The connection between Easter and brunch goes back ages. What better way to commemorate Jesus’ resurrection than by conquering a hangover and bouncing back to life in time for a 2pm breakfast? The Christians got it right this time. To keep your Easter bunny hopping, we’ve lined up some special events you won’t want to miss. Just be sure to roll out of bed the next day.

San Francisco: Tranny Shack Reno — For its total change of pace, Trannyshack Reno gets our pick for Easter event of the weekend. Starting in SF, a bus full of drag queens (you can be one of them!) hits the road for Reno, Nevada. After causing a substantial scene the group heads to the Trannyshack show at Ten99 Club. On Easter Sunday, heads will turn again as the gang does a round of casino buffets. (Photo by Trannyshack)

Los Angeles: Atlas Down Under — Surely when Jesus heaved the boulder away from the cave, he can’t have been wearing much. The boys at Atlas have a special way of marking the occasion–by stripping down to their skivvies and dancing the night away. Call it a cultural interpretation if you will. This meat market will be overseen by DJ Joe Gauthreaux, and is also an official pre-party for White Party Palm Springs. (Photo by WeHo Party)

Palm Springs: Dinah Shore Weekend — Highlights of this year’s lady love fest include performances by Ke$ha and Salt ‘N Pepa, both brought to you by the sexy chicas of The Dinah. Relax into that desert sun and grab a drink or seven as you observe Easter the way it was meant to be celebrated–poolside. (Photo by The Dinah)

Montreal: Bal en Blanc — Montreal has a White Party of its own during Easter weekend, attracting a huge mixed crowd to a string of events culminating with the massive Bal en Blanc rave. Gay, straight and everything in between dress in all white and cast aside their differences for some goodhearted hedonism. (Photo by Productions Playground)

Houston: Jungle — Venture into the Jungle and you’ll find more than Easter eggs hiding in unlikely places. The weekend is packed with hot dance parties, with well-known circuit DJs Tony Moran and Roland Belmares leading the way. (Photo by Jungle Houston)

UPDATED: Looking for one last chance to go wild in ‘09? We’ve rounded up some of the hottest celebrations to mark the occasion–places where you can pop some bubbly, gather your buds, and maybe even find a smooch when the clock strikes midnight.

Los Angeles: Masterbeat X – For its 10th anniversary, Masterbeat is pulling out all the stops to make sure this is a New Year’s to remember at the Mayan Theater. It features DJs Ralphi Rosario and Abel. If you’re under 21 and looking to party, try heading to Tigerheat. There are no special events announced, but the boys are sure to be out in droves. (UPDATE: Tigerheat will be at the Henry Fonda Music Box on NYE) (Photo by Masterbeat X)

Vancouver: Magic - If you find yourself looking for flocks of shirtless boys further north, check out Magic. You shouldn’t have any trouble finding a cute frog prince to kiss here… (Photo by Big Roger Events)

Miami: Lady Gaga Live – The newly crowned queen of queer pop is currently on tour promoting her new album. While her Miami show isn’t a New Year’s celebration per se, you can be sure that the gays will be going gaga considering the overlap. What more stylish way to welcome in the new year? (Photo by ladygaga.com)

London: A1 @ G-A-Y – If Lady Gaga sounds a bit too hip and you’d prefer to party like it’s 1999, make your way to Heaven nightclub to witness the reunion of British boy band A1. You won’t be the first to believe that this event has all the makings of becoming a full fledged campfest. Confetti is a safe assumption.

San Francisco: Colossus – San Franciscans need little excuse to get wild. You’ll find all the city’s bars & clubs packed with partiers ringing in the new year with friends old and new. That being said, boys will be boys. The circuit party of the evening, Colossus, will bump until 8am on New Year’s Day. If a hot Latin party sounds like heaven, check out Club Papi at Space 550. (Photo by Gus Presents)

New Orleans: Bourbon Pub/Parade – Another city famous for embracing any opportunity to let loose is New Orleans. This year, Bourbon Pub/Parade plays host to a whole weekend of New Year’s parties. One ticket will get you into all the events–all we can say is good luck and play safe!. (Photo by Bourbon Pub)

Here’s some more parties that have come across our radar–find the city nearest you and go out with a bang!

New York: Black and White Ball (Live performance by Deborah Cox)

New York: Stonewall Inn Celebration

Chicago: Sidetrack

Las Vegas: The Perry Twins @ Krave

Montreal: Strippers galore @ Taboo; dancing with DJ Hector Fonesca @ Parking

Provincetown: Resolution 2010 @ Crown & Anchor

Toronto: MMX NYE @ The Windsor Arms Hotel

Did we miss something? Let us know what your plans are for New Year’s, and help others make the most of ushering in a new decade…

In honor of Montreal’s infamous circuit Black & Blue Festival–which runs Oct. 7 to Oct 13–we at GayCities created a new and improved guide to one of the word’s most vibrant (and certainly gayest) cities. So when taking a break from the lavish parties, check out some somewhat more low-key fun, much of it centered in the gay village of Sainte Catherine. We’ve added pages for a batch of shops, from cool fashion boutiques such as Boutique Encore to hot sex emporiums such as the legendary Priape on Sainte Catherine.

And for the boys: We are sure we don’t have to remind you to check out the strip clubs & bathouses. Because of the liberal climes of this ultimate multicultural heaven, there are no less than nine bathhouses–yes, count ‘em, 9, several of which line St. Catherine Street with over-the-top billboards directly along the sidewalk. Men quite literally travel continents to check out the strips clubs–from mainstay Campus to the nearby Taboo–which are famous for featuring full-frontal nudity, a rarity in the comparatively puritanical U.S.

If you make through the week-long orgy of events at the Black & Blue Festival you are sure to end up black & blue in one way or another. Drink lots of water and get plenty of rest!

More Montreal on GayCities

Photo by touristiquementgay

(Note: The newly expanded GayCities guide to Montreal was partly underwritten by Tourism Montreal.)

This summer, a strip of Montreal’s Gay Village (“Le Village”) will be closed to traffic. From June to September, Sainte Catherine between Berri and Papineau will become a pedestrian mall where people can walk and enjoy the stores and bars along the way.

The hope is to attract more tourists and make the Village a more enjoyable place during the summer. The city will also install more bike racks. While there’s concern about disruption in traffic and difficulty in parking, the mayor and merchants expect that it will improve the area more than hurt it. Visitors to the area will be encouraged to take public transportation or park at Bibliothèque Nationale at Berri and Ontario.

See our full Montreal Guide to Bars, Hotels, Restaurants.
Picture by Caribb on Flickr

The Calgary Sun reports that the government of Canada released its annual report on marriages (data for 2003) which included gay marriages for the first time ever.

3.5% of all Canadian marriages were same-sex marriages

Over half (56%) were for non-residents of Canada

We knew that more and more of our friends were sneaking away to Canada to get married, now there’s proof. Gay Marriage is good for Canadian tourism!

Heading to Canada? Check out guides & reviews:

• Gay Calgary
• Gay Edmonton
• Gay Montreal
• Gay Toronto
• Gay Vancouver
• Gay Winnipeg