DALLAS DAZE

 BY UWERN JONG

“So we’re going to be giving away this big gay-wedding prize in Dallas”, my buddy Stirland, from Tying the Knot Scotland said excitedly on the phone to me one day back in October. “Wanna come?”

“Hell yea", I said with a slightly (ok, grossly) affected Texan drawl.

I’d been looking for an ‘out-of-the-ordinary’ gay destination for a city-feature in our forthcoming Winter/Spring issue – and this was an opportunity too good to miss. Plus I had made some close friends from the IGLTA (Cordey Lash from the Hilton Anatole, George Carrancho from American Airlines and Scott Barretto from Telluride Gay Ski Week) who all live and work in the city and who had been coaxing me to come visit ever since we met.

Now, you may have come to know me as someone with wild preconceptions about the places I’m about to visit. And Dallas was no exception. Gun-slinging Texans, JR and SuEllen Ewing, Supersize everything, the bible-belt and cowboys. (mmm, cowboys) all came to mind. But this time, my stereotyping was right on the money.

Everything is bigger in Dallas – the buildings, the cars, the men, the margheritas (watch the ones at Cyclone – I’ve not been the same man since). The lifestyle is very much modern America – but with the late eighties aesthetic of the famous soap-opera. The drawls were broad and gun-culture was rife. There were signs to check your guns at the door when entering certain public buildings and our hotel even had a specific ‘no gun in room, please’ policy (as if the contrary was acceptable), unless of course you had the infamous Texan ‘Concealed Firearm Permit’ where the above policy is null and void.

All this said, Dallas had some surprises in store for me. With all I’ve said above, you would think that this would be a pretty scary place for a gay man to visit, let alone live in. However, nothing could be more false. The streets are safe and clean, there is a thriving gay ‘village’ and scene and it seems that the large population of gays and lesbians are well woven into the local, tolerant community fabric.

Strange for a largely Christian community – and every local gay guy I met seemed to have a father who was a Baptist preacher or grew up in the Church of Latter Day Saints. Even weirder still, is that Dallas is home to the largest gay-friendly Church (with an over 3,500-strong congregation) in the United States (and probably the world!) – plus an openly lesbian pastor who claims that at least 90% of her congregation are LGBT.

And on the subject of size (and the reason why I was in Dallas to start with) - last weekend, Dallas’ gay high-society put on their glad-rags to attend America’s biggest gay fundraiser, the Black Tie Dinner – a one-night, 3,000 seat, sell-out event to raise money for the HRC and several local charities. I have to confess it was jaw-dropping stuff. I have never seen anything quite like it. It was a charity gala on steroids – just ballrooms and suites full of Dallas’ gay elite, auction prizes, pre-parties, after-parties, press-events, networking drinks… it has to be seen to be believed.

Local business people – attorneys, doctors, plastic surgeons, designers, restauranteurs - mingle with Broadway, Country Western stars and pie-eyed journalists from London. Charming locals, well-cultured professionals with a love for the UK, chatty lawyers who love travelling the Far East interested in my heritage, friendly “Howdies” – mingle with trophy boyfriends, supertight faces, hair implants, toupes and over-perfect white teeth and wary “Why are you heres?” Expected of any high-society event, I suppose.

No other LGBT charity event raises over a million US dollars in a single night though, and Stirland’s auction lot raised $18,000 of this in a nail-biting bidding frenzy. Amazing stuff, really.

The other surprise of the trip was an adventure into Texan wine. We were well looked after by our stunning hotel, The Joule – famous for their wine cellars and shop, but by sheer coincidence, were hosting a local food and red wine festival better known as ‘The Big Red’. Turns out Texas produces some amazing varieties of red wine – the highlight for me being Sandstone Cellar’s VII 2009 – a beautiful medium to full bodied, berried red with a hit of deep spice and sarsparila.

So Dallas is a real mix of stereotype and surprise, which in my opinion, makes it a thoroughly deep and fascinating destination to visit. Just remember, however strong your ability to hold your drink – be careful of those ‘ritas at Cyclone.

Stay at the Joule, a Luxury Collection property, part of the Starwood family. Art is at the heart of this hotel, plus an eclectic design philosophy seeing installations in its lobby and artistic detailing even down to the doorplate on the guestroom doors. Check out the 10^th floor suspended salt-water pool and if you’re feeling flash, its penthouse is one of the most fabulous I’ve ever seen.

Fly with American Airlines, who is hubbed and headquartered in Dallas. AA Rainbow, the airlines LGBT marketing platform has been winning awards across the world for its commitment to LGBT diversity.

Tying the Knot Scotland is a world leading gay wedding service – Scotland being the only country where gays and lesbians can legally marry (be civil partnered) even if neither of the happy couple is a UK national