Sydney Mardi Gras 2012 celebrates with Kylie Minogue (3 March 2012)

Oxford Street, Taylor Square and Flinders Street

http://www.mardigras.org.au

http://www.mardigrastv.org.au

Free, Gay & Happy times

I hope all those that attended the Sydney Mardi Gras 2012 parade had a wonderful and gay time and managed to catch a glimpse of the beautiful Kylie Minogue celebrating her 25 years in the music industry. It looks like there were lots of very interesting costumes on show and the rain didn't seem to dampen the spirits. I noticed earlier in the week Oxford Street had some colourful rainbow inspired window displays. I'm sure all the gay-friendly bars will be packed tonight with queues running down the street to probably the next bar. I didn't have a chance to check out the parade this year but I look forward to seeing the highlights on Mardi Gras TV.

I remember the last time I visited The Oxford aka 'Totally Gay' back on 19 May 2010 the Socceroos were playing in the World Cup against Germany. The whole bar cheered when Australia scored a goal — that was quite a surreal moment. Across the road is the ever famous Stonewall complete with drag shows. I wonder if the Tarzan theme is still alive and well on the ground floor? And I'm sure Palms will be as ever popular along with Midnight Shift and Slide.

Here's my 10 tips to survive a Mardi Gras parade:

1. Wear comfortable and closed shoes unless you're dressing in drag

2. Take a bottle of water

3. Eat before or take some snacks

4. Take a camera with an extra battery

5. Bring wet weather gear but travel light

6. Work out where the available toilets are

7. Arrive early and find a spot to view the parade

8. Take someone with you to mind your spot

9. Find a milk crate, then find another milk crate and stack it

10. Be prepared to walk part way home as taxis and public transport will probably be full — see tip 1 again

2012 window displays

The Oxford, May 2010

Stonewall, June 2010





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The Beresford Hotel: $5 pints and $10 cocktails, Surry Hills (13 Feb 2011)

354 Bourke Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010

http://www.theberesford.com.au

http://www.merivale.com

Everyday happy hour

Drinks can be expensive in Sydney but generally there's Happy Hour specials in most pubs as long as you're there at the right time. The Beresford Hotel offers $5 Pints, Wines and Basic Spirits between 5 – 7 pm which I think is pretty good value considering the area and the nice decor and seating available to chill out. Today they had some reasonably priced cocktails for $10 which were all carefully made by the bar staff and didn't seem to skimp on alcohol content. The Negroni ($10, usually $14) looks pretty empty in its glass although was pretty much all alcohol, flavours balanced well as a nice stiff aperitif. The Kir Royal ($10) equally good and I'm thinking you'd be hard pressed to find a cheaper version around. The Bloody Mary ($10) was noticeably spiced up with tabasco and pepper and if you like them I think you'll probably like this version — I think the glass was rimmed with paprika. The Margarita ($10) comes in a tumbler rather than the usual cocktail looking glass and there's no skimping on the Herradura blanco Tequila and Cointreau its shaken with.

Other visits to The Beresford Hotel:

• 13 Feb 2011 - $5 pints, wines and spirits and $10 cocktails

• 4 June 2010 - Justin Hemmes makeover

• 31 Oct 2009 - Halloween drink time

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Nice decor and seating, Reasonably priced drink specials, Large beer garden, Gay Friendly (especially Sundays)

CONS: Can get pretty crowded in the outside area when it's a nice day

MUST TRY: The restaurant one day

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Negroni ($10), Kir Royal ($10)

Bloody Mary ($10), Margarita ($10)

$10 cocktail menu

Pint of beer ($5 special between 5 – 7 pm)

$5 Pints, Wines and Basic Spirits between 5 – 7 pm

Front bar seating

Outdoor seating

Restaurant seating

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Palms on Oxford: Gay Nightclub, Darlinghurst (8 May 2010)

Basement, 124 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst NSW 2010

http://www.facebook.com/Palms.On.Oxford

Gay-friendly daggy disco

I think I may possibly be the one and only food blog that will ever post about Palms but if you can eat or drink at a venue then I'll pretty much blog about it — and besides they play excellent retro music. For a gay-friendly experience that's definitely more men than women (about 10-1) you'll find Palms playing all the right tunes of the 70s, 80s, 90s and top 40 dance music to get you in the party atmosphere. It's one of the few standing clubs on Oxford Street that's still free entry but you'll need to get in by 10.30-11 pm as lines get really long very quickly towards the middle of the night. Bar staff are efficient and energetic although the demand for drinks can still make you wait a bit — especially when it's crowded and hot. It's the first time I noticed they have a bar food menu of four items which is quite limited. Palms reminds me of a gay version of Randi Wix in terms of the down-t0-earth crowd, tacky decor and abundance of fun retro music but it's a little freaky how they both have palm trees as their illustrative logo.

Other gay-friendly clubs on Oxford Street:

• Stonewall Hotel

• The Oxford Hotel

• The Columbian Hotel

• The Midnight Shift

• Slide

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Gay friendly, Fun retro music, Free entry, Unpretentious

CONS: Long lineups depending on when you go, Pricey drinks, A bit tacky in a good way if you like that sort of thing

MUST TRY: Not drinking on an empty stomach

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Tacky snake lights decor

Black smirnoff $12.50, House sparking $8

Menu

Flag decorations

Lineup outside

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Fair Day: Official Launch of Sydney Mardi Gras, Victoria Park (21 Feb 2010)

Victoria Park, City Road, Chippendale NSW 2008
http://www.mardigras.org.au

A great day 'out'

The sun was shining bright for this community event that officially launched the start of Mardi Gras Festival in Sydney. If you're a dog lover then there's plenty to check out including adorable ones in the dog shows. I can't believe how many competing Turkish Gozleme stalls I came across — six in total! That's ridiculous — they are literally taking over the festival world for sure. I decided to try the Seafood Paella instead for $10 a bowl which was promoting the Spanish Terrazas Restaurant. Was quite nice for festival food and somewhat filled me up for the day. I came across some interesting and well designed cakes by Gay Cakes. They are running a competition until 31 March 2010 to win a $500 voucher — check out the details online. Dykes on Bikes were showing off their amazing looking bikes and there were fun rides throughout the park being enjoyed by the crowds. The official after-party was at the Bank Hotel in Newtown.

Happy Mardi Gras!

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Fun day out, Cute dogs on show, Free entertainment, Friendly colourful characters, Fun rides

CONS: Limited parking, Limited food options, Weather

MUST TRY: Remembering to put sunscreen on

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Colourful characters

Gay cakes

Dogs on show

Seafood Paella

Seafood Paella $10

Turkish Gozleme on mass

Stall number 1

Stall number 2

Stall number 3

Stall number 4

Stall number 5

Stall number 6

Dykes on Bikes

Ride with Pride with Dykes on Bikes

Victoria Park

ANZ stage – free entertainment

Enter by Donation

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