Foreign Correspondence: Chicago Market Days

I didn't make it to Chicago for Market Days this year, but friends reported in that it was a full-scale party time, as usual. Market Days is the largest of the many Chicago street fairs, and it takes place on Halsted Street right in the middle of Boystown. It's gotten increasingly popular over the years (and apparently cleaned up a good deal - I guess it used to be a little more Folsom Street Fair-ish), and this year they added the provision that bars along Halsted could serve liquor outside, so you weren't consigned to getting bloaty on beer or headache-y on wine cooler type freezy drinks. It's good that they strive to improve it each year.



My favorite part of the fair is the performance by ROTC, the Righteously Outrageous Twirling Corps. It's a performing group consisting of guys who, in their younger years, participated in the whole drum corps/color guard thing, and it's possibly even gayer than performing in drag. So of course I love it! (video link here)

It is one of the great things about being a gay man that you can participate in something like this, something you loved in your youth, and you not only don't have to apologize or be embarrassed about it, you can celebrate it! I call that Gay Privilege.

Watch the video above for their signature number (from the movie "Bring It On") as published by the group, or watch this video of the same number, which gives you a little better view of the group performing (vs. close-ups), plus has some funny candid footage at the end.