The weather was almost bearable in New Orleans last weekend as American Brotherhood Weekend 2009 unfolded with a great turnout as three new leather icons were added to the ever-growing list of titleholders.
The 2009 American Leather boy is Johnny boy Birdsell of Cleveland, Ohio. The 2009 American Leather Woman is "Dakota" Belotti of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the 2009 American Leather Man is Alex Lindsay Jr. of North Hollywood, California.
Their victories were announced in New Orleans on Sunday, July 12 to rousing cheers as the assembled crowd, armed with hundreds of digital cameras, captured the moment. Other titleholders were first to congratulate the winners and the photo session went on and on. The crowd seemed pleased with the winners and from what was gleaned by the judges, the ABW Class of 2009 is expected to do a great job. They certainly have the energy and the potential to have a successful year.
Earlier, the outgoing titleholders, Randy Carmenaty, Joan Norry and boy Chris ended an extremely successful year with step-aside speeches that had the audience near tears. It was the culmination of a weekend that started on Friday, July 10 with a meet and greet party in the Omni Royal Hotel. There were a lot of events with food and drink, which made the weekend package fee very tolerable. It certainly is one of the most affordable of all these weekends these days.
Drag queens take over
Karen "Ultra Domme" was the auctioneer for the contestants’ basket auction on Saturday. But the arrangement to alternate the actual auctioneering between local drag queen entertainers got out of control as the drag queens literally took over. So the basket auction was continued on Sunday before the second part of the competition got under way.
The entire weekend’s events went smoothly mostly because Frank Nowicki (the old pro) was the master of ceremonies, and used his impeccable modus operandi of stretching the dialogue when delays backstage materialized. The sound and lighting were without glitches as the stage crew executed their duties without incident. We’re talking about the crew of George Wong, George Hester, Hooker Treadway. Can you visualize former IMsL Jill Carter vacuuming the stage after some of the fantasies?
The judges - Mary Elizabeth Boyd (head judge), Annie Romano, Dan Noel, Kip Hollar, and myself - were astounded to deal with nine contestants who were very well informed, intelligent, and very astute in all the judged categories. There were four boy contestants, two women contestants, and three men vying for the male title. Their interviews, speeches, and fantasies were above par and that in itself made it very, very difficult for the judges. The judging scenario included the three outgoing titleholders in the interview portion - the rest by the five other judges.
The delightful Lady Caro was the contestant coordinator and Justin Costello was there for the judges - and what a bang-up job he did! The judges were very, very impressed with his demeanor and everything the judges wanted was there in an instant. Good boy!
The crowd in attendance was not adverse to exploring all aspects of the delights that can only be found in the Big Easy. The Phoenix and the Howling Wolf enjoyed capacity crowds and there were so many good restaurants available, everyone made it to their favorite. The weather was warm and balmy most of the weekend with only a few sporadic thunderstorms and the staff at the Omni hotel were most accommodating and helpful.
It’s safe to say that in its second presentation under the leadership of Dean Ogren, Nowicki, and Jazz Thomas it was a top-notch production and next year’s show is expected to be a sell-out. With the crew that works this show and the corporate sponsors, we can see nothing but success for ABW 2010 - and you know how much we embrace success! Congratulations to Alex, Dakota and that cute Johnny boy! The community expects success for you in your endeavors and thanks for stepping up to the challenge.
Meanwhile, Back At the....
The long-awaited opening of the new Dallas Eagle happened last weekend too, but it was not the happy affair one would expect for a brand new building and location. Apparently one or more disgruntled queens made a report of an adverse nature to the Texas ABC and the new spot was raided and shut down shortly after it opened its doors.
The owners of the Dallas Eagle admit they had not fine-tuned the necessary legalities and with the added evil queen input, the results of the grand opening were not as anticipated. The public has been assured that all will be rectified shortly, so stay tuned.
The owners were also adamant in pointing out that the local police and beverage control officials were "only doing their jobs" so any blame can be placed on the owners themselves. We wish the Dallas Eagle success in their efforts to keep Dallas’ main leather bar open.
The next biggie in our town is the SF Leather Daddy XXVII contest taking place at the Eagle Tavern on Friday, July 24 from 2100 to midnight. Former Leather Daddy (and former Emperor of SF) Jason Ladd will do the MC honors and former Ms. San Francisco Leather Queen Cougar will entertain the troops. There will be celebrity judges for this one.
For a while, I was unsure if this contest was being held on the traditional last Friday of July, but finally a press release/flier came through, so it’s a go! See you there? After all, it’s a benefit for the AIDS Emergency Fund, an organization that was created by the leather community.
In case you didn’t know it, there was a new International Mr. Deaf Leather and International Deaf Leather boy chosen at the contest held in Chicago over the Fourth of July weekend. The new IMDL is Terry Morrell. Since the one boy who competed failed to get the number of points required, last year’s boy ("Taz") agreed to serve for another year. The deaf leather weekend also entertains a drag title and former IMD Leather Alan "Spo" Schwartz is now Miss RAD 2009. Does anyone out there know how to sign the words Sash Rash? And in case you’re planning to witness Miss Rad’s step down, be advised that the contest will be held in Las Vegas in 2010.
Mister Marcus is a columnist for the Bay Area Reporter. He can be reached via email at [email protected]