Jump-start your holidays in many fun ways

The holiday season is busy every year, but for most people things don’t start up until Thanksgiving. Not in the Philly leather community! Here, the calendar shifts into high gear around Halloween and goes at full steam until the end of January. So fasten your seatbelts, kids: There’s a lot going on!

Philadelphia Leather Pride Night

There’s no doubt about it: Philly Leather Pride Night was a smashing success.

On Nov. 7, Voyeur Nightclub was packed with at least 200 leathermen and women from all over the Delaware Valley and beyond for a night of entertainment and fundraising. They raised an astounding $10,698 for three charities: the Leather Archives and Museum in Chicago ($8,755 from the door and the live auction); the Leather Heart Foundation here in Philly ($1,348 from the silent auction); and By the Grace of George in New York City ($595 from raffle ticket sales).

Producer Cowboi Jen and her team of hardworking volunteers should be very proud. They really knocked this one out of the park!

Philadelphia Leather Weekend at The Bike Stop

There was no Mr. and Ms. Philadelphia Leather contest this year, but that didn’t stop The Bike Stop from putting together a great weekend of community celebrations Nov. 12-15. With Fetish Feud on Thursday, a Liberty Bears social on Friday, a Philadelphians MC social and Kinky Karnival on Saturday and, last but not least, a Keystone boys of Leather social on Sunday, there truly was something for everybody during a jam-packed weekend of fun.

The crowd at the Kinky Karnival surpassed all expectations and helped Philadelphians MC raise over $1,400 for Mazzoni Center’s Winter Coat and Holiday Toy Drive.

And don’t believe the rumors on Facebook: It’s true The Bike Stop is being sold, but it is not turning into a sushi restaurant! (How do these things get started?) The Bike Stop isn’t going anywhere — it’s just changing ownership.

Memorial for Mr. Marcus

The Bike Stop will host a memorial celebrating the life of Marcus Hernandez, noted leather columnist for San Francisco’s Bay Area Reporter and IML judge emeritus, from 4-6 p.m. Nov. 21. Hernandez died last month at the age of 77.

Donations in Mr. Marcus’ memory will be collected for the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco to support the archiving of Marcus’ incredible collection of almost 40 years’ worth of community photos and memorabilia. The memorial will be hosted by MidAtlantic Leatherwoman 2009 Cowboi Jen and Ms. World Leather 2004 Pandora.

Fists of Fury

Ever wonder why, half the time you walk into The Bike Stop, all the screens are tuned to UFC, King of the Cage or some other mixed-martial-arts competition? It’s not hard to figure out: The guys are muscular and covered with tattoos, lots of them wear little spandex shorts that leave nothing to the imagination, and while they’re beating the bloody crap out of each other, they’re rolling around on the floor with their legs locked around each others’ waists. Nice!

I could watch that stuff for hours. Yes, they’re amazing athletes and the competition is fierce and exciting. But you’d have to be blind not to realize that it looks like the roughest gay porn ever put on film. It’s so hot, you don’t even notice they’re not naked.

Want to meet a couple of MMA professionals up close and personal? MMA pros Eddie Alvarez and Wilson Reis will sign autographs from 2-6 p.m. Nov. 21 at Fists of Fury in the Neshaminy Mall, Bensalem. The store carries all kinds of gear and apparel for MMA and boxing, plus fitness equipment and nutrition supplements.

Yes, the storeowners know MMA has a big gay following. Thank God they’re cool with it! Just keep the staring, gawking and stalking to a minimum, guys. We want them to like us, not lock their legs around our waists and beat the bloody crap out of us. I think …

Tri-Cen XIX and Philadelphians MC 35th Anniversary

On New Year’s weekend, Philadelphians MC will celebrate their 35th anniversary with Tri-Cen XIX, their signature weekend event. Featuring nonstop cocktail parties, crazy people games, mouth-watering meals and mayhem, Tri-Cen is famous for way more than just the Mummers Parade. This year the event will play host to the quarterly Atlantic Motorcycle Coordinating Council meeting, which means the town will be crawling with leathermen from 25 clubs up and down the East Coast. Fresh meat! See www.philadelphiansmc.org for more information.

UPCOMING EVENTS

— Diabolique Ball: 9 p.m. Nov. 21 at Shampoo, 417 N. Eighth St. This year’s theme: Steam punk! (future-retro-techno). $60 at the door.

— Santa Saturday: 1-6 p.m. Nov. 28 at Club Paradise, 101 Asbury Ave., Asbury Park. $15 at the door.

— Liberty Bears Meeting and Social: 6-10 p.m. Dec. 5 at The Bike Stop, 206 S. Quince St.; meeting from 5-6 p.m., social from 6-10 p.m.

— Bike Stop Holiday Decorating Party: 2-6 p.m. Dec. 6 at The Bike Stop.

— Philadelphians MC Living Nativity: 3 p.m. Dec. 6 during the Bike Stop Holiday Decorating Party. Check out last year’s video at www.philadelphiansmc.org. (What new farm animals will be in the cast this year, I wonder?)

— WOOF! Philly: 5 p.m. every Sunday, 1416 Chancellor St. until further notice. See www.woofphilly.com for DJ and dancer schedules.

— Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend: It’s right around the corner: Jan. 15-18, 2010, in Washington, D.C., hosted by Centaur MC. Theme this year is “The Skin UR In.” See www.leatherweekend.org for details.

Questions? Comments? Favorite nativity farm animals? Contact Jim at [email protected]

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