Port Townsend Victorian Festival FASHION SHOW 2016

This was my sixth year doing this fashion show for JoAnn Bussa at the Port Townsend Victorian Festival. She holds it at the First Presbyterian Church as a fund raiser for the local high school. It was HER 17^th year. This post will be mainly photos, with my thanks to Sue Q. for the photos she took of me and my friends onstage. 

This year I wore two dresses in the fashion show, my 1853 Purple Amethyst, and my 1885 Pink Polka Dot bustle. We had some confusion about which one I was wearing first. I actually didn’t know and never asked. I *assumed* my earlier dated one for 1853 would be first, and changed out of my 1885 into my Purple Amethyst dress when I arrived. Since JoAnn had seen me arrive in the pink one, she didn’t think anything was amiss. A bit later my mother came running backstage with the program saying quick, change back, you’re wearing the Pink first! JoAnn came back and said not to worry, she would change her description order for me.

These are photos I took backstage while we were dressing and waiting to go on. 

Then we were on stage! *thank you to Sue for taking these photos during the show* 

For the last few years there have been models wearing Norwegian bunads, the costume worn from the various regions of Norway. There is a huge population in Washington with Norwegian roots, and it's good to see them represented, including Jean Kaldahl, our Norwegian lady in black who has appeared in the fashion show longer than many of us. Each time I really wished I could wear one from my ancestral region of Telemarken or Kristiana (Oslo) but they're a bit out of my price range. 

Then some of us were a bunch of quick change artists into our next outfits.

Since the audience didn’t know about the switch on my outfits, I heard someone in the audience say, “that’s the Purple Amethyst” when I came out in my Pink. I smiled and shook my head. Then everyone else saw me, and I heard gasps and oh wows as I walked in. It’s those reactions that always keeps me coming back. 

We’re really hoping someone steps forward to be the new coordinators of the Port Townsend Victorian Festival next year since the current ones have stepped down, and maybe someone can continue to carry on JoAnn’s tradition of the fund-raising fashion show. I know I would be willing to help long distance if I could.
FOR MORE ON THE WEEKEND'S EVENTS, YOU CAN READ SUE'S BLOG HERE.
https://threadingthroughtime.wordpress.com/2016/04/03/your-weekend-wow-the-victorian-heritage-festival-and-fashion-show-report/

                                                               ~~Val~~