A new start in the beautiful state of North Carolina. For Tacky Party 7, the goal was to crown the Queen of the Double Wide. Big hair, southern dishes, and a '72 Dodge Charger on blocks in the front yard were the order of the day. These North Carolina queens brought a whole different and deeper level of tacky to the party. One truly has to respect our friends that are so completely willing to poke fun at the best and the worst the South has to offer.
The featured entertainment rested almost solely on Karaoke. The set list included quite a bit of Southern Rock and of course lots of Madonna (and a little bit of the Spice Girls for some, well..spice of course).
The neighbors were thrilled to see a car on blocks in this"Inside the Beltline" neighborhood. For those unaware, "Inside the Beltline" is kinda the Bougie part of Raleigh (Similar to Montclaire in Oakland).
Well, there's a picutre of someone completely comfortable in their home state. This Dodge Charger was in Rusty's family since 1972...(shocking for an environmentalist I know, but we had to add a leaded additive everytime we would fill up...)
The food at this party hit an all time high...or is it low. Lots of Jello brand gelatin dishes and a fair amount of fruit cocktail.
This is the party the appetizer wighead reached new heights.
Med Byrd grazing the buffet...is that ambrosia salad and deviled eggs? Both pair nicely with Natty Lights, the beer for the discerning Tacky Party guest!
Never a good idea to have too many mayonnaise dishes on a warm summer evening in the south.
Look who showed up with her own sash and what could only be described as a flowered crown...the gumption, the presumption...the unmitigated gall!
This is not someone's first trailer park pagaent...it's been rumored this contestant threw add-a-beads all over the stage to trip up the competition and ensure her triumph.
The picture of femininity, poise, and southern charm. Could anyone else ever be named Queen of the Trailer Park? One can hardly blame her for bringing her own sash.
A cast of beloved characters...or at least the people that came early enough to be forced into a group photo.
Our west coast connection was not completely lost with the presence of Tray...an all time favorite Golden State friend in town...Tray and I went to Chico State in California together.
New friends in NC diving right in...Bernise and Julia have remained beautiful Sisters of Sapho in our lives for a long time.
When we moved into our small Raleigh rental home...one of the first people we met was Annie, right across the street (she brought over chili in a neighborly gesture that I rejected because Rusty and I were vegetarians at the time...so incredibly rude). I was hoping to meet real southern bells and Annie was anything but...I could truly write a novel on our adventures with this wild child. Still in love to this day with this strange angel.
A veritable garden of delights.
Nothing better than a chorus of drunken young chosen family members cauterwailing the hits of the 80's and 90's (Mark, Art, Med, and Tray bonding over Karaoke)
Neighborhood friends, Annie and Doug enjoying the antics.
It is tough to get people to start Karoke but once started, it is diffiuclt to rip the microphone out of their sweatie death grips. (Yes that is Wayne Wilson, and the ever elusive Wayne Allen)
THIS is the reason no one can get a word in edgewise....love these two sisters from different misters.
Med and Bill sharing a tender romantic moment..let's face it, we are all just back up singers to the force mejur that is Med Byrd.
Bill and Mark feeling the moment...who knew Bill had so many songs in his repertoire?
There she is again...like coastal hurricanes...always returnign and destroying all in her path!
Art, trying to be tacky but always with a bit of class and southern charm.
Is that Nick, our next door neighbor? Nick is now a DC Big City Queen...from humble beginnings come great things!
Donna Bailey joined the fray and enjoyed a duet with her next door neighbor, Doug...Donna was one of the first people we met in our neighborhood...she was walking her dog in front of our house and managed to extract every detail of our lives and to inform us of all the neighborhood gossip before we could even offer a glass of wine.
Always a great night with a Jeff Butterworth sighting.
A torch singing ingenue...sitting on the edge of the stage to sing a ballad...drawing the audience in like flies in a spider's web.
This photo brings me an immense amount of joy. It is truly representative of the beginning of my eleven year adventure in the pine state. What a weird and wild trip it was...
North Carolina became my new adopted home, and these people at this first party remain my tribe to this day. In eleven years these are the people that I shed tears with, laughed uproriously with, and grew to deeply love. Our first North Carolina Tacky Party was an unmitigated success not only because everyone had a great time but also because Rusty's college friends became my family too.
