Moabites, start squirreling away your semi-fashionable trash and recyclables: the Trashion Show, a fashion show/dance party fundraiser for the Resiliency Hub, is returning on Saturday, Feb. 25 from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Woody’s Tavern. The cover is $10.
“I moved to Moab in 2012, the Trashion Show was the first event that I went to,” said Claire Core, the board president of the Resiliency Hub. “And I just remember thinking that it was like nothing I’d ever been to before: it was so weird and wonderful that it just had me falling in more love with Moab than I realized.”
The event is over a decade old, returning this year after a pandemic hiatus in 2021 and 2022. The night will feature live music, dancing, and a fashion catwalk—participants are encouraged to make and wear an upcycled outfit “made completely from materials that have already been used at least once and would have been headed to the landfill,” according to the Resiliency Hub. The Resiliency Hub is a nonprofit that supports local garden access and education: proceeds from the event will directly benefit the CommuniTea Garden, a public garden that grows fruit and herbs, and Moab Community Garden spaces.
There will be prizes awarded to outfits that are deemed the “classiest,” “sassiest,” “trashiest,” and “best in show”; winning costumes will also be displayed at an art show later in the year, Core said. In years past, outfits have been created from materials like cardboard boxes, yogurt containers, plastic bags, bubble wrap, egg cartons, and old paper, all glued or sewn together to make an outfit.
“I always look forward to the Trashion Show as this placeholder in late winter/early springtime, when it feels like the community here is smaller,” Core said. “Everybody gets silly with their costumes … It’s absurd, in a way, and there’s some humor in it, but it definitely has that underlying purpose and intent of looking at the patterns of what we consume. It’s exciting to look at materials and think about how to put them into continual use and make something that hasn’t existed before.”
Canyonlands Solid Waste Authority helps support the event. Jessica Thacker, a program manager at CSWA, also said the event helps people think about new ways to use old materials.
“When you encourage folks to focus on ways that they can make tangible waste items into something that’s wearable, I think it also sparks other ways that they can upcycle things,” she said. “It’s a good opener for making people realize just how reusable a lot of the items that we have are … While you normally don’t use waste items for clothing, maybe those items could be upcycled into a neat little container or art project or yard decoration.”
Thacker, a previous Trashion show prize winner, is this year making a dress out of a plastic picnic-table liner and aluminum cans. She’s also been hosting crafting workshops for Trashion show participants, offering materials and advice. The next workshop is on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 6 p.m. at Moab Arts (111 E. 100 N.).
The Trashion Show runs from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Woody’s Tavern (the event is for people ages 21 and up). The night features a spectacular lineup of live music: from 7 to 10 p.m., DJ Paris Hinson will spin a vinyl folk/house/disco set; at 10 p.m., there will be a “surprise performance,” Core said, after which people will be encouraged to walk the catwalk; the Fiery Furnace Marching Band will appear for a 40-minute set; and to close out the night, DJ Sparklefists will play a dance set.
Winners will be announced before the end of the night—three surprise judges will determine winners based on the number of reused items, creativity, and the character of the costume, Core said.
