The Colorado Burlesque Festival Celebrates its 11th Year at Reelworks this July

The Colorado Burlesque Festival is coming to Reelworks Denver this July. Promising a diverse lineup of performances, the festival is back for its 11th year this year. The festival is organized and produced by queer femmes who have a passion for burlesque, drag, aerial, and variety entertainment.

OFM had the opportunity to catch up with Kitty Crimson (she/her), executive producer of the Colorado Burlesque Festival, to chat about what to look forward to this year, as well as the importance of embracing the avant-garde.

The festival this year is produced by Crimson, her wife Shannon Williams aka “Shantastic,” Betsy Bootknocker, and Kerri N’ Fuego. Bringing in national and international headliners and feature entertainers, this weekend is full of a spectacular lineup of queer, nonbinary, and BIPOC/POC performers, all intent on igniting the venue and leaving those in attendance in awe and inspiration.

During our discussion, Crimson explained how burlesque tends to be a pathway of personal empowerment and self-liberation for many who are involved in performance art. She spoke with sincere vulnerability about her own experience in burlesque and how it put her more in touch with her own body. From Crimson’s perspective, one thing about burlesque that makes it so universal is that it is for every body type.

“As time evolved, it was important to be inclusive of other genders. There is something that is really special with being able to provide an opportunity for male or nonbinary or trans performers to say ‘I want my body to be seen too,’ and to be able to offer that space within burlesque,” Crimson says.

Over the years the festival changed hands and underwent several incarnations, facing struggles during the pandemic. Emphasizing a focus on making this carnival of sensory delights more accessible for patrons and performers alike, the show has moved around to various venues throughout the years. This year, Reelworks hosts the party, which kicks off with an Opening Gala Night on July 6, 2023, with a theme of Heavy Metal.

This year’s headliners include The Maine Attraction aka the “Triple Threat of Burlesque,” Chris Oh!, an international burlesque performer, and Mod Carousel, an award-winning, multidisciplinary burlesque collective featuring the talents of Paris Original, Trojan Original, the Luminous Pariah, and Moscato Extatique. Featured performers Shimmy Laroux, Playboy Denmark June 2022, Kitty Kin-Evil, director, performer, and designer, and Mx. Pucks A ‘Plenty aka the “Michelle Obama of Burlesque,” are all also anticipated at the weekend-long festival. Rounding out this lineup are legends of burlesque Judith Stein and Gail Winns.

“We’re excited for all of our headliners; we’re excited for all of our features. We kind of hand-chose those people for what they represent individually,” says Crimson when asked about the selection process for this year’s performance artists.

The Colorado Burlesque Festival is July 6-8, 2023, and tickets are still available at the event website.

Featured image credit Musette Mischief