Beerfest

For the last 25 years I have spent my life surrounded by crowds of gays, gaggles of faggots and legions of lesbians so that now I find it quite odd to spend the day in with a whole bunch of heterosexuals. There is something sociologially intriguing about the heterosexual community when gathered in multitudes of hundreds.
Today my husband, my friend and I went to Beerfest. It is a gathering of people - largely 20 somethings and 30 somethings - at Old Fort York in the shadow of the neon bedecked CN Tower. You can't buy better people watching than exists at this event - its like gay pride - only without the gaiety!
Year one when we attended our pleasure came not only from the beer but from watching the 19 year old tipsy girls in little skirts teeter on their very high heels that they wore - not realizing that this place "Fort York" had grass instead of a dance floor. It was a very fun day.
Year two, there were some especially fun bits. Drunk guy who couldn't find his friends - we spent HOURS passing drunk guy as he got drunker and drunker and drunker - until we finally found him in the drunk holding pen at the end of the evening. It was a happy ending though as this is also where his friends found him!
The heterosexual drunk guys are great to watch. I like the way that large groups of them will wear matching ugly tshirts or unfashonable hats - the gays would NEVER do that.
Perhaps the best part is near the end of the evening as they start becoming unable to walk and hugging each other to hold each other upright. And as Doug says, they look at each other like they are either going to kiss or fight and frankly it could likely go either way and no one would remember.
This year we went to the BBQ expo with Ted Reader - as we usually do. He was making MEATZZA and 3 inch thick porterhouse steaks. I watched fascinated - the meatzza had a base or hamburger instead of crust - cause what man wants to fart around with carbs - and was covered with cheeses, chicken, steak, saucage and bacon. It was a heart attack on a plate. Of course when it was cooked - he invited me to be one of the people on stage to try it - and I just couldn't. I have been trying really hard to walk the vegetarian line. Something told me to just say no thank you and following my instincts was right.
Reader launched into a huge diatribe about how vegetarians are people who can't hunt fish or kill anything. They should belong to PETA - People who eat tasty animals....oh - the men love that kinda talk when they are drunk and full of meat!
Another thing that I noted about beerfest versus pride was the men. Basically all men look alike - right? Gay straight drunk or not. At any gay event you will get a contingent of what are affectionately known as "bears". The bear for those of you not in the know is a big weighty usually bearded, plaid clad muscular or just plain fat guy. Not that there is anything wrong with that. At a gay event I'm going to go out on a limb and say 1 bear for every 1o atendees. At Beerfest - 1 bear for every 4 people. Fun.
As the evening wears on (and it closes at 10pm) the people get friendlier and drunker - as with any event. Some drunk chick came up and hugged me and kissed me and high fived me. And as Doug said again, the instint is to say - "Happy Pride!" But what do you say at Beerfest? Happy Beerday? Woohoo you're drunk?
Tomorrow I'm going to the taste of the Danforth - where I will be again surrounded by people - but with kids. Sunday, its Wonderland. Somehow its not quite the same. But Pride and Beerfest- those were some good times.