(~*~)
WICKED "RAVE" REVIEWS!!!... For UrbanEx Masquerade
Fundraiser Ball June 12, 2011
(~*~)
Hello everyone,
I am happy to bring about this MUCH needed awareness!!! I had been recently following this group on Facebook called "UrbanEx"
(short for Urban Excursion), as I really appreciate the things they
do. What caught my eye at first was their motto "Change the
world, by changing you". What a GREAT motto, and an adventure I won't soon forget!
=
BACKGROUND INFO.:
It all started with an invite to their "Masquerade
Fundraising Ball". The event listed that they were taking
donations, so I offered a painting. I gave Em the chance to choose
from what is already online, and informed her that any "went"
could only be copies. Originally she had a hard time picking and
responded with 7 to choose from. Out of these were 2 that could not
be given; as one was already gone, and the other was part of a 7
piece tree I have yet to finish. So I told Em that if she really
wanted one of these 2 in particular, then I could paint a copy for
her. She chose the piece from my 7 piece tree.
I started the painting (later than I wanted to) on the Monday
before their event, and worked on it during the days while my little
Zack was at school (except Monday night I worked on it also). It took
me 5 days to finish all the details, and I posted progress pics for
Em to take a look at.
Once that was done, I had to figure out what to wear!!! Talk about
feeling like Cinderella getting ready for the ball!!! lmao I started
Friday night with the outfit... I knew I wanted to wear something
"frilly", and that unless I wanted to wear a tutu, I had
only 2 options. A dress that I needed to fix/ alter, and a skirt that
I've worn as a dress on a few occasions. I chose the skirt due to the
time limit. I have multiple pieces I could have worn with it, but the
"bra & undies" set that was on it's hanger was just too
priceless not to wear! So I worked around them & the skirt to
come up with my character for the event.
The Character: 'Alice the whore - from Whoreland'!!!
(~*~)
I chose this character for a few reasons:
1. To symbolize the fact that in Life, we are all "whores"...
I say this in the sense that we all are trying to "pimp"
ourselves to others; with our offerings of business/ "services",
opinions/ beliefs, and even with just ourselves to be accepted by
others. For without acceptance, we are all feeling "left in the
gutter" to die.
2. Alice in Wonderland is one of my favourites. As her character
is a metaphoric one that shows us that we MUST face the things we
fear. For conquering our fears is the path to positive changes.
Something we all could use a reminder of.
3. I am known amongst some of us as the 'Info. whore', so using
her with the bra & undies worked sooo well! How did it work, you
ask? See the event below...
+
Next was the mask...
My questions for myself:
Do I use one I have, or do I go see what Kerri's got
for sale down at "Rare Funk"?
I had to go down and look
into it, so I checked my emails, and found a message regarding
bringing in my painting. PERFECT opportunity to go down to "Rare
Funk", and introduce my friend's daughter to it at the same
time!!! So I brought the kids with me down to the "Little Bean
Coffee Bar", and had some lunch with them while there. I was
pleasantly surprised, to find they had a puzzles, games, and
colouring books section! Great for keeping the kids occupied while I
ordered lunch... THANKZ for that!!! Once we were done, we left to
continue our journey... BUT WAIT!!! I forgot to pay the bill!!! So I
went back in... lmao Thankfully she understood, and even gave me a
discount for the kids' meals! WICKED!!!
Finally outside in the fresh air, I found the kids where I asked
them to wait... wonderful!!! We took our time taking pics out front
with them among the flowers, before crossing the street and
continuing on our adventure. When we got to "Rare Funk" I discovered that Kerri had
only 2 masks left in there, as the rest were with her for the event.
So I decided to grab a WICKED little item I found in there by "Cherry
Delight Designs" and go. On the way home, my friend met up with
us, got her daughter, and gave us a ride home. WOO HOO!!! Thankz for
the ride!!!
Once at home again, it was time to get busy figuring out what
mask...
I looked in my inventory, and picked my "best candidate"
for me to "pimp up". It was one that I have previously
'comfort tested' and worn out before. Seeing how Zack was with me, we
chose one for him also. I brought some sequins, feathers, and other
materials/ tools out to the kitchen for some craft time with Zack. By
now Zack was getting tired, so I did the applications for him. He was
a good little helper with picking colours, and deciding the design.
Mine was finished close to supper, and I got to sit for a couple
minutes with Zack too. Great to know I'm prepared with
'Step 1: "What to wear"' (not meant as a "plug"
for the show... lol). As for the rest of my '4 Step Process', I'll
figured it out while I got ready.
=
Onto... THE EVENT!!!
The day finally came, and I was already behind schedule for
getting ready!!! I had no time to eat supper by the time I had called
a cab; and as I finally got everything (including myself) together, I
realized that I had to call the "Little Bean" and ask them
to "HOLD THE BUS!!!". Thankfully Katherine was on the other
end to assist me... WHEW!!! The cab FINALLY showed up, and I was "off
to the ball"!!!
I got to the bus in time to find others had called to hold it too.
While we waited, I got on, went to the back, and said "hello"
to those around me. I found them to be delightful!!! Once everyone was on the bus and it started moving... we talked
about various things in the art world, and then I got down to
business writing up my business cards on the bus!!! That's right! I
WRITE out my business cards, and yes it's usually on a bus (the city
bus)... lol
It wasn't long before we were in T.O. and finding our way to the
event!!! It was an exciting night, you could feel the energy in the
air as we entered the building. At the event's entrance we picked a
number to sign in with, and use for the silent auction. It was a long
lofty room with big windows, and a bar at the other end. Richard
Garvey was at the mike, welcoming us with his great vocals &
guitar sounds. I started with saying hello to Kerri, and looked at
her masks for sale. Then I continued on to look at the auction
items... They were WICKED!!! Many donations from various artists,
including Em & Kerri themselves... GREAT TO SEE!!! I totally had
to bid on Kerri's mask, and an abstract painting of Marilyn Manroe!!!
The evening got started with Mike Farewell, and continued with
some spoken words, poetry, and more music... some WICKED
INSPIRATIONS!!! While I was "mingling" I got to enjoy some
of us that attended, and found my bra to be a great "ice
breaker" for those more shy than myself. Like Poison Ivy's "love
dust", the bra was "hypnotic" across the room -
literally, and so... intentionally. Yes, the 'Love Hypnosis' I sent
out across the room actually seemed to work on the crowd!!! LMAO This worked out rather well for me later, as I went around the
room requesting pictures of everyone's mask (I LOVE masks!!!). Among some
of which, I felt free to "be the whore" and ask for their
contact info. They all said yes - HUGE SMILES HERE!!!
I also suddenly heard my name announced, and found that I had won
the costume contest... weird, I didn't even know there was one.
Well... WOO HOO!!! I won!!! LMAO So then there was that awkward moment of...
"Oh! Am I suppose to come over there...? Oh, I am... Ok..."
LMAO I think that's actually what I said too... lol So I went over
and accepted my prize... It was a framed "Untitled Acrylic on
Photograph" 30cm x 45 cm" pic. by Christopher Miguel Rich! I like
it actually, for the "cohesion" of the 2 (acrylic &
photography) is simple, yet inspirational itself. As the evening came to a close, so did the silent auction... I
checked my bids, and was happy to see that I won on them both!!! WOO
HOO!!!
Then the "ado" started...
As I was waited to pay for my auction wins, I noticed the
atmosphere was almost "hectic" as everyone paid for their
auction wins, said their good byes, and left. I "attempted to
pay" (apparently... lol), I rushed out to not miss my bus
home... only to suddenly hear a tapping on my back (bus window). It
was the manager of the hotel staff for the event, and he was holding
up my bill... HANGING MY HEAD HERE... I had forgotten to pay my tab
(again)!!! I got off the bus right away, and took the manager's arm
with my profound apologies. Informing him that it was NOT my
intention at all!!! Once that was paid and I was back on the bus, we
headed back home to K/W... WHEW!!!
On the bus there was discussion of food, and I was up for it!!!
However, once we got off the bus, it was just Joseph & I that
were still up for eating. So we went for food at "Morty's"
in Waterloo, as there isn't much open on an extremely early Monday
morning. It turned out to have huge yummy burgers!!! Thankz for
bringing me Joseph... it was a nice 'getting to know ya session'.
=
All in All...
WHAT A NIGHT!!! I met GREAT people & heard WICKED words/
songs/ music, had a 'TON O FUN', got to dress up and leave town, got
to "role play" (via 'Love Hypnosis' & 'Info.
Whorism'... lmao), won a prize for best costume (Alice the whore,
from Whoreland), BOTH auctions I bid on, I was forgiven for not
paying my bill!!! (I went back to pay it before leaving), got to go
out for dinner with Joseph (& got to know him a bit), and even
got a ride home!!! Talk about feeling like I made off "like a
banshee"!!!
+
Catch the pictures
here.
=
My thankz to:
Ryan Z.: For whom this wouldn't be possible without!!! I LOVE you
babe!!! Thankz for being my rock!!!
Em Johnson & Alan Waugh: For whom I wouldn't even know
"UrbanEx" existed.
Katherine: For "Holding the bus!!!" I'm glad you
appreciate & won the auction for my painting, and that it went to
a home to someone that can...
The Ocho Hotel: For hosting this event!!!
The Bartenders: For the fun!!!
& OF COURSE, I can't forget all the "Beautiful People"
that let me take their pics.!!! Thankz again!!!
=
Until next time...
Take care & Safe travels!
Trish the Dish/ C.E.S. (*@^@*)/(*^@^*)
.
