GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

May 6, 2011

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CLAW

Continued from Page 1

elevator that frustrated some people in earlier years.

The silent auction and second-hand merchandise mart were back in force, as was the Friday night Cleveland Rocks party.

There were also field trips to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, as well as Indians games across Carnegie Avenue, which ended with fireworks that seemed to salute the revelers. Another event was the Black Leather Jacket Tour on board Lolly the Trolley.

A motorcycle poker run on Saturday took people out to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and a late lunch at Daddy's in Akron, while those staying behind were treated to a leather cookout in the Boots and Cigars Tent.

On Sunday, the Leather Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Brunch saw three new inductees. The first was Bob Milne, who came to New York City in 1950 and became one of the leading organizers of leather parties in the pre-leather bar scene.

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He was joined by Leonard Burtman, the father of the modern fetish publishing industry. He was at the heart of the heterosexual kink community from the 1950s to the 1980s, producing the first mainstream fetish film, Satan in High Heels.

Finally, the Eulenspiegel Society, founded in 1971, is the oldest and largest BD/SM support and education group in the United States, providing classes, parties and events in New York City two or three times a week.

The celebration ended with Sunday supper at Cadillac Ranch, which was also the site of the Leather Rouge Revue and Dance Party this year.

Given the ever-growing scale of CLAW, by the time CLAW 20 rolls around, every bar, restaurant, dance club, cultural site and taxi in the city will likely be part of the festivities. After all, including the workshops, there were 61 events this year, and that is counting things that went on all weekend as single events, like the vendor

mart.

Next year, when you hear a groundshaking roar, don't worry about a blast of atomic breath leveling the Terminal Tower. It's likely just a CLAW party letting out.

PHOTOS BY BRIAN DEWITT

Leather columnist and author Steve Lenius, left, interviews International Mr. Leather 2010 Tyler McCormick, with sign language interpreter Doug Braun behind them. McCormick, who came out as lesbian in college, now considers himself a gay man, but being a transman "is not an identifier" for him. The two also discussed being in and winning-the IML competition in a wheelchair, and McCormick's job as an HIV case manager, primarily for heroin addicts. This year's International Mr. Leather will be chosen in Chicago over Memorial Day weekend.

Tyger Yoshi of San Francisco demonstrates the intricacies of rope bondage on Travis of Cleveland, in preparation for a Saturday workshop on how rope provides a flexible, aesthetic and snug-fitting alternative to the more traditional bondage methods of leather or steel.

recon

Pups line up for a race, wearing small leather boots on their hands. At left are Tripp and Snuggles, with Bam Bam at far right. The one in the harness was not identified.

At the Leather Dinner, CLAW founder and president Dennis McMahon was honored for his decade of service to the event, as were board member Tina Mackay, left, and convention manager, CLAW secretary and webmaster Donn Wolfe, next to her. The trio, along with CLAW chairman Robert Miller, at right, formed the group's executive committee this year. McMahon, second from right, received the "Magnum Award," a glass obelisk-along with an identical copy cast in red rubber by Square Peg Toys at their make-your-own-dildo workshop earlier that day.

At the live auction, Paul Cantrell of Chicago demonstrates an outsized paddle from Paddle Werks of Florida on Tim Shaw of New York City.