Gendy AlimurungView more photos in the Cirque Du So Lame slideshow.
That's Mandy Ma in the photo above. This past Friday, she hosted another Zippercut event at Royal/T cafe called “Cirque Du So Lame.” It was very well attended by clowns, harlequins, jesters, Gothic Lolitas, plain old Lolitas, tightrope walkers, ringmasters, knife throwers, carnies, people in tophats, people in fuzzy bear costumes, one bearded lady, and the actual Bob Baker and his marionettes.
I didn't stay long enough to find out who won the costume contest, but this one worn by Michelle Nguyen was probably a serious contender. There is a carousel in her skirt, and it has little plastic animals, and it lights up, and how often can anyone say that about their outfit?
This girl below came as an organ grinder. This photo looks racy and compromising, but the guy (Mandy's friend Rion), is just peeping into her organ box. She had an iPod in there playing organ music. She also had little wind-up monkeys on chains strapped to the organ.
What do people do at parties like these? Well, they eat. It's a cafe and there are tables where you can order from a full menu and the cute Royal/T maids bring your food out to you. Some will take their sweet, sweet time, but others are brisk and efficient. When someone remarked on how nice the maids are, one of the maids said that several past maids have been fired for not being nice. There were also cupcakes, slices of red velvet cake, and cotton candy, and popcorn.
You can have your picture taken by a professional photographer in a little room with props. That's always a popular thing to do. Mandy brought in vintage circus props like a lion cage and some drums. Here is my photo of the photographer. As you can see, I've violated the basic rules of photography composition (see the balloons coming out of his head?). But I'm glad it's in focus. Sort of.
You can watch the show. The guests in their costumes are the real show, of course. But at Cirque Du So Lame, Mandy also invited Bob Baker to perform. Here he is with one of the guests who dressed up as a marionette.
You can shop. Royal/T has a little store in the front. They brought in these circus-themed items special for the evening. Also, some Liz McGrath stuff. One of the things I particularly enjoyed was the poster on the wall that said “Happiness is Expensive.” Yes. Yes, it is.
You can drink. Or drink while you shop.
You can have your handwriting analyzed by a gypsy, or watch the bellydancer's undulating belly, or admire the art. The art at Royal/T is not available for purchase, however. In the back room, they have a Jennifer Steinkamp tree projection and a massive Murakami stuffed creature which must have set the owners back a pretty penny.
You can take pictures of people doing all of the above. Or, take pictures of people taking pictures.
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