“Liliane, will you be Ginger Spice?” they asked. “We are all going as Spice Girls or super fans, Tyke has agreed to be Security and we don’t have a Ginger Spice.” And that my dear readers is exactly how it happened.
Now I have to admit between you and me, I was never much of a Spice Girls fan. However, to support the amazing organization PHAME and the incredible work they do, I acquiesced. The event was called “Sparkle! Battle of the Bands” and it took a quick Google search to reveal that I was a little out of my depth. No Union Jack dresses with matching undies in my closet! Whatever would I do? Not to let the side down I dug a little deeper and finally found an image I could sort of recreate. Hopefully, my being of British extraction, and wearing leather booty shorts in November in Portland, Oregon should garner some points.

Tyke & Liliane Hunt @ PHAME Sparkle! Battle of the Bands 2017
The event was held at the lovely Sentinel Hotel in downtown Portland which is on the National Register of Historic Places. The evening began with a champagne reception with tasty nibbles, where we mingled in character and eyed our competition, photo ops and then on to the dinner and show!

PHAME! Sparkle Battle of the Bands
In addition to the stage show there was a table competition, where we went head to head against the other guests to be named the winner. All in all we felt pretty good about our chances. The performances were really outstanding and the competition fierce not just amongst the audience members but on the stage itself. Queue the drum roll… I am honored and thrilled to announce that our table won…. “Best Table Spirit”! To be fair, in spite of my leather shorts, Babies’ pigtails, Posh’s great legs and Scary’s scary, Sporty Spice won us the crown.

PHAME Sparkle! Battle of the Bands 2017 – Best Table Spirit
Now that I have sung our accolades, I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge why I think the work PHAME does and the services they provide are so essential. Their work speaks volumes to me personally on so many levels. I discovered theatre and acting at the age of eleven, my cousin Ian similarly discovered clowning, magic and circus skills. For both of us it became the voice with how we expressed ourselves to the world. To this day it remains a bond that we share and are still doing 30 years later! Ian steadfastly defines his life by his passions rather than by a learning or physical disability. He does it with such a contagious enthusiasm that it brings not just the family together but literally people from all over the world. The work of organizations such as PHAME not only provides a vital platform for people to find and express their voices, it brings families together, but it also turns strangers into communities through their combined love and passion for the arts. Bravo PHAME and until next time!

PHAME Sparkle! Battle of the Bands 2017