With our cheeks glowing from
a Friday under the Caribbean sun, Island
Gathering 2007 attendees returned to the Marriot Emerald Resort just in time
for the infamous SexSearch Happy Hour. For the entire weekend, this was the
magical time when the action-and-adventure set - fresh from swimming with dolphins, feeding sharks or driving dune
buggies - joined the languid-and-loving it bunch, whose most strenuous activity
was deciding whether to hit the hotel's pool, beach or spa first.
We got off our buses, dove into the pool and swam right up to bar for something
refreshing and cool. As we mingled in the water, we received invitations that
revealed the groupings for the evening's surprise-networking dinner. After a
quick shower and wardrobe change, we met in the lobby, found our networking groups
and headed out to the best restaurants in Curaçao.
Just as we previously didn't
know with whom we would be dining, we didn't know where we would be dining.
That was the real beauty of the event: We spent our days and nights with new acquaintances.
Rather then spending full days on a show floor or at tables in a seminar, rubbing
elbows with sales reps or hapless newbies, we got face time with many company
owners and top-level executives we hadn't met before the Island Gathering. There
probably aren't many events that can offer swimming with dolphins and an industry
legend or mogul in the making. After dinner, we headed back to the Emerald
Lounge at the resort to cap off another day in paradise with a late-night party.
After spending Saturday experiencing as much or as little as we were in the
mood for, we gathered once again in the pool for happy hour. That night, we had
a gourmet dinner at the Restaurant Gouverneur de Rouville, which was built on
the grounds of an 18th-century mansion. Then,
it was back to the resort for
nightcaps at a late-night party or a few rounds in the casino.
Sunday's full slate of excursions included Adult Webmaster Empire's classy
beach party, which duplicated its success from last year. That party was the
perfect lead-in to the Island Gathering's finale, the incredibly elegant and
impeccably executed Epoch Limelight Dinner.
The Island Gathering was created as an alternative to traditional affiliate-centric conventions, promoting top-tier networking for industry leaders in a nontraditional atmosphere designed to foster relationships that lead to executive-level deals. With the ink still drying on a deal made over breakfast Sunday, I leave saying, "mission accomplished."
Goodbye for now - or as the locals would say, "Bon Bini!"
Harlan Yaffe, AVN Online's "go-to gay," is a co-owner of PrideBucks.com.
