decks. Performances by Taliya,
Isabella Hoops and Roxanne
Luchak help launch CB’s new
home in Kensington Market. 10pm–
3am. The Round, 152A Augusta
Ave. $5 before 11pm, $8 after.
roundvenue.com
Jockstrap: XXX Men Only Edition
Ryan Russell hosts an evening of
international pornstars performing
onstage, with DJ Deko-ze spinning
house and EDM for the sexy guys.
10pm. Club120, 120 Church St.
$10, $15 VIP. facebook.com/
jockpartyto
Sat, Oct 11
Wed, Oct 8
Sat, Oct 4
Fri, Oct 10
Dirty Dishes: An Audio-Visual
Orgasm DJ Steven Knight spins,
with VJ Marc Joseph working
the screens. 10pm. WAYLA, 996
waylabarnounge
Daddy Cool: ’80s Edition DJ
Joe Black spins unadulterated
retro, no covers, no remixes
and no remakes. 10pm. Black
Her: The Toronto Chainsaw
MassacHer Edition DJs Kris
Steeves and Omgblog.com
throw down house and dark disco
while the moon shines full. Hosted
by LeatHERface. 11pm. La Perla,
783 Queen St W. $5. herherher.com
Go Hard: Noir DJs Pleasure, DC
and Lissa Monet spin the birthday
beats for DJ Blackcat’s big day,
with hot ’90s throwback sets
throughout the night. 10:30pm.
Club120, 120 Church St. $10 before
midnight, $15 until 1am, $20 after.
club120.ca
Allysin Chaynes at Witchness
Woman’s Special — Round,
Sat, Oct 11
DJs Frustra, David Picard and
Scooter McCreight spin for the men
getting down and dirty on the floor.
10pm. Black Eagle, 457 Church
St. $5 before midnight, $10 after.
facebook.com/getsometrade
Pitbull: Slapshot DJ Johnny OC
spins for the queer hockey players
from all over competing in the
Eastern Canada Cup tournament.
Strippers and go-go dancers play
with their sticks and pucks at the
hockey-themed party. 10pm. The
Courthouse, 57 Adelaide St E. $15
advance, $20 door. pitbullevents.ca
Fubar That’s Fucked Up Beyond
All Repair, with DJs Dynamix,
Havil and Kamsy spinning for the
Nigerian Independence Day bash.
10pm. Club120, 120 Church St. $20.
club120.ca
Varsity Tuesday Sofonda Cox
hosts the amateur So You Think
You Can Strip? competition, with
$100 in cash up for grabs. 11pm.
Remington’s, 379 Yonge St. $5
before 11pm, $7 after; no cover with
student ID before 11pm, $2 after.
remingtons.com
Wed, Oct 15
Latin Live The best of Toronto’s
Latin talent perform music, song,
comedy and more onstage every
Wednesday. 7pm. 120 Diner, 120
Church St. No cover. club120ca
Crews & Tangos Wednesday Back
End Burlesque, with Daytona Bitch
and Red Herring taking it in the rear,
at 9pm; Soul Sistas, with Michelle
Ross and Jada Hudson bringing the
soulful sounds, at 11:30pm. Crews
& Tangos, 508 Church St. No cover.
crewsandtangos.com
Zipperz Wednesday The Drag
Kings of Toronto show what men
are all about every week. 11pm.
Zipperz-Cellblock, 72 Carlton St.
No cover. facebook.com/zipperz
Submit your event listing to [email protected].
Deadline for the Oct 16 issue is Tues, Oct 7.
XTRA! OCT 2–15, 2014 31
1
2
XPOSED
ANNA POURNIKOVA PHOTOS BY BECCA LEMIRE
4
3
5
7
1E Nancy Bocock is hosting a
karaoke night at The Steady.
It’s called Screech Karaoke
and it’s free. They are also
serving $4 screech and
Cokes all night. If you are a
Downhomer, then you know
that screech is something
that mainlanders buy at the
liquor store. It’s made in
Jamaica and accredited to
Newfoundland because of
the hellfire we’re known for
drinking. It’s good with Coke
and will definitely get the
tunes rollin’ right off your
tongue.
2E Did I mention there is a
nine-inch-thick songbook
at Screech Karaoke? This is
the look on Erwin, Alexia and
Kim’s faces when they found
out that same fact. (Alexia is
not that impressed.)
3E Is it weird if I spend a
moment just gushing all
over Robbie here? I mean,
I’m pretty sure that Robbie
is Alexia’s babe, but my lord,
the hot factor is on super high
there. Hard-nipple city.
4E Here’s a group shot to
round it out: from left to
right, Brodie, Caitlin, Tynan
and Brianna. It’s not every
day that you can get a group
shot where every single
person has a non-traditional
name. This is the holy grail of
party shots right here, and,
coincidentally, there is also
karaoke.
5E There’s a Queer Slowdance
monthly that’s started at The
Gladstone (the next one is Oct
3), and now we can all enjoy
the cheesy hits from the ages,
just like Geoff and Peter, all
close and smiling and dreamy.
6E The best part about the
Queer Slowdance party is that
it’s listed as a “straight-ish
slowdance.” Straight to bed is
probably more like it. Sol is
the lovely man who works the
door, taking your money so you
can sweat all over each other
on the dancefloor. He’s a king.
7E So, The Drake has started a
weekly Tuesday bingo night
that I’m sure will be fun.
Someone had to pick up where
the Living Well left off when
their long-running night died
a slow and painful death. The
regular hosts are Scarlett
(on the left) and Judy (on the
right), but Allysin was filling in for Judy on the launch
night . . . although Judy still
attended. With these ladies at
the helm, I’m sure it’s going to
be a blast.
8E Look how happy Shana
and Sara are, playing bingo
at the Drake. Also, I notice
Shana is wearing one of those
plastic chokers that were
popular in the 1990s and have
recently come back into fashion. I’m just gonna come out
and say it: I like it better the
second time around. Shana
makes that shit look good.
8
6
32 OCT 2–15, 2014 XTRA!
Xposed appears in every other issue of Xtra. For this
week’s Deep Dish column, by Rolyn Chambers, go to
dailyxtra.com.
ANNUAL LGBT TOURISM CONFERENCE
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Everything gay, every day.
DAILY
dailyxtra.com
XTRA! OCT 2–15, 2014 33
A world of gay adventure
Travel
Desert oasis is more
than just ‘gay and grey’
Palm
Springs
JEFFREY LUSCOMBE
What comes to mind when you think of
Palm Springs? For most, it’s palm trees,
sun, swimming pools and mid-century
architecture. Then, of course, there is
the large LGBT community and the
huge number of retirees — affectionately known as the “gay and grey.”
Gay Palm Springs
Palm Springs has a lot to offer the LGBT
traveller looking for a hot time in the
desert. In fact, the town’s gay roots go
back almost 100 years, to 1919, when
Chicago heiress Lois Kellogg (eccentric
bohemian and rumoured lesbian) swept
in to start construction on an enormous (though, sadly, never completed)
Moroccan-Persian-style home.
Since then, gays and lesbians have
been travelling to this desert oasis
in search of sun-drenched same-sex
frolicking. After all, not only did Rock
Hudson have a house here (far from the
prying eyes of his movie studio), übergay Liberace owned two!
Today, Palm Springs has one of the
largest LGBT communities in the United States. And these folks love sharing
hot fun with visitors. What are you
into? Over the course of the year, Palm
Springs probably has something to suit
the taste of any LGBT traveller: a White
Party in April, the Film Noir Festival
in May, the Cinema Diverse Gay and
Lesbian Film Festival in September,
Pride weekend in early November and
Leather Pride in mid-November.
34 OCT 2–15, 2014 XTRA!
If you head to Palm Springs during one of the non-festival weeks, you
will still find lots to do after the sun
goes down. After a good meal at one
of the many restaurants downtown,
hit one — or more — of the gay bars
in town. The bar scene seems to start
earlier than other cities, but make sure
you hit Street Bar, Hunters video bar,
Score: The Game Bar, and The Barracks and Tool Shed (for the leather and
denim crowd). All have specialty nights
throughout the week.
Let it all hang out
One benefit of a Palm Springs holiday is
that you can pack light. Very light. Back
in the days when it was the winter playground of Hollywood stars like Frank
Sinatra and Marlene Dietrich, resorts
(with 20 or 25 rooms surrounding the
ever-present pool) were built to accommodate all the families that flocked to
town. Today many of these old resorts
are gay-owned and have been transformed into men-only, clothing-optional
guesthouses. In fact, no other city in the
world has as many gay clothing-optional
resorts as Palm Springs.
So those inclined to spend their holidays in the buff can strip down and enjoy
the sun without the fear of tan lines.
Clothing-optional resorts are gated
and walled, so you won’t have to worry
about shocking anyone who might be
strolling by. And yes, local drugstores
carry 100 SPF sunscreen.
Popular gay clothing-optional guesthouses include Escape Resort, Vista
Work on your tan line if you like, but no other city in the world has as many gay clothing-optional resorts as Palm Springs.
PALM SPRINGS DESERT RESORT COMMUNITIES CONVENTION AND VISITORS AUTHORITY
Clockwise from left: Delos Van Earl’s Jungle Red sculpture graces the entrance
to Warm Sands, the most vibrant gay neighbourhood in Palm Springs; for
shopping, El Paseo is the Rodeo Drive of Palm Springs; Miller House, designed
by architect Richard Neutra and built of glass and steel, is a great example of
Desert Modernism; the Joshua tree is a common sight in the desert.
SCOTT BRASSART
Grande Resort, CCBC, Bearfoot Inn
and La Joya Inn. Many rooms also
include kitchens, private verandas,
continental breakfasts and WiFi. Some
of the resorts have day passes, so decide
before you reserve if you want to stay
in a place that allows non-guests to use
the facilities (for instance, CCBC sells
12-hour day passes). However, the practice does allow you to check out some
of the other clothing-optional resorts
for a day visit.
For the ladies
For the past 24 years, lesbians have descended upon Palm Springs each April
for their own brand of entertainment.
Called “the biggest all-girl event in the
world,” the Club Skirts Dinah Shore
Weekend (better known as The Dinah)
coincides with the Ladies Professional
Golf Association’s Kraft Nabisco Championship tournament (formerly the
Dinah Shore Golf Championship).
Some of the events scheduled to get
the ladies’ juices flowing during The
Dinah are a comedy night, a film festival,
pool parties, celebrity poker and ( just
in case you boys thought this was your
domain) a women’s White Party. And
though many larger cities do not have
even one hotel dedicated to the lesbian
traveller, Palm Springs can boast two:
Casitas Laquita and Queen of Hearts
Resort.
For the greys
The fact is, a lot of older people have
chosen to live in Palm Springs because
of the year-round warm weather and
the great number of leisure activities.
According to the 2010 census, 26.5% of
residents were 65 years of age or older
and the median age was 51.6 years. This
is not South Beach, folks.
Still, older people, both gay and
straight, are part of the charm. You
will find a lot of friendly people and less
attitude here than in many other gay
destinations. Palm Springs welcomes
everyone.
Other attractions
Palm Springs is famous for its large
number of Mid-Century Modern
homes, and guided tours of these buildings are available year-round. But you
can always just stroll around the downtown yourself to get a flavour of great
architecture by modernist masters such
as Richard Neutra, John Lautner, Donald Wexler, Albert Frey and William F
Cody. Palm Springs Modernism Week
is held every February to celebrate the
city’s architecture.
For those looking to escape their
resort for a few hours or days, nearby
Joshua Tree National Park is a great
place to enjoy camping, hiking and
climbing. The forest covers a land area
of 790,636 acres, or an area slightly
larger than Rhode Island. A large part
of the park (429,690 acres) has been
designated a wilderness area.
If you find the lure of the snowcapped
mountains too strong to avoid, jump on
the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. Described as the “world’s largest rotating
tramcar,” it will take you on a breathtaking journey up the cliffs of Chino
Canyon. The ride from Valley Station
(elevation 800 metres) to the Mountain
Station (elevation 2,600 metres) takes
10 minutes.
Weather
Over the course of a typical year, the
temperature in Palm Springs ranges
from 7 Celsius to 41. The warm season
typically lasts from early June to the
end of September, with an average
daily high of 36, while the cold season
lasts from the end of November until
the first of March and has an average
daily high of 24.
XTRA! OCT 2–15, 2014 35
BOOKING DEADLINE: WED, OCT 8 @ 1PM
Classifieds
To place an ad, call 416-925-6665 x0
or book your line classified at
classifi[email protected]
ANNOUNCEMENTS
NOTICES
Married, Separated or
Divorced Gay Father?
We’re here to support you
on your journey.
Our meetings are informal,
FRQÀGHQWLDODQGKHOSIXO
Gay Fathers meet the second
and fourth Thursday of every
month at 8pm
at the 519 Church Street
Community Centre.
www.gayfathers-toronto.com
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
GROUPS
COUNSELLING
ENJOY COOKING!
“Out-in-the-Kitchen” a small
group of men who meet
socially monthly to cook, learn,
sample & share recipes are
seeking a few new members.
Details:
[email protected]
Counselling + Coaching + Bodywork
Communication — Relationship — Life Skills
Gay Men — Male Couples
$ZDNHQ6WXGLR
416-557-7312 — [email protected]
www.phillipcoupal.ca
PLEASE RECYCLE THIS PAPER!
PERSONAL
EROTIC MASSAGE
EXPERIENTIAL
EMBODIED
EROTIC EXPLORATIONS
for Men
Weekend Touch Explorations
Full-Day Erotic Experiments
Afternoon Touch Exchanges
Explore & Experience
Erotic Sensual Touch
Group or Individual
Sessions
CLEANERS
HOME, CONDO & OFFICE
CLEANERS
call Tomas - 416.878.9527
FULLY BONDED AND INSURED
visit: www.ecoscleaning.com
“It’s a year of world pride! get
your home in shape with
CondoFresh:
cleaning/organizing/staging.
We take pride in your home.
Contact [email protected]/
416-827-7965
MODELS & ESCORTS
BOYS R US
A SMALL BUT superb selection
of young, fresh, honest faces
for your erotic pleasures. Try us
first and you won’t be disappointed.
416-469-8144.
NEW THOUGHT THERAPY
Personalized Effective
Conversations.
Depression, Anxiety, Gender,
Sexuality, Life/Executive
Coaching
Todd Kaufman,
Psychotherapist
1-800-699-3396
Genesissquared.com. See our
ad in this issue of Xtra
PLEASE
RECYCLE
THIS PAPER!
REAL ESTATE
REAL ESTATE AGENT
[email protected]
www.phillipcoupal.ca
MOVERS
Craig Head Specializing in
Condos Bosley Real Estate
Ltd., Brokerage
www.craighead.ca
7 in 10
readers use
Xtra to locate
gay-friendly
businesses.
HOMES/ACREAGE FOR SALE
CAPTIVATING
CONTEMPORARY RES
$2,680,000
73 Heathdale Road wknd 244pm- . Across from park and
ravine - exquisitely designed
+ renovated, 3+ b edrooms,
luxurious ens. baths, home
gym, wine cellar, elegant wood
veneers+ Brazilian hdwd.
Custom b/ins in bdrms. l-level
w/o to pool + gazebo. Ideal
home for entertaining.
Robert Merrick/Marilyn
Merrick - 416-488-2875.
Manhattan Moving Services
Toronto's Award Winning Gay Owned Moving Company
manhattanmovingservice.ca
416.259.2181
HAIR/SKIN & BEAUTY
WWW.GANYMEDE.CA
Professional hair removal by
certified specialist. Waxing,
electrolysis and laser. Clean,
private,
downtown location. By
appointment only. Call Darcy at
416-979-8801.
LEGAL SERVICES
ARRESTED?
CHARGED?
AGGRESSIVE
CRIMINAL
DEFENCE
416.410.2266
PLEASE RECYCLE THIS PAPER!
MEDICAL
YONGE WELLESLEY MEDICAL
CLINIC
Yonge Wellesley Medical Clinic
100-40 Wellesley St. East
Now Accepting Patients
STI Testing, HIV Primary Care,
Hepatitis A,B,C
Diabetes, Quit Smoking,
Fibromyalgia
Walk in Today
416-960-1441
yongewellesleymedicalclinic.com
CraigPenney.com
BE BOLD!
Bold your line classified.
El-Farouk
Khaki
Barrister & Solicitor
Refugee & Immigration Law
5FMt'BY
FMöO!SPHFSTDPNtFMGBSPVL@MBX!ZBIPPDB
BY APPOINTMENT ONLY
HEALTH & FITNESS
REGISTERED MASSAGE
Japanese
Male RMT
416-804-9248
#news #arts
#travel #events
Deep tissue to relaxation massage by
a professionally trained RMT. Covered
by extended health plans for massage
treatment.
Sanji Masunaga, Wellesley + Jarvis area
XTRA
OFFERS
FREQUENCY
DISCOUNTS.
Contact us
to learn more!
Everything gay, every day.
36 OCT 2–15, 2014 XTRA!
4SEASONS MASSAGE
THERAPY & WAXING
Charles Guo, RMT Registered
Massages, Waxing Hair Removal. Receipt for massage insurance. First Time Client 20%
off waxing.
40 Wellesley St E, Ste 201.
By appointment
416-944-3784
4seasonsmassage.ca
RELAXATION
Massage Buffet
Massage: traditional,
anal/prostate, & Taoist Erotic.
Breath orgasms. Sex and Life
Coach. Paul Barber
647-821-3131
canadian bodyworker.com
MASSAGE CERTIFIED
KEVIN SHORTT MASSAGE
and Yoga Therapy: sensual,
intimate bodywork with
stretching. $15 off First Time
Clients! Check out my
website:
www3.sympatico.ca/kshortt
416-961-8064
FULL BODY MASSAGE $60
/1hr - $90/$1.5hr. Enjoy a
medium to deep pressure
massage for a complete
relaxation of the body. Body
waxing and trimming also
available. Mon-Sun 11 am to
9pm. Call or text Marcos
647-881-1545.
[email protected]
www.marcosmassagespa.com
LIKE us on Facebook! facebook.com/dailyxtra
XTRA HOT
DRASKO
BOGDANOVIC
Pride Toronto
co-chair to
leave board
this fall
dailyxtra.com
NAME: WILLIAM HINES
AGE: 34 SIGN: ARIES
A proud trans man and an avid snowboarder, William is a real wild child who
thrives on adventure: “Anything from swimming with sharks, dog sledding
in the mountains, ATV riding in an Egyptian desert, going way too fast in a
Ferrari Spider convertible or winter camping in a yurt,” he says. “And these are
the PG-13 stories.” He’s equally daring with his sex life, having done the deed
in places like “a tennis court in broad daylight, a New York subway train and a
Greyhound bus.”
William mentions Sweaty Betty’s, The Beaver and an equal mix of
Hanlan’s Point and Trinity Bellwoods in the summer as his favourite
hangouts in the city. His favourite quote? “Live the full life of the mind,
exhilarated by the romance of the unusual,” from Ernest Hemingway.
To comment on or become an Xtra Hot guy or gal, email Drasko at [email protected].
The best of gay and lesbian
Toronto — on your desktop
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xtralivingtoronto.com
XTRA! OCT 2–15, 2014 37
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38 OCT 2–15, 2014 XTRA!
XTRA! OCT 2–15, 2014 39
SALAH BACHIR PRESENTS
AN EXCEPTIONAL EVENING WITH
AND VERY SPECIAL GUEST
THEO
TAMS
WINNER OF THE 6 SEASON
TH
OF CANADIAN IDOL
TH
SUNDAY
OCTOBER
19
THE 519 BALLROOM, 519 CHURCH STREET
SOLD OUT!
Thanks to the extraordinary leadership of our Honourary Patron Salah Bachir,
The 519’s Annual Gala is now sold out. Many thanks to the following
individuals, corporations and foundations for helping us raise vital new
resources in support of The 519’s year-round programs and services:
PRESENTING SPONSOR:
ENTERTAINMENT SPONSOR:
SPONSOR:
SPONSOR:
SPONSOR:
Frank Toskan and
Darren Zakreski
SPECIAL THANKS:
CIBC ' Kate Alexander Daniels and David Daniels ' Daniel Greenglass and Joe Brennan ' Mantella Corporation ' Manulife Financial
Nancy’s Very Own Foundation ' RBC and RBC Foundation ' TD Financial Group

Our toast to 25 years of Woody`s E17–24

Transcription

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