Bonnie Ritchie, an organizer for the Wearable Art and Talent Show, walks down the runway at the first wearable art show in Wrangell in 2017 in a dress made of playing cards.
Imagine clothes made of plastic bags, playing cards or crab shells. Now imagine pulling a rabbit out of a tinfoil hat or yodeling while wearing a shirt of decoupage or any of the materials mentioned.
Such whimsy is the basis for Express Yourself! a talent show combined with wearable art planned for 6 p.m. on July 3 at the Nolan Center.
Organizers Cyni Crary and Bonnie Ritchie said it's been five years since they held the first combo event, and they feel it's time to bring it back, reintroducing it to residents and visitors in town for the July 4th festivities.
"This is a call for artists and just creative people," Crary said. "It's open to anybody. We really know there's some hidden gems in this community. We want to pull those people out and make this a fabulous show."
Crary said wearable art has "quite a following" in places like Sitka, Ketchikan and Juneau, which inspired her to bring the artform to Wrangell. "Not a lot of people knew what that was, so I thought why not introduce it to the community through the talent show."
The original show ended up with about five adult and a few children's pieces of wearable art, she said.
One year, Ritchie, who commercially fishes crab, made a dress for her daughter, Bella, from crab shells, which were cleaned and coated in florescent neon colors. Family friend Jackson Carney dressed as a crabber and serenaded Bella, like a fisherman beckoning a catch from the sea.
"They truly combined the talent and wearable art," Crary said.
"Last year was a great Fourth of July, but the talent show didn't happen because there was a lack of advertising, and we didn't have enough people signed up to do the talent show," Ritchie said. "This year, we're really trying to put it out there to make sure we have enough people for the talent and wearable art as well."
The show is open to all, and Ritchie said it also would be great for businesses to enter.
"It would be a great way to advertise your business," she said. "If you have a flower shop, you could make a dress of flowers, or if you own a bakery, you could do something with cupcake liners."
After the wearable art and talent show, the royalty coronation will be held as it has in past years. The coronation comes from the royalty competition, which raises money to fund the following year's July 4th events. This year's lone competitor is Tyson Messmer, who is busy all month with downtown food sales and raffle ticket sales.
For those who think a talent show is all about singing, Crary and Ritchie said they're looking for more than that, whether it be a comedy routine, magic act or juggling. They said there are no limits to either aspect of the show, and prizes will be awarded.
The organizers would like sign-ups to be complete by June 22 in order to have a rehearsal schedule in place, but last-minute entries won't be denied. For more information, Crary can be reached at 503-720-0106 and Ritchie can be reached at 907-305-1211.
"Come out and express yourself," Crary said. "Be as artistic, creative and unique as you want to be."
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