Gossip Should Have No Friends

[September 24th, 2008]

TRUE GRIT: Usually, the lunacy stops once winner is announced at Portland’s annual Miss White Trash Pageant. This year it was just the beginning. Gresham’s Miss Josephine Lara —radiant, rampaging and racist —was crowned Miss White Trash 2009 at Dante’s Saturday, Sept 20. Josephine was to claim her title and prizes, including a 1972 Dodge Tradesman Class C Camper at the official Sunday coronation at Voodoo Doughnut 2 on Northeast Sandy Boulevard (pageant organizer Rev. Tony Hughes withholds all prizes, including car keys, the night of the pageant in the name of sobriety). But the next day Josephine was a no-show, leaving a baffled pageant committee to award the crown and prizes to ecstatic MWT runner-up Miss Maggie Sue, whose pageant talent was giving herself a motorboat. She took the crown, but left the camper. The kicker? Turns out Josephine did show up—at the downtown Voodoo Doughnut. “Because I was misinformed, they got to give my trophy to somebody else,” she fumed to WW. MWT organizer Hughes says he’s “beside himself about the situation,” but she’s just too late. He offered to give Josephine the camper, with the stipulation that she would not be allowed to represent herself as MWT 2009. Josephine only had one thing to say: “Gimme my trophy back, BEE-YOTCH.”

BITE THE APPLE: It never hurts to have friends in the Big Apple. On Oct. 24, former Medicine Hat/Blackbird/Berbati’s Pan booker Chantelle Hylton will transport a mighty chunk of the Portland music scene to Hylton’s NYC venue, the Knitting Factory. The “Portland Fest” will be an all-day, CMJ Music Marathon-related celebration of PDX pride, featuring hotshot bands like the Helio Sequence, Tara Jane ONeil, Au, Al James of Dolorean, White Rainbow and “tons more”—plus Portland label showcases, coffee, and probably something bicycle-related. Tickets are available for $10 via TicketMaster. The plane ticket will cost substantially more.

DISEMBODIED DISEMBOWELED? Looks like economic woes are taking a toll on Portland’s film industry. Disembodied, a supernatural thriller directed by former soap star Brett Donowho (Port Charles) was to begin shooting in September in Portland. But sources familiar with the project tell WW that the production either is being suspended or already has been suspended, for reasons connected to the financing. WW was unable to obtain confirmation or comment from the production office after several attempts.

THAT’S THE TICKET: The Portland Area Theater Alliance announced Monday the first-ever Portland Free Night of Theater. Part of a national promotion organized by Theatre Communications Group, the program offers free tickets to shows by 15 Portland-area theater companies—including Third Rail Rep, Portland Center Stage and CoHo Productions—between Oct. 16 and 30. Reservations start Oct. 1 at freenightoftheater.net.

STRAIGHT OUTTA VANPORT: Curious Comedy, the people behind last year’s long-running children’s show Sometimes Toilet Water, will open a new comedy theater and club in the Vanport Square development at 5225 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. The company, which includes Second City vet Stacey Hallal and former WW intern Nate Smith, plans to offer performances, classes and film screenings in the space starting Oct. 10.