In the (almost three!) years since I started this blog, I've been to a few halls of fame. There was
basketball in Massachusetts,
tennis in Rhode Island, and
football in Ohio. Those were all great in their own ways, and while in Las Vegas, I was able to add another- albeit more risque- hall of fame to my list. Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting
The Burlesque Hall of Fame!
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| Imagine a trumpet fanfare and some sexy red curtains revealing this fab sign |
This museum was located in Downtown (read: old) Las Vegas, one block away from the last stop of the
Deuce Bus. Let me warn you ahead of time- it's tiny. My sister and I walked past it three times before we realized the BHOF was actually a smaller component of some hipster looking bar. It was free to enter, which is a good thing because the "museum" is actually just three small rooms with information on the walls and a few outfits on display.
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| Image from the wall of the Museum |
That's not a slight, mind you. The information covered was very interesting and told a story that I feel is a huge part of the whole Las Vegas "mystique". I was a bit disappointed because I'd missed the exhibit about people of color in burlesque by about a week or two. The woman working pointed out a few postcards left from the exhibit that were still for purchase in the gift shop, but without the story behind them I wasn't as interested. Hopefully (maybe) someday they'll publish a book on it- they'll have at least one customer!
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| Some of the costumes on display |
Now, part of me hopes that one day the BHOF will get its own space and be this big huge marvelous testament to the art of burlesque-- not the seedy soft porn vibe people sometimes associate with it. It's a great concept that deserves a few minutes of your time (my sister and I stayed about 15 minutes). While we were on our way out, another woman came in and started a conversation with the woman working there- apparently they both actually PERFORM burlesque- which was cool. But I was trying to make a check donation and the conversation kinda killed the moment by not being able to step in and ask who I should write my check to. I didn't end up making that donation because she hinted that they didn't accept checks, which kinda sucked because I had no cash on me and didn't want to put my donation on a credit card. I highly encourage everyone to
donate a few dollars to them though, it is one of those quirky places that often get ignored in the world of cultural giving. If you don't want give money they also have a
wish list of stuff they need too!
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| Doubly sad I didn't get to add money to the pasty-adorned donation box! |
Overall, a pretty cool stop while in Vegas. I'd be interested to see where it goes from here!
You can see the rest of my pictures from the BHOF on my
Facebook page, and as always, thank you for reading my blog- we'll see you on the next adventure!
EDIT (6/19/2014)
So in my rush to get this entry typed, I forgot to include the link to a very informative podcast that I listened to days before the trip. It is from the podcast "How Stuff Works", and the topic is of course, burlesque. It gives a very detailed history in about 50 minutes of dialog. I still have it on my phone and will probably listen to it again someday. You can listen to it
here. Enjoy!
