Taloolah Love and New Orleans John presented the “Pin-Ups By the Pool Costume Contest” Friday 8PM at the Sheraton Hotel pool. Although scheduled for two hours, the first hour consisted of guests wandering around the pool, socializing, cheering when guys cannon-balled into the pool, and taking pictures of the few contestants who mingled with the crowd before the formal viewing and judging portion of the contest.
One of the most striking beauties lounging by the pool was Shandy Wortel, dressed as a pink mermaid. Although not a contestant, she helped set the atmosphere and enjoyed lots of photographic attention. Shandy used to live in New York City, where she modeled as a mermaid for a seafood caterer. She has attended Dragon*Con for four years and now lives in Atlanta.
Kisa von Teasa was one of the judges for this event. The judges of tonight’s contest will be performing in the “Dragon*Con Burlesque: A Glamour Geek Revue” show Sunday 12AM to 2:30AM Regency VI-VII (Hy). Kisa, from Knoxville, TN, has been a burlesque performer since 2005 and says that one of the best things about burlesque is that it “allows her to dictate her own reality,” which lets her blend her love of humor with her love of getting naked. She also enjoys burlesque because there are no age or ability restrictions on who can perform.
The contest finally started around 9:30PM and featured about a dozen ladies in vintage swimsuits from the 1920s to the 1960s, who danced on-stage to music from those eras. The judges eliminated all but three contestants, who then did a strut-off for the crowd to determine the winner. The three last contestants were dubbed by the MC the “Sexy Sailor,” the “Sultry Sunbather,” and the “1966 Lady Batgirl.” Batgirl was eliminated after the strut-off. The roars of the crowd were equally loud for Sexy Sailor and Sunbather, so they did a dance-off. The subsequent crowd vote was unequivocally in favor of the Sexy Sailor, Evelyn DeVere, who handmade her costume. Evelyn is a professional costumer and burlesque dancer from Charleston, SC, where she also runs the burlesque troupe known as Carnivalesque.
