At Saturday's Brooklyn Gay Pride
festival the gay message was scooped up – literally.
Doug Quint opened his whimsical Big Gay
Ice Cream Truck at the gay festival Saturday. Offering a combination
of gay activism and campy fun, Quint spent the day topping ice cream
treats with Trix Cereal (“It's queer, colorful, and
youngster-friendly, like us!” Quint said), cayenne pepper, maple
syrup and fresh berries.
When we caught up with Quint on
Wednesday, he told us the premiere roll was a huge
success.
“I smiled so much that by the end of
the day my face ached,” he said.
Quint, a bassoonist by trade who just
finished coursework for his musical arts doctorate at CUNY, is a
strong advocate for gay marriage. Will an ice cream treat help make
a gay visibility message go down a bit smoother in a state where gay
marriage finds itself stalled in the Legislature?
“I think the political issues that
the truck inspires are partly a matter of timing,” Quint told On
Top Magazine. “It came at the right moment. This has brought
a new dimension to the project and I welcome it.”
“The initial inspiration was pure
pipe dream, but then I came to see that there could be a cultural
side effect.”
Quint is using social media to get out
his rainbow message and help followers locate the truck for a quick
queer treat. Saturday's successful launch was due in part to the
truck's online buzz (Twitter updates @biggayicecream; blog at
biggayicecreamtruck.com).
“More than a few people who had been
following the truck's development via online sources showed up at the
launch,” he said. “They knew the backstory and came to see my
weird vision become an even weirder reality.”
Expect to find the Big Ice Cream Truck
in the West Village throughout the day and prowling the East
Village/Chelsea bar scene at night.
“If you wear your BGICT swag, I'll
top ya for free,” Quint said at this blog. “Sprinkle on.”