Tacky Party Six - Twentieth Anniversary of the Bicentennial

In 1976, our country had just hit their two hundredth Birthday..and the entire U.S. of A. was waving flags and shooting off fireworks.   Blanche Reynolds Elementary School in Ventura, California was no exception to being swept up in the Bicentennial frenzy.  My three best friends, Ray, David, Ernie, and I were in sixth grade ready to move from Blanche Reynolds to junior high school.  

As part of the festivities, Blanche Reynolds sponsored a mural drawing contest, and the winner was a student that depicted great American historical events on a poorly drawn map of the US (I'm sure we've all seen similar terrible murals in our own shool days)...I remember every student in the school signed a letter commemorating the Bicentennial...the lists of signatures were to be converted into micro-fiche and placed into the time capsule being assembled, to be unearthed at some unspecified time in the future.  Topping off the Bicentennial celebration, we had a school wide assembly outside on the blacktop with Ventura Unified School District dignitaries and special guests.   No one does patriotism over the top quite the way America does, and the Bicentennial was no exception.  

Flash forward twenty years, Disco gave way to the 80's, crass commercialism, decadence, and greed.  Rusty and I were in our early thrities by 1996, weathered harshly and with a great deal of pessimism left over from surviving the 80's.  Why wouldn't we look toward the Bicentenniea for inspiration for our next tacky party.  A time when America still seemed full of promise and hope.  And so, this is the climate from whence our sixth tacky party was born...the Twentieth Anniversary of the Bicentennial.  

Our invite warned people that there was a one song minimum Karaoke requirement bt a three song maximum.  (That may have been included to curtail Rusty and myself from hogging the mic. all night).  

Amazingly, Eddie, a Tacky Party regular, made this latex outfit.  (He was working at Ms. S. Leather at the time outfitting all of SF with latex wear...a definite full time job in mid 90's SF).  

Guessing the Carmen's game was still a major component of the party (even after six years).  

Mary Jo fulfilling her one song minimum requirement.  

Steve Heist?!?!?!?  A good friend and fellow ALC rider to this day. 

Yes, people we have a Liz sighting, certainly before Paul put a ring on it...we were pleased to have a visit from yet another Kegelmeyer, Paul's other sister, Beth.  

Making red, white, and blue fashionable...

A mid centruy modern outfit to die for...Mary Jo sporting her latest frock from the Sears and Roebuck catalog.  

Delicious American fare...

Jeff attending his third Tacky Party...one has to comb the Mission thrift stores for amny days for outfits this fabulous.  

Dierdre avoiding the one song minimum rule as long as she can.

Well, that look says it all...someone is up to mischief.  

Wig head, at it's most basic level.  Very Ziggy Stardust, gender bending...

Believe it or not kiddos, fanny packs were popular in the mid 90's and Terry is sporting his without irony.  Fanny packs are definitely set to make a come back...

The evening was lots of fun...soon after our sixth tacky party, Rusty and I would be moving across country to North Carolina.  Our San Francsco adventure was coming to a close.  This patriotic send off was a perfect way to send us off into the great unknown...we would be trading in earthquakes for heat, humidity, and hurricanes.  Never would I imagine that I would learn so much about NASCAR and moonshine.  Everyone should live in San Francisco at least once, but wonderful things were awaiting for us in North-cack-alacky.  So we had to bid Bohemia by the bay a happy trails and find our way to the Pine State.  "Esse Quam Videri" indeed.  

Tacky Party 4 (1994) and 5 (1995): Amatuer Talent Show and a trip to Vegas...in Space

 Gentle Readers, Yes, I shamelessly click baited you with my last post asking, "What does Tonya Harding and our fourth Tacky Party have in common?"  Unlike forcing you to scroll through alot of content before getting the answer, I'm going to answer that right now.  Well, for one thing, Tonya's scandal and our Tacky Party both occured in 1994.  Long before we were speculating whether Carol Baskin did it, we were speculating about Tonya's involvement as her husband took a billy club to olympic skater, Nancy kerrigan.  To date there isn't definitive proof of Tonya's involvement in the hobbling of Nancy Kerrigan, likewise there is also very little proof that Tacky Party Number four ever took place.  There's an uncharacteristic lack of photos and/or video commemorating the event.  

Fear not gentle reader, to me Tanya Harding and Tacky party Number 4 are emblazoned on my memory as if it happened just lat week.  As for the Fourth Tacky Party, the theme was Amateur Talent Night...and the "talent" showed up with a vengence.  Everyone had to bring a talent or one was assigned.  

Lot's of people opted for Karaoke talent, but a few stand outs brought exceptionally creative performances.  We had Angela erotic twinkie eating ,with her sister no less.  Mak did a backbend and stuck her whole fist in her mouth.  (Who knew unhinging your jaw was a talent? Ummmm...everyone!).  We had a cooking demonstration of someone making "Happy Dog Salad" and to this day I can still make this simple but beautifully presented dish.  My absolute favorite act was deficinitely beat poet Chris in his all black outfit complete with a turtle neck reciting the lyrics to the Spider Man theme song as we all snapped our fingers (absolutely brilliant).  

Well, gentle readers, this was one of my all time favorite parties...I know there is video and photographic evidence buried in our basement and should the evidence turn up, rest assured photos will be shared.  Please let me know if you, gentle reader, can contribute photographic or video evidence of this amazing evening of entertainment.

which brings us to our next tacky party...Tacky Party Number Five which took our guests to Vegas...in Space?!?!?! You may be asking, why, gentle reader, we added in "Space" to the perfectly suitable tacky party theme of Vegas.  Who can say?...We were young and it seemed cool...

Gentle readers, strap yourself in for some gambling, showgirls, zero gravity, and space aliens.  

For this party, Rusty really went above and beyond in his commitment to the theme.  He picked up a Butterick pattern and was determined to sew his very own Elvis costume,,,after all he's an engineer and can follow directions, how hard could it be?  

It turns out that sewing requires a signficiant amount of skill, knowldege, and even fluency in a foreign language.  The words used while sewing may be familiar (bias, gussett, etc.) but have wildly different meanings when sitting in front of the sewing machine.   He enlisted the help of our neighbor Deirdre to assist and translate the instructions into English.  With Deirdre's expertise the result was fabulous (this outfit sits in our costume box to this day ready at a moments notice).  

Elvis...the early years. 

Yes, the wighead made it to Vegas - unfortunately the appetizers typically attached did not... 

All the excitement of craps without mortgaging your house!

Val and Dharla dressed to impress...swisher sweets complete the outfit. 

Patrick, coveting the cape she ripped off of Elvis in a heated panty throwing frenzy.  

Paul strutting around like a Casino Boss!  An excellent host with a style that screams mid nineties German techno...

The solid gold dancers made a celebrity guest apperance. Chris and Christine prepping for a performance extraordinaire.   

Eric on a break between performances.  

Well, those pants are uncomfortably tight.   

Jeff Gallegos raising his hands like he just don't care...is there anything that is more of a nineties reference? 

Eddie and Jeff looking fabulous...we're they ever so young? 

Cocktails anyone...

Fashion and fun abounds. 

An Elvis sighting...he is alive! 

Master of ceremonies with the incomporable Mak. 

The three hosts serenading guests with the latest hits...

It looks like Elvis picked up a fan...

Laura seducing me with her feminine wiles...one of us is going to be very disappointed...

The evening was an unmitigated success.  It was a shame that all of our guests had to retrun to Earth after a night of gambling, drinks, and entertainment.  And remember...what happens in Vegas...is eventually shared on the internet.  

Hella Good Times - Tacky Party 3 - Northern Cali. Edition 1993

 Almost immediately after our Tacky Party #2 (August of 1992), Rusty and I both made the move to Northern California.  Rusty accepted a position at the EPA as a Remedial Project Manager for Super Fund, and I was working on getting my under grad. degree in liberal studies to fulfill my dream of being an elementary school teacher.  

We reconnected Rusy's high school buddy, Paul Kegelmeyer, It wasn't long before all three of us settled in a second floor flat on 2nd Avenue in the inner sunset neighborhood of San Francisco.  On weekends and holidays Rusty would drive three hours to Chico, or pick me up and bring me back to the city... weekends.  Paul, Rusty, and I almost every weekend wee exploring the city and hitting El Rio for some funky grooves, cheap drinks,  and dancing in the Mission.  

As June of '93 started to approach, we debated about whether to host another Tacky Party.  Why would we even consider not hosting the Tacky Party Bay Area Edition, you might ask?  A few reasons, as we were new to the area, most of the people we socialized with were work people, and one must be cautious inviting work mates to a party with such potential to offend.  Also, the bay area has been known to be militant about it's political correctness and we weren't sure this is the type of party that would go over very well. Eventually we threw caution to the wind and decided to throw the party regardless.

We decided to incorporate an element of entertainment into the Tacky Party mix.  We ran out and bought a Karaoke machine, a bunch of Karaoke CDs, added some booze, and voila, instant show.  

This Tacky party was a little more low key than normal mainly because no one knew what to expect, and no one wanted to offend anyone else.  Eventually the booze did its magic and soon we couldn't rip the microphone out of some of our guests' hands.  

With a decidedly lack of graphic artist skills, and no graphics program on my desktop I pieced together a handmade invite and we were ready for a party.  

My proudest invite effort, for our Third Annual Tacky Party.  It ain't fancy but it did the trick! 

Of course the wighead was resurrected once again.   She's looking kinda rough, like a drag queen at the end of a hot humid night...sounds a little like Modrdecai is a Drag.     

Gotta love anything made with Jello, none of it gluten free or vegan I'm sure.  Note the generic beer on the table (still a thing in '93 believe it or not).  

The Phil-meister (a name he emphatically hates and I insisted on calling him) and Mike Cullen (always tyrning up when and where I least expect him).  

Tres Amigos, Eddie, Mark, and Jeff.  So young, so carefree...who could ask for more! 

Amelia and I singing, with nary a natural fabric between the two of us...someone had to invite those sisters, Poly and Ester, to the party! 

Eric and Mary Jo, a couple of married bon vivants...thats' definitely some 1970's macho man cleavage...

Chris rocking it.  Gotta love his commitment! 

Eric and Chris, True Brah-friends before Brah was a thing.  

Roberta classying up the joint. 

Is that the Go-Go's?  Nahhh...tacky party's have a tendency to create a bonding not typically found in nature.  

Mac doing ducklips even before selfies were a thing.  (She was hip beven before hipsters).  

MAc singing one of her two favorite genres, gangsta rap or easy listening.  

Good times with the Kegelmeyers, Deirdre, and Cynthia (she of whom we never speak...why, you might ask, gentle reader?  We are not sure and are way too polite to push the matter...yeah, yeah... I know, that was hard to say with a straight face...) 

Definitey another odd friendship born of tacky party magic, kinda like a trailer park Hogwarts...

Paul defnitely the coolest cat at the party, ready to sing "Mack the Knife" AGAIN - insert eye roll.  

Tacky Party Number three was a qualified success.  A very exclusive crowd but all had a good time and all had copious amounts of beer.  For a first time in a new locale...not too shaby.  And now to bait you for the next blogpost...what do Tanya Harding and Tacky Party 1994 have in common?  Keep following this blog gentle readers and you will soon find out...