 Miss Trash No mOre: Gresham’s Josephine Lara |
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.
I am the sister of Miss White Trash 2009 Josie Lara and I have to say just how dissapointed I am of how things turned out. Did my sister win Miss White Trash 2009? Yes. Was it stripped from her? Unfortunately. Should the pageant chairman have reiterated where to pick up the R.V. to my intoxicated sister, and at least have had contact information so he could have called her? Absolutely. Did we call practically every place in Portland trying to figure out just where this R.V. was? YES! Did he give it away after only waiting a half hour? Scandolously yes. Rev Tony Hughes besides himself? Spare me the dramatics. But to add insult to injury, did he then, after she finally got HIS number, offer her the R.V. and tell her he would give it to her but he would then put out in ad in Wweekly saying she took it from charity??? Did he also say he would slander her and he knows where she works? YES! Does he know the difference between slander and libel? No. Is this a lesson learned? Absolutely. What hypocrisy to cheer someone on and appoint them your Miss White Trash and THEN when there is a dispute, use the very title you gave her to discredit her! It's too bad that the definition of "white trash" is a term targeted at lower social class white people with poor prospects, and low levels of education, and does not ALSO include the lack of integrity, and poor treatment of fellow people, because in that case there would only be one Miss White Trash 2009: Rev. Tony Hughes.
Carla Hankel