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UPDATE: 26 Jan 2005: January dance cancelled due to fire damage. Feb dance will proceed as planned.
For the months of January and February at least, the TNT nude dance will be shifted from the last Saturday of the month to the last Sunday of the month, running concurrent with the popular Underwear parties at The Barn. This is done partly as a way of attracting new members. If it is not successful, I expect the Saturday dances will occur.
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From: Bert Bik Happy New Year TNT!MEN and Friends In the first place we would like to thank everyone who came out to our first New Years Day, Naked Black-Tie Dance at The Barn. It was truly one of the best dances in a long time, with an attendance of well over 135 with lots of new and familiar faces. According to all accounts, bringing it all together on the second floor was a great success. Not only was it easier to handle for staff and volunteers, it also made for a far cosier and high- energy dance. We asked many guys about their thoughts on the one-floor concept dance, while they were leaving the party. All comments were very positive, such as 'Great party!', 'Easy to meet new guys!', and 'Great energy' and 'For sure we will be back next time!'. Most members already know about the chances we will make to our future dances from the information posted on the private members website/newsletter, but for those who don't yet know, here is the new information: NEW CONCEPT for future TNT!MEN Naked Dances! Here are the reasons why we are doing this: Based on our records, only a small number of those who have attended our dances at the Barn have been members (about 30 to 50 members per dance)--a number that has not changed over several years (with the exception of the popular June Pride dance). Consequently, we have had to augment our dances with non-members in order to make the dance financially viable for us and for the Barn. To attract non-members, we promote the dances through advertising in both Fab and XTRA magazines, street postering, frequent phone-line and website updates, as well as actual outreach work to other groups. We also broadcast upcoming events to TNT MEN members to encourage them to attend and to bring non-members along. In an effort to increase our attendance for the naked dances, we will be trying something new in the new year, starting January 30. Instead of having our usual dance on the last Saturday of the month (at The Barn from 4-8:30 pm), during January and February the Barn has offered us the exclusive use of the third floor on the last Sunday of every month, during their Sunday underwear party, from 6-10 pm. The third floor will be completely closed off to regular underwear bar patrons, but $3 for TNT MEN members and $6 for non-members enables people to enter the third floor to dance naked. This is a reduction in price from our regular dances, which benefits attendants, and it is a reduction in costs for the Barn, which enables them to continue to support TNT MEN. You will use the regular Barn's clothes check on the main floor for your external clothes, like at any Sunday underwear dance, while on the third floor we will have a place to store your underwear. And remember: there is no charge for attending our new naked Sunday dance if you become a new member of TNT!MEN. The third floor will have its own bar tender, dance floor and pool area, while the DJ and music will be from the second floor. We will also have our usual snacks. The third floor holds 152 patrons which, according to the data from previous dances (other than the packed Pride dances), should provide the right amount of space for a hot, tightly-filled naked dance. With this new arrangement, we hope to encourage men from the underwear party to come up and strip down, while TNT MEN can still dance fully naked on the third floor. Once we have tried holding our naked dances in this new way for two months (January 30 and February 26, 6-10 pm) we will reassess the group's interest in the dances. The costs of having these dances in the manner we have previously done have not been reflected in membership attendance, and the management of the Barn requires stronger numbers to sustain their support for our group. It is up to you. If you have any ideas how we may further improve or increase the numbers of attendants at our naked dances, then please email your comments to tntmen<AT>primus.ca Note: Have you seen the new third floor design at the Barn yet? It is much improved and looks great. The Board of TNT!MEN very much appreciates the continued support we are receiving from the Barn's new management (Stephen) and hope that you will continue to show your ongoing support by attending The Barn's many exciting, new and old, events. Bert Bik (416-323-9209) for the Board of TNT!MEN |