The winner of the 2008 Best in Drag show is . . . SHELBY FREEEEEEE!!!!! How cool is that? I’ll tell you. Totally and completely. It is totally and completely cool. Stacy did such a great job as Shelby, he had the audience whoopin’ and a-hollarin’ from the moment he showed up with his mobile outhouse in the swimsuit competition. You have to have some kind of “reveal” for the swimsuit,‚ so Shelby had a foam outhouse with handles inside so he could carry it walk out on stage in it. Then out he popped in a jewel-encrusted Budweiser bathing suit and a wig all wrapped up in Bud cans instead of curlers. The toilet paper stuck to his shoe was sublime.

I’ll have more pictures later, and hopefully the video came out ok, but I just wanted to pop in to announce the good news. Here are a few pics for now.

The event began with the comedy stylings of the hilarious Kathy Griffin, this was the best I could do with onstage photos. Much was made of her grand opening and everyone enjoyed her jokes, too. (LOTS of jokes about “openings” at a drag pageant, as it turns out.)

I tried to get a photo with Shelby onstage after the show while she was in her throne, but I was too late and we got shuffled out. Here we are in chaos (you can see guys taking the throne away in the back):

And here we are right where Shelby feels most at home. In a dark alley behind the building. Also, how much do you love the gal on the right? She looks just like my Marie Osmond doll from way back when!

And don’t forget, just because the pageant is over doesn’t mean it’s too late to donate! Check out Shelby’s website and give what you can! Also, Stacy has had an amazingly tough week. As if it’s not scary enough to have to perform in front of thousands of people, his mom passed away last week after a grueliing battle with cancer. His commitment to this cause is a testament to his heart and his cojones. Even if you can’t send him a donation, send some love his way. His email is on the main page of his website, I know he’d love to hear from everyone who’s been moved or amused or touched by his most unusual brand of community service.