by Lord Jared, NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
This is the first in a series of
articles that will be on the sub
ject of the Leather community. I will review Leather events occurring both locally and nationwide as well as inform you of upcoming adventures. At the same time in each article I hope to provide some interesting Leather Internet web sites and background information. I have been involved in the Leather "scene" since the very early eighties and I enjoy traveling to exciting leather runs and functions. The calendar of leather activities is always full and diverse. I now hope to focus on some of these experiences along with exploring the whole new computer online world of leather.
The most recent local happening was the Roman Toga Party and Slave Auction presented by the Knights D'Orleans on Aug. 16 at "Body and Soul." We were greeted at the door by Perry. Also, nearby was Wolf in nothing more than a few laurel leaves. I knew it would be an absolutely wonderful event starting from that moment forward. The decorations were notable, the music (handled by Allen) was great, and the food table (presented by Mike of ByWater BBQ) was even better, but still yet the best of the night were the six hot male slaves, including Chris (the current Mr. Knights D'Orleans), who were auctioned late into the night. It was well worth the time spent eating and dancing to finally lay hands on some of those hot bodies. Lorna, the first and current Ms. Knights D'Orleans, served as Slave Master and the ever-willing and well-dressed Pat O'Rourke as Master of Ceremonies. The bidding on these slaves became fierce on several occasions. Things got so wild that Mina, the treasurer for Knights, was thrown onto the block for bids. All the slaves were hot and all, except one, were decked in leather with their appropriate body parts and talents on display for possible future masters to view. But the one exception was Dwayne, who incidentally was dressed in Calvin Klein white tight knit boxers (with, of course, cock ring underneath), link chain and lock around his neck, and, oh, a simple piece of matching white cloth across his well-sculpted chest. Three of us pooled our money to make sure this man would be ours. He was presented next-to-last in the auction and it only took one bid, but I guess the other party-goers knew from the enthusiasm of our very vocal bid that we were not going to lose this specimen to anyone else.
The Knights D'Orleans provided the availability to be photographed with your date, partner, slave, or anyone else you wanted. This is definitely an event that I will look forward to next year and start saving my money early so that I can get more than just one slave.
Congratulations to the Knights D'Orleans on a great party and hope that your upcoming Anniversary Weekend Run to be held Oct. 3-5 with the theme of "Whorient Express" is just as eye-popping and tasty.
Another recent affair was the Nineteenth Annual International Mr. Leather Contest where Kevin Cwayna, entered as Mr. Minnesota Leather 1997, was chosen as 1997 International Mr. Leather on Memorial Day Weekend in Chicago. He won over a field of 53 contestants from four countries and numerous states, including our own Melvin Knight-Mr. Louisiana Leather 1997. Kevin is a physician and author of professional journal articles on gay youth and housing issues. Mark Malan, Mr. Piston's Bar from Long Beach, California, came in second. (Both of these men will be here for the Mr. Louisiana Leather 1998 Contest on Southern Decadence Weekend, so come judge them for yourselves.) Third place went to Paul Zinser, Mr. L.U.R.E of New York City. Thus proving that the leather man exists from one coast of this country to the other and everywhere in between.
Contestants were judged on criteria including community involvement, attitude, presentation and overall image, as well as speech. The contest was held in Chicago's Congress Theater and entertainment included Savage Aural Hotbed and comedian Scott Thompson (Kid's in the Hall). Over three thousand people attended the fun-filled IML contest as well as the thousands of people in over two dozen countries who viewed its cybercast on the World Wide Web site http://www.imrl.com using Cuseeme software. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) also covered this event. Next year's Twentieth Anniversary Contest will prove to be truly spectacular if I know the producers of this annual phenomenon which continues to include more vendor booths and parties each year. So make plans now to be in Chicago on Memorial Day Weekend 1998 because I am sure they will need more than the four hotels it took this year to hold all these impressive guests and contestants which does not include the number of local Chicagoans who were overflowing with house guests, a scenario very familiar to us during Mardi Gras.
International Ms. Leather 1997 was held July 18-20 in San Diego, California. Each year a woman, who is both intelligent and articulate, is chosen to represent all leather women and present a positive leather image to communities worldwide. She represents the leather lifestyle as a positive female role-model. The winner this year is Genelle Moore from Lincoln, NB who is a police officer of fourteen years and a co-founder of F.L.E.X.--The Female Leather Exchange.
Genelle serves on community boards such as the Family Violence Council, the Rape/Spouse Abuse Counseling Center, Lincoln-Lancaster Drug Project, Youth Service Service System, Lancaster County Women's Commission, and is a member of Mad Dads. She also happens to be the sister of Ron Moore, International Mr. Leather 1984. The Twelfth Annual International Ms. Leather will be held in Atlanta in July 1998. I hope to present details in the next issue of the Mr. Europe Leather Contest being held August 22-25 in Manchester UK, as well details on the Lords of Leather production of Mr. and Ms. Louisiana Leather 1998 Contest.
This local contest will be held at the State Palace Theater (1108 Canal St.) on Sat., Aug. 30 during Southern Decadence Weekend. Doors will open at 7pm and the contest will start at 8 pm. This is the tenth year for this contest and the first that a Ms. Louisiana Leather title will be presented. Over seven hundred persons attended last year's contest. The theme for this year's contest is "Real New Orleans" with a voodoo priestess performing a snake dance, Sister Beat drummers, and a Mardi Gras Second-line. Judges and celebrities include again the top two winners at International Mr. Leather 1997, Kevin Cwayna and Mark Malan; past International Mr. Leathers, Larry Everett and Lenny Broberg; International Ms. Leather 1996 Jill Carter; the current and past Mr. Louisiana Leather winners, Melvin Knight, Mitch Pierce, and John Taylor; the owner of the Cuffs Bar in Seattle, Scott Rodriquez; Mr. Gulf Coast Drummer, Ken Claude; and Mr. British Columbia Leather, David Klainka. Emcee for the contest will be Mr. Frank Norwicki, who has emceed the International Mr. Leather Contest for the last two years. Frank has become the foremost contest emcee appearing in more places in this country and Europe than he can remember. Amazingly, he continues to be better every time I see him. (I hope to interview him while he is in town for a future article since he has seen so much of the leather community up close.)
There will be large video screen on stage to help view the contestants. A free shuttle bus service from the Phoenix to the State Palace Theater will run continuously from 6:30 p.m. until midnight. There will also be a "Meet the Judges and Contestants" Beer Bust at the Phoenix on Friday night, August 29 held in conjunction with the Phoenix Block Party. And do not forget the cocktail party being thrown by the Knights D'Orleans after the contest back at the Phoenix.
Advance tickets are available at the Phoenix, Gargoyles Leather, New Orleans GayMart, and Second Skin Leather for $15 and $18 at the door. Over two thousand dollars in prizes will be awarded this year to the winners, including round trip airfare and hotel accommodations to the International Mr. and Ms. Leather Contests respectively, leather sashes, engraved medals, and cash.
If you are interested in becoming a contestant, please contact me at 1.888.859.6314. Be sure to check the web site http://members.aol.com/JaredLord/.
Finally, the International Mr. Drummer 1997 Contest will be held in San Francisco on Sept. 27 during the Folsom Street Fair-this is one of the best collections of leather people in the world. If possible, I highly recommend your planning to attend; if not, I will tell you about it here.
