JW ARNOLD | 10.4.2006
YEE HAH! PLENTY OF hot South Florida cowboys jammed into Manhattan South on September 22, and if you’d played your cards right, you probably would have scored a real, live cowboy.
Manhattan South is a popular destination for cowboys—and guys who like cowboys —but throw in performances by the Southern Country Sundancers, Rough Riders and the Mustangs square dancers, and you’ve got a big night at the old waterin’ hole.
Drink specials abounded and there were raffles, but most were there to see South Florida’s premiere country-western dance teams perform.
The Sundancers, with 5 couples of gay men and lesbians, demonstrated the grace of traditional two-step when combined with clever choreography, while the Rough Riders, with a much more diverse cast, delved into the cabaret tradition with a playful take on the leather lifestyle, set to “Hanky Panky.”
The most spontaneous exhibition came from the Mustangs, a square dance group that showed the idiom is not limited to music dominated by the twang of banjoes and dulcimers.
Who would have thought you can square dance to disco and pop music?
Southern Country, the organization that promotes country-western dancing in South Florida, will be celebrating its 15th anniversary the weekend of October 19-22, according to co-chair Todd Bullis. There will be events at all the familiar places, and a pool party on Sunday, September 22 at the Deauville guesthouse. For more information, go to www.southerncountrysouthflorida.org.
In addition to Manhattan South, you’re likely to find a handsome cowboy at Steel on Thursday nights, Bill’s Filling Station on Saturdays after 9 p.m., and Scandals just about any night of the week. I’ve been known to slip in on Scandals’ karaoke with Cowboy Marc on Wednesdays.
SMARTY PANTS IS AN unassuming neighborhood watering hole tucked away in a strip mall across from Target. But owners Mark Timson and Fritz Ann pulled out all the stops with four days of special events to mark the bar’s third anniversary.
The festivities were kicked off with special shows on Thursday, September 21 and Friday, September 22, featuring local favorites Jennifer McClain, Cory Cox, Garland, and Krystal Kay.
Saturday morning got started early (8 a.m.!) with a free breakfast buffet. I was running errands at Target and could hear the music. The boyfriend and I stopped by on Sunday afternoon for the free barbecue and Flamingo Auto Group classic car show.
While I found myself enamored with the wieners and buns offered by cute bartenders Rodrigo and Christopher, my boyfriend immediately headed for the cars. I had to pull him away from the green late 1960’s Monte Carlo. He saw a piece of automobile history; I saw a pimp daddy-mobile.
WHAT’S BETTER THAN A tea dance on Miami Beach? A free tea dance on Miami Beach!
Sometimes it pays to be in “the know” and for those on Edison Farrow’s South Beach Social Club e-mail list, being in the know yielded an invitation to a free tea dance on Sunday, September 24, compliments of the realtors behind Kubik, a new luxury condominium community under construction in Palm Grove.
One of my first observations on arriving in South Florida nearly two years ago was that you can’t spit without hitting a real estate agent. Of course, at that time the South Florida real estate market was still barreling full steam ahead.
I have to hand it to the guys at Carson Realty Group, Frank Navarro and Jim Jennings, for innovative marketing. I’m not sure how many units have sold, but if any of the buyers were at the tea dance, Kubik is going to be a happening gayborhood.
Wish you could have danced the evening away sipping complimentary cocktails, too? Sign up for the e-mail list at www.southbeachsocialclub.com.
And while you’re at it, check out the websites of your favorite bars and nightclubs. Many, like Gary Santis, promoter behind Coliseum and the Babylon T-Dance at Voo Doo Lounge (www.garysnatis.com), offer the same opportunity to sign up for the “insider list.”
JW Arnold can be reached at nightlife@the411mag.com
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