Nothing screws up the shine on a pair of boots faster than snow, ice, sand and salt. I love winter, but I’m so glad spring is right around the corner. After all, boots go great with tanks and camo shorts, too!
But the warm weather brings out more than just skin-revealing wardrobes. People are looking for any excuse to get out of the house, and luckily there are loads of things to do in the next few weeks to help you shake those winter cobwebs out of your head.
SUPER-SIZE ME!
The monthly Get Out Get Laid party at The Bike Stop, 206 S. Quince St., has been pulling in great crowds on first Thursdays. It’s been doing so well that next month it’s getting super-sized!
MidAtlantic LeatherSIR 2008 Andy Liu and MidAtlantic Leatherboy Steve “boyshark” Mercer will host their usual party on April 2, then on April 4, they’re moving on up to the third floor and pulling out all the stops as they welcome CLAW Nation’s 2009 tour to Philly.
In addition to the usual hot guys, cheap beer, cool rock and dance music and crazy videos, this special edition of Get Out Get Laid will feature live wrestling demos by the Spartans Wrestling Club, Lip Synch for Your Life performances and super-hot fantasy performances — just like the ones you’d see in a leather contest, but without the distracting contest!
And if that weren’t enough, a bus from Washington, D.C., with over 30 leathermen and women crammed into it will arrive at the bar around 11 p.m. They’re on the Capitol City Bus Crawl, a fundraising excursion that crashes the D.C. Eagle at 4:30, sideswipes the Baltimore Eagle around 7, then screeches to a halt in front of The Bike Stop around 11.
Those D.C. types are a lot of fun, so don’t miss your chance to meet these hot and crazy men and women! Don’t worry, their bus leaves right after last call, so you won’t even have to make them breakfast!
All proceeds from the special Get Out Get Laid/CLAW Nation event will be donated to the Jonathan Lax Treatment Center at Philadelphia FIGHT. Sponsors are CLAW Nation, Recon.com, Square Peg, Touche, Folsom Street Fair, The Bike Stop, Liberty Bears, Keystone boys of Leather and Philadelphians MC.
Um … CLAW?
I can already hear you thinking to yourself, “But what the hell is this ‘CLAW’ thing anyway?”
Based in Cleveland, Ohio, CLAW stands for Cleveland Leather Awareness Weekend. The heart of CLAW is an extremely popular weekend run at the end of April. CLAW is 100-percent nonprofit and has donated over $140,000 to community charities over the past eight years.
CLAW was so successful as a weekend run that, a few years ago, the organizers looked for a way to extend the brand and take it on the road, which gave birth to CLAW Nation.
CLAW Nation is a way for CLAW to support fundraising efforts in other communities while promoting CLAW and its sponsors. Everybody wins: CLAW gets good press, while local organizers of CLAW Nation events get the final say on where all the proceeds of their events get donated. Some donate a portion to CLAW charities, while others donate all the money to their own local charities.
CLAW 8 will be held from April 23-26 in Cleveland. It will feature skills workshops where you can learn BDSM techniques from community experts in bondage, suspension, flogging, corporal punishment, piercing and fetish play (or you can just sit back and enjoy the classroom demos). There will also be a variety of field trips to places like the Cleveland Police Museum, the Cleveland Orchestra, a trolley tour, a Cleveland Indians game (that’s a baseball team) and, of course, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. There will also be an art show, a silent auction, a vendor mart, cocktail parties, dance parties, brunches, lunches and a formal dinner. Pretty amazing for one weekend!
CLAW is also sponsoring a drawing to win a 1984 Honda Magna V65 1100 motorcycle. Raffle tickets are $25 each, or five for $100. Proceeds benefit BEHIV (Better Existence with HIV) and other CLAW charities. The winner will be responsible for taxes and transporting the bike from Chicago to their hometown. The bike is described as well-maintained and under 12,000 original miles. The drawing will be held in April at CLAW 8.
To register for CLAW or to enter the bike raffle, punch up www.clawinfo.org.
UPCOMING EVENTS
WOOF! PHILLY — Every Sunday at 5 p.m. at 200 S. 12th St. Now with brand-new pool tables in the basement! www.woofphilly.com or www.myspace.com/woofphilly
GET OUT GET LAID — 9 p.m.-1 a.m. April 2, main floor at The Bike Stop.
CHARITY TRIVIA — 7-11 p.m. April 3 at The Pit Stop at The Bike Stop. See www.queeropinion.com/charitytrivia
LIBERTY BEARS LOCK UP SOCIAL — 6-10 p.m. April 4, main floor at The Bike Stop. www.libertybears.net
CLAW NATION — 10 p.m.-2 a.m. April 4, third floor at The Bike Stop
CAPITOL BUS CRAWL — 11 p.m.-2 a.m. April 4-5 at The Bike Stop. www.capitolbuscrawl.com
CENTAUR MC BAR NIGHT — 9 p.m. April 10 at The Bike Stop. www.centaurmc.com
HIGHWAYMEN TNT BAR NIGHT — 9 p.m. April 11 at The Bike Stop, with signature shot “Chocolate Spooge!” www.trashandtravel.com
LIBERTY BEARS FOURTH ANNUAL ART SHOW — 7-10 p.m. April 24-25 at The Bike Stop. $5 admission benefits Calcutta House and Dooley House.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for how to do more on less sleep? Contact Jim at [email protected].