Aussielicious

As I said the other day, it’s Mardi Gras preparation season and as part of that, we are looking for gay guys and girls who are lifesavers to join us in the Mardi Gras parade and celebrate being a Lifesaver With Pride up Oxford Street.

With Mardi Gras looming, there is a party happening the week before the parade that the lifesavers may be involved with. It’s been brought up that I might do my silks routine again if the venue has the capabilites to be rigged for it. We’ll wait and see, it’s several weeks off yet.

I’ve just got this video from another friend who took it from a different angle to the last video. Looking at it again I’m picking up a few different areas to be worked on for next time.

Today we had our first comittee meeting for the 2009 Lifesavers with Pride Mardi Gras float in the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras. It’s less than 2 months away and we’ll be waving sequinned flags up Oxford Street celebrating equality. It’s a heap of fun and I can’t wait to do it all again.

Here’s a little reminder of the experience yours truly had in the 08 parade!

The announcement that the NSW state government is stepping up with funds to help keep the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras afloat has met with a backlash that suggests maybe Sydney isn’t the home of homo tolerance we’ve all been thinking it is.

This article contains quotes from NSW residents furious at the support of a cultural institution that brings MILLIONS to the economy every year. Not surprisingly the backlash has come from those older, conservative redneck folks that love a good talkback radio show to vent their bile.

Two of the best quotes for you…

“The next progression is to make homosexuality compulsory in NSW,” wrote Bill of Drummoyne. “I am livid and disgusted.” “What a nonsense,” complained Laurie. “Funding a freakshow yet cannot fund hospitals.” While one commenter has thoughtfully suggested a spot of hunting. “You have got to be dreaming if you think people in the country will put up with it. Forget poofter bashing, let’s go hunting!” said another.

I agree with the article when it suggests that this kind of homophobia only proves that events like Mardi Gras are still very relevant and necessary.

Anyone who is going to be in Sydney on Friday 3rd October, please come along and help raise some money for Lifesavers with Pride, the Gay & Lesbian Lifesavers Mardi Gras group. Money raised will not only go towards our float in next years parade, but also help gay and lesbian lifesavers with their training fees etc. It’s going to be a great night with DJ’s Luna T and Miss Kitty Glitter.
I’ve just come home from rehearsing my routine for my first public performance and I’m not quite as terrified as I was last week. If you are a regular reader of the blog and are there on the night, say hi, I try and be very friendly, but while I’m dangling from the roof might not be the best time. I’ve also hijacked the evening and am using it as a birthday celebration for my 35th (holy crap I never thought I’d make it) on 7th. I hope to see you all there! Click the picture to see the flyer in full detail.

Remember, always swim between the fags!

Tonight was the last class of the term for aerial silks which is a bit of bad timing because in about 3 weeks I have my first ever public performance. The Lifesavers with Pride are having a fundraising party at Slide nightclub on October 3rd and I’m doing a silks show. Tonight, being the last class of term, we performed our routines for each other. At the start of the class we practiced and I was worried because I couldn’t muster the energy to get through the routine but after a rest and a bit more stretching I managed to pull it off quite well I think.

For those of you that are in the U.S. the Logo channel is running a special segment on the gay lifesavers and our participation in the Mardi Gras parade. I’ll find out more about when it’s running and keep you posted. 

This year’s mardi gras was built up with so much expectation being the 30th anniversary and I know for a lot of people it certainly didn’t disappoint. It was great to see Olivia Newton-John perform Xanadu but going to the party just reaffirmed that it’s not my thing these days. It was too big and just all a bit much, but it’s always good to see 20,000 people having the time of their life even if it is chemically enhanced.

For me the highlight was the parade. It was just as much fun the second time around but didn’t leave me on as much of a high this year. It was great to see the 78′ers got some good coverage on the news. They were the original surviving marchers from 30 years ago who marched in protest for the rights we take so much for granted today. In 1978 they were arrested, harrassed and their names were printed in the paper causing them to lose family and jobs. Thankfully, because of what they started, we can now march in celebration instead.

I’ve just been sent this little highlights package of our efforts in the parade on Saturday night! Hope you enjoy!

Well, the time has arrived and it’s gay christmas here in Sydney today. It’s less than four hours til our float is meeting at our designated spot and the closer it gets the more excited and nervous I get. It’s going to be a wild night with a sold out dance party afterwards and rumours of all sorts of stars making an appearance on stage. Forgive me if I don’t blog tomorrow, I’m going to be curled up in bed starting the recovery process!

Happy Mardi Gras everyone!

Last week at rehearsal we turned up to find a photographer from the local media waiting to shoot us for a cover story. Now when I did several years of patrols not once did the entire patrol group stand around in a line with our hands up to our forehead, nor did we all jump and cheer in unison. Maybe I was working on a dull patrol but I think it’s more the photographer didn’t know what to do with us.

It’s now only 3 more sleeps til the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and everyone is enthusiastic about it and there is a great vibe about the party. Given that it’s the 30th anniversary, it’s been especially popular and tickets are sold out, with numbers like 18,000 and 22,000 being thrown around. Rumour has it they are releasing another 1,500 tickets by the end of the week!

Gay NSW Police officer taunted and called poofter boy by his colleagues.
Church leaders march in Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras to say sorry.
Lance Bass thought Justin Timberlake was gay.
Mutilated remains are possibly King Edwards gay lover.

Yesterday saw the first Harbour Party, now known as Sol Y Luna run by Mardi Gras itself instead of another promoter and I have to say it was a success! For the first time in weeks the Sydney weather turned it on hot and strong and so did the boys. It’s always the party with the highest percentage of eye candy. I was one of the few people not partaking in recreational substances but a couple of times walking through such a mass of beautiful boys in the darkness and strobe lights once the sun went down, it felt like I might have been a bit drunk on pretty.

I will say, the 80′s flouro retro revival thing really should be left to the baby-gays. Late 30′s means you were there the first time and it shouldn’t be done again!

For anyone visiting for mardi gras for the first time and going to the after party which is officially sold out for the first time in years, this video gives you a good impression of what to expect.

I’ve heard rumours of all sorts of performers, Olivia Newtown-John, Cindy Lauper, George Michael, Scissor Sisters and Bear Force One. Who will actually turn up? Who knows!

Here’s a clue for what to expect from our mardi gras float. No there won’t be any waves, but you’ll love this video anyway. This is why I had so much fun rowing surfboats. It’s an amazing adrenaline rush crashing through a massive surf or flying down the face of a wave. It doesn’t hurt that there are fit guys all around with their speedos up their butts either!

I seriously can’t wait for the parade, its going to be so much fun!