‘TOO CRUISY,’ YOU SAY?
Following complaints that the last women’s bathhouse night was “too cruisy,” organizers tried to make the Pride week Pussy Palace more playful.
The group sex room, the porn viewing room and the SM remained; a temple priestess and lapdancers offered their services, and Polaroids were available to capture pussy pleasure on film.
New games were introduced at the Jun 23 Club Toronto gig: charades, a pool event that involved swimming with a condom in your mouth, and deep throating the dildo harnessed between splayed legs at the other end. Cupid was on site, assigning each woman a number (for private messages to be left).
While these games nurtured play, the night had a high school house party giggle-wink atmosphere about it. Fetish-clad and naked women were few.
There was a no smoking rule (making for a chatty smoking area by the pool). And the DJs of the first two Pussy Palaces were traded in for blasters.
“I was in the middle of this really hot scene with this sexy girl,” says one attendee. “There I am, whipping her, and suddenly our really intense experience is interrupted by the Indigo Girls singing ‘Closer To Fine.’ We both burst out laughing. It was really ridiculous. And though we managed to continue with what we were doing, I just kept thinking, ‘Could someone please flip the fucking tape?'”
– Lisa Foad
PRIDE & REMEMBRANCE
This year’s Pride And Remembrance Run raised more than $36,000 for two community groups. And the money came from 706 runners in the Jun 26 fundraiser.
The cash will be divided between The David Kelley Lesbian And Gay Counselling Program and Parents, Families And Friends Of Lesbians And Gays (Toronto).
Here’s a look at the stats.
Fastest Man (Open): Paul Kemp, covered the 5km with a blistering 15 minutes, 36 seconds result, shaving over a minute off last year’s record. (Christo Penelski, last year’s fastest man in the open category placed third in 16′ 22″.)
Fastest Woman (Open): Jennifer Drynan in 18 minutes, 11 seconds.
Fastest Man (50-plus): Robert Moore in 17′ 16″.
Fastest Woman (50-plus): Nancy Roxborough in 27′ 02″.
Participants came from Alberta, British Columbia, California, the District Of Columbia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Nova Scotia, New York and Quebec. There was a major contingent from Rochester.
THE POLS
A handful of politicians showed up for the Pride parade on Jun 27.
They included federal Health Minister Allan Rock (Etobicoke), who voted last month to restrict marriage to heterosexual unions.
Other federal MPs included Carolyn Bennett (St Paul’s) and Bill Graham (Toronto Centre-Rosedale), who both voted against the Reform Party’s bigoted motion.
Provincial Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty marched with new gay ghetto MPP George Smitherman and fellow Queen’s Park Grits Dominic Agostino (Hamilton East), David Caplan (Don Valley East), Claudette Boyer (Ottawa Vanier) and Michael Bryant (St Paul’s).
Tory Chris Stockwell (Etobicoke Centre’s new provincial labour minister) was also listed as participating in the parade, according to a guide prepared by Smitherman’s office.
City councillors included Kyle Rae, Olivia Chow and Pam McConnell.
RISE UP!
A small group of pedestrians and cyclists gave the cops what for on Pride weekend.
“We heard all these people screaming. ‘Let him go!'” says Ken Popert, the executive director of Pink Triangle Press (which publishes Xtra). Officers had stopped a cyclist for going through a stop sign, but a crowd had surrounded the police car.
The incident, at the corner of Jarvis and Cawthra Square, occurred late Friday afternoon (with cop car number 5282).
“They finally surrendered and let the guy out,” says Popert of the police.
Then those assembled all shouted: “Happy Pride Day!”
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