Vancouver, BC, September 17, 2008 - The nationwide search for Mr. Gay Canada is set for its final weekend September 18-21st, 2008 in Vancouver and Whistler.  The competition kicks off at Vancouver's largest gay venue, Celebrities Nightclub, on Thursday, September 18th, 2008.
The special presentation will pay tribute to a past leader and activist of the local community; none other then the first-ever Mr Gay Canada title holder. It was 20 years ago that Dean Ryane took the title and used it to promote equality and awareness around North America. As the first openly gay President of the BC Hairdressers Association, title holder of Mr Vancouver Leather and the 22nd Pot of Gold Empress of Vancouver, he was best known in the GLBTQ community as Dusty Ryane. "He always believed in fundraising for political causes and even more so for helping those less well off than himself," says Martin Rooney, his partner of many years, adding that in his last years of life "Dean took his skills and personality to the Comox Valley and was involved in GLBTQ AIDS work and community theatre on the island until his untimely passing Labor Day Weekend 2006, the day after his 66th Birthday."
 
The Mr Gay Canada Competition, now a newly formed organization with partnership from the International Mr Gay is paying tribute to Dean Ryane, not only as the first-ever Mr Gay Canada title holder but for what he stood for and his contributions to the community at large. The tribute is part of the special opening event happening at Celebrities Nightclub this Thursday night. "It is a great tribute to Dean to see Mr Gay Canada contest once again, reformatted to appeal to this generation. I am sure that he is looking down on us with a smile and wishing all the best. His advice to the winner would be - go conquer and represent us well with pride and dignity," adds Rooney, who will be present on Thursday night, wearing the same outfit Dean Ryane had when he received his title of Mr Gay Canada 20 years ago.
 
Award winning actor Berend McKenzie will host the event while local singer/songwriter Armstrong Jr. and award-winning performer Kim Kuzma will perform. This is the only opportunity that Vancouver gets to meet all Mr Gay Canada 2008 delegates as the team moves to Whistler right after the presentation and until the new Mr Gay Canada title is awarded Saturday night at Maxx Fish.
The Mr. Gay Canada Competition is a 3-day, indoor/outdoor series of events to help our judges identify a strong spokesman ambassador to tell the world about our mission. www.mrgaycanada.com
 
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