Durangoans love a good board game – but with a twist.
Area residents took game night to a whole new level as they demonstrated their knack for turning familiar favorites into hilariously raunchy versions at Fashion Do’s and Dont’s on Wednesday.
The event was attended by people dressed in costumes including laughably inappropriate Cards Against Humanity terms and the tamer, but equally creative, Queen Frostine and Lord Licorice from the childhood classic, Candy Land.
Since its inception in 1997, Fashion Do’s and Dont’s has been constantly evolving, said Lisa Govreau, who walked the runway with the Scrabble Sisters – ladies who play midnight games of a more “intimate” nature.
The event used to be held at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4031 before outgrowing the space, and this year the show was so large it threatened to exceed the La Plata County Fairgrounds’ 650-person capacity.
Tickets went on sale at 6 a.m. Jan. 11, but people had began queuing up about six hours before, at midnight, said Anne Stokes, an event coordinator.
An audience member said she had arrived at 5 a.m. and the line was already all the way around the block.
“We were lucky. I think we were the last ones to get tickets,” she said.
By 7 a.m., the show was sold out.
It took only 55 minutes to sell the 355 tickets, Stokes said.
Linda Mannix emceed the runway dressed as Donatella Versace playing Miss Scarlet from Clue.
The creation of the show can be attributed to Mannix, who got the idea after Durango was voted worst-dressed city in America by USA Today over 40 years ago, Govreau said.
Standout acts included Dominoes Two Ways, featuring the staff of Four Corners Broadcasting dressed as elegant domino pieces in top hats and a rogue, scantily clothed Domino’s Pizza boy, who delivered a little more than just a meat lover’s pie. The act starred Kristin Dills, Chad Peyer, Chad Hare, Lainy Severson and Beth Porter.
Another act was Sorry!, showcasing Anne Stokes, Cinnamon Kasnoff and Bronwyn Covert dressed as colorful pawns dancing to a mix of songs featuring – you guessed it – the word sorry.
The Twisted Sisters – Donna Middleton, Michelle Lashbrooke, Winnie Neunzig, Susan Service and Rochelle Park – closed out the show, twisting and shouting to the music dressed as the classic party game that forces players to contort themselves in ways no doctor would recommend.
Stokes said there were almost 100 models, a 30% increase from last year. Many of the models were first-timers, which Stokes appreciates.
“New blood is great,” she said.
She said the fashion show has become so popular they would need to hold auditions next year.
“We appreciate the popularity but we want to keep delivering,” Stokes said.
And the people seemed to want that, as well. The energy was high as people drank, danced and cheered throughout the performance.
Durango really does get into it, which Mannix said is her favorite thing about the raucous, wacky production.
jbowman@durangoherald.com