By Kylee Wegner / Photography by Chase Stevens

In early May of 2024, a friend shared a Sin City Burlesque festival post calling for applications for their shows in early September. Frankly, I was a little hesitant, seeing as just a month prior, I was celebrating the completion of my ACL recovery; an injury I incurred while performing the same act that I was looking to submit. But a voice within kept telling me to get back on that horse and ride away into the sequin sunset.

The application process was smooth and painless, and before I knew it, I was booking flights to the Silver State as a member of the festival’s 2nd-year roster. I was selected to present at the variety show on the festival’s first evening. With jockstraps and spare socks packed away, I headed to the airport, nervous but excited to once again embrace the journey of a traveling athlete and performer. In some ways, I needed a trip like this to put my career into perspective and confirm whether or not this is still the fit for me. Las Vegas, of all places, was a terrific launch point for answering that very inquiry.

Sin City Burlesque Festival Winner, La Reina

This was the first time since my knee injury that I have traveled for a burlesque show outside of what I consider my home field, the Pacific Northwest (Portland, Seattle, and everything in between). Despite traveling to Vegas many times in my youth I hadn’t spent any time exploring and existing there as an adult. As I left my gate at the Harry Reid airport, I was reminded of just how over the top Vegas really is. Slot machines, big flashy lights, and more sparkly cowboy hats than a Lil Nas X concert…okay, maybe not. However, the adult playground of Las Vegas was apparent right from the get-go and is a theme that continues to permeate throughout the city itself. This facade’s function makes the impact of Sin City Burlesque Fest so much more powerful.

Raquel Reed and Enzo Iron curated a magnificent weekend of events. From my arrival at the venue, I instantly knew that this would be a weekend worth remembering. The producer Enzo could be found atop a ladder, clipping in the final pieces of the show marquee. He even completed the task with a little happy dance as he reached the ladder’s base. His genuine excitement for the events to come, combined with the introductions to a tech crew’s all-star cast, doubled my excitement and energy going into the evening. The Space(the venue) was utilized well by the Sin City Burlesque Festival team. Green rooms were well-lit, well-stocked, and spacious. Additionally, they provided an out-of-sight walkway that led directly to the stage, enhancing each performer’s impact as they broke the leg. Clearly, this was not their first rodeo.

When tech time rolled around, there was hardly a hiccup, and before long, it was my chance to grace the stage. Oftentimes, it is a struggle to accommodate an 8 1/2ft stilt performer like myself, especially in the lighting department, but the crew at the Space was on it and were quickly able to make the necessary adjustments for my long-legged cowboy alter ego, Texas Toasthands. I wrapped up my tech, got off the sticks, and began the lengthy pursuit for a cup of coffee. A task that my fellow performer, Adelaide, and I found out was quite a tall order. After an hour or so of searching, we found our cup of hot brown, served alongside a generous serving of our lord and savior at Blueberry Hill. But the quest for coffee told another tale about Vegas and how, in some ways, the real city hides from the tourists that frequent it.

The civic culture of Vegas seems to be lost among the vast majority of travelers who come to Sin City. You can go directly from the airport to your hotel room via shuttle, which is attached to the casino, and from there, you would be hard-pressed to vacate the all-inclusive box your booking arrangements have put you into. The strip offers no dive bars, shitty garage bands, or small independent artists that stoke the flames of a city’s culture. The strip is an extension of the consumer industry, fueled by pursuing higher and higher profits while focusing less on the consumer’s individual experience. A perfect example of this came in the form of a hotel where one of the international performers was staying, The Silverton Lodge. Simply having a country western-themed hotel and casino was not enough; as you walk in the hotel’s front door, you are immediately met with a massive fish tank in the center of the large foyer. If tropical fish in the landlocked state of Nevada wasn’t over the top enough, they included a few live mermaids into the mix to keep it interesting. Mind you that this hotel, casino, and live mermaid show is also in the same establishment as a massive Bass Pro Shop; in fact, the two are one and the same. And that’s just the appeal of Vegas; it’s unapologetically over the top and in your face, which in many ways makes something like Sin City Burlesque shine.

Amid the festival’s glamor, glitz, and grandeur, it also felt intimate, personal and alive. There were enlivened conversations, multiple “Holy crap, it’s you, I love your stuff!” moments backstage, and never once did I feel that anyone let their ego rule that room. The variety show brought acts from around the country and some international talent showcasing an eclectic mix of disciplines, merging the worlds of circus and burlesque. Coming from the Portland circus and stripping scene, I felt very much at home.

On the second night of the festival, I wasn’t performing, but I was lucky enough to be a fly on the wall for the competition. While I can’t attest to how things were backstage, the house was alive and hungry for the star-studded cast. Dv8, the house band, held it down and added yet another terrific element to the magic swirling throughout the festival. Our lady “La Reina” out of New Orleans walked away as the big queen for this year’s competition and, like many other festivals, passed the crown of the previous year’s queen. But this didn’t mark the end of the festivities, as the group would then head to a small bar on Fremont Street called Cheapshot. I arrived at the after-after-party that was going well into the night. The lapdances for the queen had concluded, but there were still beautiful people in shiny outfits dancing all around and on top of the bar when I arrived. The pressure valve had been released, and everyone from the competitors to the house staff and producers had finally gotten a moment to breathe a sigh of relief that they had done it.

The following day, this celebration continued with a decompression pool party at Raquel and Enzo’s place. Their immaculate cultivation of spaces and hospitality wasn’t reserved purely for the festival but is a part of their everyday lives. From the gorgeous poolside fountain, multiple gazebos, outdoor bars, and the sensational company of diverse talent worldwide, it was the perfect way to conclude my short trip to Sin City. I can’t wait to see how this festival grows, and I know that if left in the capable hands of Raquel and Enzo, it will remain in a great place, looking onward and upward.

For me, I feel very accomplished in where I have landed in my journey. With each of my injuries, I have wrestled with the questions, “Can I still do this?” and “Is it worth it?” Frankly, if it wasn’t for festivals like Sin City Burlesque Fest, I don’t know if I would have found my way back to the rhinestone runway. But this trip to Vegas resolidified the notion that I’m exactly where I need to be. My body, mind, and spirit feel restored, renewed, and reinvigorated with an energy that will carry me to more and more spaces. I cannot be more thankful for the friends, producers, fellow performers, and audiences who have lifted me up and stoked my flame as I continue to burn brighter.

This article was originally published in the second issue of PROUD & Kinky Magazine. You may read it in its original format here.

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