Today was the first day of the Expo at the W Fort Lauderale. The Expo began with a simple opening ceremony with a letter from the city being read, welcoming the event to Fort Lauderdale. I had been to the 24th year of the Orlando Expo in June. Seeing that this is the first year for the Fort Lauderdale event, the booth participation and community attendance I felt were both high.
Thanks to the handsome Leather Werks booth attendant, I started the Expo off with a smile. The booths were housed with jewelry, porn and adult toys, clothing, leather, Tito’s Vodka, The Pride Center, a lawyer’s office, local hotels, Orlando hotels, local Coldwell Banker Realtor Logan Crewws (smart man and cute, too), and a teeth whitening booth. Yeah, I got sucked into doing it with a friend. T’is the season to buy for yourself, right? I've always wanted to try it so why not! I'll let you know about the results in another blog.
After the Expo, it was time to go to the pool party. As I am sorting thru my pics, the sun is blocked out by a large yellow wig and I hear, “Get off your phone, b&$ch. Stop Scruffing.” It was my first introduction to ChiChi LA Rue. Both of us were smiling at the exchange and I told her I was working and would like to chat with her later. To be honest, Wet West at the W was a little windy, but still well attended. Even in the wind, wigs were worn as you can see in this picture of ChiChi La Rue and Harmony Breeze, the reigning Miss Gay Days. Her year long position was earned at Gay Days – Orlando this past June. Harmony Stated it was an honor to be here in Fort Lauderdale. Her presence at the Expo was felt with her great smile and great heels. She'll be here every day as the Gay Days ambassador. Congrats Harmony.
Back to the pool … the Wet West complex at the W is the perfect size to host this 1st year of pool parties. I expect a higher turnout tomorrow and Sunday as the weather warms up and locals are more freed from their holiday obligations and shopping. Locals can still go to the pool parties with a valid ID, before noon is free and after noon is $10.
It was nice to meet a varied group of men around the pool and especially in the hot tub. Some traveled down from Orlando (roughly a 3 hour ride), others planned to meet up here from Baltimore and Charlotte (the boys at the top of this post), and others just having booked at the W for the weekend and were pleasantly surprised to find a gay event in their hotel. I met several such couples that stumbled onto the event at the Expo and the pool as well as some staring down from the lobby with excitement, asking me, “Can we go down and see?” I saw them at the pool later.
