for whisking me away from the United States on a trip to
Halifax, Nova Scotia. I was offered an amazing tour that
kept this writer going almost non-stop. I checked out
museums, restaurants and wine vineyards.
Macho men in skirts still reenact their military history at
The Halifax Citadel fortress up on a hill. The answer, my
friend, is blowing in the wind under those kilts.
And then there’s Maud Lewis at The Art Gallery of Nova
Scotia. I was inspired by this local folk artist’s effort of
bringing her entire house into the museum because
she’d used the outside and inside of the house as her
canvas.
I even visited a lighthouse and had amazing seafood to
boot, ey!
But, since this is a nightlife magazine, let’s dish on the
bars.
I got my booty grabbed at Reflections bar downtown.
You can spot it by the loud and proud marquee outside.
A twisted local drag queen performed ‘We’re Not Gonna
Take It.’ Now that’s something you don’t see everyday
in Chi-town.
It was nice to see the community being very open, with
female couples and male couples sometimes holding
hands in the streets. The underwear that hung in the
window of an adult bookstore called Venus Envy might
stop traffic in some small towns, but not here.
On our second night, we dropped by a fundraiser where
local queer bands raised money for this year’s Pride
festival. If you visit the week of July 20-27, you’ll witness
all kinds of activities. The festival has about 6,000
participants with around 30,000 people watching.
We spent our third night of the trip on the dance floor at
Menz bar with bears, club kids and older gents.
Across the street, the bathhouse Seadog can offer some
relaxation. Quarterly this bathhouse becomes Shedogs
and welcomes women and transgendered individuals for
poetry readings and foot massages. Now why doesn’t
Steamworks try that one on for size?
Sometimes small cities can make the best vacations.
Nova Scotia is one of those places that has much to
offer the gay traveler.
Check out www.destinationhalifax.com for more information
and Web sites of these places to help you plan
your unique getaway.
For past articles go to windycitytimes.com
and type in ‘Pubert.’
From left to right: The Halifax Citadel Fortress; from Reflections bar; the dance floor at Menz bar. Photos by Jerry Nunn