Hi everyone,
Yes, I believe the awards were a success! I've received almost all positive feedback. Certainly on our budget, it was much more than we could have hoped for. The budget restrictions did make it a very grassroots, community driven event with some glitches here and there, but the atmosphere of empowerment and positive energy made the glitches seem insignificant.
The number of people who put countless hours of donated time and energy into the awards cannot be minimized. Had I paid for these activities, the budget would have gone into the tens of thousands. Certainly the commitment to the project and the shared vision is what made the awards happen. So many people to thank and acknowledge, it's overwhelming. I have to admit that once the ball started rolling, the event took on a life of its own and had I wanted to stop it, it would have been impossible.
Highlights of the night include the performances by Burgundy Brixx (burlesque), Jaylene Tyme (drag), Diamond Minx (burlesque), JR from BoyzofSummer.com (male striptease), Sinful Sindy (female striptease) and Aedan Saint (XXX poetry slam with burlesque piece).
I particularly loved acknowledging the roles of our innovators, advocates and supporters in their alliance to the sex working community, as well as their sacrifices and efforts made in our collective honour.
Samantha Mack, our emcee and another one of our volunteers from heaven, was amazing on the microphone. Certainly some of her comments wouldn't have made it past an ethics commissioner, but that's how we like it! lol
I loved the diversity of the audience and the comfortable banter that went back and forth between the fabulous Samantha Mack and the audience. Sam promises to learn more about girl on girl sex since most of her anecdotes had to do with sucking penis. LOL
The video from our Favourite Strip Club DJ that was sent to us at the last minute because he couldn't make it down to accept his award was hilarious. He extolled the virtues of being a good DJ such as not being a creep, controlling the hormones, etc.
Other highlights for me include having Flesh Gordon (star of Flesh Gordon 2) there in the flesh. Everyone was stoked! He is such a gorgeous man. I went home that night and had erotic dreams about him. hehe I also really loved Mz. Scream's speech. She really ended the awards portion of the evening with some strong, powerful points about how we deserve to be recognized for the happiness we bring to others.
I could go on and on about all the amazing efforts of key individuals like Stefan from simplyartist.com - an artist from Langley who handmade the trophies; or Randi Starr - an exotic dancer from Calgary who drove down twice to conduct interviews with people, cut the videos, then ensure they were played smoothly during the ceremony. She spent many hours and a lot of money to contribute to the inaugural awards. I can't express enough how grateful I am for people like these two.
One disappointment in all the hurrah is the attendance. Although we had about 250 people in attendance, the theatre was capable of holding 445 and I was hoping for the numbers to be high so I could pay some of the volunteers like Stefan and Randi Starr. In fact, I went a bit into the hole for the event and now have to fundraise to cover the overspending. So hopefully many of you can come out to THAT fundraiser too! LOL
If anyone wants to make a donation towards the awards costs, they can send me donations via paypal to annie@nakedtruth.ca. Thanks to everyone who participated and made this event happen. Mark it on your calendars because it will be annual. Every year we will celebrate 6.9. (june 9th) with an awards show for the exemplary in our industry. Nominations will begin soon on nakedtruth.ca. You have to be a member to nominate and to vote.
Thanks again to everyone! I will start planning next year's awards ceremony imminently. xxx
In love and solidarity,
Annie
Thanks go to:
Samantha Mack - for emceeing the awards
Randi Starr - for travelling to BC twice and videotaping winners so that we would have videos to show during the awards ceremony
Stefan from simplyartist.com - for making the trophies by hand after spending many hours figuring out how he was going to do it
Adrianne Spring - for leading me to Stefan
Homer - for handing out hundreds of flyers
Mz. Scream - for helping with so many of the preparations and providing emotional support too!
Susan Davis - for coordinating the decorating, donating the cost of the decorations, and spending her time doing the decorating, setup and take down. Also for emotional support throughout.
Ryann Rain - for letting us use her pole for the stage performances
Wanda Valentine - for managing the powerpoint coordination with the emcee
Skiddy Smith - for volunteering hours and hours of graphic design time and talent
Matthew Taylor - for picking up the posters and putting them up around town and donating the cost of the posters; and helping set up the theatre
Esther Shannon - for renting and donating the cost of the podium and bringing it to the theatre and setting it up; media relations help and other activities to support the awards
Joyce Arthur - for helping with media stuff, making the reserved signs, and bringing music for us to listen to in the hour before the ceremony began
Okaloni and JR from Boyzofsummer.com - for handing out the trophies to winners when they come up on stage
Daniele, JR, Tanya, and Catherine - for hostessing the awards, handing out programs and helping to make sure guests were happy and felt welcome
Lola Lala - for helping us to find an afterparty venue and doing videotape interviews during the evening
Raven Bowen and daughter, Tasha - for helping set up and making a donation to the event costs, as well as emotional support
Jessyka Rabbit - for lending me her computer when mine was down for the count in the weeks before the awards
Rae and Marc - for help before the awards setting up and locating a podium
Riel Manywounds - the girl who handled the spotlight - THANK YOU too!
Kelly - for picking up the pole from Ryann Rain and bringing it back to her too
Sharon from the Georgia Straight - for offering to be a sponsor and then helping us in any way she could to make the event a success. she even got us all those lubes and gun oil shirts donated by a friend of hers who works in adult supplies wholesale.
Sandra Thomas from the Vancouver Courier - for publishing our story and always being an ally to our community
Mike Valis - my prom date - for loading my car, picking up programs, setting up the theatre, taking down the theatre, unloading my car, and putting up with my moodiness
Ernest - for helping with so many things including tracking down contact info of winners, attending volunteer meeting, handing out flyers, setting up the theatre, keeping an eye on the balcony during the event, and helping us take every thing down the next day
Gulmis - for helping with set up and being a very helpful stagehand for all our entertainers, then helping us takedown on the night of the event
Mary Whowell and Winnie Tan - for selling tickets from 1 pm till 9pm on the day of the awards and missing the beginning of the show! Mary also did a bunch of legwork looking into headsets which I should have rented but didn't because I was trying to save $$
Patrick Powers, Patrick Gihon, and Trevor Jansen - for photographing the awards show
Dean Guzman - for videotaping the show and taking photos
Jenny Magenta - for volunteering her time as a celebrity interviewer on the red carpet
Tamara O'Doherty - for making the powerpoint shows for the hour before the ceremony started and for the ceremony
Pervertboy - for his donations to my health while i was volunteering to coordinate the awards and needed groceries. xoxox
Vince Murdocco (Flesh Gordon) - for holding our volunteer meeting at his family's cafe and lending me his copy of Flesh Gordon 2 so that I could play the trailer for the audience
Lace Embrace - for donating a basket to the event
Jessica Rae Jewellery - for donating beautiful, handmade, key chains with "democracy for the pornocracy" and "support your local stripper" imprinted on them
Dan DeGagne - for taking care of me during the show while I raced back and forth from my chair next to his to the stage and upstairs and back (again, wish I'd rented those headsets)
Dallas Bolton - for taking his security position at the Rio seriously and helping us to find an afterparty venue
Gary @ Paper Rock Grill - for inviting us to his establishment when all afterparty avenues had been exhausted and fallen through
Staff of the Rio - for being awesome, answering emails and calls, working hard on the night of the show, giving me free popcorn, and offering me a drink at the end of the day after everyone was gone
Yes, I believe the awards were a success! I've received almost all positive feedback. Certainly on our budget, it was much more than we could have hoped for. The budget restrictions did make it a very grassroots, community driven event with some glitches here and there, but the atmosphere of empowerment and positive energy made the glitches seem insignificant.
The number of people who put countless hours of donated time and energy into the awards cannot be minimized. Had I paid for these activities, the budget would have gone into the tens of thousands. Certainly the commitment to the project and the shared vision is what made the awards happen. So many people to thank and acknowledge, it's overwhelming. I have to admit that once the ball started rolling, the event took on a life of its own and had I wanted to stop it, it would have been impossible.
Highlights of the night include the performances by Burgundy Brixx (burlesque), Jaylene Tyme (drag), Diamond Minx (burlesque), JR from BoyzofSummer.com (male striptease), Sinful Sindy (female striptease) and Aedan Saint (XXX poetry slam with burlesque piece).
I particularly loved acknowledging the roles of our innovators, advocates and supporters in their alliance to the sex working community, as well as their sacrifices and efforts made in our collective honour.
Samantha Mack, our emcee and another one of our volunteers from heaven, was amazing on the microphone. Certainly some of her comments wouldn't have made it past an ethics commissioner, but that's how we like it! lol
I loved the diversity of the audience and the comfortable banter that went back and forth between the fabulous Samantha Mack and the audience. Sam promises to learn more about girl on girl sex since most of her anecdotes had to do with sucking penis. LOL
The video from our Favourite Strip Club DJ that was sent to us at the last minute because he couldn't make it down to accept his award was hilarious. He extolled the virtues of being a good DJ such as not being a creep, controlling the hormones, etc.
Other highlights for me include having Flesh Gordon (star of Flesh Gordon 2) there in the flesh. Everyone was stoked! He is such a gorgeous man. I went home that night and had erotic dreams about him. hehe I also really loved Mz. Scream's speech. She really ended the awards portion of the evening with some strong, powerful points about how we deserve to be recognized for the happiness we bring to others.
I could go on and on about all the amazing efforts of key individuals like Stefan from simplyartist.com - an artist from Langley who handmade the trophies; or Randi Starr - an exotic dancer from Calgary who drove down twice to conduct interviews with people, cut the videos, then ensure they were played smoothly during the ceremony. She spent many hours and a lot of money to contribute to the inaugural awards. I can't express enough how grateful I am for people like these two.
One disappointment in all the hurrah is the attendance. Although we had about 250 people in attendance, the theatre was capable of holding 445 and I was hoping for the numbers to be high so I could pay some of the volunteers like Stefan and Randi Starr. In fact, I went a bit into the hole for the event and now have to fundraise to cover the overspending. So hopefully many of you can come out to THAT fundraiser too! LOL
If anyone wants to make a donation towards the awards costs, they can send me donations via paypal to annie@nakedtruth.ca. Thanks to everyone who participated and made this event happen. Mark it on your calendars because it will be annual. Every year we will celebrate 6.9. (june 9th) with an awards show for the exemplary in our industry. Nominations will begin soon on nakedtruth.ca. You have to be a member to nominate and to vote.
Thanks again to everyone! I will start planning next year's awards ceremony imminently. xxx
In love and solidarity,
Annie
Thanks go to:
Samantha Mack - for emceeing the awards
Randi Starr - for travelling to BC twice and videotaping winners so that we would have videos to show during the awards ceremony
Stefan from simplyartist.com - for making the trophies by hand after spending many hours figuring out how he was going to do it
Adrianne Spring - for leading me to Stefan
Homer - for handing out hundreds of flyers
Mz. Scream - for helping with so many of the preparations and providing emotional support too!
Susan Davis - for coordinating the decorating, donating the cost of the decorations, and spending her time doing the decorating, setup and take down. Also for emotional support throughout.
Ryann Rain - for letting us use her pole for the stage performances
Wanda Valentine - for managing the powerpoint coordination with the emcee
Skiddy Smith - for volunteering hours and hours of graphic design time and talent
Matthew Taylor - for picking up the posters and putting them up around town and donating the cost of the posters; and helping set up the theatre
Esther Shannon - for renting and donating the cost of the podium and bringing it to the theatre and setting it up; media relations help and other activities to support the awards
Joyce Arthur - for helping with media stuff, making the reserved signs, and bringing music for us to listen to in the hour before the ceremony began
Okaloni and JR from Boyzofsummer.com - for handing out the trophies to winners when they come up on stage
Daniele, JR, Tanya, and Catherine - for hostessing the awards, handing out programs and helping to make sure guests were happy and felt welcome
Lola Lala - for helping us to find an afterparty venue and doing videotape interviews during the evening
Raven Bowen and daughter, Tasha - for helping set up and making a donation to the event costs, as well as emotional support
Jessyka Rabbit - for lending me her computer when mine was down for the count in the weeks before the awards
Rae and Marc - for help before the awards setting up and locating a podium
Riel Manywounds - the girl who handled the spotlight - THANK YOU too!
Kelly - for picking up the pole from Ryann Rain and bringing it back to her too
Sharon from the Georgia Straight - for offering to be a sponsor and then helping us in any way she could to make the event a success. she even got us all those lubes and gun oil shirts donated by a friend of hers who works in adult supplies wholesale.
Sandra Thomas from the Vancouver Courier - for publishing our story and always being an ally to our community
Mike Valis - my prom date - for loading my car, picking up programs, setting up the theatre, taking down the theatre, unloading my car, and putting up with my moodiness
Ernest - for helping with so many things including tracking down contact info of winners, attending volunteer meeting, handing out flyers, setting up the theatre, keeping an eye on the balcony during the event, and helping us take every thing down the next day
Gulmis - for helping with set up and being a very helpful stagehand for all our entertainers, then helping us takedown on the night of the event
Mary Whowell and Winnie Tan - for selling tickets from 1 pm till 9pm on the day of the awards and missing the beginning of the show! Mary also did a bunch of legwork looking into headsets which I should have rented but didn't because I was trying to save $$
Patrick Powers, Patrick Gihon, and Trevor Jansen - for photographing the awards show
Dean Guzman - for videotaping the show and taking photos
Jenny Magenta - for volunteering her time as a celebrity interviewer on the red carpet
Tamara O'Doherty - for making the powerpoint shows for the hour before the ceremony started and for the ceremony
Pervertboy - for his donations to my health while i was volunteering to coordinate the awards and needed groceries. xoxox
Vince Murdocco (Flesh Gordon) - for holding our volunteer meeting at his family's cafe and lending me his copy of Flesh Gordon 2 so that I could play the trailer for the audience
Lace Embrace - for donating a basket to the event
Jessica Rae Jewellery - for donating beautiful, handmade, key chains with "democracy for the pornocracy" and "support your local stripper" imprinted on them
Dan DeGagne - for taking care of me during the show while I raced back and forth from my chair next to his to the stage and upstairs and back (again, wish I'd rented those headsets)
Dallas Bolton - for taking his security position at the Rio seriously and helping us to find an afterparty venue
Gary @ Paper Rock Grill - for inviting us to his establishment when all afterparty avenues had been exhausted and fallen through
Staff of the Rio - for being awesome, answering emails and calls, working hard on the night of the show, giving me free popcorn, and offering me a drink at the end of the day after everyone was gone
2 comments:
Congrtats sexy lady
Thanks guys! Now hopefully I can fundraise and get enough sponsors for the next show! :)
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