boiMAG.com "Montreal BBCM"

MONTREAL "BLACK & BLUE BALL"

by Mike @ Night

First off, like any trip when flying local or abroad, make sure you either have the option of getting a pre-flight bording pass or get to the airport at least 1-1/2 to two hours before boarding, otherwise the airline can give away your seat without warning, and that’s not pleasant, especially if you get stuck in long security check lines.

Next, when traveling, it’s a good idea to have a plan for transportation arriving from the airport to your hotel, or to your lodging destination, otherwise, you may have to rely on possible unexpected taxi or high demand Uber type costs, or long waits for buses. Once I got to Montreal, I was faced with looking for a non-existent shuttle to the hotel, or figure out a rout to take a bus, train, Uber it or make a deal with a taxi driver, which I chose to do and was happy that I did because it was during rush hour. All inclusive it was $50 with fair and tip, however it would have been much more if I didn’t negotiate the price in advance with the taxi driver, due to traffic. To my luck, the taxi driver had a brand new Tesla, that drove itself. That in itself, and the fact that it was the fastest mode of transportation to the hotel after a long flight was well worth the cost and having the experience of the future of driverless cars, which will eventually put taxi and Uber drivers out of business, but for now, the future is at our doorstep.

Once at the Sheraton, the check-in was right at street level in the classy hotel lobby. The staff already anticipated my arrival and I just had to hand them my ID, then they gave me a digital key to my room, which I upgraded to the club level, which includes access to the 37th floor club lounge, that serves continental breakfast starting at 7-10:30am on the weekends, which is a huge benefit, that includes simple food like eggs, sausage, bacon, bagel, toast, fruit, chips, nutrition bars, salads, pastries and non-alcoholic beverages, juices, Starbucks coffees & latte that are all free in their nice lounge type atmosphere, with glass windows overlooking the city. The cost and convenience of that upgrade is well worth the price versus restaurant or fast food. Continued >> boiMAG.com 17

Snacks and beverages are provided throughout the day, so I highly recommend the club-lounge upgrade, unless you like to explore, or experience and support local restaurants.

One note, your room key provides a touches key access to the 37th floor VIP lounge that only works if you hold the key in the elevator device panel while selecting your floor, otherwise the elevator won’t move and you might be standing in the elevator pushing the button that won’t work, which is a good added hotel security benefit.

On the 6th floor of the Sheraton is the very nice and convent amenity that all hotel gusts have the access to, the hotel’s luxurious heated pool, sauna, whirlpool and 24-hour workout and outdoor roof-top deck area. This in itself is well worth the choice of staying at the Sheraton. They can accommodate your every need.

They speak French in Montreal but that’s ok because most people also speak English.

If your feeling adventurous or wanna save money, you can use the Metro train and bus transit to and from your destinations. The trains are impressively fast, much like taking off on a Six Flags

Miss Lady Rain was the door host and greeter at all the Black and Blue events that my travel buddy Glow Joe and I attended. She couldn’t have been more welcoming and had the answer to all our questions, which was a nice touch.

Soirée Twinkle @ Le Normandi is in the Village and is a welcoming local bar / tavern, that is like Atmosphere here in Chicago. The night was all about Karaoke, so even if it’s not your thing, the locals will have you singing along. The staff was also very welcoming and attentive.

One of the dance parties was at Lion d’or, a cabaret and event space that was transformed into a club setting with the DJ on stage and dance floor. The theme of the night was leather, “The Leather Ball” and the leather guys were friendly and enjoying the local DJ’s Ashley Gauthier & Chris Mortagua’s music, as we were too.

GI Joe, one of Montreal’s 24 hour saunas in the gay village has an amazing staff. They make sure that sanitary is their priority and they work hard keeping the place clean, down to every detail, including an awesome music DJ playlist specially, selected by the general manager, according to my travel buddy. Unfortunately I needed to get back to the hotel for much needed rest for another fun day and night out.

The District Party @ Club Soda was another Black & Blue event, with great sound, good lighting effects and music to match with a good choice of local Montreal DJs Paskal Daze & DJ Aron.

The Black & Blue main event, this year for the first time, was at the La Tohu performance art center, a venue that accommodates large events and weekly performance art shows, similar to that of Cirque du Solet. The Tohu is located in the heart of the Cité des arts du cirque, and it’s Montreal’s venue for dissemination, creation, experimentation and convergence between culture, environment and

community involvement, including being the host for the Black & Blue’s 360º main event. Needless to say, it was amazing. Especially since this year, the founders of the BBCM decided to feature their local DJs Alain Jackinsky, Alain Vinet, Ian Key, Lady McCoy, Luke Raymond, Maus, Stefane Lippe, Stephan Grondin, and Steve Aries. For who else, but Montreal DJs that could deliver the best music to the locals and at the same time represent Canada proudly by meeting the high expectations of visitors from other cities, like us from the US, and seasoned circuit party attendees from all around the world.

The Black & Blue Ball isn’t your typical mostly gay male circuit party event, it’s uniquely supported by the entire city of Montreal that has been bringing everyone together for an incredible large-scale dance party experience for over two decades. boiMAGazine has been a proud sponsor of BBCM since it’s Chicago launch during the Y2K event at the turn of the century, in year 2000 at the Congress Theater. The BBCM foundation was formed to raise funds for helping organizations that provide, on a daily basis financial, medical and social assistance to people living with HIV / AIDS since 1991, effecting all genders, including children.

One thing that impressed me the most when I attended my first BBCM event back in 2001, which was right after the World Trade Center attack on the United States, the event coordinators held seminars at the host hotel surrounding the weekend events. One of the public conferences focused on a problematic community issue, which was the alarming rise and use of recreational drugs by party goers, that were suddenly sending more and more people to the emergency rooms.

A panel of experts at the seminar, included elected officials, medical doctors, remarkably even the police and first responders, who all spoke freely and took questions from the festival attendees on subjects like the party drug ecstasy (today's Molly, yesterday's MDMA derivative,) and other drugs like GHB, cocaine, pot (weed,) crystal meth, ketamine (special K,) also the effects from cheap unrefined alcohol that was in high use afflicting the dance club party culture, which no one in the United States was even talking about at the time.

Not only is the Black & Blue Ball a fun filled party weekend, but it’s also a community that brings people together, no matter race or sexual preference, which is still needed in the scene, maybe more now than ever.

BBCM'S Founder & President Robert with his husband Christian