Air New Zealand to Offer Gay-Themed Flight

by Catherine Bodry on

Bring on the feather boas, shimmery eye makeup, and stiletto heels. And if you want to sleep, maybe some sleeping pills, because Air New Zealand’s gay-themed flight from San Francisco to Sydney promises to be 14 hours of nonstop fun.

The flight is scheduled to depart February 25 for the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in Sydney, Australia, which is one of the world’s most well-attended gay events. Passengers can expect drag queens, pink cocktails, and a cabaret, as well as gay-friendly movies and a “Get-Onboard Girlfriend” going away party.

Air New Zealand flight-tested a similar theme for Sydney’s Mardi Gras in 2007, when flight attendants wore pink feather boas and the pilot donned fairy wings. American Airlines, Air Canada, and other airline companies have become visible sponsors of gay pride events, but none so far have used “campy” programming to appeal to gay and lesbian travelers.

I’m a married, heterosexual woman, but this is one 14-hour flight I just might actually enjoy.

A Sampling of Labor Day Festivals

by Catherine Bodry on

There’s more to Labor Day than escaping for the weekend — most cities offer some sort of celebration. If you’ve decided to stick around town, here’s a small sampling of the odd, the crazy, and the large festivals across the country.

Southern Decadence

Known as the “Gay Mardi Gras,” this New Orleans celebration starts partying the Wednesday before Labor Day and doesn’t stop until the Tuesday afterward. The inclusion of “decadence ” in the title barely hints at the indulging and imbibing that go on for six days.

Events include a talent competition (talented kissing counts!), three 12-hour “dance parties” (read: raves), drag shows, and a big you-know-what contest. DJ ChiChi LaRue, better known as a porn director, presides over several events.

Tickets and passes are still available through the official website, and you can find hotel deals there as well.

Bumbershoot: Seattle’s Music and Arts Festival

A “bumbershoot” is an umbrella. I didn’t know this until I moved to Seattle, so I’m assuming that you don’t either. And I’m also assuming that Seattle’s largest music festival is named after said umbrella in a sort of crossed-fingers, let’s fool the gods, double-jinx move, wherein naming a festival after the most popular accessory in the northwest ensures that it won’t really rain. (Although the official website claims it’s a “metaphor for the festival being an umbrella for all of the various artists and performers it encompasses.”)

One ticket gets you in to see everthing, although some venues have limited seats. This year’s lineup includes The Shins, Wu-Tang Clan, Sean Paul, Fergie, and Joss Stone. Although music is Bumbershoot’s draw, there’s also comedy, literary arts, and various other performing arts, plus crafts, food and what’s sure to be a rockin’ beer garden.

Tickets are sold out for all three days, so if you’re a last-minute planner you might want to check out Craigslist and eBay for people who’ve had a change of plans.

Chicago Jazz Festival

Significantly more subdued than Southern Decadence, Chicago Jazz Festival nonetheless offers a lot to “get jazzed” (their motto, not mine) about. Three days of free jazz in Grant Park is kicked off by the only ticketed show of the weekend — An Evening with Herbie Hancock.

Chicago Jazz originated as a small festival in memory of Duke Ellington, and eventually joined forces with the John Coltrane Memorial Concert and the Jazz Institute of Chicago to showcase a talented line-up for which 125,000 enthusiasts came. 29 years later the festival still attracts the same kinds of crowds.

Mackinac Bridge Walk

Although it’s not an all-weekend event, the Mackinac Bridge Walk is celebrating its 50th year as something of a phenomenon, attracting close to 65,000 participants in the 5-mile walk. The bridge spans Lake Michigan from St. Ignace to Mackinac City, Michigan, and was an architectural wonder when it opened in 1957. It’s the third longest suspension bridge in the world (although until 1998 it the longest).

The governor-headed walk marks the only time pedestrians are allowed on the bridge. Participants describe the event as celebratory, and one person wrote that “the excitement is palpable.” If you’re in Michigan, it’s not a bad (or expensive — the walk is free) way to spend Labor Day.

No running allowed — if you just can’t walk, wait until May 28, 2008 when the Mackinac Bridge Run is held.

Mountain Man Rendezvous

If you enjoy playing pretend, then this festival could be for you. A historical reenactment of the “mountain man/trapper life,” Mountain Man Rendezvous in Fort Bridger, Wyoming celebrates the old days when trappers convened to sell their furs from the previous winter. Participants raise tepees and buckskin tents, and compete in events like knife throwing, tomahawk throwing, and black powder target shooting. A period food court serves up kettle corn, Indian fry bread, and other dishes from the time (don’t worry, there’s no squirrel). Museums stay open late and historians speak nightly, so you can say you learned something over your holiday weekend. The festival draws a crowd of about 40,000 so you might want to reserve your buckskin tent ASAP.

The Worst Places to be Hungover When Traveling

by Martha Edwards on

Most of us have gone a bit overboard on the local beer or spirits when in another country. My worst experience was in Sydney, where my two friends and I found ourselves with a 4L box of wine that we bought for $10 and refused to haul any further on our way up the coast. We had one night to drink it, and it just happened to be Mardi Gras.We finished it all right. But most of my share ended up coming up the way it went in, if you get my drift. Running through the halls of the hostel, trying desperately to get my key card to open the door to the communal bathrooms before spewing up last night’s ill-advised double serving of fries rates up there as one of the worst days of my life. Make that two days.

Here’s what I consider to be the worst places to be hungover. Feel free to add your own in the comments:

  • On a boat off the coast of … well … anywhere: After one tequila-fueled night in Puerto Vallarta, my friends and I had to take a booze cruise or forfeit our deposit. So we went and oh my goodness, I’ve never been so seasick in my life. Actually, I’ve never been seasick period, besides that day. The Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Cairns is also notoriously choppy — one girl on a boat trip I went on had to be air-lifted back to shore!
  • In a Tuk Tuk: Bangkok is beautiful but it’s also hot and polluted and I can see why people splurge on cabs — breathing in the exhaust is enough to make anyone hurl, whether they’re already feeling a bit queasy or not.
  • In transit: Not only will exhaustion make you prone to missing your bus/flight/train/ferry but the motion/turbulence/rocking is bound to make you feel a bit ill. Plus, those miniature bathrooms leave something to be desired when you’re feeling nauseous.
  • Locked out of your hostel: Many hostels have lock-out rules during the day so while you want nothing more than to sleep it off, you’ll have to do it elsewhere. I recommend a nearby park if it’s nice out. If it’s not, you might be outta luck.
  • Outside when it’s hot: Laying on the beach with a bunch of bottled water is an okay way to recover, but there’s a fine line between being tolerably hot and being unbearably hot. Insane heat is uncomfortable when you’re feeling your best, so it’s really, really brutal when you’re feeling your worst.

So while we don’t ever really plan to be hungover, next time you’re tempted to say ‘cheers’ a few too many times, look at your surroundings. Must-haves for the hangover are air-conditioning, a decent bed that you can crash in for as long as you want, a supply of water and aspirin, and good friends who will bring you greasy food when you’re too sick to move.

Blogging New Orleans Covers the 2007 Jazzfest

by Justin Glow on

New Orleans is one of my favorite towns of all time. It’s like a second home to me; there’s no other city I’ve visited more without actually living there. It’s unfortunate that I’ve never been during Jazzfest, though, because our sister-site, Blogging New Orleans, sure makes it look like a blast. They’ve spent the past weekend partaking in all of the festivities, and meticulously documenting every lick of the guitar and po’boy bite so that those unfortunate souls who couldn’t make it this year can still get their kicks.

Let’s take a look at some of the highlights from the first weekend:

  • Jazz Fest Fashion — “…there is not a much sadder sight than a middle aged man in a baseball cap ogling a nubile twenty-something and then trying to strike up a conversation…”
  • Jazzfest: This Blue’s For You — “Even at Jazzfest on a Sunday afternoon, sometimes a girl can get the blues.”
  • Jazz Fest: Hot 8 Brass Band — “Not only is the music good but a great deal of enjoyment comes from the energy that pours off the stage.”
  • Jazz Fest: First Impressions — A look at Jazzfest from the prospective of a first timer.
  • The Lower 9th: A hidden history of jazz — “It’s fair to say that jazz has revolutionized western music, a fact that makes its early vilification by federal and city law enforcement all the more absurd.”

The second and last weekend of Jazzfest 2007 takes place from May 4-6, so make sure you bookmark Blogging New Olreans and check back to see what you missed.

Choose The Krewe That’s Right For You!

by Willy Volk on

Mardi Gras is in exactly one week, which means that — unless you’re fabulously attractive — it’s probably too late to join a krewe this year. That said, I understand the the Krewe of Barkus only requires prospective krewers to register their dog and pay $50 on the day of the parade. Krewe of Barkus? What’s a krewe? A krewe is a group of people who help to ensure that merry-makers actually make merry during Mardi Gras. Yeah, krewes are the sexy ones riding on the floats, tossing out the beads. Though most krewes are open to the public, “open to the public” and “free” are not the same thing.

If you’re interested in kreweing, Blogging New Orleans has a run-down of some of the coolest krewes — and tips on how to join them. While it may be too late to join just any old krewe this year, if you begin planning now, you can join almost any krewe for 2008. From the Krewe of Mid-City (prepare to drop $1000 just to join), to Endymion (which requires that you be nominated by a member and spend $300 on the application), to the Krewe of Zulu (which requires a $1500 membership fee and a commitment to stay up drinking all night), check out BNO if you’re trying to choose the krewe that’s right for you.

[Photo: Maitri]