Finally, have had a few good nights of sleep, beat the festival flu, and feeling clear headed enough to Thank you all! The weekend was EPIC! I allow myself to rate it a big 10. THANK YOU for everyone involved this weekend and all these years! THANK YOU the amazing crew of Gloria, Esa Hautalampi, for taking us in in the begining and Pekka Mönttinen for the support there after, the technicians,Lights, sound, everything is superb!, people in the bar, everyone at the door, people who magically made the confetti disappear during the night. THANK you our beloved audience, your enthusiasm keeps us going, your love, your laughter and joy. We do this for YOU! then to our dream team of performers for sharing their art, imagination and beauty with us;
Minna Kivelä for bringing Raija into our lives and keeping the crowd going, with or without Pectus, Scott Grabell Scotty The Blue Bunny, for your support, long talks and the blue wonder you bring on stage, we LOVE you Sininen Pupu! Mille Grazie Angelica Massafra Albadoro Gala, for the beauty, graze and female power, Bent van der Bleu for your friendship and support all these years and your Bambi gone Bad action, Blue N’Bizarre, Lorelai Blue and Honey B’Zarre for being a refreshing wind and your dedication, Chris Harder for bringing your new act to us and your positive energy, hopefully we will get to have you in Helsinki soon again, the force of nature Linda Martini Dirty Martini, having you swan grace our stage has been a long time dream, Thank you for making it true,Thee Dizzy Daisies,Pepper Sparkles, Sandy Jungle and Gigi Praline, You ladies Rock!, Chika Noguchi Erochica Bamboo, FIRE! Rakastan sinua!, Fem Appeal, you are such an inspiration, thank you for STORM!!!, Finnish Blonde Burlesque Troupe, Lafayette LeStrange, Mimi De Froufrou, Marie La Mint, You always always manage to surprise and it is always always in a good way!, Holy Curves! entertainment, Thank you for the fairytale and lesson of love, Carlo Hedoluxe Amore Thank you for being you, thank you for making imagination a reality, thank you for my weird and wonderful new costume, I cant wait to see where it brings me, You have a very special place in my heart, Imogen Kelly, what a joy, your skill and imagination is beyond words, Jacques Patriaque Whoa MR, you really exploded night after night, Thank you!, Kiki Hawaiji for being there since the beginning, for the hrs on the phone during all these years and your signature surrealism, Olet rakas!, Franziska Lötscher Jöhnk Koko La Douce, danke schön for playing on our stage and involving us all into your magic, Luc Pascal Pierre you sexy thing you!, Michelle L’amour FINALLY, we were able to bring you here, such a joy and pleasure, Thank you for your elegance, Olivia Rouge, from stagekittening the first ever festival to today, it has been a true joy to follow your journey, you are beautiful and fearless! Ophelia Flame, our Viking sister, You ROCKED Helsinki! just like we knew you would!,(Ps. a few girl scout cookies were eaten while writing this) Perle Noire, Lady, You are pure gold, the stage of Gloria will never be the same again, Randyof Finland, Thank you for endless support, friendship and a guaranteed craziness!!, Thomas Swords Raven, You are special, thank you for making my dream come true and bringing the Cage to us, Satan´s Angel, Angel Walker, There are no words enough to describe what it means to me, us that YOU were the one to close our festival, Your courage to do a new act just for us with the band, bringing back part of the past, sharing your fire with us, means everything!, Thank you also for your help behind the scenes, you made the week much smoother for us. Savage Girls, Triple Trouble trio, Nancy Bites, Vera De Vil and Kitty Lit Ter, with the dudes! whoa!, The Shangri-La School of Showgirls, AMAZING! Stella Polaire, THANK you for all these years and thank you for you beautiful fairytale, Tangobatics, Miss Emilia Tengvall-Matero Miss Acrolisicous and Handsom Stark, you guys, what a joy to have you with us! Thank you for the passion! Ruska Schönberg Tinker Bell, Thank you for making my dreams of a magic winter fairytale forest come true and thank you for letting me be a part of the process and painting the animals of the forest! Thank you for the beautiful act for the huuuge student group, thank YOU for your hurricane, it made me very happy! Tronicat la Miez Danke Schön for your magical nightmares and creepy dreams, TurrrboCherry Burlesque Thank you for making the biggest group choreography in the history of Helsinki Burlesque come true, Thank you for you energy and purrr action!, Thank you for Rudolph and the Roadkill, Mikko Innanen for all the arrangements and minblowing saxophones, Thank you for working with me on making my fairytale land come alive, it means more to me than words can describe, Stefan Pasborg for the rhytms that kept us shaking, O.B. Jarlsbergg for the hot Sousaphone sound, Fiona Timantti for getting the people on the dancefloor in your own dropdead gorgeous style, Dj Sabotage for sexy beats and Dj Harri for turning tunes, THANK you for our stage team, without you the show would not be going on, Dotty Delirium, A Nice Cup of Tease, Gee Vous, Fanny af Ticklehorn anf Masha de Bordeaux for backstage managing, Nico Vallenius for awesome help with EVERYTHING! Tyra Therman and crew for kick ass action at the merchbooth and the harness save! Sunny Buick for bringing your art to us, Neil ‘Nez’ Kendall for support and sharing your knowledge with us, Mirka Anniina Laakkonen for my gorgeous preshow walk around costume and arrangements and customizing the suits for the band, Aleksis Kyrö aka Dick Tator for the rides and the bubbly, Thank you Jouko Puranen and Scandic Marski for giving our performers a place to rest and gather strenght for the stage, Thank you Studio Shangr-La for hosting the workshops, Thank You Linda Laaksonen and Kynsistudio Zenails for taking care of our claws, Thank you Päivi Närhi for the refreshing massages, Gigi Praline, a special shout out for the catering, Thank you photographers for capturing the beauty, Tuomas Lairila, Bernhard Miettinen, Mikko Kaivos , Henri Block, Minna Jerrman. My mom, Seija, for the knitwear to keep the performers warm, for becoming a burlesque fan and never questioning my path, my dad Esko for driving, support, interesting viewpoints trough the years and the meatballs, to my grandmom who always wanted to buy a ticket to support even if she could not make it and last but not least my beloved husband, partner in crime Epe Tenhunen, you are a diamond, thank you for your patience, help, sharing the vision and loving me even if it is for sure really hard at some times during these production times. I love you all! And remember, even if the festival is over the events will go on, it is a new beginning not an end. Kisses Bettie Blackheart Petra Innanen
Photo Minna Jerrman