Motor City Pride, Now and Then

Back when I was still doing this somewhat regularly, Motor City Pride moved from Ferndale to Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit. It was somewhat controversial, as Ferndale has been a hub of gay community in Metro Detroit for a long time. There was resentment. There was discord. There was a hissy-fit.

I spearheaded an initiative among the small businesses of the greater downtown area to show that Detroit was a welcoming community. Honestly, I did it because someone shared with me that the businesses in Ferndale - the ones that had Pride at their doors because it was a street fair - didn't donate to Pride, and I figured Detroit small businesses could at least throw down the welcome mat. We raised like seven grand. Pride that year was the best gay Detroit thing ever.

It was a little rough going at first. I joked that the parade was the Saddest Gay Pride in America, with like fifteen groups marching and four spectators along the way. Don't get me wrong, it was fun. I like it when it is janky - I am a real Detroit 1.0 gal at heart.

In 2013 (year three) there were so few spectators
they were power washing the sidewalks during the parade.

But we made it work anyway.
(Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Cindy Elmwood.)

Fast forward six years. Detroit is now the hottest thing going. I don't know if it's the fact that we have a white mayor or the fact that Shinola has legitimized the city to the Somerset shopper, but the suburbs suddenly cannot get enough Detroit. If you have a problem with that statement all I can say is I talk to suburbanites who haven't come to the city since they finished grad school at Wayne State all week long at work, and I'm just paraphrasing everything they say to me. Whatever it is, the change in the last five years is kind of astounding.

So now the parade is jam-packed full of participants, Griswold Street lined with folks watching the parade. Corporate sponsors up the wazoo (although not a lot of participation from the handful of gay bars remaining in SE MI. Chipotle is in though).

Pre-parade prep. The excitement is palpable. 

Lines to get into Pride at Hart Plaza are long on both Saturday and Sunday. It's kind of amazing, the growth.

I have no snark to add, actually. It's great that finally the whole Pride in Hart Plaza thing has hit its stride.

Every year since year one I have marched with the Robert M. Nelson Presents group, and every year it's one of the highlights of summer. Some people ask, "Who is Robert M. Nelson?" and I feel bad for them. Not everything is instantly discoverable with the Internet. But the people who know, know. (I'll explain some other time).

He's only a Craigslist "Missed Connection" away!

See?

My partner and I have been throwing a gay pride Saturday party since the second year, caftans optional. Sunday we march in the parade. In the beginning we did if for our own entertainment, and today, entertaining thousands, it's no less fun. It's kind of crazy that we can still have a spot in the parade just for the sake of having a spot in the parade. And when it's all over we go into Pride and check it all out. (And the last few years, wind down watching the Tony Awards).

Against all odds, Pride weekend has become the best weekend of the summer. Kudos for that, Motor City Pride. And more importantly, kudos queers of Detroit.

Later, Skater!

The sad story of my life is that I don't get out much anymore.  You know how that goes: the less you go out, the harder it is to force yourself to go out.  Sometimes you just want to hang out and watch some episodes of New Girl on demand, ok?

Last night, however, comedic genius and my partner-in-crime Robert M. Nelson managed to stir me from the sofa to head out for a night of gay rollerskating in, of all places, Farmington.  That's a hell of a drive.

I am not a good skater, never was.  The last time I rollerskated was in, say, 1980 when I face-planted on the rink at Metro Beach (resulting in three root canals a few years later). The last time I rollerbladed I ended up in the ER with a closed-head injury (cute ER resident though!).  And one thing I really hate is not being good at something in front of other people.  So it was with great trepidation I approached the entire adventure, but I'm really glad I did.

Snack 'n Chat!!

Robert obeys the rules in the Snack 'n Chat.

The Bonaventure Family Skating Center is a full-on 1980 time capsule, from the architecture to the interior signage to the skating rink lightshow.  I don't think I have to tell you how much that excited me!  It was exactly like this scene in Tales of the City.

It was boys-boys-boys and some girls (and some ladyboys) and everyone was so damn nice, it was great.  I watched the action rink-side for a while before venturing in, and one guy was skating by and said "hi!" and then fully wiped out.  Classic!

Robert M. Nelson, rollerskating enthusiast.

Cindy Elmwood only fell twice, but looked lovely doing so!

The Lady Anastasia was booking around the rink.

Robert loves Prize Time!

I wasn't as bad at skating as I thought I would be, although I hesitate to say I had it mastered by the end of the night.  But I did see some guys I know and haven't seen in a long time except on Facebook, and I got to skate to "Xanadu" which is pretty much the greatest thing to happen to me this year.

Shiny disco balls.

After the fact I found out it was organized by Menjo's and Backstreet, so I think I am in love with them and I'm going to check out the new Menjo's re-do as soon as it opens. There's an article about the gay skating night here, and God willing they will do it again soon!  Best gay time ever!

Bonaventure really IS the home of the good times!!

Downtown Roundup for Pride

Motor City Pride weekend is here!  I was talking to a bunch of friends last night and everyone is so excited - it's like we live in a different city.  Last year I was in San Francisco for their Pride, and while I readily admit the level of planning and number of festivities was much greater there, the anticipation for the event in Detroit this year seems about on par with that.  And if that's not progress I don't know what is.

The Pride Project was an overwhelming success.  Forty-five independent businesses from Corktown, Midtown, Woodbridge, Eastern Market, New Center and the Central Business District participated, and together as the Greater Downtown Independent Merchants we raised over $7000 for Motor City Pride. The group is a sponsor at the Gold Level, the highest sponsorship level this year!

Please visit our extra special website to see all the great downtown businesses that chipped in.  Visit them this weekend while you are out and about, and throughout the year!  They are our friends and a fantastically supportive community, and I can't send them enough love.

OK, so onto the festivities!  There is a lot going on at Hart Plaza, most notably a bunch of us city-dwellers will be hanging out at our booth in Sponsor's Row, just as you enter the festival.  Stop by and say hello!

But there's also a lot going around downtown of special interest for Pride attendees as well. Here is a rundown of things you'll want to take advantage of this weekend.

FRIDAY
Visit my little contribution to downtown's alternative gay scene tonight!  The very special Motor City Pride edition of Doggy Style takes place at the Park Bar from 9-2, with a painstakingly curated mix of highly entertaining music videos.  All the cool kids will be there!

SATURDAY
If you head downtown for the Saturday component of Pride, it's a quick two blocks to the Grand Trunk Pub.  They are always a good spot to visit and as a special extra for Pride, DJ GM (or as you may know him better, Greg Mudge, proprietor of Mudgie's Deli in Corktown) will be spinning all afternoon and evening.  They have a great patio, great eats and if you are a beer lover, they have fifteen craft beers on tap.  Which are also great!

Of special interest, Saturday is the date for the annual Historic Indian Village Home and Garden Tour, which is always lovely and you can hit before Pride starts Saturday afternoon.  Tickets are $20 there is more info at their website.  See Sunday's activities for more info on tours of the Villages!

Saturday night, another mainstay on the downtown scene, Fierce Hot Mess, is having its third anniversary party AND Official Pride Afterparty at Oslo!  "Messy dance floor decadence, fierce music and hot people, converging in one place to create a distinct Detroit experience that is sure to be remembered."   Our favorite dj's, Mike Trombley and Chuck Hampton (aka Gay Marvine) always play the most amazing music!

If you are looking to mix things up on Saturday night, you can also check out the Cupcake Collective at the Old Miami, where they present All OUT Detroit: A Very Special Cruise.  They will be playing electro, disco, house, hip-hop and soul all night, and part of the proceeds go to benefit the Ruth Ellis Center.

SUNDAY
Sunday morning is the all-new Pride parade!  It starts at Griswold north of Lafayette (think Lafayette Coney Island area) and goes down to Hart Plaza.  Who knows what it will be like?  Probably awesomely home-grown.  I'll be walking with the "Robert M. Nelson presents a Salute to Robert M. Nelson, with Robert M. Nelson and the Detroit friends of Robert M. Nelson" float.  Who is Robert M. Nelson?  Find out at 11am on Sunday!

When you are at the Pride festival, make sure you check out the DJ set by Macho City's Mike Trombley at 5 on Sunday!

Wind down after Pride at Cafe D'Mongo's!  Larry is opening especially for us "in honor of your parade" and I expect a lively afterparty at everyone's fave watering hole will be the perfect way to end a fun weekend.  Come by for drinks and Robert M. Nelson will show you how he puts the "easy" in "speakeasy."

SPECIALS
Some of the sponsors in the Pride Program are making special offers just for Motor City Pride attendees.

Wheelhouse Detroit is located right on the riverfront, and you can rent a bike and do a little exploring.  It's so fun to bike around downtown and Sunday in particular is supposed to be GORGEOUS.  If you show your Pride sticker (you know, the one they give you when you enter Motor City Pride) you can get 20% off rentals, so two hours is only $10 and a full day is only $25!  Those Wheelhouse girls are the best.

Avalon is giving a 10% discount off your purchase for the weekend if you tell the retail staff a piece of local or national GLBT trivia.  Which will be really easy to do if you read Tim Retzloff's great op-ed in this week's excellent issue of Between the Lines.  Buy cookies and bring them to us at Hart Plaza!

Inside Detroit, the downtown's unofficial chamber of commerce and home of the Detroit Segway tour, has a great retail shop inside the Welcome Center in Merchant's Row.  They sell tons of unique Detroit apparel and locally-made items, and they are offering 15% off in honor of Pride weekend!

ALSO
While you are at Pride, be sure to stop by the booth for The Villages of Detroit because they are offering three FREE one-hour bus tours that leave from Hart Plaza.  It won't be as in-depth as the Indian Village Home & Garden Tour on Saturday, but it will give you a great overview of all the Villages, and there will be one stop to visit a gay-owned home on the tour!

Also in the home tour category (but separate from Pride), Corktown is presenting their Historical Home & Garden Tour on Sunday from 12-5. It's not specifically for Pride but who doesn't love a home tour?

Finally, when you are at Pride, stop by the booth for the Spirit of Hope Church, where our friend Pastor Matt is running a GLBT trivia contest.  Answer questions on gay politics, music, society and religion and get a chance to win a gift card from a Detroit Pride Project business!

That's all I've got for now.  See you at Motor City Pride!

I Went to a Marvelous Party

My first official public appearance on my return to Detroit was at a summer soirée thrown at the Hanging Gardens in Midtown.

The Hanging Gardens project, as you may have heard, was undertaken by a group of volunteers from Team Detroit who created a vertical garden on the walls of the burned-up-but-being-fixed-up Forest Arms apartment building. When I left town the kickoff had just taken place.  The overall impression was a lot of green bags hanging from the windows of a burned-out building, which wasn't actually very exciting yet.

A party at the Hanging Gardens, then, seemed like the best time to check out the progress, and the perfect time to make a return to Detroit society.  As it were.

I arrived at the party in a pissy mood, having just left a friendly but rather heated discussion with a local developer about the value of authenticity (or as it devolved, "douchebaggery" vs. "funkiness"), and then the passenger window in my long-suffering ride decided to get a little flakey.  I really, really was not in the mood to leave my car with the window open, as I am sure you can imagine, so I hastily remedied that and headed into the party.

With the flowers grown in and the Forest Arms wrapped around a cocktail party in full swing, my bad mood evaporated.  It was as if someone had gathered a couple dozen of my favorite Detroiters and put them into one surreal, uniquely Detroit setting.  Which come to think of it is exactly what happened.

Oh I could name names, but all you need to do is read any issue of Model D, or pick up a newspaper or watch a documentary and you'll have a pretty good idea who was there.  Detroit movers and (until they get a drink in them) shakers.  A wide array of old-timers and newcomers.  And a whole slew of Team Detroiters, the folks who set the whole thing in motion.  All people who get Detroit and the possibilities life here presents.

The party was Detroit summer perfection.  A beautiful night, a smattering of funky furniture, no shortage of gossip - I mean, conversation - and food and drinks borne of this local food movement that is so awesome I can hardly believe it is happening here.

We wandered through the building, my friends and I, checking out the rehab work and we ended up on the roof, where the party had partially migrated.

It's been a long time since I've had a more authentically Detroit moment than standing on the rooftop of an empty building with a drink in my hand, watching Robert M. Nelson tell one of his ribald jokes through a megaphone to an appreciative audience.

Oh Robert, what would Detroit 2010 be without you?

I can't lie, in the chaos of wrapping up my loose ends in May I had my doubts about the merits of this project.  Seeing it in full bloom, this almost formal flower garden set against the reversal of a ruin, I now find it to be an interesting foil to the whole "nature reclaiming the city" meme.  And of course, it really is quite beautiful.  It's a great example of what some creative thinking can do to mitigate what might otherwise stand as a symbol of loss, rehabilitation notwithstanding.

If you happen to find yourself near the intersection of Forest and Second, take a few moments to walk around and enjoy the Hanging Gardens.  Like most cool things in Detroit, it won't be long before the moment is over.

I am, naturally, very grateful my homecoming coincided with such a unique experience at the Hanging Gardens; it reinforced everything I'd gleaned from my travels, and everything I was discussing just before the party. If I were Noel Coward I would write a clever little song to sum up the evening, but I'm not.  So all I can say is this: I couldn't have liked it more.
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Ring Them Bells

I know you've all been on the edge of your seats, waiting to hear how the Astro Coffee talent show turned out. Since I was gabbing about it so much.

Well it turned out to be crazy fun!  Like, actual crazy.  First of all, you have to see this hall to believe it.  It was super conveniently located just off I-94 at Central and if you blink you miss it, it's that tiny and nondescript.  The inside, however, was anything but nondescript.  I don't have many photos from the night, but this shot of the stage should give you a good idea:

OK, so could it be more perfect?  No way.

Anticipation was palpable as the crowd, an eclectic and electric jumble of Detroiters-about-town, got their beer buzz on and watched the karaoke warm-up.  Sometimes I am not sure if naming names veers into gossip blog territory, so I think it is easier to describe the crowd in general terms.  Folks from many factions showed up to give support, but if you have to break it down it pretty much was hipsters and gays.

As you might expect, there were karaoke highlights even before the talent show began. Event masterplanner and Remains of the D blogger Ryan Schirmang hit a high note while hitting the high notes in the Rolling Stones' "Miss You."  ACLU Power Puff Roland Leggett and man-about-town Stephan performed a dazzling "Proud Mary" to a rapt audience.  Also the guy who runs the karaoke sang a bunch of long songs (Don't you always laugh when they do that?  "OK we have time for two more songs, so I'll be doing Rapper's Delight."  God bless 'em.)

But the main event was of course the Talent Show.  And what an impressive display of talent!  Phil Cooley and Jeff Anderson (in ninja garb) kicked it off with a spooky rendition of Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight" accompanied on the Casio keyboard.  Dave Mancini's talent was supposed to be drinking a pitcher of beer in ten seconds, but it turned out to be the boot-and-rally.  Good job Dave!!

There was more playing and singing (who did that cool rendition of "Bang Bang"?), and I can't really remember too many other acts before it was my turn on account of the nerves.  Then I got to perform my little song and dance, just me and my tambourine and this Liza showstopper. 

In a gay one-two punch, I was followed by the comedy stylings of Robert M. Nelson, who had the crowd roaring (the gays had tears of laughter running down their faces by the end, although one straight fella told me it was the filthiest act he's ever heard.)  Good job Robert!!

I was super happy that blog reader Miss Cindy Elmwood decided to come to the event and perform too!  She straddled the queer/hipster divide by performing NOT ONLY a song by the Magnetic Fields but also Lady Gaga on the Casio!  Music really does make the people come together!  And all with that fabulous wig - good job Cindy!!

After the show a bunch of the guys who work at Supino's set up their instruments and their band was awesome, everyone was dancing!  Good job Pizzateers!!

When the winners were announced it should come as no surprise that the gays swept the awards.  Hipster irony may be entertaining at the bar, but the gays really know how to razzle-dazzle!  And we take our performing seriously.

Third place went to Robert M. Nelson for his comedy (I told him he didn't have enough jokes to ironically not laugh at).  Second place went to Roland for his karaoke Proud Mary (he didn't even officially enter the talent show and he still beat Robert, it was that great!).  And first place went to me, naturally, for my amazing talent of a complete lack of shame!  Good job Supergay!!

Realistically, I think my win was a thanks for the great job I did of reeling in the queers. So I really want to take a second to thank all the gays for turning out in such large numbers, and giving the event an unexpected element that really helped make the evening a gigantic and entertaining success!

And congrats to the whole event committee for creating the most fantastic benefit I've been to in forever.  I hope thousands of dollars were raised and Astro Coffee will be caffeinating even sooner because of it.  And to the tremendous crowd who paid good money to watch an admittedly crazy show.  And to all the people who pull together to make the city a better place.

Good job Detroit!!

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The Talented Mr. You

I am particulary excited about this Talent Show going on tomorrow night.  I am not exactly sure why, maybe because it is something different than karaoke, maybe it's because it's bringing together social groups who don't always mingle in the city.  Maybe it is because it will be a full-on freakshow.  I just don't know, but I am really looking forward to it.

I scrounged some more details of the show, so I'm just going to give a little narrative for you.

Doors open at 9pm at the General George S. Patton Polish Village Veteran's Hall.  This is located at 4930 Central Avenue, which is between I-94 and Michigan Avenue.  There is an actual Central Avenue exit on 94 so you can get off the freeway, head south and you'll drive right into it.  I have never been to this spot, but it's also on the way to the R&R Saloon so clearly I've passed it on my way to Macho City.

There will be warm-up karaoke from 9 to 11.  This is casual and all should feel free to perform their alternate numbers at this time.  There will also be booze, which should help things get rolling once the talent show starts about 11.

What can you expect at the talent show?  Well, lots of second-rate talent.  If you have reservations about performing, let me just pass along the word that ANYTHING GOES!  Without giving anything away, you can expect to see things like Dave Mancini's 30-second talent that got him all the girls in college, or hear Liz Isakson turn happy songs into sad songs (they say so much).  You can hear me - yes me, Supergay - perform the lullaby my Aunt Liza used to sing to me when I was a gayby, and we will even be blessed with one of Robert M. Nelson's famed spoken-word performances! (Robert is also the Cafe D'Mongo's advice columnist and a real card, you're gonna love him like I love him.  Which is platonically.).

You don't need to know who all these people are to know that any doubts you may have had that your performance doesn't rate were completely unfounded.  You should feel free to sign up with some confidence that you actually might win!  And seriously?  Sign up!  Sing a little song, do a little dance, play the piano, photoshop Brad Pitt together with Anderson Cooper - whatever!  It's all a talent to someone!  You have nothing to lose but your dignity!  Call 313-615-3425 or message the organizers on the Facebook page!

 It's a talent!  Call now!

Now the admission is $20, and yes that is US currency, unless you are performing in which case it is $10.  The whole shebang is to benefit Astro Coffee, which you may have read about in this week's Model D.  Don't worry, the owner is not funding the entire start-up through janky talent shows.  This is just to give things a little extra jolt, just like Astro Coffee will do for you once they open up!

Marvin with Model D took this great photo of the future Astro Coffee!

Advance conversations with everyone I can talk to about this lead me to believe this event with have a MoCAD event-like eclectic quality to its crowd:  a dash of hipster, a dollop of gay, a smidge of cool suburbanite and a smattering of Detroit scenester.  It's going to be awesome! 
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