Black and white photo of burlesque dancer Zorita, nude save high heels and a corset held against her chest, laying on a teardrop-shaped settee which has been colored orange over the original image.

#MuseumAtHome: Burlesque Arrests

From its earliest arrival on US shores, burlesque has posed a challenge to local authorities charged with upholding local standards of “decency”. Whether it was women wearing men’s clothing (which was against the law in many municipalities until well into the 20th century) or women wearing not enough clothing (or

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Detail of photo of Dixie Evans wearing boa

#MuseumAtHome: Happy Birthday to “Miss Exotic World” Creator Dixie Evans

Dixie Evans, “The Marilyn Monroe of Burlesque,” would have been 94 today. After a successful career as a burlesque dancer, Dixie eventually ended up running the Exotic World museum, creating the Miss Exotic World pageant that to this day forms the core of our BHoF Weekender, going on right now

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BHoF Virtual Book Club; image shows an illustrated fan dancer

This month’s virtual book club pick is <em>Babylon Girls</em> by Jayna Brown. Join us Aug 20 to discuss!

Join us for the “breast” book club around! ⁣⁣ The Burlesque Hall of Fame Virtual Book Club meets the third Thursday of every month via Zoom. Everyone is invited to join us, sign up here: bhof.link/joinbookclub ⁣⁣This month’s book is Babylon Girls: Black Women Performers and the Shaping of the

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Banner for 2020 Virtual Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekender, featuring purple background and rhinestoned crowns

Join Us for a Virtual Tour!

The museum is closed at the moment, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it! Join us for a live virtual tour, offered several times throughout the month of August as part of our 2020 Virtual Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekender! Each tour will last 30-60 minutes via Zoom (you’ll

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BHoF Virtual Book Club; image shows an illustrated fan dancer

Join us to discuss this month’s Book Club pick: <em>Stripped Down</em> by Anna Brooke, a.k.a. Rev. Legs Malone

Join the breast virtual book club around! This month, we’re reading Stripped Down: How Burlesque Led me Home by burlesquer Rev. Legs Malone (under her “muggle” name, Anna Brooke). Legs’ memoir describes her discovery of burlesque and how the lessons she learned of self-acceptance and personal expression let her begin

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Facade of the Burlesque Hall of Fame museum

BHoF Re-closing as Nevada COVID Cases spike

We are sad to announce that we are again temporarily closing the museum for the remainder of Nevada’s Phase II. As COVID cases in Southern Nevada increase drastically, the staff and leadership of the museum feel that remaining open is no longer the responsible thing to do. Over the last

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Twirl-a-Thon!

Twirl-A-Thon is HERE!

What has two Queens, an American Treasure, a fire twirler, and more tassels than you can twirl a stick at?⁣⁣That’s right, it’s TWIRL-A-THON!⁣⁣ Join host Blanche Debris and three Very Special Guest Judges, Dirty Martini, Poison Ivory, and Desiré D’Amour, as they witness a ton of tassel twirling ENTIRELY FOR

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Detail from 19th century printed matter entitled "Jim Crow Jubilee"

#MuseumAtHome: Minstrel Shows and Stock Comic Characters in Burlesque

CONTENT WARNING: sterotypical imagery including blackface⁣⁣Learn about some of the often troubling roots of burlesque’s stock characters in this #MuseumAtHome entry. Burlesque and minstrelsy were closely related in the late 19th century, and many elements of the minstrel show became part of burlesque’s “bag of tricks”. Understanding this difficult history is essential

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Image of rhinestoned crown on purple background with text "Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekender: Celebrating 30 Years of Miss Exotic World"

The BHoF Weekender is Going Virtual!

In these days of shelter in place and global quarantine, we’re transforming the BHoF Weekender, originally scheduled for August 27-30, into a totally online event to be held throughout the month of August. We’ll have online showcases, classes, Legends interviews, museum tours — anything we can fit in a camera

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Facade of the Burlesque Hall of Fame museum

We’re Reopening June 23!

After temporarily closing our doors on March 16 due to growing concern about the COVID-19 pandemic, The Burlesque Hall of Fame museum is excited to reopen to the public on Tuesday, June 23! Nevada is in “Phase II” right now and museums are allowed to open at half capacity. We’re going quite a bit under that

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