Yep. As I write this Montreal Fetish WeekEnd 2007 is already over, leaving me simultaneously both happy and depressed. Happy, because once again the 3 day fetish event was a huge success; even better than I'd hoped. For example, we were expecting 600 people at the Latextacy ball on Saturday night, but to our enormous and pleasant surprise we ended up with 1200 people; twice what we'd anticipated! For the 3 year young event, 1200 people seems like an incredible amount to me. But by the end of the weekend it was no longer only parties that mattered, as Martin and I had decided to film Bianca Beauchamp: All Access 2, since 1 was already a success. We decided to use the same cast as last year ( except for Susan Wayland who was not present in Montreal this year), namely The Richard and miss Jean Bardot, as well as newcomer miss Rubberdoll. All three of them stayed at my place as well as Russ, Rubberdoll's boyfriend, and Belgium Marc, a friend of ours who offered to be the cameraman. Including Martin and I there were 7 people under my roof. Seven people ready to laugh, party, and have a good time. I had an intense weekend with them: The Richard with his charming laugh, Jean Bardot with her flirty gaze and ladylike manners, Rubberdoll with her sparkling sense of humour, Russ with his calm, Belgium Marc with his generosity, and of course Martin with his creativity and patience with me; the emotional rollercoaster! And hence the depression that came with their departure. Bit by bit the calm retuned to my home, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I know that my depression will be fleeting, and that it is only the come-down from the high of the adrenaline rush. Returning to my daily life is not terrible. In any case, what I am trying to say is that I will really miss them…

Let's begin at the beginning, which was Thursday. Yes, I know that the fetish weekend's first party was on Friday the 31st, but those who have been to Montreal before know that we like to party hard and start off the festivities with a bang. So, the weekend was going to begin with meet and greet/welcome supper for people (mostly models, performers, and international friends). This year, I let Éric Paradis (host of Montreal Fetish Weekend) take charge of choosing and reserving the restaurant. The restaurant chosen was Le Planète, a place in the gay village that Martin and I went to all the time until our favourite waiter, Dave, quit. However, once we heard that he was working there again, we started going back with Éric and Mario from Polymorphe. Anyway, Éric made reservations for 35 people. You can imagine our surprise when 65 people showed up! The restaurant was too small for a group that size, but no one complained, not even the waiters who were caught off guard. Everyone had a smile on their lips, and a glass of wine in their hand. Everyone looked to be ready to share a good moment with friends and make some new acquaintances. Martin, Richard, and I arrived a bit late so there was no room left to sit and eat. Pfft, so long as I had my martini I was happy! To name just some of the guests present, there was Chain Goddess Brandy, Ancilla, Perish, Jean and Rubberdoll of course, and from our forum there was Steffy, Observer (who got a nice spanking from Jean Bardot for his birthday!) and others. It was so great for me to be able to see everyone again and share a laugh with them. I think it is these suppers that take place here, Florida, and all over the place when I travel, that remain my favourite moments from fetish events, as they give us a chance to talk, hear each other without yelling, and to meet new people!

Friday marked not only the first party of the weekend, but also the first day of filming Bianca Beauchamp: All Access 2. For those who aren't familiar with the film, All Access is a reality documentary on the fetish scene in Montreal, ma career, the behind-the-scenes of being a model, etc. Three cameras follow me around at home and at clubs. The first film was shown to an audience of 400 people at the Fantasia festival. The audience really liked it so we decided to film a sequel. So, after breakfast at the restaurant, a good shower, and a hair and make-up session, the cameramen (Belgium Marc and Michel Parent) started their interviews (Jean, Rubberdoll, Richard and me). As I was talking to the camera and showing my all new latex closet (finished 1 day before my guests arrived! Ouf!!) I remember telling myself that I no longer found it as hard to speak to the camera in English. Yep, I think I finally developed some self-confidence and accepted that I will likely spend my whole life making grammatical errors when I am talking in English, but at least I am making an effort. I must also say that my two new friends, Tsenta and Mike also really helped me improve my English, as we only speak in that language together and I see them every week. So, I told myself that this year All Access would surely be even easier to film than last year. Also, all of this experience with cameras would help me out with television interviews.

In fact, I had a TV interview with Denis Lévesque for the news on LCN and TVA. It is a popular show here and it seemed that Mr. Lévesque was not always gentle with his guests. I was told the same thing about Jean-Luc Mongrain (the interview I did after my Playboy cover). But in the end the wolves do not always have their teeth bared, because neither Mongrain nor Lévesque were hard on me. But before all that, you lucky buggers, the TV station let Belgium Marc film inside the studio, as well as my interview with Mr. Lévesque. What a great opportunity! Also, Mr. Lévesque asked some really interesting questions about the fetish scene, my career, and even my breast implants. I never felt attacked as he fired his questions with respect and playfulness. I even got the impression that he really liked my latex outfit from Sin Episode. The interview went for about 20 minutes and I consider it one of, if not the, best of my career!

6:30PM and I was in a taxi with Belgium Marc, who was still filming me. Rush rush!! We had to head to Circus where there was a photo exhibition of Project Latex Land, photographed by Gil Perron (photographer and friend) and directed by Martin. You don't know what Latex Land is?? Basically, imagine a world where everyone wears only latex. We often associate latex with clubs or sex games, but rarely think about it in the context of daily life. Project Latex Land consists of 8 photographs and shows people clad from head to toe in latex engaged in a variety of activities such as watching a film at a movie theatre, doing the groceries, or mowing the lawn. Shooting practically took place over a single weekend, and required the help, both financially and time-wise, of PJ Concept, Polymorphe… as well as the participation of about 50 people from all over the place. Taken in June, the photographs were thus ready for the 6-10pm exhibition at Circus.

When I arrived at Circus on Ste-Catherine Street the room wasn't full yet, making it possible to get a good look at the framed photographs hung on the walls. After an interview with Musique Plus (The Quebec version of Much Music) Martin and Gil gave a thank you speech. The emotion in the room was palpable; after all, never had a project of this enormity been done before! I am really proud of them and all the effort they put into it. You know, if you asked me if I were part of Latex Land, I would tell you yes and no. Yes, I am in a picture, but I am the only one in the whole project not wearing latex! Hey, we had to joke around a bit, right? Of course!

Around 8pm I was hungry!! And, maybe in need of a drink too. What?! The party was gonna be starting soon, wasn't it? So Jean, Rubberdoll, Kinky Sara, Richard, Jean, Mike, Tsenta and Belgium Marc came back to my place. A few shooters later, and after a bit of dancing, filming, and laughing, I changed into my new latex Super Girl costume by Polymorphe! Imagine the costume from the movie, only made in latex: navy blue leotard with the Super Girl logo, red skirt, red cape, and of course spike heeled red boots! By 11pm I was ready to fly to club Cléopatre for the Maid in Heaven event…

Yes, I know the theme of the evening was maids, but I wanted to be Super Girl. Cléopatre was full of people! I would say there were at least 500, which was too many for the size of the space I think. I tend to have little panic attacks when there are a lot of people, so I hid in a corner for a bit, though I had a good view of the stage. On the menu that night: a mini fashion show by Baroness and some BDSM games by, among others, Tara Emory and Arsine. It was really cute and people seemed to be having a lot of fun. The weekend had officially begun…

I have to say that Saturday morning, I had one of those migraines. Ouch! Yeah, yeah I know, you're supposed to drink a lot of water before you go to bed, but sometimes I forget. It also seemed like I still had the poutine from the night before still in my stomach (Jean et Marc are as fond of it as I am!) In any case, everyone in the house was in a good mood ad ready for a little recon mission over at Club Medley. Among other things, I had to do some lighting and sound tests. Then, after the Medley, we all headed to the Blah Blah studio so that the make-up and hair people could take care of us (lucky, I know). I had none other than the talented Catherine Lavoie for my make-up, and of course The Richard for my hair. The plan for the night was for me to be a punkish princess. I wanted my hair and make-up to be more eccentric than prom queen. After several hours in a chair sipping on my vodka, hype & soda, I was finally ready. There must have been at least 40 models, performers, hairdressers, make-up artists, etc at Blah Blah. The ambiance was chaotic and stressful, but also pretty fun. Since I was presenting that night (just a couple of times on the stage) I was a bit stressed, but at the same time I wasn't making too big a deal out of it.

The limousines (really) came one at a time to get the models. Jean, Rubberdoll, Richard and I climbed into the last one. At the Medley there was a red carpet waiting for us, along with a horde of photographers from the media. It wasn't easy to get out of the limo in my enormous pink skirt! But what a beautiful piece by Polymorphe! Anyway, guess who feel down on the red carpet? Me, of course. But oh well, better to have a laugh about it than to get angry. At least I didn't hurt myself, I just looked a bit nuts is all :)

The Medley is a huge bar on St-Denis, a really nice part of Montreal. The ceilings are so high it's almost like being in a theatre or opera house. The stage is also huge, and this year it was reserved for people to dance or play. All the shows were done right in the room on the mini stages. That way, there were no interruptions in the music. The DJs (Francis Vincent, Kit Carson and Miss Lidie) did an amazing job! A photo exhibition by Dominic Vincent was presented at the entrance (remember Embryo? Made by the same guy). As for performers there were plenty including The Richard-Arsine and Tara with electricity, Chain Goddess Brandy and Rush X with suspension, Lady Lethe and Jenni May dancing, Perish, Eric Paradis, and of course our goddesses Rubberdoll and Jean Bardot (accompanied by Steffy!) It was fantastic! Way better than if the shows had happened on the stage and interrupted the party! People were able to come and go as they pleased and were able to see the shows they were interested in. Latextacy, the name of the ball, was without a doubt the most popular night of the 3. There was even a media section on the second floor! Simply amazing. I think I did a pretty good job with my short presentation too, even though I find it difficult to present in both languages back and forth. I received a gift from Eric (who came to give it to me on stage at 2am when I was a bit tipsy). A beautiful crop with silver glitter on the handle. Totally my taste! Thank you Eric!!

All that remains is for me to tell you about Sunday. Well, I have to admit that by then we were starting to feel pretty tired. Our backs were sore, to say nothing of our feet! Luckily Tsenta and Mike were kind enough to offer us an afternoon at their home in the Jacuzzi. I had already mentioned to the others that there was the possibility of going in the Jacuzzi, but what better opportunity to do it in a catsuit?? Hahaha! Me in a black catsuit, Rubberdoll in red, Jean in a skirt and top, and Richard in jeans and a shirt. It was pretty funny for all 4 of us to be sliding all over the Jacuzzi because of all the soap that we had all over the place! We laughed forever. Kinky Sara also joined us, hmmm! Gina King also came to join us. Gina is the artist that won the "Draw me and I will become a tattoo for Richard!" contest. She was in Montreal for the Fetish Weekend and signed Richard's back on the tattoo.

After playing in the water for so long that our skin was all wrinkly we came back to my place to grab a bite to eat (and some shooters, of course). We were all feeling pretty relaxed, but knew that once we got to the club we would wake up. The evening of masks was once more going to be at the Medley, but this time the room was furnished with a bunch of BDSM furniture. The room was once again packed (about 800 people this time). I was wearing a new pink and white cat outfit made by H&W, and immediately upon my arrival I was able to break it in with a spanking from Chain Goddess Brandy herself (also dressed as a cat). I got a bunch of bruises on my ass!! It was really exciting!! This time on the stage there were several shows, including a bondage show with models straight from Japan. Lots of people were playing in the room, with sensuality as well as respect. No rules or boundaries were broken. It was another success! With my cameramen I was able to show some interesting costumes and introduce some people too.

The night finished around 3am. Even though there was an after-party (like the previous 2 nights), I decided to go back home and the others did the same. After the performances, the filming of All Access and all the parties (not to mention all the work Martin and I did to make that damned closet that we only finished the day before the event), we were pretty exhausted! But happy!

Before I finish this entry I want to thank some people I have in mind. Being that I am in a somewhat nostalgic frame of mind, my heart is full of love for those who believed in us, the event, and Montreal.

Thank you to The Richard for making me so beautiful each night, for creating an amazing blonde, and for returning me to my trademark red.
Thank you to Catherine Lavoie, for giving me the most amazing make-up!
Thank you to Jean Bardot and Rubberdoll for their beauty, their laughter, and for being real.
Thank you to Belgium Marc, Michel Parent, and Isabelle Grondin for filming All Access.
Thank you to Éric Paradis for continuing to put Montreal on the map!
Thank you to Mario Bouchard from Polymorphe for all the beautiful outfits and for his generosity.
Thank you to Mike and Tsenta for their friendship and hospitality.
Thank you to Kinky Sara for her shimmering youth and heart of gold.
Thank you to Russ and Jean, for being patient and loving boyfriends.
Thank you to PJ Concept without whom this event would never have been such a huge success.
Thank you to Gil Perron for his beautiful photos and contagious passion.
And thank you to Martin for all the love he gives to others, his kindness, and his artist's heart!
Thank you to all the participants, performers, and travelers. Those we drank several shooters with…without you, there wouldn't even have been an event.

I am already looking forward to Fetish Weekend 2008.

Xx
Bianca