2026 Kootenay Burlesque Festival
The rumors are true: this is a special festival. Vesper, Marloe, and the whole team working on KBF is top notch. They put on a great event and made sure everything ran seamlessly for their guests. As someone who’s also part of a festival team, I’m endlessly interested in how we all work together to pull off these feats and curious about how others get into nitty gritty details. Congratulations on a job well done for the seventh installment of the fest.
I had the luxury of having arrived in the region days in advance to vacation with my partner and was fully acclimated by the time the festival got rolling. (Thanks again to “Harry” for being my roadie.) The opening night “meet and greet” was Alice in Wonderland themed. This was a nice opportunity for folks to come and go as they pleased, dress up or down, and hang out on a night where no one had the pressure of performing. There was a table of treats, performer check-in and swag bags, photo backdrop, and the option to get dinner and drinks either indoors or out. There was even a signature drink!
The Friday night show was called The Dirty & Nerdy Show–a mash up I didn’t know I needed. The combination made for a nice flow and variety. Some performances I really loved from that night were by Kitty Goode (Spokane, WA), Miss Ocean Squeeze (Kelowna, BC), Scarlett Tart (Denver, CO), and Tina Bo’Bina (Calgary, AB). The Capitol Theatre is grand with comfy theatre seats, and a huge stage. The audience was excited and very welcoming. The show was full of creative acts and well-executed costuming.
Nelson is a really cute town and so supportive of the festival and, as far as I can tell, arts in general. I loved that servers, bartenders, and hotel staff that I encountered all knew about the festival and had been in the past and/or wished they could go. It was even advertised on the radio! That’s real, quaint, small-town shit right there. It was delightful.
Since leaving Meta platforms In March, festivals have been the most difficult events to manage. During the Titty 500, I desperately wanted to see how others were enjoying the events and re-watch highlights of the acts. During KBF, I missed the experience of adding and following folks, seeing images shared of the shows and activites, and pretty much all communication happened via the Facebook group. Thanks again to the performers I ran into around town and chatted with throughout the weekend–you were a lifeline to me and the only way I knew that there was a tech schedule and what my tech time was. The other side of the coin: I lived in the moment the entire time. I focused on talking to people and making those new relationships and I wasn’t distracted by any other show highlights popping up in a feed. I was careful to document my experience without feeling like I needed to chase content.
One of the big festival benefits for me is seeing people–meeting new folks, socializing with friends, watching new performers, and sharing the stage in a novel environment. I got to meet fellow KBF newcomer Leona Ferocious (New York, NY) and lament our sleeping past free breakfast hour at The Hume. I got so much love from Midwest babe, Neoma Day Echo (Columbus, OH) who defended me against negative self talk and Chardonnay. I adored spending time with Space Trucker, Lance Burbank, and their SoCal crew. I had Friday nightcap chats with Qween Qwan (New Orleans, LA) and ran into Irish Lashes and Aiden Antares (Boise, ID) a few times around town. Last, but not least, my new friend and Babybel, Dinah Dare (Glasgow, UK), you’re such a treat and a light.
My tech went really well. After watching the Friday night show, I had some lighting options in mind and the team brought my ideas together seamlessly. I was nervous for my knee drop and anxious in general, but outside of going to tech, most of my day on Saturday was spent resting and preparing.
I got to the Capitol Theatre on the earlier side to get settled in for hair and make up and steaming my panel skirt. I shared space with Dinah Dare and A’Slayna Von Hunt and as I expected, the backstage environment was supportive and pretty chill. I was able to get ready in time to watch the full first act. Of course, the sad truth is that when you are in a show, you have to miss some of it, but I’ll look forward to the videos. The musicality on display was impressive! Some of the acts I got to see that I really loved were Chack Bare Again (Calgary, AB), Leona Ferocious, Sara James (Portland, OR), and Winter Sinclair (San Diego, CA). I’ve had the pleasure of watching Winter before and she’s so talented and lovely.
As for myself, I felt I pulled it off pretty well. I was a little shaky at first despite my best grounding efforts, but after a minute or so I got a good stride going. I loved seeing Judith Stein in the audience–it’s such a treat when you’re able to perform for a legend. I had a few moments of being fully in the moment under those big lights and that was special. I gave that stage a good bumpin’ and grindin’ and landed my knee drop. My knees did survive! (With ice and ibuprofen later that night.) I’m not often a big partier post-show, but wanted to make the most of the night and stopped by the after party. I’m glad I did–I got to gush over some folks, have some chats, and say a few farewells before I had to be horizontal. I was also grateful to get compliments from my peers that felt validating and filled my cup. Overall, Kootenay Burlesque Festival was a great experience and if you’re able to get there, they’ll show you a good time up north.
One Response
What an absolute babe. It was a delight to meet you and see you light up that stage! I can’t wait til we cross paths again.
Xx