7:54 p.m. | Judges ultimately decided that the spandex-clad “50 Shades of Tom Grey” with the light-up umbrella would be winner of the annual Snowdown drag fashion show at El Rancho.
Contestants included several illustrious celebrities, including Ziggy Stardust back from the dead and the “Busty” Boys.
Each got a chance to woo the jam-packed room with their dance moves and perform their best “walk of shame.”
7:49 p.m. | The Drag Race & Fashion Show winner as been named: The award goes to 50 Shades of Tom Grey.
7:15 p.m. | The Drag Race & Fashion Show has kicked off at El Rancho Tavern.
5:04 p.m. | Neither bread nor milk appeared to dull the keen sting of hot sauce at Cuckoo’s Chicken House as the hardiest and hungriest tried to win a year’s worth of wings at the annual hot wing-eating contest.
Fort Lewis College hockey player Travis Good brought honor to the Skyhawks Thursday when he was declared victorious after eating a dozen of the restaurant’s hottest wings. Minutes after he finished the last bite, Good said the pound of wings coming to him every month for a year doesn’t look as appealing now.
“My grand prize is beating my record last year,” said Good, who placed fifth in Snowdown 2016.
4:35 p.m. | Travis Good wins Hot Wing Eating Contest.
4 p.m. | Rhonda “Spin-diana” Simmons lived up to her nickname this year in Snowdown’s second annual doobie-rolling contest at El Rancho.
Simmons beat four other dexterous challengers one-by-one through multiple rounds of joint-rolling, producing a perfectly-spun king-size spliff in the final round.
“I’m only allowed to say I have two-and-a-half years of practice,” joked Simmons, who earned her nickname from an ex-lover.
Contestants rolled with catnip, which the city of Durango deemed the most appropriate substance for a family-friendly event. But it meant the undoing of one participant, Alex Addy, who sported a half potato-half satellite costume as “Spudnik.”
Addy said catnip, alas, is too dry for effective doobie-rolling. He was eliminated after the first round.
1:30 p.m. | Apparently even extraterrestrials enjoy a drink.
Snowdowners started happy hour early at El Moro Tavern on Thursday afternoon for the Iron Mixologist competition, concocting alien elixirs with an array of cocktail ingredients. The contest put a boozy spin on the television show Iron Chef.
Contestants had one minute to dream up a cocktail, and five minutes to make three drinks for the judges.
Chad Riddles, a bartender at Derailed who was dressed as a Redshirt Trekkie, made a match out of smoky tequila, muddled jalapeño and cucumber to impress the judges.
“It was stressful going first,” he said. “I think it was good, but definitely not my best cocktail.”
8 a.m. | We’re up and ready to go. What events are you most looking forward to today?
We’ll be running all over: shooting video a the 3 p.m. Doobie Rolling Contest, photographing numerous events and live tweeting from around town.
Want to keep up with us in real time? Follow our team on Twitter: reporter Jessica Pace is @jessica_dherald and photographers Shaun Stanley and Jerry McBride are @dh_shooter and @jerryphotog.
We can’t wait to see you around!
