Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend 2009

If you've been following my Twitter feed over there in the sidebar, you'll know that I'm on a team for the 1st Annual Barecats Invitational Bowling Tournament. Yay! So it follows that I'll be attending the Burelsque Hall of Fame Weekend in Las Vegas, June 5-7 (www.burlesquehall.com). I'm pretty stoked to be on the same team as Dizzy Swank (www.myspace.com/dizzyswank), Magic Max (magicconversations.blogspot.com), and Vivenne VaVoom (www.viviennevavoom.com). Since none of the local performers competing in the 19th Annual Miss Exotic World Pageant, I'll be cheering loudly for my teammate, Vivienne. Woot!

Here is the lineup of contestants and performers for Miss Exotic World 2009, hosted by by El Vez and Miss Astrid:

Arabella Trapeze (Brooklyn, NY)
The Chicago Starlets (Chicago, IL)
Dinah Might (Vancouver, BC)
The Evil Hate Monkey (Baltimore, MD)
Foxy Tann & the WBTYM's (Twin Cities, MN)
Gigi and Pop (Brooklyn, NY)
Hot Toddy (Chicago, IL)
Miss Indigo Blue (Seattle, WA)
Kalani KoKonuts (Las Vegas, NV)
Knicker Kittens Burlesque Revue (Stockholm, Sweden)
Kristina Nekyia (San Francisco, CA)
Little Brooklyn (Brooklyn, NY)
Lux LaCroix (Los Angeles, CA)
Madame Rosebud (New York, NY)
Melody Mangler (Vancouver, BC)
NANDA (Portland, OR)
The Oona Tramps (Chicago, IL)
Ophelia Flame (Minneapolis, MN)
Paco Fish (Baltimore, MD)
The Peach Tartes (NYC, NY)
Peekaboo Pointe (Brooklyn, NY)
Perle Noire (New Orleans, LA)
Renea LeRoux (Atlanta, GA)
Rita Star (Vancouver, BC)
Roxi D'Lite (Windsor, ON)
The Schlep Sisters (NYC, NY)
The Shanghai Pearl (Seattle, WA)
Sugar Kane (Helsinki, Finland)
Tatah DuJour (Key West, FL)
Trixee Sparkle (London, UK)
Trixie Little (Baltimore, MD)
Vicky Sin (Chicago, IL)
Vivienne VaVoom (Denver, CO)
...and a special, farewell performance by
the Reigning Queen of Burlesque, ANGIE PONTANI

You'll notice that Miss Indigo Blue and The Shanghai Pearl, who will be here this weekend for the premiere of "A Wink and a Smile" and various associated events, are both up for Miss Exotic World. So see some of their last performances before they head to Las Vegas!

There will be some Bay Area burlesquers performing in Vegas, though. Thursday's Opening Night Bash will see Bunny Pistol and Mariel a la Mode doing their thing. Friday's 52nd Annual Striptease Reunion Showcase features legends Holiday O'Hara and Viva LaFever (with The Devil-Ettes). San Francisco native Satan's Angel will also be there! Yay!

I'll probably also do the Pinup Safari with Don Spiro (www.donspiro.com)and Dale Rio (www.dalerio.com). Basically, there will be a bunch of photographers and models and performers loaded on a double decker bus and going to several venues to take pictures for about three hours. This year, the sites so far include the Aruba Hotel (www.arubalasvegas.com) and the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign. Though I'm not a pro, I'm thinking it will be fun to go along for the ride and try to take some shots. I've never stood by the sign or been to the Aruba. Should be fun!

Interested in going? There's still $98 (plus taxes and fees) roundtrip (SFO to LAS) tickets available online from United Airlines and US Airways as of this posting. Prices sometimes change within minutes or hours, so check with your favorite travel websites for the latest fares.

It being Las Vegas, there's usually some decently priced lodging somewhere. Hotels.com has a deal at the Orleans, which is the site of the BHOF Weekend. You get the third night free. So if you arrive on Thursday night, Saturday night is free. That could be worth up to $110. Once again, prices and offers may change, so check to see what rates are available.

Tickets for the BHOF Weekend are available from the Orleans Casino site (www.orleanscasino.com/whats-new/events/burlesque-hall-of-fame-weekend). You can purchase a weekend pass for three nights, or you may purchase show tickets individually. For more information, see the BHOF site at www.burlesquehall.com.

If you do go, let me know. Perhaps we can plunder a buffet together! Arr, matey! Ha ha! :-)