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We had a wonderful time! This past Saturday was the first day of our Pride Picnic at our new clothing-optional beach on Hanlan's Point, and despite the forecast being a bit cool for nude beach-going, it turned out to be a beautifu day, and we had about 250 people there. Peter (the handsome man at the top of this page) and I set up a picnic table with watermelon and pop and snacks, and that worked very well as a draw, giving people an excuse to come over and talk to us.
We met a lot of interesting people, gay and straight, singles and couples, long-time residents and visitors. Many recognised our name from the news, and came over to thank us for the work TNT!MEN did in getting the beach declared clothing-optional.
Peter arranged a game for people on the beach to play: water-balloon toss. At first, people were a little reluctant to join in, and only a few friends came over. But then a nine-year old fellow named Sean dragged his naked dad over, and the silliness-quotient grew dramatically. After the first round was over, and several of us were drenched, Sean wanted to go again, so he and I went to fill the rest of the balloons. This time around, more people were willing to play.
The game works as follows: you form two lines with equal numbers of people, standing facing each other in pairs a couple of metres apart. One line has water-filled balloons, and together they all toss it to the other line. When the catch is successfully made, you all step back on step, and do it again. The last person to catch an unbroken balloon is the winner.
Peter brought great dollar-store prizes, including several water guns, so Sean, Peter Simm (the lawyer who did more than anyone to win the beach for us) and I had a watergun fight, and splashed in and out of the water. (No, we were not arrested.) The water was cold, but it was a lot of fun, though the resulting "turtle" effect on one's exposed bits is not very flattering. :-)
A few people mentioned the silliness of the previous weekend, and expressed disbelief that the cops actually went ahead and ordered people out of the water. As expected, the story of that incident has travelled around the world, and is showing up in the "News of the Weird" sections. Perhaps that's a good thing; it means that people all over are hearing about Hanlan's Point. Perhaps it will encourage more people to come join us!
The picnic on Sunday was hosted by Bert and Norm, two of the fellows who do a lot of the work behind TNT!MEN. I saw them at the flag-raising ceremony at City Hall today marking the official beginning of Lesbian and Gay Pride Week, and they told me that they had a great time on Sunday. They too had watermelon, which was very popular, and passed out a lot of TNT!MEN events calendars. There is a new one out which you can find at TNT!MEN events and in some of our favourite hangouts.