Cleveland Leather Annual Weekend

CLAW
StatusActive
GenreLeather, Fetish, Kink
FrequencyAnnually
LocationColumbus, Ohio
CountryUnited States
Inaugurated2002 (2002)
Most recent
April 2-6, 2026
Organised byClaw Corp
Websiteclawinfo.org

Cleveland Leather Annual Weekend, more commonly referred to as CLAW, is an American multi-day convention celebrating the leather and kink communities.[1][2]

History

CLAW was initially designed by leather titleholders Dennis McMahon and Bob Miller and registered as a nonprofit in 2001, with the aim of raising awareness about the spread of Hepatitis B.[3] The first CLAW event was a bar party in 2002[4] at the Tool Shed, a Cleveland gay bar that closed in 2013.[1][5]

In 2003, a host hotel was added, and CLAW was subsequently held at Cleveland area hotels including historic venues like the Renaissance, the Hyatt Regency, and the Westin through 2024,[6] with the exception of events in nearby suburb Independence from 2017-2019, a virtual event in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and an event in Los Angeles in 2021.[3][4][7] The first induction ceremony for the Leather Hall of Fame was held during CLAW in 2009.[8][9] Beginning in 2022, CLAW held a second event in Los Angeles in the fall, with the primary event remaining in Cleveland in the spring.[3] In 2025, CLAW was held at the I-X convention center.[3]

2026 relocation

In 2025, CLAW announced that the 2026 spring event would be held at the Masonic Auditorium.[3] However, in September 2025, the TempleLive company operating the venue announced that it was ending operations nationwide and all future events were cancelled.[10][11]

In October, CLAW leadership announced that the event was moving from Cleveland to the Hyatt Regency hotel in Columbus. Following social media backlash, local LGBTQ+ newspaper The Buckeye Flame profiled long-time attendees and volunteers who felt "betrayed" by the move out of Cleveland, as well as the owner of host and sponsor The Leather Stallion Saloon, but highlighted event organizers' efforts to overcome persistent venue booking challenges and positive engagement from the Hyatt around the event's BDSM programming.[3]

Following the 2026 event, CLAW announced that the 2027 and 2028 events would be held at the same venue in Columbus.[12]

Community engagement

Education

Unlike most leather events, CLAW does not host a title competition.[6] Rather, CLAW programming is focused on education, offering workshops and classes on a variety of topics including safety in kink, leather history, HIV and safer sex.[13][14] CLAW also offers HIV and STI screenings for attendees.[6]

Fundraising

CLAW has funded LGBTQ+ initiatives around Cleveland, including the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland, the AIDS Task Force of Greater Cleveland, and the MetroHealth Pride Clinic. CLAW has also provided charitable support to Rainbow Railroad, the Leather Archives & Museum,,[1][3][15] the Woodhull Freedom Foundation,[16] and LGBTQ+ youth programs including the Trevor Project,[15][17] as well as funding sociological and psychological research relevant to attendee communities.[6][18]

As of 2024, CLAW had raised more than $1,000,000 for charitable causes.[14]

Recognition

CLAW has won multiple awards from the Pantheon of Leather,[19] including:

  • Small Event of the Year: 2003
  • Large Event of the Year: 2006
  • Large Non-Profit Organization of the Year: 2007 and 2012 (tied with Folsom Street Events)
  • Large Club of the Year: 2012

References

  1. 1 2 3 Brown, Doug (April 16, 2014). "A Cleveland Leather Party: Meet the Man Who Helps Bring 1,500 Leather Fans to Cleveland Every Year". Cleveland Scene. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  2. ↑ Heney, Paul J. (May 26, 2022). "Return of Cleveland's Leather Weekend Captured in 20 Hot Photos". Out Traveler. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Schneck, Ken (November 3, 2025). "Columbus or Bust: Amidst feelings of betrayal and hope, Cleveland's Leather Annual Weekend (CLAW) leaves its namesake city". The Buckeye Flame. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  4. 1 2 Habyl, Riley. "Cleveland Leather Annual Weekend". Queer Cleveland. CSU Center for Public History + Digital Humanities. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  5. ↑ Mattson, Gregor (2023). Who Needs Gay Bars? Bar-Hopping through America's Endangered LGBTQ+ Places. Redwood Press. ISBN 9781503629202.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Heney, Paul J. (May 26, 2022). "Cleveland's Leather Paradise CLAW Returns". Out Traveler. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  7. ↑ Lenius, Steve (April 8, 2021). "Leather Life: CLAW 21 Coming in November 2021". Lavender Magazine. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  8. ↑ Nomis, Anne O (January 28, 2023). "My first "Leather Hall of Fame" Selection Committee meeting". The History & Arts of the Dominatrix. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  9. ↑ Miller, Bob (October 15, 2020). "The Leather Hall of Fame in 14 Dates". Permanent Marks. 1. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  10. ↑ Chakerian, Peter (September 3, 2025). "TempleLive appears to shutter entertainment operations in Cleveland, other markets". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  11. ↑ Oprea, Mark (February 24, 2026). "Masonic Auditorium on the Market Six Months After TempleLive's Closure". Cleveland Scene. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "CLAW". CLAW Info. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  13. ↑ POZ Staff (June 7, 2018). "Learning Through Leather". Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  14. 1 2 Rhodes, Dave (May 13, 2024). "CLAW reaches major milestone". The Leather Journal. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  15. 1 2 Lenius, Steve (January 14, 2021). "Leather Life: Leather Archives & Museum to Celebrate 30th Anniversary". Lavender Magazine. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  16. ↑ Teague, Bryan (January 2010). "CLAW Nation San Diego Helps Woodhull Foundation". The Leather Journal (238). Hollywood, California: EBSCO Publishing; Database: LGBT Life with Full Text: 20.
  17. ↑ "Cleveland Leather Awareness Weekend (CLAW)". Blue Max Cycle Club. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  18. ↑ "CARAS Research-CLAW Conference: Leather-Kink Research and Clinical Knowledge (C2C)-East 2026". CARAS Research. The Community-Academic Consortium for Research on Alternative Sexualities (CARAS). Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  19. ↑ "Pantheon of Leather Awards All Time Recipients - The Leather Journal". www.theleatherjournal.com. Archived from the original on 2020-12-28. Retrieved 2020-12-27.

See also

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