Pardon our dust, I mean glitter.
BurlyCon is in the middle of our Sweet 16 Year, which happens to also be our rebuild year!
Rebuilding BurlyCon takes ingenuity, thoughtfulness, dedication and love. Our team is working as hard this year as they would if we were hosting our convention. We’re working even harder by learning new skills, critically reviewing our previous way of managing BurlyCon, creating new programs and processes, welcoming changes, building new departments, and looking within ourselves to create the next generation of BurlyCon for our community and industry.
Let’s look at some of our highlights and upcoming projects, a taste of where we’ve been and what’s to come.
Progress Report
- Welcomed new volunteers and directors
- Anti-Racism / Anti-Oppression (AR/AO) team created their standard operating procedures (SOP) and are ready to review the organization’s policies and procedures
- Board and Directors attended a Restorative Practice workshop
- Board, AR/AO and directors attended an SOP workshop
- Awarded a Community Accelerator Grant from the Paul G. Allen Foundation
- Changed project management platforms
- Created a virtual fundraiser called FurrlyCon launching this summer
- Created a host hotel needs list with a focus on accessibility
- Created a restorative healing plan
- Hosting the Burlesque Hall of Fame (BHoF) Finishing School
Outlook Report
- Community outreach to fill additional volunteer and director roles
- Revisit, rewrite, and create processes and procedures and critically work within BurlyCon through an anti-racist / anti-oppressive lens
- Execute restorative healing plan
- Publish Legends Archive documentaries
- Connect with the global burlesque community
- Plan out grant opportunities and submissions
- BurlyCon rebrand
- BurlyCon University outreach survey
- Expand general BurlyCon survey
- Partnership with Monday Night Jammie Jam hosting a global Burlesque registry website
- August – FurrlyCon virtual fundraiser celebrating our pets!
- November – Throwing ourselves a Sweet 16 fundraiser auction on November 4th in Seattle at Repair Revolution!
Congratulations to our Team Members at the 2023 Burlesque Hall of Fame
- Betsy Bottom Dollar, Director of In-Person Programming, performing as the duet The Daisy Dames in the Movers, Shakers & Innovators showcase
- Shimmy LaRoux, BCU Team Member, performing in the Movers, Shakers & Innovators showcase
- Shawna the Black Venus, AR/AO Legend Representative, walking in the Titans & Icons of Tease showcase
- Lovey Goldmine, BCU Team Member, walking in the Titans & Icons of Tease showcase
- GiGi Holliday, BurlyBoard Vice President, competing in Best Debut
- Margo Mayhem, AR/AO Team Member, competing in Best Debut and her stepdown as Midnight Mayhem
- Faggedy Randy, AR/AO Team Member, competing in M-Exotic World
- Alotta Boutté, BurlyBoard Member, emcee of the Tournament of Tease
- Indigo Blue, Founder and BurlyBoard Member, guest emcee at the Tournament of Tease
- Thank you for believing in and caring about BurlyCon. We love our community!
See you around BHoF!
Iva Handfull
Executive Director