Red Letter Day
Seventh annual Red Dress Party is a huge success

by Floyd Sklaver


I’ve been seeing red all week. As a dependable devotee of the Red Dress Party since its second year (when 150 of us fit into Jeff Hawthorne and Rob Anderson’s basement), I feel an ownership of the event and like to help out when I can.

Therefore, naturally I jumped at the chance to pump Jell-O shooters down eager throats. Boxxes/Red Cap sponsored the night to raise additional money for the party’s charities (Q Center, Swan House and the Friends of People with AIDS Foundation). Macho manager Jon Guidone set up frozen hypodermic needles filled with booze-infused Jell-O, which six volunteers, including yours truly, suggestively shot into eager mouths. Walking through the crowded floors of the twin bars, it was our job to entice dancers to part with their dollars. Red Dress chairman Reid Decker had urged us, "Use your body to raise those sales."

No one raised more money by engendering goodwill than Carol Murray, who willed both genders to buy and ended up with a date at the end of the evening. Among those served by Carol, the self-proclaimed "femme dyke with power tools," was her boss, contractor Kathy Beslisle, slurping Jell-O with girlfriend Karen Butler, who proudly showed me her body art (an extensive tattoo of butterflies and flowers that completely surrounds her pierced right breast).

Luscious Leaf Bonin put on Western wear to hawk his wares along with boyfriend Mik Vote. They teamed up with first-time volunteer Nitiya Sin, who took Reid’s request to heart and "dressed like a hooker" in a tight red corset and short black skirt. The fourth member of their team was Mikie Doolittle, who took time away from his studies at Washington State University-Vancouver to volunteer.

I helped again the day before the event, this time pitching in to decorate the site. Since I’m so gay I can’t even hit a nail straight, I was teamed with Dave Heater, who swings a pretty mean hammer. Dave and I took on sign duty, where I couldn’t do any harm. Dave drove down from Seattle with boyfriend Bill Soderberg and their 14-month old, Gabriella, who wore red pajamas to celebrate.

Once that chore was complete, I was assigned to hanging paper lanterns, a decorating task for which I’m far better suited. With juicy Jonathan Hill helping steady the ladder, brave Brent Echols climbed upward into the rafters, wielding his staple gun like one of Charlie’s Angels and making our Chinese lanterns look like floating champagne bubbles.

Afterward I chatted with Sister Anna Rexia (Elton Busby) and Sister Tasha Salad (Sean May) of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Elton sported a tattoo on his forearm that said, "Simplify," which he uses as a mantra in life. When I asked about his name, Sean said, "If there’s a salad bar open, I’m eating." A friend later explained to me that the phrase "toss your salad" is a euphemism for rimming, which opened a whole array of questions.

Finally, the anticipated night arrived and I hit the Jupiter Hotel with Michael Dell Long to perform our toilettes with the others. After fretting for weeks about what to wear, my hero Eric Steinhauser, who runs the box office at Portland Opera, came to the rescue. Knowing that I was an extra (look for me as the bottom—of course—of the dragon in The Magic Flute, which opens May 12), Eric showed up backstage during a performance of The Flying Dutchman with an armload of couture to select from, and had a better sense of what would look good on me than a personal shopper at Saks. He topped it off by producing a red tinsel wig that I somehow managed to lose during the party, though I did come home with my underwear, which I consider a sign of great self-restraint.

Eric looked stunning as usual and, after making his grand entrance with boyfriend Greg Macy, announced that his as-yet-unwritten memoirs were going to be titled I Never Looked More Like a Man Than When I Dressed as a Woman. When I complimented his ensemble, he announced, "I’m thinking of running for public office." Then, glancing at his frock, he added, "It’s in the Netherlands, but I have a good chance."

You sure do, Eric, especially since you’re so Out Going.

Floyd Sklaver wants to know about your event. E-mail him at floydsklaver@comcast.net.




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