We finally made it to Burlycon! For years we have been hearing what an amazing experience this annual event is, yet had never had the chance to go ourselves until this year. Well, all the hype is true! Burlycon is a deeply rewarding and exciting event that we hope to return to often!

We arrived in Seattle a day early to explore the city and had a great time checking out the aquarium, Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, and some seriously great coffee and food. But our visit to the EMP Museum was our favorite! The Fantasy, Horror, and Sci-Fi exhibits were awesome! We geeked out over props and costumes from Alien, Star Trek, Buffy, Battlestar Galactica, Princess Bride, and DAVID BOWIE’S COSTUME FROM LABYRINTH.

Classes started the next day and we had created a jam-packed schedule for ourselves! We attended nearly 20 workshops and lectures over the next few days and were blown away by the diversity of the issues and skills addressed. Some of the most memorable classes were The Irresistible O’s History of Burlesque Performers of Color, Lillith Grey’s Sequins & Social Justice, and Jo Weldon’s Classic Versus Innovative: A False Dichotomy.

The social events in the evenings after classes were also a blast. We were excited that a LQBTQI Caucus was coordinated for Thursday night so we had a chance to meet some awesome queer performers from all over. We also loved the Story Time event where performers shared personal stories from their burlesque adventures. And we got to see the new movie “Us, Naked: Trixie & Monkey!” It was a great documentary about two amazing artists and we appreciated getting an inside look into how they balance their performance and personal lives as a couple that creates art together.

We wish there had been more time to reconnect with old friends, meet new folks, introduce ourselves to our social media crushes, and…sleep more! It all seemed to go by in a flash. We are deeply grateful to Miss Indigo Blue, all the Board Members, Steering Committee, and amazing volunteers for making it all happen! And shout-out to the huge contingency of Texan performers who attended this year – we were everywhere!