EPIC WEEKEND'S SPLASH BASH AT DUNDAS SQUARE FEATURING FREEMASONS, SOFONDA COX AND GIRLICIOUS

Epic Weekend's Splash Bash was a viable alternative for those looking to celebrate Pride Weekend in Toronto. Ambitiously booking Dundas Square for the event proved to be a bit of a risk for party promoter Joseph Patrick, who had his work cut out for him in persuading party-goers to look outside the box of events "officially" affiliated with Pride Toronto.

Today's outdoor Water Party pulled-out the stops inviting UK DJs/Producers extraordinaire Freemasons who were making their debut appearance in these parts after conquering the world with remixes for the likes of Kelly Rowland, Kylie Minogue, Shakira, Beyoncé and many more. Also trio Girlicious were tapped to do a short performance, in addition to an always exciting performance from Toronto's most-consistently stellar Drag Queen: Sofonda Cox.

Although originally scheduled to appear at 4 PM, the venue was slow to fill, resulting in Girlicious only taking to the stage at approximately 6:15 PM, to which the crowd appeared excited about. Although I am not particularly fond of their not quite Urban/not quite Pop music, they did put on a great show with some slick, sexy choreography. And as usual (and I do mean this quite literally since they visit Toronto so often), they looked great.  The venue never did full, but nobody seemed to mind on the hot, humid afternoon.

After hours of anticipation, Freemasons (only co-founder Russell Small arrived today) delivered a two and a half hour tour de force of Electro/Disco House, which seems to be lacking much in Toronto's club circuit. It was magical as Small delivered hit after hit, a vast majority coming from Freemasons' body of work heard on their outstanding Shakedown 2 disc. And manager Martin Southon was alongside to show his support, partying-it-up in the DJ Booth while some gorgeous male dancers seduced the crowd in package-revealing Andrew Christian Swim Trunks. A v. pleasant surprise was a remix of Kelis' Acapella which drove the crowd into a frenzy, along with the Freemasons' Remix of Whitney Houston's Million Dollar Bill. My exclusive interview with Freemasons will be coming shortly, so stay tuned for this. It was an amazing honour to spend time with such musical greatness.

The show would not have been complete without Sofonda Cox's always brilliant performances and she delivered once again this time with a medley of Christina Aguilera's Not Myself Tonight and David Guetta ft. Estelle's One Love which culminated in some water-spraying action from her hot Android-like costume. Unforgettable.

(Photo credit: Mr. Will-W.)