It was a Timber Brown weekend!

When Robert aka Cowboy Wild decided to make his birthday party a benefit for Timber Brown's organization, Timber's Kids, we thought it would fun to invite him but figured it was a shot in the dark on whether he would have time to come out for it (or even want to...hello, we are virtual strangers asking him to fly out and perform on a promise that we are supporting his cause).  It never hurts to ask and this one paid off big time.

Timber's Kids is a charity that supports children who may have had rough childhoods and allows him to bring circus opportunities to them.  If you would like to support the cause, please donate HERE.  If you work for a school or other organization that would like to have Timber come out, please contact him. 

I first saw Timber perform at California Pole Dance Championships in 2011.  I was mostly only familiar with what I consider "traditional" pole dancers at the time, which consisted of female dancers.  Think Natasha Wang, Phoenix Kazree.  Beautiful dancers and athletic - yes, but they still were not doing anything like Timber was doing at the time.  CPDC was on stage poles that year and Timber blew my mind and probably almost knocked over the poles.  I interviewed him in my blog the same year.  [You can read that post HERE.]  Timber and I spoke on the phone before I sent him my questions and the one thing I took away was how sweet he was. 

Fast forward to Pole Expo 2013.  Timber was in the middle of his America's Got Talent ride and I finally got to meet him in person.  Sometimes I don't like meeting famous people.  I don't like to ruin my vision of them.  But again, I was very taken with what a nice person he was.  So when Robert wanted Timber at his birthday this year, I felt like we had nothing to lose by asking.  Timber not only came through but far-exceeded our expectations. 

Timber flew out last Friday and we went on an adventure in San Francisco.  We rode BART and Muni.  Timber climbed things.  Tall things.  [There was only one rule: he couldn't get arrested...death was fine, but handcuffs were not...until Sunday, that is!]  There were handstands in the Marina overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge.  We had cupcakes to celebrate Robert's birthday.  It was really a beautiful day (minus our sunburns).  That evening, Timber taught a private class at Twirly Girls and, after dinner for Robert's birthday, we went back to the studio for more fun on the pole. 

Timber brought a really fun new aparatus with him.  He has fashioned a chair to a spinning pole and the things he can do on it are pretty amazing.  The working title of the chair is Timber Brown's Pole Chair.  There is a patent pending.  Check out some play time at Twirly Girls:



I think one of the things I admire most about Timber is the intensity and the honesty in his performances.  It doesn't matter who is in that chair.  The eye contact is there and that person feels like they are the only person in the room.  I'm not sure Timber meant for his chair to be a lap dance tool but it sure did work out for Robert and his birthday!

Our fun continued on Sunday, as we returned to San Francisco to watch Robert's husband as Holotta Tymes in Sunday's A Drag at the Starlight Room.  We ate a delicious brunch and enjoyed the show from the front row.  We then went back to Walnut Creek, where we held Robert's birthday show to benefit Timber's Kids at Club 1220:  Cowboy Wild's Pole-Tacular Birthday Extravaganza.  You can keep an eye out on my YouTube channel for video of the performances, but I just couldn't wait to get Daisy's lap dance up for everyone to enjoy.  She donated $110 in order to enjoy this special performance up close and personal! 



In the end, over $1,800 was donated to Timber's Kids.  We are so touched that Timber was able to join us for the weekend and I'm so proud of how Robert is flourishing, both as a person and a pole dancer.  Thank you to every single person who made this weekend so amazing.  I can't wait to do it again! 

Check out a few photos from our adventures below:

Kate providing a lovely base for Timber's handstand

I caught him fair and square!!



Timber in SF -- to which a lady screamed: BE CAREFUL!



Timber in front of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel before brunch on Sunday



Hey, you're wearing my shirt!

Getting all up in Cassandra Cass

 

Holotta Tymes, Timber and Donna Sashay at the Starlight Room

Daisy enjoying Timber's awesome pole chair

Cake by Jessica!

Timber doing his thing

Another poletastic weekend.  Thank you to Robert and Dale for including me in the birthday celebrations, thank you to Kate for joining us this weekend, to AJ, Seanmichael, and all of the Twirly Girls.  To 1220.  To everyone who attended the show.  To everyone who participated in the show.  ESPECIALLY TO MY BACK-UP DANCERS!  And to Timber.  What an amazing soul.  I look forward to doing this again!  Until next time...keep twirling!  (Or twisting...that's for you, Steve!)

Cowboy Wild's Good Old Fashioned Pole Down - an AIDS LifeCycle Fundraiser!

We are less than a month away from our next pole dance fundraiser at Club 1220.  This one benefits Cowboy Wild's AIDS LifeCycle ride!  The Facebook event can be found HERE (you can also find the most current list of performers there as well). 

WANTED:

Pole cleaners!  Especially pole cleaners happy to dress up in cowgirl or boy attire.  


We are looking for online pole companies or other local businesses that would be willing to donate items for the raffle.  If you are interested, please contact us through the Confessions of a Twirly Girl fan page.  You can use the link on the right hand side of the page to go to the Facebook page and send a private message. 

We are also looking for local polers who may be interested in participating in a pole-dance-off that night at the event!  Names will be drawn at the show so send us your names if you'd like to be included on the list (you can send a message to the Confessions of a Twirly Girl fan page as well).  Winner gets a prize!  Who doesn't love prizes?!

Now, normally we don't take tips, however at this show, TIPPING IS HIGHLY ENCOURAGED!

The cover charge is only $6 and the dancers will be donating their tips to support Robert in this 500 mile (plus) bike ride.  

In addition to many Twirly Girl favorites, I hear Ck from Poletential will be dancing for us!!  You don't want to miss her 1220 debut!

So, please join us on Saturday, February 1st at 6:00 PM at Club 1220 in Walnut Creek for a night of fun and exciting performances (1220 is bar so 21 and up only!).  Hey guess what, I recently decided that I will be performing as well!  I got my song and my costume and my concept...so now I better get to work!

Can't make it to the show but still want to donate?  Robert's fundraising page can be found HERE.

The Un-Pole-Lievable Show ROCKED!

If you missed Cowboy Wild's Un-Pole-Lievable Pole Show on November 30, I wanted to post videos and photos from some of the performances.  Check them out below.  Thank you to Liquidpulp Photography for coming back to the Bay Area and taking photos! 

Also, mark your calendar....Cowboy Wild's Good Old-Fashioned Pole-Down to benefit AIDS LifeCycle will be held on Saturday, February 1, 2014 at Club 1220.  All money raised will benefit Robert aka Cowboy Wild's AIDS LifeCycle ride!  If you are a local business or pole company that has gift certificates or items you would like to donate for the raffle, please let me know.  THANKS!

Holotta's Un-BOY-Lievable Drag Show at Club 1220

If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area and looking for a fun show, put down in your calendar the first and third Sundays of each month, along with the second Saturday of each month, and come visit Holotta's Un-BOY-Lievable Drag Show!

From classy to trashy, this show runs the gamut and has some of my favorite Queens in the world!  I truly consider many of these girls to be my good friends.  Although my "new" job makes it harder for me to show up on Sundays, I have a great time at every single show I attend.

If you have never met Holotta Tymes, you are in for a treat.  Having traveled the world as a child Broadway star, worked at the world-famous Finnochio's, and now one of the stars of Sunday's A Drag at the Starlight Room in San Francisco, Holotta is a true entertainer.

Check out some videos from the show below and then I hope to see you at Club 1220 soon!  This weekend is the big toy drive, which will include some performances from the Queens.  Then, the annual Christmas show will be on Sunday, December 22.  Don't miss it!  The theme shows are always THE BEST!

Cowboy Wild's Un-Pole-Lievable Pole Show at Club 1220

So both Twirly Girls and Club 1220 have been pretty awesome and understanding any time Robert and I want to do something crazy.  Throw up some poles in the club and bring on half-naked pole dancers?!  Of course!!  Up until now, we have always done it for charity.  And this weekend, we dance for the fun of it.

To show how grateful we are for the dancers who have donated their time to us in the past, we welcome the Bay Area to come to Club 1220 in Walnut Creek this Saturday, November 30 at 6:00 PM to enjoy our amazing pole dancers.  Unlike other pole showcases, we WILL allow tipping at this show.  There is NO nudity, however.  But, especially if you have not been to a pole show before, you will definitely enjoy the show. 

As many of you know, Robert, aka Cowboy Wild, has been involved with 1220 for years and his husband, Holotta/Dale is the hostess of Holotta's Un-Boy-Lievable Drag Show.  So, now we present: Cowboy Wild's Un-Pole-Lievable Pole Show.

We understand some of you may be out of town for Thanksgiving, but if you're around, and ready to get away from the family for a couple of hours, please stop by!  The show is at 6 PM.  Cover charge is only $5.  Tipping IS encouraged (please don't try to stuff the money down anyone's pants though).  The bar has 80's night afterward, so you can stay and dance the night away if you'd like!

PERFORMING:

JILL ANNE
Robert "Cowboy Wild" Carstensen
Grace Garcia
Kate Cotruvo
Amy Bond
Lori Myers
Yolanda Berry
Patrick Loranger
Missy 

If you are on Facebook, the official event invitation is here:  https://www.facebook.com/events/627101380663457/

Have a happy, happy Thanksgiving and I hope to see you Saturday!

Twirl for a Cause: AIDS Walk San Francisco Fundraiser

On Saturday, July 6, 2013, local pole dancers came together to help us raise money for my good friend, Jimmy Gale, and AIDS Walk San Francisco.  We received a ton of awesome raffle prizes from friends, local businesses and some online pole companies.  Club 1220 graciously hosted the event and Twirly Girls Pole Fitness was a co-presenter.

I want to thank Dew Point Pole for sending a box FULL of goodies to raffle.  I also want to thank our friends Lety, Rita and Mary, who donated items and baskets.  Liquidpulp Photography donated three beautiful prints.  Vanessa Howell donated a Bedroom Kandi goodie bag.  Grace from Twirly Girls donated an hour class for ten people.  Diana from Twirly Girls donated adorable Harry Potter jewelry.  There was also a gift certificate from Everything Under the Rainbow.  The Starlight Room donated tickets to Sunday's A Drag for auction.  Plus, there were many, many other prizes that I haven't listed.  Thank you thank you thank you to those who donated!

We had many dancers from around the Bay Area, including recent transplant, Amy from Boston Pole Fitness, Kate and Sasha from Pole Etak, and the amazing Jill Anne.  From Twirly Girls, we had Sean Michael (who is also a coach at Kinetic Arts Center in Oakland), Diana, Kim, Patrick, Robert, Alyssa, Grace, Jimmy and Yolanda (aka Team Greazeh!).  I want to thank the dancers who donated their tips to the fundraiser.  Thank you to Diana and Kim for arriving early and setting up Diana's pole.  Thank you to Diana for letting us borrow that pole!  Thank you to Bel for allowing us to use her stage pole and for trusting us to honor the Twirly Girl name at an event when she had to work at the studio.  Thank you to Patrick for helping me set up the pole and to AJ and Robert for helping me take it down (it was a little difficult to do anything but stand upright in that corset).  Thank you to Robert and Rita for taking photos.  Thank you to 1220 for allowing us to use their bar for our fundraisers.  Thank you to DJ Mikey for not only running the music but for always donating his own money to tip the dancers and join in on the auctions!  I especially want to thank Farrah from Twirly Girls, our tireless pole cleaner and doctor-in-training. 

I really cannot thank everyone enough for coming out to dance, to donate raffle items and to watch the show.  You helped raise about $1,200 towards Jimmy's $10,000 fundraising goal.  If you couldn't make the show but would still like to donate, please click THIS link. 

And one more thank you to anyone I may have inadvertently forgotten.  My brain...it's getting old and it doesn't remember everything anymore.  :-)  I have never met a more giving group of people.  If you missed the event and you'd like to watch a playlist of the videos, please click THIS link. 

Twirl for a Cause...an AIDS Walk Fundraiser!

Twirly Girls Pole Fitness and Club 1220 present...

 

Twirl for a Cause...an AIDS Walk Fundraiser!

Please come support Jimmy Gale in his quest to raise $10,000 for AIDS Walk SF! 

Date:  Saturday, July 6, 2013
Time:  6:00 PM (get there early if you want the best seats)
Location:  Club 1220, 1220 Pine Street, Walnut Creek, California (this is a bar so you must be 21 to attend)

Please join the event on Facebook HERE.

If you have any items you'd like to donate to the raffle, please contact me directly at tazzie at yahoo dot com! 

Come see pole performers from local Bay Area studios such as Twirly Girls, Club Etak, Poletential and Studio Botan.

If you are wondering who might be dancing this evening, here's who we have signed up so far!   From Twirly Girls: Of course, the amazing Jimmy Gale!   Seanmichael Rau!   Robert Carstensen!  Patrick Loranger!   Grace Garcia!   Diana Kottke and Kimberlee Larson!   Alyssa Tran!  We will also have the amazing Kate Cotruvo from Club Etak, Sasha from Etak/Poletential, and V-Girl from Studio Botan/Poletential. And I am hoping the super awesome Jill Anne might be able to join us as well! 

The charge to get in is only $5 and tipping the pole dancers WILL be allowed (respectfully, of course).  The dancers will be donating a portion of their tips to the fundraiser as well. 

Also, BEFORE this event, the charity drag show will be held at Club 1220 on Sunday, June 23.  And if you can't make either event, but would like to donate, please click HERE. 

Hope to see everyone this summer!

My Biggest Fear...Pole Dancing in Public

This weekend I face my biggest fear (well, fourth biggest fear, somewhere behind being buried alive, falling out of a rollercoaster or my car falling into a river)....  I am performing in public.  What?!, you say!  This can't be my first public performance!  Well, I guess not.  But my previous performances have all been at Twirly Girls, amongst friends who love and support me.  This weekend, I am dancing to support Robert's AIDS LifeCycle Ride, in front of friends and family and complete strangers!  It really is a first for me. 

I am well aware that I am not the best dancer (or even the 100th best dancer) in the world.  I can't do a lot of tricks.  I'm not smokin' hot sexy.  But I have been working on my flow.  And I do have a cute routine mapped out.  I have been sick, and then I went on vacation, so I haven't had as much practice as I'd like, but thank God Mama Bel teaches her Twirly Girls how to free dance.  I am really excited and really nervous.  This is actually the jumping off point to see if I might compete later this year.  We have a great line up of other local dancers performing with me.  There will be raffles and auction items.  And tipping WILL be encouraged at this event.  We also have a couple of surpises up our sleeves. 

So, if you're in the San Francisco Bay Area on Saturday, February 2, 2013 at 6:00 PM, come to Club 1220 in Walnut Creek.  We will be pole dancing to raise money to fight AIDS and support Robert's AIDS LifeCycle Ride (500+ mile ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles).  If you can't attend but want to donate, HERE is his link. 

Otherwise, keep an eye out...videos and photos to come!  Wish me luck!  Please-don't-fall-on-my-face...Please-don't-fall-on-my-face...Please-don't-fall-on-my-face.

From Trick or Twirl in November 2012

From Trick or Twirl in November 2012

Jimmy Gale, Stephanie Nicole le Dream and AIDS Walk SF

I have posted about Jimmy and AIDS Walk SF before.  You can read last year's posts below:

About last year's charity drag show:
http://lolorashel.blogspot.com/2011/05/team-le-dream.html
Jimmy's story:
http://lolorashel.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-heart-jimmy-gale.html
A video Jimmy did last year:
http://lolorashel.blogspot.com/2011/06/aids-walk-san-francisco.html

Last year, Jimmy set a pretty lofty fundraising goal and promised to walk the SEVEN MILE AIDS Walk San Francisco in SIX INCH HEELS if he met it.  He exceeded that goal and walked the entire walk in those heels.  Even at the end, when he needed help getting across the finish line, and we were pleading with him to take the damn shoes off, he wouldn't.  He made a promise.  And he kept it.

Stephanie Nicole and Ronnie's performance at 1220

This year, I think the Walk snuck (sneaked...whatever) up on us.  Jimmy has been SO busy at the RCC opening up their new thrift shop, Everything Under The Rainbow.  He set a goal of $5,000 for the walk.  He told me that he wasn't sure he'd hit the goal since fundraising seemed to be starting late in the season.  Last night was the 7th annual charity drag show hosted by Club 1220.  Jimmy had a little over $1,600 already on his AIDS Walk fundraising page.  He raised over $3,500 last night and has already met his $5,000 goal.

I think we need to set a new goal.  Last year, Jimmy raised around $8,000.  This year, I think he can do it again.  If you are able to donate even $5, please visit his fundraising page at: tinyurl.com/JimmyGale

There are only three weeks left until the AIDS Walk in San Francisco.  I know he has a couple of fundraising events still to go....one of which will be held at Twirly Girls Pole Fitness in Pleasanton on July 9.  If Jimmy can raise $3,500 in one night, he can raise $1,000 each week until the Walk.  If you can't donate, please share the link with others who may be able to (yeah, that's bad English and I'm okay with it).  


Last weekend, at the RCC's pride picnic, I received the "Honorary Homosexual" award as a "straight" person who loves and supports the gay community.  I was so excited and proud, but got super nervous when it came time to talk on the mic about what the award meant to me.  So, I'd like to re-state what I was trying to get out at the picnic (plus add a little more).  

I am so very grateful for being introduced to Jimmy and everyone surrounding him.  I don't want to start naming names, only because I don't want to accidentally leave anyone out.  The Rainbow Community Center and Club 1220 are both filled with so many great people who love and support each other.  I know that Holotta Tymes has worked hard to build up her reputation as one of the best female impersonators around, and I think it is such a huge compliment to Jimmy that she is willing to give up one of her shows as a fundraiser for the Walk.  Even though I said I wasn't going to name names, I also feel like Ronnie (Jimmy's partner) and Robert (Holotta's husband and my fellow Twirly Boy) deserve personal mentions.  Both are huge supporters who give up their time and money without a second thought.  Last night, Ronnie hugged me and thanked me for everything I do.  I was dumbstruck because I just watched him bid like $200 on baseball tickets (I know taking care of Grandma can't pay THAT well) and then give them to Jimmy's mom.  I want to thank Ronnie for everything HE does!  I love that I have a whole new extended family.  I admire Jimmy so much for all of the hard work that he puts into the Center.  I know working for a non-profit can't pay all that well so it makes me appreciate him that much more -- knowing that his hard work truly is for the love of helping his community.  I don't really know if I personally deserved that award.  I have struggled a bit with money the last couple of years especially, so all I really have is my time to give.  If I could write a check to the RCC to help keep it running forever, I would.  Since that is not possible, I am so happy that my time has been enough.  I have met so many amazing people (the kids especially are so inspiring), and I am so grateful for that.  So, thank you to each person who nominated me for the award.  Thank you to the RCC for embracing me, even though I'm just some straight chick who likes to show up at their events.  And the biggest thank you to Jimmy for everything he does.  

Anyway, enough of the slurp-fest here.  I am honored to walk with Jimmy on July 15th in San Francisco and I hope that anyone who can donate, will...and if you want to walk with us, please let me know.  We will have quite the Team le Dream entourage and there is always room for more!