There are a couple of big leather events coming our way in the next few weeks. “Turning Up the Heat” takes place in the old man-twink area known as Palm Springs – just look for the slightly older gay men in pastel shorts and flip flops, or tweaked out circuit boys left over from Palm Springs Pride the week before. If you’re wandering aimlessly in the desert and happen across a hot and sweaty Sister of Perpetual Indulgence complete with runny Tammy Faye make-up, you’re there.

Turning Up the Heat runs Nov. 8-11 and is hosted by The Palm Springs Leather Order of the Desert. A weekend package will set you back $135. Don’t let me hear you bitch about the San Diego Leather Pride package price again or you’ll be flogged by a much older gay man in pastel shorts and flip flops … from Palm Springs.

Turning Up the Heat offers the usual leather weekend to-do’s. The biggie will be the Mr. Palm Springs Leather Contest at 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Oasis. Winners from previous feeder contests, including Mr. Toucan Leather, will battle to represent the desert at IML in May. They have a total of six feeder contestants listed, but can’t you imagine some big, tough, boot-stomping leather man as Mr. Toucan Leather?

Our very own Tom Dickerson, Mr. San Diego Leather 2002, will be judging alongside head judge George Wong; International Mr. Leather 2007 Mike Gerle, Mr. Palm Springs Leather 2007 Eric Mitchell, and D.C. leather woman Mary Elizabeth Boyd. More information and package tickets can be found at www.desertleatherpride.com.

The following weekend will be LLBear at Rich’s. Ya’ll keep griping about girly boys and girly girls taking over LLBear. Well, take it back! You’re bears and leather men, after all. If you’re not meaner than girly boys and girly girls then you’re at least bigger. Take the night back! If you don’t like the music, then use the time to make out with somebody else’s boyfriend in a dark corner.

A couple of weeks after Turning Up the Heat, we’ll be turning the temperatures down (way down) at Mr. Leatherman Toronto Weekend, hosted by one of my favorite Canadian cities. MLT takes place Nov. 22-25, when most of you will be stuffing your winter bear bellies with turkey, dressing, macaroni and cheese, greens, corn bread, sweet potato pie and lots of left-overs.

The Mr. Leatherman Toronto Competition is one of the largest leather contests on the world leather stage and produces some top-notch community bottoms as well as contestants for IML. A former Mr. Leatherman Toronto, Paul Ciantar, was here a few years back to judge our Mr. San Diego Leather Contest. I’ll be returning the favor by braving the icy cold Canadian winter to join a stellar selection committee. It’s a real honor to be asked to judge MLT and I can’t think of a better way to spend Thanksgiving weekend, once the turkey is gone and the left-overs are picked over.

The VIP Weekend Package for Mr. Leatherman Toronto includes the MLT Contest and Victory Ball, Bootblack Contest, VIP Reception, VIP Breakfast, VIP Victory Brunch, T-shirt, run pin, poster, and welcome package, and is only $125. For more information, visit www.mrlt.com. MLT has also added seminars on Saturday and Sunday, with topics from “Pervertables: What’s in Your Toy Bag?” to “Flying Fingers: Non-verbal Communication” presented by San Diego’s Michelle Jackson. Oh boy! I get to see Michelle on the road!

There’s a “leathera” of unofficial parties planned, and I’m particularly looking forward to the “naked board games,” which I believe are Monopoly, or Twister or something. Hope it’s Twister! Monopoly takes too long. I’ll let you know which games are included in the “naked board games” when I return. I’ll also let you know who won the contest.

Finally, happy birthday to our Scorpion friends: Micheal David; Adam L.; Rudy; Mike the Builder; Drew the BF and anyone else with a very sharp stinger. The holidays are coming up, so be sure to swing by Pleasures & Treasures or The Crypt for your Hanukkah/Christmas/Kwanzaa gift ideas.

You can always write me at inthepitsd@aol.com if you have an event coming up or something sexy to say. See ya’ “In The Pit.”