Thursday at the Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend 2009

I arrived at McCarron airport at 4pm. Since I flew in alone from Oakland, I decided to take a shuttle. Took about 10 minutes longer than by cab, but i saved about $10. Not a bad tradeoff.

The site of the BHOF this year is the Orleans. It's a large hotel/casino west of the Strip. Just south of the Palms and Gold Coast. It's a nice place, relatively new and modern. And the word amonst attendees is that it's a much better place to deal with than the Palms was last year. And they have a nice showroom.

I checked in, got my room, then went to look for my bowling teammates. Many of the male guests were talking about there being a burlesque event here this weekend. They were doing so in rather restrained yet excited tones. Indeed, you can tell pretty much who's here for BHOF. Many are dressed to impress, and stand out from the shorts, tees, and athletic shoes crowd. They have a tendency to gawk and whisper things like, "There's a burlesque thing here this weekend."

No one was at the lanes yet, so I went to eat at the TGI Fridays here. Oddly enough, I received a text from Dizzy Swank, my teammate, saying that he was eating there. I looked around the restaurant, and recognized him sitting with other burlesque people. Turns out it's a popular place. I've seen Kitten on the Keys there and have had a drink with my friends Josie Starre and Lily LeRouge there.

There isn't a really a front desk for the event, so it's just a matter of waiting for one of the events to start. In this case, it was the bowling tournament. I met Magic Max who was with Dizzy, and recognized Vivienne VaVoom from pictures I've seen of her. They were all cool, friendly people, and we pretty much chatted and waited for the bowling to start.

Left to right: Me, Vivienne VaVoom, Dizzy Swank

Which of coures took a while. Once we got every team assigned to a lane, we started bowling. This being burlesque bowling, everybody was dressed. Lots of laughs, people mingling. A total blast! There were two games played until it was time for the Thursday night bash to start.

Hosted by Tigger, the event featured many, many talented performers. Darlinda Just Darlinda, Polly Wood, Nasty Canasta, and our own Bunny Pistol were just a few who entertained the crowd.

Tigger hosting the Opening Night Bash

The show started at 11:30, and went to almost 3am. I chatted with Kitten on the Keys and The Frightening Mr. Tinkler, Douglas Good, and others whom I recognized from the Bay Area. By that time, I was ready to crash. The good thing is the room is only a 5 minute walk from the venues.

Oh! And my teammate Magic Max married Little Stormy earlier in the day. And I was told that Michelle L'amour and Franky Vivid would marry onstage on Friday. Weddings in Vegas. Who would have thought?