Composed in Durham, NC, which is not the capital of anything as far as I know.
On our way to the mountains of NC we stopped in Durham to see this year's edition of the Beaver Queen Pageant. This event could only grow and prosper in the unique social mix of "real Durham" NC. The pageant is a means to raise funds for local wetlands. But no bake sale or charity bike ride will do for this neighborhood. The only thing that will suffice is a day-long double-entendre, cross-dressing, knee-jerk liberal, hot and sweaty, pageant to elect a Beaver Queen.
Apparently it all started a few years ago when the local department of natural resources was trying to solve the problem of beavers felling trees across streams and creating wetness in the, well, wetlands. Being a government agency, their immediate course of action was to kill all the beavers. Somehow the local do-gooders in Old Durham caught wind of it, the neighborhood listserves caught fire, and the next thing you know there's a combo protest/fundraiser to save the beavers and the wetlands both. Of course the misuse of "beaver" appeared in the first postings and the campiness has since spiraled out of control, which is perfect for this zip code.
So, the 2010 Beaver Queen Pageant was heralded by months of hoopla and action on the BQP web site, where you can learn all you need to know on the topic. When we arrived at the event on an average-weather summer Saturday afternoon in Durham (temps in the high 90's, humidity high enough to damage currently-available instrumentation made for measuring it), there were already several hundred Durhamites of every social stripe on the scene, spread out on blankets, folding chairs, and milling around in happy little groups. Several tents were selling BQP tee-shirts, BQP water bottles, and other BQP tchochkes festooned with this year's "Peace. Love. Beaver" slogan.
The highlight of the day was the pageant to vote in this year's Beaver Queen. Attendees were encouraged to bribe judges. These bribes were called "donations" which reminds me of many of the African countries I work int. The pageant included competitions for beauty, evening gown, and talent (the mind reels with the memory). Just as your faithful correspondent dissolved into a slimy pool of sweat, sunscreen, and splashed pre-mixed mojitos, Scarlett O'Beavah, pictured above, was voted the new queen. See you in 2011.
Get the whole story and more photos of this year's pageant at the official web site, here.
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