Montreal:
The second largest French-speaking city in the world with a population of 3.4 million, Montreal has all the ingredients for a perfect gay getaway. Bump! explores the spectacle of Black And Blue, a weeklong party festival, AIDS fundraiser, and cultural event that attracts upwards of 20,000 gays, lesbians, and their friends to Montreal from all over the world each year. Shop till you drop at Priape, a Montreal retail success story that beat the odds. Pump some iron with bodybuilder James Michael Levigne, who won gold at the 1998 Gay Games in Amsterdam and hopes to repeat when the quadrennial event comes to Montreal in 2006. Some of the hottest male dancers in the world can be found in Montreal – we get up close and personal with these men as they bare their souls (and plenty more) for our cameras. All this plus Montreal's fabled nightlife and European flare – now that's Joie de Vivre!
Toronto:
Toronto is Canada's largest city, home to over 4.5 million people. We start off this edition of Bump! on Church Street, the heart of the gay community, touring the neighbourhood with gay city councilor Kyle Rae, learning how this area became the "gay village". Bump! visits with Sharon Gless and Jack Weatherall, stars of the acclaimed North American version of Queer As Folk, set in Pittsburgh and filmed in Toronto. For art collectors, the options are endless. We drop by the studio of queer underwear artist, Will Munro, where Bump! host J.R. Anderson models his avant-garde designs. Shopaholics will revel as we visit some of Toronto's many gay-owned and gay-friendly shops and stores. Bump! also attends Fashion Week and meets local success story Dean and Dan Caten, gay twin designers now based in Milan. We also get front row seats at Fashion Cares, a glittering annual event that has raised over $5 million for Toronto's AIDS/HIV charities. Finally, we round out our trip with a tour of gay-owned B&B's and guesthouses before we head to back to the gay village and check out the hopping social scene.
Ottawa:
Picturesque Ottawa is Canada's national capital, and is renowned for its festivals. We find out about the 3 million bulbs in bloom at the Tulip Festival, the brilliant fireworks of the annual Canada Day Celebration, and Winterlude, where thousands don skates and glide down the Rideau Canal. Fitness and nature buffs will be hooked as we go rollerblading on Ottawa's vast network of scenic pathways, and then visit the Gatineau parks, with its hundreds of kilometres of trails for hiking and mountain biking and five pristine lakes where you can canoe and camp. Thrill seekers will get their fix as the Bump! crew hurtles down the Ottawa River with the folks from Owl Rafting. Elaina Martin gives us an overview of The Rock City Women's Fest that takes place every August, celebrating womens' achievements in music and the arts. Then we visit with some notable locals, including activist Bruce Bursey of The Wellness Project, addressing GLBT health concerns, Arthur Jamieson of Act Out, a gay theatre group, and artist Carl Stewart, who makes a political statement with his erotic tapestries. Bump! shows viewers some of the many options for the gay tourist, including numerous gay-owned and gay-friendly accommodations, restaurants, shops, and boutiques, the new Splash circuit party, and several happening bars and clubs.
On this “Bump!” travel DVD we cross the northern border to visit our Canadian neighbors and begin out visit in the second largest French-speaking city in the world, Montreal. Montreal has a population of almost three and a half million people and it is a wonderful place to visit for a gay vacation. “Black and Blue” is the famous party and it lasts a week, is an AIDS fundraiser and boasts more than 20,000 members of the GLBT community in attendance—in fact, people come to it from all over the world. Then there is “Priape”, a Montreal retail store that can supply all of our gay and lesbian needs and, of course, we drop in. James Michael Levigne, the winner of gold at the Gay Games in Amsterdam shows us his technique for pumping iron.
Montreal is famous for its hot male dancers and we meet and talk to a few before we spend time enjoying the nightlife and the gay scene. The true beauty of Montreal is that is a European city on the North American continent/
Toronto is the largest city in Canada with a million more residents than Montreal. Church Street is the very heart of the community and it here that we start our visit. City council member, Kyle Rae, is our guide. “Queer as Folk” actors, Sharon Gless and Jack Wetherall, tell us about the hit series that was filmed in Toronto. Art is big here and we stop by Will Munro’s (famed underwear artist, studio and there we meet J.R. Anderson who models the artist’s designs.
For shopping, Toronto is a paradise and there are many gay-owned and gay-friendly shops. (I have never understood why we have to label retail as gay-friendly—out money is the same as everyone else’s and I am friendly with anyone who has money to spend). Fashion Week is big in Toronto and Dean and Dan Caten, gay twin brothers who are Milan based designers, and we hear their success story. Then we take front row seats at “Fashion Cares”, which has raised over five million dollars for AIDS/HIV charities. Of course we have to sample the night life but before we do we got on a tour of the gay bed and breakfast scene.
We ultimately end up in Ottawa, the capital of the province. Ottawa is the home of many festivals and we get there just in time for the Tulip Festival and learn about the three million tulips in bloom. There is also the Canada Day celebration with brilliant fireworks and Winterlude where thousands of people put on their skates and take to the Rideau Canal. Rollerblading is also big here and there are scenic routes and pathways. Gatineau Parks has long trails for hiking and biking and there is an area of five lakes for canoeing and camping, Rafting down the Ottawa River gives us a look at the Rock City Women’s Festival which comes around every August.
Ottawa has its share of notable locals as well. Bruce Bursey of the Wellness Project fills us in and Arthur Jamieson of Act out, a gay theater group and Carl Stewart, a political artist also discuss their projects. Opportunities for gay tourists are everywhere and the newest addition to the calendar is “Splash”, a huge circuit party.
Canada has a lot going for it gay-wise and it is close so we should all take advantage.
