Lab teching my way through striptease school: My First BHoF Weekender - Day 4 (and 5)

Sunday was the final official day of BHoF, and in spite of the desire to sleep in, I wanted to make the most of it.  Carmen and I went to the Legends Q&A which was one of my favorite things of the weekend.  The legends had so many great stories.  I was shocked to hear how young some of them were when they started.  When I was 14, I didn't know what to do with myself.  I mustered up the courage to ask them a question: what is something we have today that they wish was around back then?  Although some of the legends misinterpreted my question to be about what they missed from the past—the general consensus being live music—, I appreciated the insight.  It made me feel lucky that we have the internet, mp3s, and cell phones.

Photo from Carmen St. Cloud

After the panel, I spent a long time looking for the right souvenirs to bring back home and called The Companion.  I got down to the pool just in time for the fashion show.  The nice thing about being short is that I can slip in between people without blocking their view.  Then it was time to hit the water, where a bunch of us gathered for a burly conga line.

For Sunday night, Apple Angel had gotten together a My Little Pony group.  Since she was doing Twilight Sparkle (the pony that I had already cosplayed), I spent the week before BHoF trying to figure out whether to do Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.  The former suited my tomboy style, but the latter was more my personality, especially among the bold and outgoing burlesque crowd.  I settled for Fluttershy since I had a pink wig and an outfit that, though made me feel under-dressed, would suffice.  Had I known Kay Licious had put together a Fluttershy ensemble, I would have gone for Rainbow Dash.  However, the nice thing with cosplay is the more, the merrier!

Photo by Ed Barnas

I could easily see why the Icons and All-Stars won their titles.  There was so much attitude, fierceness, and creativity.  My favorites were Tigger! whose clever take on a classic strip made me disregard my dislike of phalluses, Dolls of Doom who had me fangirling over their high tech costumes and Heelys, and Perle Noire who always brings 110% to her performances.  I also enjoyed Dusty Summers' magic act; it was simple but much better than what I saw with Criss Angel.  Even though awards and speeches dragged the night out, I understood the importance of recognizing influential individuals and key players.  They worked hard to help make burlesque what it is today.

how you do BHoF
with no checked bags

Carmen and I decided that this was the night to party it up, but most of our friends had either turned in early or were M.I.A.  Since I had congratulated Mr. Gorgeous during intermission (he's so sweet), I went looking for Midnite Martini.  I found her and was able to give her my praise (she's so sweet too).  Then I came across Carmen who had found Blaze by the slots.  We decided that we would go play a little bit since most people were chatting and smoking outside the party venue.  I wound up breaking even and decided to head upstairs to pack.  A part of me wished I had stuck around the party and danced a bit or at least tried to talk to more people, but I think I did good for an introverted noob.  Maybe next time I go I'll socialize more.

Heading up early to pack turned out to be a good idea since I somehow figured out how to cram everything into my two carry-ons.  My flight was in the morning so there wasn't really time for good-byes although Carmen kept me company after I found out there was a long delay.  I was able to get standby for an earlier flight that was also delayed.  Boy was that an anxiety-inducing wait.  I was sad that BHoF was over, but I wanted to go home.

Especially since I had a lot of things waiting afterward…like a routine to finish and submit.  I thought the deadline was a month later than it actually was.  On top of that, I came back to news that I was accepted into the San Antonio Burlesque Festival.  These couple of months after BHoF have been crazy, but that's a post for another day.  In the meantime, see you in San Antonio this weekend!

To read my previous BHoF posts, click on the links: Days 0-2 and Day 3
To see more pictures, visit my facebook album