Grooby Heads to Toronto: The Feminist Porn Awards Re-Cap

By Kristel Penn

I had been in contact with Jennifer from the Feminist Porn Awards  in the last year or so.  We occasionally talked shop, especially between her planning the FPAs and me with the TEAs, and I was thrilled that Grooby decided to become a sponsor for their 10th annual show.  It was something Steven and I had discussed last year, but the timing didn’t work out, so this year we made sure we sponsored as early as possible.  Better yet, he thought this would be a great opportunity for Dan and I to attend the show and meet some of our Canadian Grooby Girls!

After getting yelled at by Customs in Toronto and then having to explain (in the vaguest way possible) why we were in Canada, Dan and I arrived at our hotel a little after 10pm after a long day of flying and sitting around.  We quickly changed clothes, and then walked in the rain to Goodhandy’s at Club120 on Church Street for their Trans Invasion event featuring special guests Tasha Jones, Michelle Austin, and Dicky Johnson.

We arrived at Club 120 at just the right time. Blair Ryder, Molly Chan, and Bambi Bangz were hanging out in the downstairs area of the club. Blair is much like her online persona – she’s flirty and fun and does not have a filter when she speaks. Molly was the first one to introduce herself to me and gave me a big hug. Bambi was the quietest of the three of them, but she smiled a lot and it was always warm.

After stealing some food from their plates, Dan and I went upstairs to meet Goodhandy’s promoters, Mandy Goodhandy and Todd Klinck.  Both were really sweet, much like the majority of Canadians we encountered that weekend, and Dan and I ended up having an engaging conversation with Mandy about the trans community and its history. You know what’s a great feeling? Being somewhere unfamiliar and then seeing familiar faces.  I was so happy when I saw Tasha Jones, Michelle Austin, and Dicky Johnson arrive. It was like a big reunion, even though we all saw each other in LA for the TEAs in February.

Like the Feminist Porn Awards, the Transgender Erotica Awards was created in response to the lack of mainstream recognition for our niche. I have a lot of respect for the event and all the effort it takes to put together something of this size. Let me just say, it’s a damn difficult job to run an awards show.

The program began with a powerful and soulful opening performance/blessing.

Hey, I know that G!

All in all, we had a blast at the show.  We weren’t nominated, but it was great to support the Feminist Porn Awards.  Special thanks to our hot dates for the evening: Tasha Jones, Blair Ryder, Michelle Austin, Dicky Johnson, and Kelly Shibari.

We wrapped up our trip with a meeting with our Grooby Girls!  We have some great things planned with these lovelies, so be sure to follow us on Twitter at @groobydotcom to keep up to date on all the action!

Thank you Toronto for your hospitality!

As a side note, we didn’t get a chance to try poutine, but I was always amused when Dan mistakenly called it punani.