Night of 1000 Gowns ‘08

By Jeannie

 

At shortly past dawn on THE day March 29^th ’08 another drag queen joined the pantheon of royals across town all doing the same thing - primping, repairing  selecting, laying out their creations for the night of nights. That I am a RG (Real Girl) made no difference – aside from not having to perform the last minute shaving of face, chest, and whatever else would be visible, the process and the tension was the same. In total concentration it took me 2 hours to get it all together and taxi to the Mariott Marquis Grand Ballroom, where the Imperial Court of New York and their Sovereign Majesties Emperor XVI Craig Hollywood, The Fire Taming Rose Emperor & Empress XXXIB, the Bewitching and Bewildering Empress, hosted the 22^nd Annual Night of a Thousand Gowns, a charity ball whose beneficiaries this year are AIDS Community Research Initiative of America and Bailey House. The Royals singled out four individuals who went “beyond the call of duty”; Ball co-chairs Empress XIII Anne Toque, Emperor Damien Valentino, President Emperor X Gabriel Della Notte and Empress XIX Robin Kradles.

 

However the first visible signs of tremendous effort after the presentation of the Flags and other invocations was the Broadway-esque spectacular

“Night Fever” a medley of numbers from the show danced and lip synched by a huge talented chorus line of New York  royals who lasted through about 15 minutes of non-stop aerobic movements designed and choreographed by NY’s former dignitary Empress X Ran-dee.

 

This year’s only the glitch was that the coatroom was three floors below the ballroom – leaving the Royals  attending the festivities to traipse up and down several floors in front of the gaping, gawking “civilians”.

 

But this year’s extravaganza was definitely worth the effort: the food more delicious, the setting more lavish, the entertainment more spectacular, the spirit insurmountable.

 

At midnite all the dieting purging and diureting that preceded the event to get intoi those gowns was abandoned as queens in an orgy of self indulgence gorged on the over the top deserts.

 

 

The evening ended early for this one ;)