I remember back when I was in my early 20s... oh wait, I don't. That's why Rob Goddard, the current Mr Gay Canada, is completely amazo. Look at this guy: he's able to volunteer for a whole ton of LGBT organizations and non-profits while also finding time to hold down a job that he works at all the time. Classic Canadian right?

He's even nicer than Riley Cox! And that's reeeeeeeal nice.

He's competing right now in Manila for the Mr Gay World title, and he needs your vote to win the people's choice component of the program.

Vote here.

And hey, he's even made it into The Province.

Go, Throb! 

Allright... girl feels like a full-piece zombie right now writing this. Long trek back from Whistler, y'all. You can catch full coverage of the festival in this week's Xtra West, which hits the streets on Wednesday. I'll post links to my article about the festival and a copy of my column which will review the WinterPRIDE evening events here to Xtra.ca for everyone outside the paper's distribution area.

Anyway... guess who I met at WinterPRIDE this week?

I managed to interview and chat him up at the Apres Ski party on Friday at Garibaldi Lift Company in Whistler. Wish I had got to spend some more time with the guy (trust me).

You can read about his experiences as Mr. Gay World here, including some of his thoughts on WinterPRIDE.

And if you didn't check out this year's festival, maybe you should come for 2011, eh? You never know who you'll meet...

Yeah yeah...I know I said no more Mr. Gay World postings, but I have been DYING to post something about Ben Edwards/Mr. Gay Australia. You know, I've sorta reached the stage in my life where the starry-eyed romantic has been beaten off...I mean out...of me. At 28, I'm starting to believe that the mythical great guy is actually just that: mythical. I'm talking about those charming guys, the ones who can make you laugh effortlessly, who take care of their bodies, have a taste for adventure and are handsome enough to make you smile in spite of yourself. 

Well look at that, I guess the romantic is still there after all.

Anyway, my friends and I got to hang out with Ben for a bit during the compeition. Let me tell you: I have never seen someone not "work" a room but have the room work its way towards him quite in the same way as it did for Ben. People were drawn to this guy. I don't even know what sort of quality that is and can't even describe it properly, but hell, it's something else.

If you're heading down to Mardi Gras next week, make the effort to find Ben and say hi. And hey, make sure you tell him that I still have a bit of crush on him too. When he starts talking, you'll undestand why. 

Yes, it's Whistler WinterPRIDE follow-up week here on Up Your Alley and today I have some videos for you, loyal reader...

Part of this year's off-mountain activities included adventure tours for gays and lesbians. When push came to shove and I had to choose between zip trekking and dog sledding, I chose dog sledding. It's one of those things that most Canadian boys and girls dream about. I'm happy this one of the few times I had my camera with me and remembered to take video. Videographer I am not and the production quality is low, but you'll get a taste of what it's like:

I'd like to give a big thank you to the team at Outdoor Adventures Whistler. They really helped make WinterPRIDE feel like a once in a lifetime kinda experience.

As you've heard me talk about this, pretty much non-stop for two weeks, this should be the last time I'll post about the Mr. Gay World competition. I lifted this video from YouTube, here's the background:

Mr. Gay World 2009 competition happened in Whistler, Canada, February 4-8, 2009. This video was presented at the MR GAY WORLD GRAND FINALE & AWARDS show on Saturday night February 7th, before the announcement that Mr. Gay Ireland, Max Krzyzanowski was the new title winner of Mr. Gay World. For the latest news and more award winners visit the official site http://www.mrgayworld.org

This video was created by Transmission, the company working on the documentary film "Beyond Gay" http://biggaymovie.com/bgm/ with music by http://destineak.com/destineak/index....

There were so many Mr. Gay World delegates in Whistler last week and so little time. Reece Karena, however, always shone during the public parts of the competition, which were mostly traditional pagent format - elaborate productions put on by Vancouver's Terry Costa, with many costume changes and a lot of flair. Here's a biographical blurb from www.mrgayworld.com:

Here's the shots: