Leather Line - I Know What I Did Last Summer!

Published in the April-June 2026 Edition
By Rodney Burger

Let’s face it. With piles of snow and ice, single digit temperatures, and depressing national news, we just went through the winter from hell. It was not easy to keep one’s spirits up. I usually take a walk through my neighborhood park, but when it is eight degrees with twenty mile per hour winds, I just can’t.

Thankfully,last July I took the perfect vacation, a ten-day Atlantis cruise from Barcelona to Lisbon with stops in Marseille, Ibiza, Malaga, Cadiz, and Casablanca. Looking back over my summer vacation pictures helped get me through the winter. Atlantis is a West Hollywood based company that have hosted events for the LGBTQ+ community for over thirty years. I feared that I would not fit in on a gay cruise since I am less club kid and more AARP Club, but that wasn’t an issue. The 2,000 folks on the Virgin’s Scarlett Lady were all ages and sizes. The entertainment included hilarious drag shows, Broadway performers, and a very erotic Cirque du Soleil style show. There were countless dance parties and even a “leather community meet-up” each evening. We have already made plans to attend another Atlantis event in May when they take over Club Med in Cancun, Mexico for a week. That event is sold-out, but you can join them on upcoming cruises this year. Visit atlantisevents.com for details.

I like to see LGBTQ+ events sold-out. I’m so tired of hearing negative people complain that no one goes out anymore or that events used to be fun. There are an endless number of events that are still fun, it is the negative people who are not. One of the biggest events in the leather community is the annual Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco. Billed as the world’s largest kink and leather festival, it is scheduled this year on Sunday, September 27^th as part of Leather Pride Week and draws over 250,000. For those who do not want to fly across the country, the Folsom Street East Fair is scheduled for Sunday, June 21^st in New York City’s West Village. Book a hotel, stay for a few days, and make the festival a part of your summer vacation.

If you want to get away from the big city, try the Metropolis Entertainment Complex in Augusta, Georgia. Opened in 1998 as the Parliament Resort of Augusta, this 15-acre complex has two motels, two bars, two pools, an RV park, and even a pig pen fetish play space. The resort hosts all kinds of theme events from Fist Fest to Carolina Bear weekend. I’ve been there several times for leather events and had a blast. Visit metropoliscomplex.com for all the details.

I’ve also enjoyed getting away from it all at The Woods Campground in Lehighton, Pennsylvania. Opened in 2004, The Woods is a LQBTQ+ camping resort on 161 private acres. Do not worry if you do not have all that camping equipment, they have cozy cabins available to rent. The Woods is also all about themed weekends with Leather/Fetish/ Country Western weekend on May 29^th -31^st, July 17^th – 19^th and September 11^th – 13^th.

I find that I’m happier when I have something to look forward to on my calendar. Make some plans to take a trip. I would love to know what you did this summer.