It’s that time of year! No, not Christmas. ‘Tis the season of The Strippies, Portland’s only exotic dancer awards show based entirely upon votes by industry workers and fans! I took a moment to speak with one of the co-creators, former dancer Hezzy Tayte, about this year’s show.
What are some of the major differences between this year and the prior two years?
We’re changing up a lot of the voting rules this time. Our main goal is to make things as fair as we can. First of all, you can only win a maximum of two categories. This time nominations will be voted on by the public, but the winners will be decided by a secret panel of judges, who will be revealed at the show. The exception is the Stripper of the Year award. The three nominees will perform at the show and the winner will be decided by a live vote, which we did the first year.
What are some of the new categories?
We’re adding the Golden OG award this year. Two dancers will be chosen to be inducted into the Stripper Hall of Fame each year.
Who will you have performing?
The show will be hosted by me and Ed Forman. We’ll have Ozzy, Remmington Reignz, and Holladay performing, who all won awards last year, as well as the three nominees for Stripper of the Year, and some special surprise guests. We’ll also have a fashion show to kick things off and the big screen debut of the Shit Strippers Say videos.
What have been some of the challenges in creating this awards show?
It’s challenging to keep things fair. We started the show because we wanted there to be a competition free from strip club politics and bought votes. We really want girls from every club to be represented and have a shot at winning. But mostly it’s getting all those drunk people on stage at the right time. It’s like wrangling cats! Except sexier!
The Third Annual PDX Strippies are tonight at Star Theater. Online tickets here. Find more Strippies on Facebook and twitter.