A closet with “nothing to wear” is no excuse not to dress up for the sixth annual Trashion Show, a creative event happening on Friday, Feb. 16, at World Famous Woody’s Tavern, 221 S. Main St.
Community members are invited to piece outfits or costumes together from odds and ends to demonstrate how they can repurpose items otherwise destined for the landfill, and then come show it off at the show.
If making your own costume sounds daunting, WabiSabi, Moab’s community thrift store, is there to help. On Thursday, Feb. 15, from 6 to 8 p.m., the nonprofit organization will host a “High Trashion” Workshop at the WabiSabi Community Engagement Center, 160 E. 100 South.
The Trashion Show is the number one fundraising event of the year for the Resiliency Hub, a nonprofit that grew out of the former Canyonlands Community Recycling, but with an expanded mission of education and “practical opportunities to rethink, retrofit and regenerate our community.”
Resiliency Hub Board of Directors member Claire Core said she will be at the Feb. 15 craft session making upcycled decorations for the following evening’s Trashion Show. While the Feb. 16 event is for people 21 and older, the WabiSabi workshop is free and open to anyone – including kids.
WabiSabi will provide various tools, such as tape, glue, needles and thread, plus raw materials like clothing, books and old records, so people can “make some really creative and cool-looking costumes,” Core said.
“WabiSabi is an amazing partner for so many nonprofits in Moab,” she said. “They are a strong supporter of our creative reuse initiative, also called upcycling.”
Those who come to the Trashion Show wearing upcycled attire will compete for prizes and the opportunity to walk the “runway,” at 11:30 p.m. From 8 to 11 p.m., three volunteer judges will intermingle with the crowd, observing costumes, and asking questions regarding materials used. Each judge will place a sash on the chosen contestants for each category, which includes “most couture,” “most trashy” and “most creative” – for a total of nine people who will show off their costumes on the runway.
“Whoever gets the loudest cheers, wins,” said Jeremy Lynch, a Resiliency Hub board member, and typically one of the judges.
About 200 people attended last year’s event, and like this year’s Trashion Show, it included live music and a noncompetition runway event, open to everyone.
“It’s a community event to get people to think about what they use, and create waste from,” Lynch said. “We encourage people to make costumes. It’s a self-reflective look at the waste we’re producing – a (reimagining) of what waste can be … It’s really cool stuff that people make out of waste.”
The Resiliency Hub expects to raise about $2,000 from the festive fundraising event – money that goes toward the organization’s operating costs, and projects planned at its flagship community park, the ComuniTea Garden at 100 West and Walnut Lane.
The Resiliency Hub is comprised of an all-volunteer board of directors who meet monthly to plan educational events for the public.
“It’s a labor of love for all of us,” Core said. “It’s work we love enough to put our time and energy into.”
The Fiery Furnace Marching Band will perform during both runway events. Other performers that evening include an avant-garde group and drag artists “Forbidden Fruits” of Salt Lake City – sponsored by Moab Pride. KZMU Community Radio DJ Cozy Soul will open the evening with hip-hop and rhythm-and-blues music, followed by hip-hop selections by DJ Chad Wilson, also of KZMU. Local DJ Sidney Frost will close the night.
Annual Trashion Show comes to Woody’s on Feb. 16
“It’s a self-reflective look at the waste we’re producing – a (reimagining) of what waste can be … It’s really cool stuff that people make out of waste.”
When: Friday, Feb. 16, from 7:45 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Where: World Famous Woody’s Tavern, 221 S. Main St.
Cost: $10
Information: resiliencyhub@gmail.com
To learn more about Resilency Hub community initiatives and its programming in 2018, visit: resiliencyhub@gmail.com
