The holidays are finally here! I don’t care what grumpy old queens say; I love the holidays. I even spent a few hours in the Cherry Hill Mall last Saturday at the height of the craziness — shopping and crowd watching. It was wonderful!
I loved the music and the decorations but the best part was the people. I even saw two bearded 20something guys walking around holding hands. It was the most natural thing in the world and nobody batted an eye at them.
I thought about telling them how adorable they were and how their casual togetherness absolutely made my day, but I didn’t want to impose or ruin the moment for them.
So let that be your mantra this holiday season: Don’t let anyone ruin the moment for you.
Enjoy yourselves the next couple of weeks but please remember to be careful. If you’re not used to partying, don’t go all amateur night on New Year’s Eve and get totally wasted. To paraphrase LMFAO, it’s not sexy and you know it.
More importantly, please don’t get too drunk to travel. Yes, I’m saying don’t drink and drive, but I’m also saying don’t ride the train alone at 2:30 in the morning if you’re completely blotto.
If you overindulge, make sure you’re with someone who’s sober enough to help you get home in one piece. If you’re traveling alone, then take it easy and remember to take care of yourself. I want to see you all back here safe and sound in 2012!
ICandy Christmas Spectacular
Yes, Virginia, there is a weekend-long Christmas Spectacular in the Gayborhood! It all starts at 10 p.m. on Dec. 23, 24 and 25 at ICandy, 254 S. 12th St., where there will be fun and surprises for the kid who refuses to grow up inside us all. The club will have holiday drink specials every night, a free buffet on Christmas Eve and sexy Santa’s Helpers to help stuff your stocking.
On Dec. 25, don’t miss Brittany Lynn’s Drag Mafia and, if you dress for the Sexy Santa Contest, you might walk out with cash and prizes. On Dec. 23 and 25 it’s 18 to enter, 21 to drink.
For more information, see www.clubicandy.com.
Reminisce Happy Hour
Baby it’s cold outside, but you can bask in the warmth of the holidays with friends old and new at the Reminisce Happy Hour from 5-10 p.m. on Dec. 30 at Ms. Tootsie’s RBL, 1312 South St., sponsored by the folks at Philly Black Gay Pride. There’s no cover, so there’s no excuse to miss out on all the drink specials and soulful munchies.
For more information, see www.phillyblackpride.org.
Stimulus New Year’s Eve
Celebrate the closing of the year with Stimulus’ New Year’s Eve party from 9 p.m.-6 a.m. on Dec. 31 at Voyeur Nightclub, 1221 St. James St. You probably haven’t even recovered from Holiday Stimulus a couple weeks ago yet, right? Well, get ready for round two because this party will have hot and sexy go-go dancers, drink specials from 9-11, a champagne toast at midnight, a super-sexy shot crew, and DJs Kash and Jovi Baby to keep you movin’ and groovin’ long after the ball has dropped and sunrise approaches.
All this for only $20 if you get there before midnight! The price goes up after that, so get there early, then check out the other parties and close out the night at Voyeur.
For more information, check out www.stimulusphilly.com.
Ladies 2000 New Year’s Day
All will not be quiet on New Year’s Day if you celebrate with Ladies 2000 from 3-10 p.m. at ICandy. A $10 cover gets you drink specials for the first two hours, sexy dancers, hot music, hot women, party favors, a ball drop and one of Philly’s favorite DJs, Michael DeCero.
For more information, see www.ladies2000.com.
Scene Party New Year’s Day Bash
See and be seen at the Scene Party Tea Dance from 3 p.m.-3:30 a.m. on Jan. 1 at Voyeur Nightclub. For $8 you get sexy dancers, a sexy shot girl and sexy DJs Kash and Carl Michaels. Be one of the first 50 people in the door and you’ll get a Winter 2012 Mix by DJ Kash! If you’re still dragging from the night before, they’ll have lots of soft pretzels so you can carb load to make it through.
For more information, see www.facebook.com/tlbtbproductions.
Mummers Day Parade
And don’t forget about the Mummers Parade. Philly’s annual celebration of public drunkenness and straight men in bad drag provides more cruising opportunities than Grindr and Scruff combined.
Don’t you laugh — I’ve heard many stories over the years of guys scoring with hot Italian studs stumbling through the Gayborhood trying to find their way back to South Philly. Just keep your wits about you, don’t do anything foolish and remember to respect him in the morning (even if his outfit is more fabulous than yours).
Happy holidays, everybody!
Questions, comments or news about upcoming events? Contact Jim at [email protected].