Posted by Nikki on 5/6/2011

Happy Friday everyone! Here is our 3rd and final account of Viva Las Vegas from the one and only, Becky Lee:

Viva Las Vegas 14 kicked off April 21st. Viva is still getting settled into its new home at the Orleans. This is the third year Viva was held at the Orleans after being at the Gold Coast for 11 years.

I recently moved from Seattle to the Las Vegas area which made things a lot easier for me and I was happy I could bring whatever I wanted. I arrived Wednesday night and opted to take advantage of getting my wrist band early while they were testing the system. Unfortunately, I ended up waiting in a long line.

New things for Viva this year included new fabric/ribbon wrist bands which were questionable at first but ended up being better than the plastic in the long run. Pinup Workout classes by Heidi Van Horne were available for those who wanted to work off drinks from the night before. Sweetpea’s Hooch and Smooch that kicks off the start to Viva was moved to a bigger area upstairs to the Bienville room. The Pinup Angels had planned to help Sweetpea out with her charity event selling merch for the Red Cross and the people of Japan, but due to a snafu in event policies we were unable to. Tickets were added to enter the fashion show which featured designers such as What Katie Did, Bettie Page Clothing, Fables by Barrie and Swithchblade Stiletto sold out. Sabina Kelley made an appearance at the Fashion Show reception. A third Burlesque show was added and several days of the Tiki Pool Party instead of just Sunday which included the sounds of the Aquasonics and the go-go dancing skills of Miss Kitty Baby. Vintage Suits by Mary’s Vintage Swimsuit on Sunday was amazingly hosted by Lisa Luxe, judges included Java of Bachelor Pad Magazine and Shelby Loveland of Vintage Suits by Mary. I was really hoping to be in the Vintage Swimsuit Contest but had to head home and missed the show. Tom Ingram’s new project, Burlesque Bingo made its debut late Saturday night/ Sunday morning. Also to a great surprise a hotrod film called “Deuce of Spades” was shown and had a booth at the car show. It was funny cause I spent some time promoting the hotrod movie I was in “Rat Rod Rockers!” at the car show.

I spent a lot of time working, taking videos, photos, and doing interviews for all my projects. Huge thanks to my boyfriend who helped me out. I actually had the opportunity to interview Tom Ingram! With so much going on it was hard to pick and choose what to cover. If you have been to Viva, you know you can’t do it all, no matter how hard you try!

Lots of great bands played Viva this year. Pachuco Jose y Los Diamantes was a must see! I was super excited to see the Los Benders who are very dear to my heart. Other bands included Hillbilly Hellcats, Los Straightjackets with Big Sandy, The Caezars, and Deke Dickerson and the Eccofonics. Also the Charles Phoenix Slideshow and Dekes Guitar Geek Show were a big hit as always. Vendors galore, Viva was a shopper’s paradise with My Baby Jo, Daddy-O’s /Stop Staring, Mode Merr, Get Go Retro, vintage vendors like Donnaland and a huge selection of cds. I bought the new Retro Makeup book that just came out, some shoes, and got a Rat Fink car air freshener.

The car show was a success as usual. This is the first year the car show is without The Shifters Car Club. Bands included the Dynotones, the Blasters and Jerry Lee Lewis headlined. It was well planned with the vendors on one side and cars on the other. Elvira Mistress of the Dark was present signing autographs with her T-bird by her side. I was lucky to be able to get a photo with her. I was helping Java as a cigarette girl and just happened to get back in time when my boyfriend was at the front of the line, so I snuck in while she was signing a photo for me. Other booth signings included Lisa Love, Kim Falcon for Gretsch guitars, Angela Ryan for Mitzi and Co. and the Pinup Girl Clothing gals. Was excited to get an autograph and photo with one of my favorite models Mosh as well. Also the Munster’s Coach was on display for photos.

All the burlesque shows were sold out. Most people ended up waiting in huge lines to get tickets. The Burlesque Showcase was hosted by Victoria Vengence who also performed her Voodoo Witch Doctor act. No cameras or video cameras were allowed into the shows…so only professional photos are available. Elvira made an appearance at one of the burlesque showcase shows. I had so many friends entered in the Burlesque Competition.The crown of Miss Viva Las Vegas went to Inga Ingenue of Seattle. Super excited for her!

Already looking forward to next year, Viva Las Vegas 15 will be held April 5th through the 8th 2012.

Becky Lee
xoxo

beckyleexoxo.com

See all Becky's Viva Las Vegas pictures HERE

Also, an overview of Viva: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2Fmq_UJVnk
And the car show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3QBqmbpxXs