by Wally Sherwood
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
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N EQUINOX FETISH BALL WILL OPEN the leather social season in New Orleans on Sept. 17 under the auspices of the Radical Fairies. The official kick-off party for the Fetish Series will begin at 8pm at The Refuge, conveniently located at 2230 St. Claude Ave. in the Faubourg Marigny next to Cowpokes. Suggested donation at the door is $5, with prizes awarded for the hottest fetish costumes. There will be music by a DJ, food and cash bar.Meanwhile, the New Orleans Bondage and Leather Enthusiasts open another series of seminars on Sept. 25, featuring Dove, a slave from San Francisco, who will give a presentation on Humiliation Play. A pansexual play party will follow. And on Oct. 2, NOBLE resumes its B/D and S/M dungeon parties for Gay men. Both events will be at The Refuge, beginning at 8pm. For more information on the men’s party, contact rampart66@hotmail.com or call 504.949.0929.
The Community Awareness Network of the NO/AIDS Task Force is sponsor of the annual Fetish Series, which is a collaboration of the Crescent City Outlaws, Lords of Leather and New Orleans Bear and Bear Trapper Social Club, along with NOBLE, Radical Fairies and other supportive individuals. For further information contact Roberto Rincon, CAN community specialist, at the office 504.945.4000, fax 504.943.4688 or canproject4@noaidstaskforce.org.
Another New Year’s Eve Fetish Ball is in the planning stage by the Lords and NOBLE at the Barn Theatre, while Savanna DeLorean will be stepping down as Miss Louisiana Leatherette 2004 on Nov. 20 at the Cowpokes playhouse. Contest applications for the new title-holder are now available at lordsofleather.com.
 Mr. Gulf Coast Bear Winner Lee R. of Biloxi with third alternate Lowell W. and runnerup Jason W., both of Mobile. |
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R. MARIGNY LEATHER IN MOBILE: Mr. Gulf Coast Bear 2004 is Lee R. of Biloxi, who took home a handsome trophy, $150 in cash and gifts galore. His runner-ups are both from Mobile, Jason W. and Lowell L. Other contestants helping to raise $806 for the Mobile AIDS Walk were Randy N. of Hattiesburg, who represented the New Orleans Bear and Bear Trapper Social Club.New Orleans judges for the contest on Aug. 21 at B-Bob’s Downtown in Mobile were Mark Colley, the original Mr. Marigny Leather who went on to become Mr. Louisiana Leather; and David Lester, founder and president of the ever-growing Cavaliers Motorcycle Club. They were joined by the esteemed Rick K. of Orange Beach, AL; Butch McKay of Panama City, FL; and Tonnie O. of Mobile.
The event, which does not follow the usual format of formal contests, had a theme of Firehouse Bears in Heat and included fun categories of varying degrees of dress and undress in times of emergency. Just as an example, one contestant had to pick up a banana with his teeth, peel it to get to the question we had donated, all while trying to rescue someone from a fire. Well, you get the idea.
A real plus for us was running into so many old friends we knew while working with the Press-Register over on the Gulf Coast, including Buddy S., who was master of ceremonies along with A.J. McKay from WABB 97.5 FM in Mobile. The limited-edition souvenir Bear Fire Department t-shirts were a hot item and sold out before we could even get one.
Anyhow, the producer of this manly madness, Jerry E., owner of B-Bob’s Downtown, plans to be a judge for the Marigny Leather Contest 2005 on Aug. 7 at the Phoenix bar. He is also president of the Gulf Coast Bear and Leather Association and fellow members assisting him in this endeavor were vice president Paul C., treasurer Danny G., secretary Brian B. and webmaster Todd A.
Kicking off the Leather/Uniform Weekend on Friday was the first out-of-town Club Night ever hosted by the Cavaliers of New Orleans, who served Jell-O shots and held a 50/50 raffle for their club treasury. Tom Simic was also present to support the event, making his first official outreach appearance outside New Orleans as the new Mr. Marigny Leather before competing for Mr. Louisiana Leather.
Among the other organizations represented were the Chicago Hellfire Club, Knights d’Orleans, Krewe of Petronius, Leather Leadership Conference, New Orleans Bears and New Orleans Bondage and Leather Enthusiasts. In lieu of a cover charge, teddy bears were collected for the upcoming charity auction just after Thanksgiving.
The next morning, the Cavaliers were up bright and early for a ride to and from Dauphin Island. Upon their return, they joined the judges, contestants, sponsors and guests for a Meet-and-Greet Party at La Pizzeria, located in the historic Lienkauph district of Mobile. After that and full of food and drink, Mr. Marigny Leather and his petit producer, followed a host of others back to the Lafayette Square Hotel for a short snooze in preparation for the big Mr. Gulf Coast Bear Contest.
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V TO GET GAY NANNY ON SEPT. 29: CBS bypassed the Big Easy for the Big Apple for its new CSI: NY, but that is really no big lost as the series will actually be shot mostly in Los Angeles anyhow. In this spinoff on Sept. 22 at 9pm, the costars will be Gary Sinise of Forrest Gump and Melina Kanakaredes of Providence. Then, a stud of a lawyer, Taye Diggs of Ally McBeal, gets a Gay nanny when Kevin Hill debuts on UPN on Sept. 29 at 8pm. The nelly part will be played by Patrick Breen from Radio.Hometown favorite John Goodman will be on the tube not just once, but twice, this season. He is one of the voices in Father of the Pride, now airing on Tuesdays at 8pm. The NBC animated feature about sexual obsession centers around the white lions kept by partners Siegried and Roy. Then on Sept. 29 at 8:30pm, Goodman is the Center of the Universe of a new CBS comedy.
And Gerald "Mayor Dad" McRaney, who got his start at the old New Orleans Repertory Theatre under June "Baby Jane" Havoc, will be back in Commando Nanny. Recovering nicely from lung surgery after years of smoking, his portrayal as a Beverly Hills tycoon who hires a male nanny will premiere on WB on Sept. 17 at 7:30pm.
Red Stick actress Reese Witherspoon is getting a lot of Oscar buzz for her performance as a liberated Becky Sharp in Mira Nair’s ambitious remake of William Makepeace Thackeray’s 1847 novel, Vanity Fair. Originally filmed in the Big Easy as Unchain My Heart, the movie starring Jamie Foxx as the late great Ray Charles has been renamed. Ray had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival and will open across the United States in October.
And there will be a crowd of 4,000 extras on Sept. 18 at the River Center in Baton Rouge. They will form the backdrop for a basketball game for Jerry Bruckheimer’s production of Glory Road, the true story of Don Haskins, who coached the first all-black team to win a NCAA championship back in 1966.
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WEET DECADENCE AT SWEET OLIVE: Bears and Bubbles was the clever name for the four-hour champagne reception for visiting Bears and invited guests at the Sweet Olive Bed and Breakfast in the Faubourg Marigny, thus graciously filling an important social gap between the Sire Ursus Contest on Friday and the Mr. Louisiana Leather Pageant on Saturday.Hosting Southern Decadence revelers from as far away as California were Dale Irvin and David Johnson, both active members of the New Orleans Bear and Bear Trapper Social Club. The entrance hall to the B&B, literally a treasure trove of art, is appropriately decorated with the grand coronation costume and glittering trappings of David’s reign over the mega-parade and ball as King Endymion XXIV.
Numbered among the notables at the soiree were krewe officers and members of Amon Ra, Armeinius and Petronius. The Sweet Olive, located only a couple of blocks from Cowpokes and Phoenix, has become a preferred destination for title-holders and dignitaries alike. It was home base for Mauro Montoya of Ft. Lauderdale, who served as head judge of the Mr. and Ms. Marigny Leather Pageant, a contest in which David Johnson also served as the official judge representing Carnival endeavors of our community.
Montoya and his partner Malachi Massey stayed in the Oak Room, just one of the individually designed bedrooms by artist Stuart Auld—that is, when he was not busy creating designs for such motion pictures as Runaway Jury, Unchain My Heart, Legends of the Fall and The Big Easy television series.
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EDDING BELLS FOR PFLAG COUPLE: Dr. Norma Kearby and Betty Ann Caldwell were united in marriage on Aug. 3 by Unitarian Chaplain Doreen Peever in St. Catherine’s, Ontario, Canada. The couple, who are founding members of the New Orleans Chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, will divide their time between the Crescent City and Santa Fe.Dr. Kearby received her degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and completed an internship at Hotel Dieu and a residency in otolaryngology, head and neck surgery at Ochsner Clinic and Charity Hospital, where she was head resident. She practiced with Browne-McHardy Clinic before her retirement.
After receiving a bachelor’s degree in French from LSU, Caldwell was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study in France and received her master’s from Columbia University. After teaching at colleges and universities in Alexandria and New Orleans, she retired as associate professor emeritus from St. Mary’s Dominican College.
Meanwhile, John Elton McCracking and Dr. John Christopher Sligar are celebrating their Silver Anniversary. "On Sept. 7, 1979, we began our long journey, a journey through joys and through sadness, through sickness and health, through adversity and through prosperity, through daily challenges and wondrous changes," they heralded in a full-page program announcement at the last Krewe of Armeinius ball.
McCracking and Sligar concluded, "We joyfully announce to our community the reaffirmation of our commitment to one another." Congratulations are certainly in order for both of the happy couples.
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OTE FOR EQUALITY ON SEPT. 18: The Louisiana Supreme Court has unanimously refused to consider the Forum for Equality’s challenges of a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, clearing the way for the measure to go before voters on Sept. 18.But Chief Justice Pascal Calogero offered some hope for the amendment’s opponents in a concurring opinion. He cited a recent New York Times/CBS News poll showing 30 percent of adults nationwide support civil unions but not Gay marriage and predicted, "The court may yet have to address this constitutional question in a post-election challenge."
Forum of Equality attorney John Rawls said it was clear that, except for Civil District Judge Christopher Bruno, no Louisiana judge wanted to touch the case before the election.
And please note that the Democratic Party has opened a Victory 2004 Headquarters at 3300 Canal St. in New Orleans and the number is 504.822.8313. Signs, buttons and bumper stickers for the Kerry-Edwards ticket are available and you can get involved in this year’s campaign by signing up as a volunteer.
For the Southern Decadence parade, Donnie Jay’s exotic entourage evoked fond memories of the Houston Motorcycle Club’s "Cleopatra" extravaganza. Needless to say, we were proud to be a part of that block-long procession, which won hands down at the Bourbon Street Awards.
And was not Donnie a dynamic representative of our community on WWL-TV’s Sunday Morning, even through the station’s misspelled his title as Grand Marshall. The stunned and lost look on the face of the New Orleans Archdiocese’s Rev. William Maestri was worth seeing the debate alone, when Donnie enjoined him as to just what was the National Moral Code, who wrote it and who is enforcing it! It was picture perfect, Donnie Jay! Bye for now and we will wrap up Southern Decadence next time.
