Here’s a sign of the times. The 16th annual Mr. Lower East Side Pageant is moving to Brooklyn. The bawdy event’s creator, Reverend Jen, stages the event every year as a platform for the offbeat performance artists, exhibitionists and assorted misfits who called the LES home for so many years. On Facebook, she announced:
Sadly, the infamous Mr. Lower East Side Pageant, which was originally scheduled for January 31st at Cake Shop, was cancelled at the last minute due to the “fun police” and fear of penile exposure. So in a bizarre turn of events it’s moving to Brooklyn! This is OK, given the Lower East Side is a state of mind and frankly, the Lower East Side can suck it, as all creative activity has been exiled from the neighborhood due to greedy landlords. (Landlords recently almost exiled me from the LES in housing court!) I’m pretty sure that someday, the Mr. Lower East Side Pageant will be held in New Jersey. The good news is that Lucky 13 in Brooklyn is willing to host the depraved event and we will be introducing a new title: “Mr. Gowanus.” But the show’s format will remain the same. Dudes will show up and compete in the following categories: A 1-minute talent competition, a swimsuit competition, eveningwear and question and answer… The 16th annual Pageant will prove to be an extra-glamorous extravaganza, similar to the Ms. Universe Pageant, if all the contestants were hairy and liked Budweiser. To compete in this cutthroat pageant, contestants need not live on the Lower East Side. (Because honestly, who can afford it anymore?) They simply must possess qualities, which would make them the proper representative of this neighborhood. (What those qualities are, I am not quite sure of…)
The pageant has been rescheduled for Feb. 23. More details available here. Last month, Cake Shop put out a call for investors, in an effort to keep the Ludlow Street club’s doors open.
