Anyone who was in the SoMa district of San Francisco this past weekend no doubt felt the impact of the International Leather Sir/boy & International Community Bootblack (ILSb/ICBB) contest. The four-day event was a huge success, proving that leather events and support for those events are definitely on the rise. The ILSb/ICBB weekend appears to have been the biggest SF leather event of the year after the Folsom and Dore Alley street fairs.

The weekend began Thursday night with a Kickoff Party hosted by Mr. S Leather packed with contestants, staff and leather folk from all over, creating an energetic buzz that continued throughout the weekend. A VIP Party and 2008 Titleholder Roast followed at the host Hotel Whitcomb, where the silent auction began, featuring some amazing artwork. Afterwards was the "meet the contestants and judges" party at Chaps Bar. The weekend was off to a great start!

Twenty-eight contestants from the US and Canada vied for three titles:  International Leather Sir 2009, International Leather boy 2009 and International Community Bootblack 2009. The contestants were California Leather Sir Ray Busby, Leather boy Ryan Martin & Bootblack Blast; Central Plains Leather Sir Master Sampson, Leather boy pup sparkie & Bootblack boy blu; Eastern Canada Leather Sir Tony Palazzo & Leather boy Brad Hill; Great Lakes Leather Sir Merrill & Leather boy ed; Gulf Coast Leather Sir David, Leather boy John DeLorme & Bootblack Syr Evan; Mid Atlantic Leather Sir Ky Eaton, Leather boy Eddie & Bootblack Brandon Riley; Northeast Leather Sir Marco Rosato, Leather boy Jim Gardner & Bootblack Kyle Applegate; Northwest Leather Sir Thom Butts, Leather boy Dominic Chevalier & Bootblack Diamond Jack Shepard;   Southeast Leather Sir Jason Pekly, Leather boy kirk schwartz & Bootblack Chris Landers; Western Canada Leather Sir Jonathan Finlayson, Leather boy david; and Southeast Leatherfest Bootblack Andy.

Given the number of contestants, the producers wisely chose to split the contest over Friday and Saturday nights. Queen Cougar was the sole emcee, keeping the crowd entertained while ensuring everything moved at a brisk pace. The judges were Daddy Sal Hopkins; boy jean, David Kloss; Graylin Thornton; Master Mike Zuhl; David Carranza; Ms. V; Ray Perea; and pup Sparky. The late Mister Marcus was also scheduled to judge. His spot on the panel was kept open, with a portrait placed in honor of his legendary service and support to the community over the past 30+ years.

Each Sir and boy contestant was judged on offstage interview, speech, image, fantasy, and jock. Each bootblack contestant was judged on offstage interview, speech, image; bootblacking technique, and customer service. All contestants were amazing, excelling in every category. A crowd favorite, as always, was the jock portion. The speeches were thought-provoking, touching, and humorous, bringing the crowd to its feet many times as the contestants spoke of community, traditions, passions, aspirations, leather journeys, and sex!

What separates this contest from the others is the emphasis and celebration of the sexual side of the leather community. Nowhere is this more evident than during the on-stage fantasies presented by each Sir/boy pair. They were pulse-raising and sexually charged, featuring all types of scenes and fetishes. The two standouts were Sir Tony Palazzo shaving off boy Brad's Mohawk, and Sir Marco Rosato revealing a talent for singing with a sexy blues song about a sergeant making his private (boy Jim) obey his every command – while he took care of his own privates.

The Bootblack portion of the contest is also unique in that it's inclusive of all gender identities, as evidenced by the diversity of this year's contestants. The crowd was diverse in gender identity and sexual orientation. As an added bonus, the public had the option of attending the many fantastic workshops and seminars offered throughout each day. The weekend definitely had something for everyone.

In the end, the outgoing 2008 Leather Sir Raul Mendez, Leather boy Bill Hoeppner, and Bootblack Black-Jack Pearce crowned the 2009 winners: Tony Palazzo, International Leather Sir 2009; Brad Hill, International Leatherboy 2009; and Syr Evan, International Community Bootblack 2009. First runner-ups were Sir Merril, boy Dominic Chevalier, and Bootblack Kyle Applegate. The Golden Brush Award went to Bootblack Syr Evan, and the fellowship awards went to Sir Johnathan Finlayson and boy Eddie Whitehurst.

Producers Mark Frazier, Randal Kinnear, Oliver Pratt and their excellent crew had everything running like clockwork, and deserve every accolade for bringing this title back to San Francisco for a second year, and for providing an event that is both inclusive and celebratory of all members of our community.

Next year, the contest moves to Dore Alley weekend in July.  Go to www.leathersir.com for more information and to reserve your hotel.