Picking up at The Fringe

Your best bet on finding love or a hot piece at the Toronto theatre fest

Unlike Pride or Inside Out, the Fringe isn’t uniquely queer. That doesn’t mean, however, that it’s not a great place to score. Ten days of shows in frequently sweaty venues means that turning up the heat isn’t hard. Below, we give you some easy ways to stay cool while you land that theatre-lover you’re lusting after.

Queer up your look

There’s plenty of eye candy filling the festival’s lines. But with gay boys and straight dudes all sporting the same haircuts/beards/man-purses these days, determining which team your object of affection bats for is a common conundrum. An unabashedly homo tweak like a tastefully folded hankie in your back pocket or a pair of pink Chucks can go a long way in helping to grease the skids.

Pick up your phone

While staring at a screen during all-queer events is a bit like reading a Chinese take-out menu in Mandarin, having Grindr open is an easy flag to those spying over your shoulder that you’re looking for action. Instead of trying to send the message digitally, just sidle up to him in line and say something like, “Looks like it’s going to be packed in there. Mind if I squeeze in with you?”

Hit the beer tent

Along with pissing it up post-show, the temporary bar behind Honest Ed’s is the place to hear about what’s hot and what’s not. “See anything you like?” isn’t a pick-up line that works everywhere. But after a few pints of cheap suds in plastic cups, responding with “Not until you showed up” will likely get a laugh, rather than a groan.

Be sure to check our top picks for this year’s Fringe Festival.
Toronto Fringe Festival
Wednesday, July 1–Friday, July 12, 2015
Various locations

Devon Delacroix is a writer, filmmaker and sex worker, hailing from suburban Toronto. His writing has appeared in magazines across Canada (a few of which you may have even heard of) and his films have been screened widely at festivals and galleries (most of which you haven’t). He's bad at Twitter, but trying to improve. Reach him at devondelacroix@gmail.com.

Read More About:
Culture, Toronto, Arts, Sex

Keep Reading

Van Goth

Van Goth made ‘Canada’s Drag Race’ look easy. But victory has a price

The drag phenom’s run complicated our idea of what a reality TV villain could be. She tells Xtra about clawing her way to the top—and her fight for what comes next
The cover of Charity and Sylvia

‘Charity and Sylvia’ beautifully illustrates a real-life 19th-century lesbian couple

Tillie Walden’s new graphic novel tracks the true story of Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake’s decades-long New England romance
Portland Fire guard Bridget Carleton (6) drives against Toronto Tempo forward Nyara Sabally (8).

The Toronto Tempo are a much-needed source of hope and connection for Canada’s queer community

Women’s sports are booming in North America. Canada’s first WNBA team is meeting the moment

Should AI use stop you from seeing ‘Stop! That! Train!’?

Director Adam Shankman told Xtra that the film actually did use some AI in its visual effects
Advertisement