A Burlesque Circus Variety Show

It's not everyday one gets to doll up in the finest of circus threads to head out to a inviting spectacle of talented gentlewomen and men, dripping in sugary rhinestones, and spritzy adornments, for an evening of prancing amusement.

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Yet my lovely and talented lassmate, Valentina, continues to provide the opportunity to do so, with her splashy theatrical productions.

Quite recently, I attended her latest creation, The Burlesque Circus, a two-night, sold out sensation, here in America's Finest City of San Diego.

I've yet to miss a snippet of her extraordinary stagecraft, as her carefully selected performers continue to captivate the likes of our citygoers, ravenous for entertainment.
 

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The showing took place at the plushy, Claire de Lune's Sunset Temple, a perfectly-fitting venue for the shimmering sassbox of a show.

sunsettemple.org

 

The evening was all sorts of lovely, studded with polished performers from the far corners of the earth.

Photo by Nathan Rupert

 Artists Adelaide Marcus and David Booker teamed up for a sultry feat of acroyoga, a riveting performance that left the poor audience longing for a subsequent cold shower.

Suspended from the canopy above, aerialists from The Furies danced like swinging stars above the lovely patrons, gracing us with their impassioned lyra performance.

Valentina's performance troupe, The Hoop Unit, illuminated the night with an space alien themed, LED light show. The warm glow of visual light effects was charmingly provided by their well known props, and favorite playthings of children across the globe.

Photo by Nathan Rupert

The smell of the crowd was something fierce as they were marveled with an astonishing fire-sparked, grinding act performance given by Tammy Firefly. She comes in a pocket-sized package, yet is armed with a fierce and mighty skillset that can really pack a searing punch.

Laura Dasi, trained Yogi, and spintastic jedimaster, dazzled high above, much like a lovely, oak leaf gently dancing in a breezy sky. Her stunning and highly expressive performance was set to a far more sexier version of Bricusse and Newley's piece, "Feeling Good". 

Photo by Nathan Rupert

The multitalented, Wendy T, did a smashing hoop number along with Valentina and Lady Leeloo. Watching these sultry scorchers unclothe whilst hooping was a real treat, and a palm-biting number for us fortunate spectators.

 

 Juliette Dragon, a dazzling and beckoning statuette of a fine lass, traveled from well across the pond, all the way from Paris, to grace us with her spellbinding, fire burlesque performance. 

 

I believe this pic quite sums up the course of the evening.

Photo by Nathan Rupert

 

What a night!

 

 I continue to be smitten with the abundance of talent present in the circle of my astonishing cohorts. The collaborative artistic efforts of curious capers and delicious amusement. 

 

Why if the Burlesque Circus was a young child, I would pinch its rosy little cheeks.

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I've a sneaking suspicion that Valentina has a secret team of butler monkeys beckoning to her every whim. I honestly don't know how she does it all on her own, but somehow she manages to pull it off smashingly, every time.

Now she's gone and left us and this country again. This time, taking to Central South America where she will join the always entertaining, and wildly talented, Steve Bags, for an extraordinary hoop adventure.

Be on the lookout for this dream team to teach a circus workshop in a city near you.



Saving the planet one city at a time by doing what they know and love.

These are my kind of superheroes, or should I say Hooper Heroes?

Photo by Denny Renshaw

 

For further details on this extraordinary undertaking, visit Valentina on the interwebs over at:

unityhoops.com

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A Curious night of illumination, and a very special landing on the Red Planet

What a landmark weekend!

The weekend's passing brought some brilliant events as we attended the inaugural Glow in the Park event located in the long valley in the coastal mountains of Escondido, California.

The luminous evening showcased local artistry, including sixteen large, illuminated displays of art pieces that were a sight to behold. Art films were projected onto a giant inflatable screen, while children partook in a rousing bout of karaoke, where they sang lively songs about the moon, as their faces were displayed onto a hovering hot air balloon looking, lunar device above.

sandiegoreader.com

"Bella Luna" by Los Angeles artist Anne Herlihy

This piece was described in a press release from the Escondido Arts Partnership, as having an effect reminiscent of the moon face in Georges Melies' 1902 film (a personal favorite), A Trip to the Moon.

nctimes.com

The installations included a small, circus-like tent, and a glowing, luminaria tee-pee tent alike.

flickr: Chris Hunkeler

A few pals of mine seized the opportunity to pack a wine picnic, seize our flow toys, and head out the glowy scene with our LED hula hoops in tow to light up the night.

photo by Joe Mergens

Here we are just behind Rebecca Goodman's, Iphone app-powered, Infinite Pulse sculpture

It was a playful and interactive evening of good, clean community oriented fun.

And what better way to wrap up the lightastic weekend than with a momentous Mars landing!

As millions took to their computer monitors and television sets to follow the safety and good fortune of the robot car that safely made its way to Mars, I poured myself a chilled glass of a northwest Spanish
Albariño, a perfect summer wine fit for grand celebration. I reflected much about the great progress and contributions to humanity.

...and I weeped at the wonder and grandness of it all.

Cheers to the beautiful life, our astronomical feats, and most importantly, cheers to Curiosity.

businessinsider.com

Curiosity is little more than another name for Hope.
~Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare

Make certain to have a stellar week my beautiful friends.

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Euphoria Dining: A San Diego Culinary Breakthrough by Liber Mundi

Our sense of smell, sound, taste and touch are integral to how we interact with food.

But, as "they" say,

you eat first with your eyes.

Are you ready for a dining experience to awaken your senses?

Your key awaits you

here:

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Ocean Beach Silliness, Chiliness, Street Fair and more

A spectaculous weekend seething with hearty laughs, funsies, a 150 foot waterslide, a Chili Festival, a salmon feast, a smashing-good hoopla-la, beautiful company and scathing amounts of the cheesestuff.

Saturday marked the 33rd Annual Chili Cookoff Festival and the official summer kickoff in the land of Ocean Beach (OB).

The friendmates and I took to a grassy picnic of sorts. Lucky for us, recently appointed Chef Phil, of Bo Beau's Restaurant, was on hand to help with the slicing and dicing of my first class cheese plate.

Counter clockwise from the far left we have Red Dragon, a cheddar made with wholegrain mustard seeds and welsh ale.

Ewephoria, a heavenly, sheepy milk treat,

and Comte, a mountain cheese straight from the Swiss Alpines.

(All which are fantastical for making new friends)

As is often the case in the OB parts of the world, this picnic was not exclusive to the local homo sapiens.

The neighborly dogs were also in attendance and took to the gathering rather well. Meet Jaya Rose, her name means "Victory" in Sanskrit. We soon discovered that we were unable to teach her a new trick of hula-hooping, but certainly not from a lack of trying.

We made camp just outside of a magnificent waterslide located just one block from my lilypad. Believe me, when I say that purchasing a ticket for this massive inflatable structure is hands down, the best $5 you'll ever spend on a splish-splashy good time.

We then joined the thousands that flocked to Newport Avenue to partake in the festivities that this grand festival had to offer including, a kids wonderland, an artist's alley, laser tag, unique vendors, a thriving beer garden, and the city's local music talent performed live throughout the six event stages.

Plenty of "Whees!" were had indeed.

The hooping took center stage as fairgoers young, and young at heart alike, shook and shimmied with the available hula hoops offered by Unity Hoops. The lovely Siouxanne and I even took to a mini spontaneous performance amongst the mayhem of the happy hoop-la-la.

Sunday entered and there was still much cheese about the kitchen for sharing, so this mini plate was assembled for the evening's going ons.

Which entailed a well received summer salmon bbq dinner with the beautiful friends turned neighbors, Baker and Sheri.

These two lovely humans are a much welcomed addition to the small community of Ocean Beach. As luck would have it, Baker's father is a fine fisherman, and is conducting research on the patterns of fish up in Northern California. 

The darling couple were gifted with these beauties just short out of season. They weren't even fished for human consumption, they left this world via natural causes.

So, it was only fitting that these King salmon straight from the boat chinook should be served up for our grilling delights.

Meet Atreyu, our new, and much welcomed, puppydog on the block. This resident loyal pup has been rightly named after the main character in The Neverending Story, and was on hand diligently prepared to dispose of any remaining scrapbits, to lap up any grease left behind, and to sit in your lap for a petting.

Good Atreyu!

The lovely Miss Sarah Cranberry, fierce violinist who also happens to have quite the green thumb prepared the veggie fixins for the grand feast.

Plenty of tasty beer, wine, fish-fishies and dip-dippings were present for our enjoyment.

Ooofy stuffed from the before...

and the carnage from a fine aftermath of much enjoyed indulgence.

Thank you, King Salmon, thank you Baker, Sheri, and to the beautiful friends who became family along the way.

and thank you Ocean Beach for showing us yet another magical weekend.

Summer has indeed sprung.

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