The Hostess City Hoedown is not your typical drag or burlesque festival.
The three-day event taking place Thursday through Saturday at Club One will also include cabaret, dance, singing, and spoken word performances.
Rita D’LaVane, the co-producer and founder of Savannah Sweet Tease, said the Hostess City Hoedown is a celebration of the city’s performing arts.
“Spoken word, I feel, is an art form that isn’t appreciated enough,” they said. “Somebody who can get up there and speak from the heart without the aid of anything else but a spotlight, a microphone, and themselves on the stage is a really vulnerable and intimate experience that I think more people need to see.”
The live singing and cabaret aspect may seem new to Savannah, but D’LaVane said it’s already been here.
Credit: Eddie Von Luft / Von Luft Visuals
Credit: Eddie Von Luft / Von Luft Visuals
“We have the Bay Street Cabaret [at Club One]. They put on monthly productions. They do a modern twist on the live singing and cabaret aspect.”
Aside from bringing different types of acts into what would typically be just a drag or burlesque festival, the Hostess City Hoedown will also shine a spotlight on performers from the Southeast.
“What we're aiming to do is to highlight our local performers that are really awesome, but also, we have invited some people who live out of town to perform and to be featured at the festival too. We’re putting a spotlight on the performers here because often I feel like, as far as when it comes to that kind of performing arts, there isn't a lot of attention… on the Southeast region.”
While shows like “RuPaul’s Drag Race” have increased the popularity of drag with general audiences, D’LaVane said there aren’t as many well-known drag performers from our side of the U.S. They said the Hostess City Hoedown will be bringing more attention to those drag performers as well as other types of artists.
The performers include Dax ExclamationPoint from “RuPaul's Drag Race” who actually started in Savannah as well as Kochinita from the House of Gunt in Savannah.
Other performers to watch for during the three-day festival include cosplayer May Hemmer, Tre Da Marc the Noire Pageant King, King Perka Sexxx, and Hank E Panky who was Mr. Leading Man 2017 of the Hollywood Burlesque Festival.
Each night is themed starting with Thursday night’s “Local Honey” showcase, Friday night’s “The Southern Glamour Get Together,” and Saturday’s main event the Hoedown Throwdown Competition Night. There will also be a raffle each night with proceeds benefiting Planned Parenthood Southeast and Renegade Paws Rescue.
Tickets are $30 for one night or $8 for a weekend pass, and VIP tickets are $40 for a night or $100 for the weekend. They can be purchased at ClubOne-Online.com.
Whether you’re already a big fan of drag shows, burlesque, and cabaret, or you’ve been waiting to catch some live performances, the Hostess City Hoedown promises to be fun for anyone.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: The Hostess City Hoedown brings a weekend of drag, burlesque and more to Savannah
