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A Personal Reflection on Zig's Bar in Downtown Sudbury Ontario
I gotta tell you, I really don't "do" bars anymore. I used to do bars, when I was much younger. I've done discos in Detroit, country bars in Chicago, blues bars in New Orleans, the meat markets in Florida, I've done cabarets in British Columbia, I've gone clubbing and pubbing in Toronto, and even spent a short time hanging out at a biker bar hideaway owned by a friend of mine in way out back Ohio.
Then I got bored. One night in some bar I can't remember in a town I can't remember, I closed my eyes and realized that from conversation alone, I could not tell where I was. Some places might exchange "football" for "hockey", but it was very much the same old pick up lines, the same old thing about who won what game, the story about the big drunk last weekend, and who was doing whoo whoo with who. And I realized I no longer cared. Maybe I was growing up (heaven forbid, I've avoided that so strenuously) or maybe... I was just getting a life? At any rate... I quit.
Which was too bad in some ways. I like socializing. Sometimes. I like music and dancing. Pretty much always. I even like the occasional drink with high fat finger foods to snack on.
I've been told for a number of years by friends who know me that I'd enjoy Zig's Bar in Sudbury. Zig's is a gay bar. I'm not gay that I've noticed, so I didn't pay much attention to these friendly suggestions. After all, why would I want to go there?
Then one night a group of friends I was going to meet at a local coffee shop decided to visit nearby Zig's instead. I went along, wondering if I'd spend the evening having to watch leather clad men making out in dark corners. (Should I apologize now?) Instead of blatant Hollywood versions of gay sexuality, or, the same old pick up lines I'd grown so weary of, I found polite, friendly, and accepting people off all ages, sexes, and I presume, sexuality. I couldn't actuality tell much about that last though, no one wore signs or acted "that way", so who knows?
The bar staff was welcoming, friendly, and offered wonderful service. The place was scrupulously clean. No one, of either sex, was obnoxious or annoying to me, I didn't see one fight or argument all evening. But, many people did drop by my table to chat, sit down to stay awhile, and ask me to dance. I had a wonderful time! Perhaps the best time I'd had in a bar in more years than I am willing to admit to living through in the public pages of this site.
The music was extremely varied and interesting. Lots of people danced. I ate enjoyable food and had drinks delivered to me quickly with many smiles. Had I found the perfect bar?
I have gone back to Zig's on occasion, not a lot, I am still not much of a bar fly anymore, but have always enjoyed each and every visit. And I have noticed something over the course of these visits, something pleasing and unexpected to have discovered. Zig's makes everyone feel comfortable and welcome.
Are you gay, shy, goth, disabled, married Catholic couple, from out of town and by yourself business man, a group of office workers having a night out, meeting your mom for a drink, just want to have some fun, meet some new people, relax, and let your hair down a bit? You could do worse than visit Zig's.
You will be welcomed because you deserve to be. You will be treated with kindness, decency, and respect. I've been impressed with this "gay bar", and find I prefer it to the other bars around, where fights are a too regular occurrence, intolerance of anything "different" often the norm, and where I often leave feeling more like a commodity than a human being with inherent dignity.
I must agree with the quote over there to the right, I find it surprising that people least accepted have been found to be the most accepting of others. I'm still not gay, still don't intend to be, but I still like going to Zig's.
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