It’s that time of year again!

The first mainstream press story about the festivities planned for this year’s Toronto Pride events came out today, and you can already see the conservatives fuming over government subsidies for “Beef Balls” in the comments sections. Still, good on conxity.com and the Ontario government for realizing the tourism potential of Pride.

Buddies in Bad Times Theatre opened the latest Sky Gilbert play I HAVE AIDS! this week. The play, which stars gay comedian Gavin Crawford, promises to be an unflinching examination of AIDS and gay love in the 21st century. Bizarrely, both Buddies web site and this Torontoist post about the play deem it necessary to inform their readers that Gilbert is HIV-negative, as if fiction is some kind of radical new concept. The play runs to May 2, so you’ve only got a limited chance to see it. I’m going tonight.

Sadly, my commitment to that play means I will miss the other big sexy event going on in the city tonight, the Feminist Porn Awards, which will be rocking the Berkeley Church tonight, hosted by sex toy emporium Good For Her.

And wrapping up the week on a downer, an HIV-positive man was found guilty of repeatedly sexually assaulting a 9-year-old boy over a period of two years. It was his sixth such conviction in 30 years and the Crown is now seeking to have the man deemed a dangerous offender and jailed indefinitely. The boy has since tested negative for HIV.

Rob Salerno is a playwright and journalist whose writing has appeared in such publications as Vice, Advocate, NOW and OutTraveler.

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