Hair spray and hot-glue guns turned out to be wardrobe staples Saturday night when Lawndale Art Center revived its gloriously notorious Hair Ball. After a five-year hiatus, the big hair was back with a room full of coiffure divas that would have made Marie Antoinette weep.
Weeping would describe what KPRC Channel 2 meteorologist Frank Billingsley felt like doing as the hair docs in the Hair Emergency Room stapled (yes, really) his sliding coif to his scalp. The whirling tornado that rose above his head, a creation of his spouse Kevin Gilliard, included a flying cow and a tiny KPRC news truck.
The Hair Emergency Room, created and manned by Cara Crafton and her team from Craft Salon, saved more than a few slipping 'dos. "We actually had quite a bit of wig emergencies," Craft said.
Athena Campbell, the Lioness, advised that her gi-normous coif was made from 27 bags of hair.
Hanging out in the ER, the salon staff, including at least one bearded stylist, was outfitted in cotton candy pink explosions of hair and candy-striper Craft uniforms, gallons of hair spray at the ready. Artist Felisa Prieto, her bumpy coif made from balls of pillow stuffing, created the ER/salon.
The big hair-costumed crowd of close to 300 spread across all three floors of the art center located on Main Street, creating a moving carnival of the delightfully absurd. While Jenny and Mark Johnson were the big-wig co-chairs, Hair Ball founding co-chairs Victoria and Marshal Lightman made the scene as judges of the big hair contest. No surprise that artist and costume designer extraordinaire Kasi Kubiakwon best hair for her all-encompassing costuming laced with mini-Muppets. Nothing "mini" about her 3-foot tall explosion of blue hair.
As the Parade of Hair began, Lightman announced the Hair Ball credo, "The bigger the hair, the closer to god." Joining the Lightmans, emcee Billingsley and the contestants on stage was one of several drag queens, Athena Campbell the Lioness, who shared that her gi-normous coif was made from 27 bags of hair.
The night fun included DJ tunes, a rocking karaoke room, dance tunes by Punch Bowl, yummy food stations from Culinaire and plenty of eye candy. (For once, I was the first one to suggest an exit while SIR was savoring the big hair bombshells.)
Adding outrageous visions of hair to the scene were Julia Koivumaa, Dr. Romy Mitchell, Kristin and David Thomas, Paula Murphy, Dr. Penelope and Lester Marks, James Glassman, Suzette Kelly, Colin and Monica Fulton and Amy Pierce.
Prize winner Kasi Kubiak displays her penchent for Muppets with her Hair Ball costume.
