Toronto, May 11, 2008 – Priape announced today that the new store at the 501 Church Street location officially reopened this weekend with great success. The official relaunch weekend began May9th and continued through until Sunday the 11th. A weekend of events accompanied the reopening, welcoming hundreds of people daily into the store and many hundreds more at each event off site. This move occurs as Priape marks its 15th anniversary of presence in the Toronto market and of commitment to the local LGBT community.
As such, since May 1st, Priape has been offering a special 15th Anniversary Sale that continues through to the 15th, where a 15% discount is offered on all merchandise. On Sunday, 15% of all sales were donated to the Toronto PWA Foundation’s Friends for Life Bike Rally. Priape and its customers thus helped raise a great deal of money for this important annual community event.
Live music spun with some of the communities most renowned DJs and included sets played by DJs Jamal, Cajimere Wray and Shawn Riker. Fans came from all over to get autographs and photos with a variety of models and special guests.
As part of the official celebrations, Priape held the 2nd Annual Mr. PriapeWear International Model Search Toronto Competition. This year’s regional winner is Toronto resident, John Henderson. Taking the regional title with a smile, John looks forward to the opportunities that this achievement will bring to his modeling career. He will join five other regional title holders from across Canada as, well as other finalists from the United States, Australia, Singapore and Berlin in Montreal on the weekend of June 20th for the Mr. PriapeWear Grand Finale. A crowd favourite, John is described as an attractive individual with an alternative look, who has both arms covered in stunning tattoos.
Local Village favourite, Woody’s, set the stage for the regional finals of this year’s competition, as a large crowd of spectators cheered on this year’s line up of contestants.
Other Official Opening celebrations included a VIP reception with many of Priape’s key Toronto partners and LGBT community leaders. A special evening of dance was hosted Circa nightclub on Friday and Fly nightclub sponsored the afternoon of live music at the store on Sunday. As well, a Meet and Greet with participants of the upcoming 10th Annual Toronto People with AIDS Foundation’s Friends for Life Bike Rally concluded the reopening.
Priape Toronto Store Manager, Ed Velasquez, was excited talking about the reopening: “Customers of Priape Toronto are already benefiting from a number of great changes. Weekend store hours have been extended to 11 PM on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, instead of 9 PM. The main sections of the new store are 25% larger than before and include more stylish displays and distinct design choices customized for each lifestyle section.” The new store also includes a brand new street-level window display. As is the tradition at other locations across Canada, Priape Toronto’s window is designed and dressed by Étalage B Display – well known for the display designs they have created for such prestigious clients as Chanel, Armani, Birks and Dior, in addition to the other Priape store locations.