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AUGUST 5. 2011
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T o Leather, W ith L o v e
Oregon Leather Pride 2011 is back in black
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COVERAGE BY RYAN J. PRADO
As visibility and understanding increases
toward the world o f leather enthusiasts here
in Oregon, so grows the booted footprint of
the subculture. The leather community has
come a long way, having distanced itself from
the biker aesthetic, the brawny bear milieu
and the misconceptions stemming from a
never-ending onslaught o f largely negative
pop culture references.
Even 2010’s Portland Pride Parade debacle,
wherein a sex sling display threatened to
alienate the community at large, has done
little to discourage the leather loyal. Leather
pride is alive and well, its faithful welcoming
anyone interested to learn more during the
2011 Oregon Leather Pride week, taking
place August 5-14 all over Portland.
Building upon 2010’s banner Leather Pride
program, O L P co-chair Ben Brown Jr. aimed
to further the outreach o f the
events slated for this year’s
lineup. W ith a now 16 group-
strong showing, O LP 2011
actually packs in more events
in one less day than last year—
27 in all, a feat made even
more mind-boggling consid
ering that O L P didn’t receive
the grants it sought to help
fund this - year’s festivities.
W h at’s more, the majority of
the leather-clad soirées run
under $10 for admission, and
half of the events are free.
“A lot of it had to do with
building on successes and
showing other groups that we
could actually pull this off once again, and do
it in a way that we’ve never done before,”
Brown Jr. explains. “We didn’t get the grant
funding wè were hoping to this year, but
rather than be bitter about it, we decided to
make lemonade.”
Instead, O L P received a small grant from
Pride NW, which organizers utilized to
manufacture official O L P 2011 T-shirts.
Sales from these shirts— competitively priced
at $15 a piece or two for $25— go directly to
cover the core expenses for this year’s smor
gasbord of events.
O f O L P ’s DIY approach, Brown Jr. adds,
“Even if the funds are dry, there’s no reason
not to move forward with your goals, and do
it in a very-positive way.”
Oregon Leather Pride began as a weekend-
long event in June of 1989, held during the
20-year anniversary o f the Stonewall Riots
and the 12th Portland Pride Festival. The
festivities gained momentum in 1991, evolv
ing into an entire week’s worth o f leather
shenanigans, and soon taking on more leather,
BDSM and kink groups to carry the weight.
In 2003, several o f the Portland area’s most
involved leather and leather-friendly groups—
including the Portland Leather Alliance,
Blackout Leather Productions, the Imperial
Sovereign Rose Court and Bad Girls— met
to discuss creating a more unified Leather
Pride Week. The result was the Oregon
Leather Pride committee, which has grown
every year since its inception.
Among the more familiar events at OLP:
the popular Leather Family BBQi taking
place this year Thursday, August 11 from 6
p.m. to dusk at Overlook Park; the 15th A n
nual Mr. and Mrs. Oregon State Leather
contest on August 13; and the Rose & Thorn
Awards Sunday, August 14.
O LP 2011 also welcomes a few new kids to
the block. First, on Tuesday, August 9, Brown
Jr. facilitates an online media campaign geared
Brian Johnson marching with this year’s
Pride Parade contingent
toward reducing men’s syphilis rates. The ef
fort is in reaction to recent data suggesting a
rise iri STD rates among men who have sex
with men.
“W e’re starting to trend to some very scary
data,” Brown Jr. says. “The last thing we need
to do is replicate w hat’s been happening in
San Francisco, New York and Seattle. It’s be
come an incredibly serious problem. This is
something that’s from the men’s community,
for the men’s community, just to look out for
each other.”
From 5 to 7 p.m. August 11, the first
Leather History Exhibit hits The Conserva
tory (5224 SE Foster Road) to showcase a
collaboration between Andy Mangels— Mr.
Oregon State Leather 2004— and his Oregon
Leather History Project, the Portland Leather
Alliance and O LP 2011 co-chair Chelsea
Watson, who has been instrumental in bring
ing archives from the Leather Archives and
Museum in Chicago, 111.
“The Leather History Exhibit, o f all the
new events, is the one I’m most excited about,"
Brown Jr. enthuses. “W e’ve never attempted
anything on this scale during Leather Pride.
I t’s still going to be small with the hope that
over the next several years we can really grow
it out. It gives people the opportunity to see
what we’re really about and see how long and
rich our history is—rnot just as leathermen,
but in the broader queer community.”
O ther established events during O L P 2011
include the Portland Leather Alliance’s
Leather Tastings event at The Conservatory
on Saturday, August 6 (noon-4 p.m.); the
Leather & Lace Show on Wednesday, August
10 at Embers Avenue (7 p.m.), hosted by the
Imperial Sovereign Rose Court; and the
Portland Leather Men Potluck on Saturday,
August 13. Held from 4 to
6 p.m., it is the Rose C ity’s
i oldest men’s-only leather
n
J
i group meeting.
' In another new addi
tion, Blackout Leather
Productions is instituting
an Oregon State Boot-
black title, given to those
whose bootblacking prow
ess reigns supreme. The
winner of the contest has
the option to compete for
International Mr. or Ms.
Bootblack in Chicago
come May o f next year.
“It’s a nice addition be
cause it recognizes a whole
segment o f the community that is dedicated
to service, which is one o f our founding prin
ciples o f the leather community, and leather
pride is service to your community,” says
Brown Jr.
Through an even more diversified parade of
leather-loving happenings, the O LP 2011
committee hopes above all else for people to
keep an open mind, and to explore the scope
of events whether you’re new to the scene or
not. And for those uncertain of where to be
gin, Brown Jr. has another suggestion.
“Contact one o f us and let us have a discus
sion about where your comfort level is at,” he
pleads. “A big public event in a park may not
be your thing, but something small and inti
mate with people that you have an interest in
might be. It’s about where people’s comfort
level is and, most importantly, deciding for
themselves where their comfort level is as an
entry level.
“W ere incredibly welcoming and an in
credibly friendly group o f people. More than
anything, throw caution to the wind and have
a great, great tim e.”