Tuesday Nights, Doggy Style

I'm extraordinarily unhappy with the state of gay bars in the city of Detroit, which you might have noticed if you ever happened to take a look at the Gay Bar Blight Tour I did back in '06. I believe the state of the gay bars in a city are a reflection on the health of that city's gay community, and I find it completely unacceptable that there is not a single gay bar in the city of Detroit that has the amenities the gay community deserves in the 21st century. Windows, for example.

That is why Supergay Detroit and Canine to Five are teaming up to present "Tuesday Nights Doggy Style at the Park Bar," a night for Detroit gays & lesbians and their friends.

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In Detroit it's always about proportions. Most places you go will have some gay presence, but it's always small, like a gay couple out for dinner, or a group of gay friends, or a solo gay out with straight friends. It's not conducive to mingling and it really does nothing to emphasize gay visibility in the city.

The Park Bar, located at 2040 Park Avenue in Detroit, is no stranger to a gay clientele, and there have seriously been nights there recently where more than half the people there were gay. And it's always really fun, and kind of exciting to see all the other downtown gays hanging out and mingling. They're a friendly bunch. And it makes you wonder, wouldn't it be great if there were someplace you could regularly get a gay social fix without traveling to a crap bar or the suburbs?

"Doggy Style" is an effort to shift the balance from mostly straight to mostly gay for one night of the week, and to provide an attractive, open, well-located, clean and ... well, normal bar to patronize.

What can you expect at Doggy Style? In additional to the usual good Park Bar vibe, there will be a curated selection of music and video programming designed to appeal to a downtown gay sensibility. So yes, you should expect some Madonna, but also maybe a little New Order, for example. It's meant to be fun and appeal to gays and lesbians and straight folks who like fun. Think guppie meets hipster meets drag queen meets downtown boozehound.

As for Canine to Five's invovlement - first off, the whole thing was owner Liz Blondy's idea. And Liz has made concerted efforts since opening to improve gay quality of life in town, whether it's making introductions among gay folks who might never have connected or hosting special dog parks for gay customers. Canine to Five is definitely an ally in the quest to improve things for us here.

Please pass the word on to your friends, and come down to check it out! There is no conceivable way you won't have fun - it's a whole new gay-er bar experience for Detroit!