By Rick Conley
The Ninth Annual SNOWBOUND Leather Weekend was held in Provincetown, MA February 19-21 and by all accounts was a great success with a record 200-plus Leathermen coming to town.
Three days of events described as A Winter Getaway with a Twist, concluded with the announcement of this year’s Mr. SNOWBOUND, DIVERGENT PIGS, the first couple to compete since the contest's inception, bringing in the most donations with their winter/Leather-themed photo.
The event overall raised $600 for the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod. Northeast Community Bootblack 2011 Jay Falcon was on hand throughout the weekend.
Kudos to the 22 men who participated in the Free Health Screenings provided by Project 10 of the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod. Their proactive approach towards your health and the health of your partners should be mirrored and lauded.
Thanks to Jonathan and the Project 10 team for providing this important service.
Look for the 10th Annual SNOWBOUND Leather Weekend February 24-26.
For additional information go to http://www.Mates-LeatherWeekend.com/snowbound
Saturday night, patrons of the DC Eagle will finally be able to rise to new heights with the help of Philadelphia Promoter Bruce Yelk. MetroWeekly reported that Yelk had been looking for a venue to throw “a raw, sexy dance party” in D.C. when he learned that the DC Eagle was getting ready to open its top floor. Yelk recalled the search, "When I was looking for spaces, I met with DC Pride folks. Miguel was like, the Eagle is opening a new space. I think it's like 5K sf. Their timing was perfect, too! I walked in, and said to myself this was it." His first impressions? "...it is very raw...you'd think there would be steel workers. I couldn't have dreamt for better space."
Readers might remember that The DC Eagle was forced to move in November of 2012 after 41 years at its Penn Quarter location. It reopened in November of 2014 and 15 months later the third floor is ready for flight after several construction delays. DistrktC is the circuit party maven's newest dream child. The monthly all-night dance party, is scheduled to be on the second Saturday of each month, filling the top floor dance room at the new location on Benning Road NE.
I am certain that this dance party veteran and his Hunger Games inspired dance party will kick-off with a vengeance. "I don't feel pressure, cause advance ticket sales were good. There's always pressure to deliver a great party. "You have to have a balance of dancing and fun vs numbers, to me its more about the look and feel. Are people having a good time? Are they going to stay on the floor, having a great time? If it's too packed, people won't come back, cause they didn't have a good time" he proclaimed about his experience.
This will be the first time the DC Eagle has stayed open all night. The MetroWeekly article quotes Ted Clements of the Eagle as saying that it has a special license that allows the bar to stay open 24 hours a day from Friday to Monday. “We’re not allowed to serve liquor [3 am - 8am] but we’re allowed to stay open and serve juices, water and sodas,” Clement said. Yelk expounded on that line of thought, "There are certainly all night parties in DC, but not a regular monthly event that allows guys to dance all night. The event is geared towards leather, uniforms and gear, whatever that gear might be...with masculinity in a raw sort of way. I hope this will march along the lines of New York's Brut, with a little more upbeat lively feel". Clearly he wants party goers on the floor dancing into the morning. Excited about the ability of District residents and weekend revelers to use services like Uber and Lyft without having to wait for cabs (that may not want to take them so far out of the city center) he is confident that people will fill the space and dance into the morning light.
His quest for a name and logo sent him to YouTube for inspiration, "I was flipping through YouTube, and I saw Mockingjay...it was a great teaser... I knew I wanted a butch name and in the movie, they are in districts....being in DC it was too good to not play off it. While we're going to carry that out in future performances...there are timing issues for this weekend...and I want people to come back." The logo was not originally meant to be the ad, I wanted something to put the logo on...but people liked it so much, it evoked such a strong response...we decided to skip the ad process all together."
"I have some amazing DJ's for the opening. DJ DeMarko, I love and I am thrilled to have him. Next month (March) we going to feature DJ GSD from Excelsior Mykonos, then London, and now Brazil. I was at Tel Aviv Pride, and was like 'Who is this!?'. Everyone should go to this pride" he reveled, "if they've not been, they should go. I wanted him, certainly I could not have afforded to fly him in from Brazil, but I messaged him on FB and he messaged back within an hour, and said that he'd seen my March 12 date and that he was going to be in the US and was available! Things for this party, they've just fallen into place better than I could have imagined!" Yelk concluded our conversation with this rather enthusiastic and pleased recollection of the whole process.
-----
The DC Eagle is located at 3701 Benning Rd. NE, Washington DC, 20019 and is open Thursday 5 PM - 2 AM | Friday 5 PM - 3 AM | Saturday 8 PM - 3 AM (8am Second Saturdays) | Sunday Noon - 2 AM | Monday 5 PM - 2 AM | Tuesday & Wednesday - Closed to patrons Age 21 and Over who must present a U.S. Government, State ID, or National Passport at the door. Dress code is enforced Flip Flops, Open-back shoes, and High Heels are not permitted.
The Southwest Master/slave contest winners were Master Orpheus Black and slave Indigo Black, and Southwest Bootblack Xiaoyi, taking their titles during the Southwest Leather Conference at the Four Points Sheraton in Phoenix the weekend of January 21-24.
The highlights of the Southwest Leather Conference were the Dance of Souls, Carter/Johnson Leather Library exhibit and awards brunch.
The Southwest Leather Conference also featured a wealth of workshops, panels, and discussion groups, Our Place room for rituals and meditation, a community-sponsored hospitality suite, nightly dungeons and a bootblack lounge.
International Mr. Bootblack 2012 Nick Elliott returned as emcee of the Friday and Saturday evening celebrations.
The judges were the target of the man from Vancouver, BC with a British accent. Each night he had pop questions for each one of them as they were introduced.
Master Orpheus Black and slave Indigo Black competed under the Southern California Master and slave title. The other contestant team, Master Shado and slave Neeka, are from Colorado. Orpheus and Indigo, and Xiaoyi will compete at International Master and slave in 2017 in Dallas, TX.
The judges were Patrick Mulcahey, slave Jazz, Douglas Connors, Sir Cougar, Master Trish and Allena Gabosch.
The lone Southwest Bootblack contestant, Xiaoyi, received enough points to win the title.
The Southwest Bootblack judges were Gabriel Majors, Marta, Sarge, Tyesha Best and Bootdog.
Southwest Master Orpheus Black
Orpheus Black is a published author and erotic educator specializing in hierarchical dynamics, non-monogamous relationships and extreme sexual encounters. This two-time Bawdy Storytelling champion has been traveling the country teaching his fun and light-hearted educational events for more than a decade. Orpheus is a regular presenter at DomCon: LA and is the founder of Cirque de Sade - a high profile group of Dominants whose mission is to advance the art of BDSM through a commitment to innovation, excellence, and active leadership in the D/s, M/s, and fetish communities.
Southwest slave Indigo Black
Indigo Black, wife and property of Sir Orpheus Black, has been not only a sub and slave to Orpheus, but also his lifelong companion and inspiration. Her journey into BDSM and the fetish lifestyle began when she volunteered to be Orpheus’ bottom and submissive in early 2000. Like Orpheus, Indigo got her start co-hosting the Severe Society radio show. Soon after that, Orpheus and indigo began their dark journey onto the fetish stages, performing at countless Hollywood hotspots such as the Viper Room, Club Blue, the Music Box, and Dragonfly, to name just a few. During this journey, indigo was not only an amazing bottom and submissive, but also an invaluable asset behind the scenes. Recently she participated in the Tyrant Thinks podcast together with Orpheus and his co-host Recks Robert interviewing people from all different aspects of the fetish world. Currently she co-hosts the Orpheus Black Show every Sunday afternoon on Chocolate Radio.
Xiaoyi
Xiaoyi is a slave at heart and a bootblack at large. She teaches about consensual slavery, bootblacking, BDSM, relationships, poly, and many other topics. She is most fulfilled in a 24/7 TPE style relationship and is poly-play and omni-sensual. Xiaoyi loves Leather, Leather, costuming, pain, and protocols. She flags orange and Leather Worship. Xiaoyi earned her BA from MSU in Chinese Culture and Lore. Her mission is to help create understanding and acceptance among people for each to learn and grow and be as they are. She works to do this through education and demystification. She serves her community before herself. She is a lifestyle coach and mentor who openly shares of her journey in hopes that she might help others who face similar challenges.
For more about Southwest Leather Conference activities, visit http://www.southwestleather.org
The Southwest Leather Conference saw several hundred Leather/BDSM/Fetish/Kinkfolk descend upon the Four Points Sheraton in Phoenix the weekend of January 21-24 with the highlights being the Dance of Souls, Southwest Master/slave/Bootblack contest, Carter/Johnson Leather Library exhibit and awards brunch.
Southwest Leather Conference also featured a wealth of workshops, panels, and discussion groups, Our Place room for rituals and meditation, a community-sponsored hospitality suite, nightly dungeons and a bootblack lounge.
Known as the "woo conference," Southwest Leather Conference has a strong sense of spirituality. This reflects in some of the classes and events.
The Carter/Johnson Leather Library traveling exhibit containing more than 10,000 items; including artwork, books, DVDs, magazines, newsletters, newspapers, pamphlets, photographs, club and event pins, posters and other materials that explore the world of alternative sexuality going back to the 1700's was open almost all weekend and visitors were present almost every minute it was open. The collection covers everything from 18th Century writings on the intersection of pain and pleasure to pulp erotica from the 1930s and 1940s, on up to complete series runs of LGBT and kinky pansexual magazines like Bizarre, The Leather Journal, Drummer Magazine, Cuir Underground, and Black Leather in Color. The books, magazines and posters were incredible, but none could shadow the talks with Viola Johnson and her aides Robi and Tracy Wolf.
International Mr. Bootblack 2012 Nick Elliott returned as emcee of the Friday and Saturday evening celebrations and the judges were the target of the man from Vancouver, BC with a British accent. Each night he had pop questions for each one of them as they were introduced. The crowd loved it, even howling out suggested answers of their own.
Carter/Johnson Leather Library founder Vi Johnson was the Sunday Brunch keynote speaker, using a theme of "I see you" she had the audience from the beginning. She knows how to handle a crowd and will undoubtedly see more brunches in the near future - her stock, already high, just skyrocketed.
The second part of the brunch saw honors presented with the big ones, Leatherman's Heart Award, going to Race Bannon who is the Leather columnist for San Francisco's Bay Area Reporter, a noted Leather author, blogger, activist and all around mensch; and the Leatherwomen's Heart Award going to Ms Constance.
Other awards and their recipients were: Master Skip Chasey Scholarship to Molly Johnson, Spirit of Service Award to slave Kiki, Volunteer of the Year to Uma and the Master Steve Sampson Golden Paint Brush Award to Lauren Ide.
The Dance of Souls, a closing ritual and ecstatic dance held at the end of the conference on Sunday afternoon saw its usual high level of participation. The Dance is about people bringing their focus and energies together for good intention. This modern primitive celebration is uniquely created through the energies of the voluntary participants present within a scaffolding of cross-cultural spiritual traditions that involve temporary piercing, drumming, chanting and dancing. The ritual is a closed private ceremony offering all Dance of Souls attendees the opportunity to participate in a variety of roles including pierced dancer, non-pierced dancer, drummer, etc. All activities are voluntary and there is no requirement to be pierced.
The Southwest Master/slave contest winners were Master Orpheus Black and slave Indigo Black who competed under the Southern California Master and slave title. The other contestant team, Master Shado and slave Neeka, are from Colorado. Orpheus and Indigo, Southwest Bootblack contestant, and Xiaoyi will compete at International Master and slave in 2017 in Dallas, TX.
The judges were Patrick Mulcahey, slave Jazz, Douglas Connors, Sir Cougar, Master Trish and Allena Gabosch.
The lone Southwest Bootblack contestant, Xiaoyi, received enough points to win the title.
The Southwest Bootblack judges were Gabriel Majors, Marta, Sarge, Tyesha Best and Bootdog.
Some of the best bootblacks from across the nation provided Leathercare in the Bootblack Lounge which was open from Thursday to Sunday afternoon. There was a crowd there all weekend.
A cigar party just outside the Bootblack lounge had as many as 75 in attendance on Friday night.
The Leather Quilt was on display in the hotel atrium. Several panels were added over the past year or so.
Two groups bearing the colors on their Leather vests were the Red Dragons and the Dragon Clan. Many other clubs saw a presence including APAH (Arizona Pups And Handlers), Chicago Hellfire Club, Los Angeles girls of Leather, APEX, Avatar Club Los Angeles, several MAsT chapters, Albuquerque Leather Daddys, Threshold, Butchmanns, Arizona girls of Leather, Chicago Leather Club, Las Vegas Leather Women, The 15 Association, Tulsa Uniform Leather Seekers Association (TULSA), Lesbian Sex Mafia (LSM) and ONYX Pearls.
For more about Southwest Leather Conference activities, visit http://www.southwestleather.org
By Brent Heinze
The Exile 4 Fetish Ball exploded Saturday, August 29 at the Exdo Events Center and delivered more mischief than ever before. This event featured some of Colorado’s finest performers, vendors, and participants. Each year, hundreds of people come together in celebration of the fetish, kink, and Leather communities. All performers and support staff volunteered their time and talents to make this event happen.
The Colorado non-profit company Lokusdor Productions creates events like these with a community engagement focus and a fundraising mission. In the past two years, they have donated over $26,000 to local and national charitable organizations while promoting their mission of sex-positive messaging for everyone regardless of sexual orientation or gender expression.
Through their efforts, a total of $10,000 was donated from this single event. This year, their beneficiaries included Leather Magick, Leather Archives & Museum, Denver boys and girls of Leather, and the Gender Identity Center of Colorado. Through sponsorships provided by Romantix, Bear Things, Folsom Street Events, Mr. S Leathers, Out Front, Exdo Events Center, Pleasures at the Park, Denver Eagle, and Thunder in the Mountains, all funds raised that evening went directly to the supported organizations providing advocacy and support for communities in need.
The Exile 4 Fetish Ball series has featured past performances including rope bondage, fire, impact play, wax, boot worship, hook and rope suspensions, burlesque, domination, aerial erotica, and rubber inflatables. This year, they added some amazing new performances to entice the audience and whip them into a frenzy. Offerings from Denver Bound, Femmes Verbose, Tyger Yoshi, Kaleidoscope Circus Arts, Domina Elle, Justin Daniels, High Flydelity, Nadja, Jill Scot, Faded Freakshow, Master Rex, Kouger DeVille, Pearl Derriere, Mythica von Griffin, and many others made this event an entertaining way to spend an evening around a great group of people.
In addition to large performances, there were DJs, live music, performance art, vendors selling sexy products, and opportunities for participants to get involved with the action. Smaller “tasting” opportunities were offered by many local educators and performers to give people a chance to experience some interesting sensations.
This annual event is geared for everyone from those curious about kink to individuals who are quite experienced in the pleasure of fetish play. Participants witness a sea of leather guys, kinky women, furry bears, goths, punks, gender-neutral and fluid individuals, gay, straight, pan, puppies, kitties, ponies, piggies, and a variety of people that defy inclusion in a single group.
For more information about the production company, pictures from past events, or how to get involved, visit http://www.LokusdorProductions.com
Photos by Robert Rice, Felix Fonz and Ken Hamblin
By Bruce-Michael Gelbert
The Pennsylvania-based Bucks Motorcycle Club’s 42nd annual Santa Saturday took place at the Paradise Nightclub at the Empress Hotel, a stone’s throw from the Atlantic Ocean and the beach, in Asbury Park, New Jersey, on November 28. Attended by hundreds of members of the Leather community — gay, lesbian, hetero, and trans, and including many, many bears—the ever-popular event raised thousands of dollars for Bucks County, PA and Monmouth County, NJ charities.
According to Bucks Vice President and first Mr. NJ Leather 2001 John Ramos, the Bucks have raised approximately $600,000 for PA and NJ charities, including FACT (Fighting AIDS Continuously Together) Bucks County, the Center in Asbury Park, Inc., and Monmouth County VNA (Visiting Nurse Association) Health Group Project REAL (Real Empowerment on All Levels), over the years at Santa Saturday. According to Bucks Treasurer Teyd Jamison, the total raised at Santa Saturday 2014 was close to $20,000 and he estimated that this year’s total was about the same.
The centerpieces of Santa Saturday are an auction of Leather clothing and accoutrements, artwork, and Leather event packages, and entertainment offered by local and visiting performers.
John conducted the auction, substituting for “million dollar auctioneer” Jo Arnone, who was kept away by a family emergency. The highlight, as always, was the lively bidding on items of clothing worn by the current Mr. New Jersey Leather, in this case handsome Mr. NJ Leather 2016 Tigger, from motorcycle jacket down to cock ring, as well as the privilege of taking them off him. Top dollar items were Tigger’s jockstrap, donated by CLAW (Cleveland Leather Annual Weekend) and bringing in $200, and cock ring, going for $400, both bought by Mr. Woods Campground Leather 2016 Chuck Widdoes. Entertainer Maxine Chambers also auctioned off the jockstrap that John wore under his kilt.
Miss Paradise 2000 Lady Marisa coordinated the entertainment. Drag entertainers contributing their services were reigning Miss Paradise Victoria Famouz Timebomb and Flashlight; Dusty Relix Santa Saturday debut — Up on the House Top and It Must Have Been the Mistletoe; Nancy Mandel Valerie; Candy Cane Santa, Can You Hear Me?, White Christmas, and It’s Not Right, But It’s Okay; Sasha Mess Santa Saturday debut — Hawaiian carol Mele Kalikimaka; and Maxine, dedicating a slow, country All I Want for Christmas Is You to Santa Saturday official photographer Mike Prestia.
The afternoon’s singers were Teyd Zing Went the Strings of My Heart and Trolley Song, a Judy Garland pairing, and Just in Time; Ms NJ Leather 2016 Christy Lee Santa Baby; Darren DiFilippo Hopelessly Devoted to You and, from Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Hard Candy Christmas; Demonde This Christmas and Lay Me Down; and this writer The Rose and Unchained Melody. John treated us to an impromptu a cappella, On a Wonderful Day like Today, from The Roar of the Greasepaint — the Smell of the Crowd, between auction items.
Also featured were a Leather boutique; drinks and hot dogs poolside; a 50-50 raffle, in which the winner won $575; and the opportunity to have a photo taken with Leather Bear Santa Ron Smith.
By Steven Carlisle
BOUND, the 17th edition of Los Angeles Leather Pride, March 27 – April 3 has the Mr. Los Angeles Leather 2016 contest as its main event.
The judges will be International Mr. Leather, Mr. LA Leather and Eagle LA Mr. Leather 2015 Patrick Smith, Mr. Sister Leather 2001 Robert E. Blackmon, Folsom Street East president David Stringer Hughes, Maximus Cigar Man of the Year Master Kevin, Eagle LA Mr. Leather 2009 Jasun Mark, Mr. Leather Ireland 2015 Kevin Murphy: Mr. Leather Ireland 2015, 1st Runner Up IML 2015, Eric Pruitt also known as Sister Candy Cide and Mr. Palm Springs Leather 2015 Clifton Tatum.
Full Bios for each judge are located at https://losangelesleatherpride.com/judges
The 17th Annual Mr. LA Leather Contest will be at Club 333 on Saturday, April 2 and will be followed by LEGION Victory Dance.
There will be two full weekends of events including Assembly uniform party, play parties, a meet and greet, a VIP reception at the Tom of Finland Foundation and a Sunday party in the Faultline parking lot.
On Sunday, April 3 the Off Sunset Festival will close out LA Leather Pride week.
Tickets are on sale now with weekend packages starting as low as $70. https://losangelesleatherpride.com/tickets
By Insatiable Amazon
With a heavy heart, mind, soul and spirit Southeast Olympus would like to inform the community the passing of Mr. Southeast Olympus 2014 Master Sergeant Heinz.
He represented his title year with honor, dignity, sincerity, and integrity. He shared his knowledge, experience and passion for the lifestyle Leather community, the young and old alike.
I must say he did everything his producer asked him to do during his title year with that grin and twinkle in his eye.
The Leather Journal was founded in May, 1987. The Leather community was hungry for news magazine that covered clubs, organizations and events. TLJ has successfully met that need for 34 years. We have adapted to change more than once and when the Internet came about we were there by adding www.TheLeatherJournal.com
