Feathered fans and homemade pasties will adorn women dancing to old time jazz, blues and ragtime music this weekend at The First Annual Hobo's Holiday.
At 7 p.m. Saturday, The Eclipse Company Store at Eclipse Company Town, a historic coal mining company town in The Plains, will host the Hobo's Holiday.
Boxcar Burlesque, Athens' dance troupe venerating the classic art of the striptease, will host the event. It will include two full burlesque shows, several musical performances and a documentary screening.
Dolly Derringer, the founder of Boxcar Burlesque, decided to hold the event as a way to celebrate the vagabond spirit of 1930s train riders.
We often perform to older music
from the '20s '30s and '40s and I wanted to hold a big event that threw back to that time period and the glamour of riding the rails and hobo life
Derringer said.
The First Annual Hobo's Holiday will pay homage to the rail riders by screening the documentary Who is Bozo Texino. Texino was one of the most legendary hobos of the time, signing his name on train cars for 80 years. Despite the spread of his signature, though, few people ever saw or spoke to him.
The documentary never shows the legendary hobo
but it will round out the event with his history and touch more on the culture of the time
Derringer said.
The musical acts performing at the Hobo's Holiday find inspiration in the hobo lifestyle, which the event will celebrate.
The American folklore attached to riding the boxcar really inspires me
said Woody Pines, the headlining musical act. The event has this ragtime
'20s and '30s feel to it.
The burlesque performance aspect brings about a throwback
old-timey image that really attracted me
he said.
The vintage nature of burlesque performances attracts people to the shows, Boxcar Burlesque member Rita Roulet said.
Burlesque has costuming and choreography that is highly involved
Roulet said. There's a hypnotizing element to it that is missing from a lot of performances today.
Boxcar Burlesque follows the tradition of 1930s burlesque by featuring women of varied shapes, sizes and colors. This display of different body types has helped the group cultivate a strong following of women.
Burlesque is a really wonderful way for women to explore their sexuality and become comfortable in their own skin
