For the past couple of years, the Airdrie Home and Lifestyle Show has featured a fashion show. It’s a great way to display the wares of local clothing stores, and makes for easy photos for local newspaper photographers. (See related story and photos on page 13).
Little did I know that a laugh and snort attached to me saying I would model in the show would make it a reality.
Maybe it was my thought that I could never be “model material” or just the fact that I should be photographing the fashion show not participating in it that made me think it would never happen.
Miss Rebecca McKay, one of my best friends, followed through with the organizers of the event, and ensured that I would be at the fittings and rehearsal. I believe that is called being volun-told for something.
Snap to last Thursday, fitting day. I modelled fashions from both The Store Upstairs and Mark’s. Damien Tiloshanec from Mark’s assured me of how good I looked in the various outfits and gave me enough confidence to move forward to rehearsal day.
Again, me? Modelling? Now that it’s all over, I still get a laugh.
Friday night at Genesis Place, we arrive to see a massive stage and again my nerves start taking hold of me.
Lori McRitchie from the Airdrie Food Bank is here, along with Lois Jones from Here’s the Scoop, even our Rodeo Princess Samantha Billsborrow is sitting among the participants in this year’s fashion show.
As soon as Tiloshanec starts the music, I am more nervous than the first time I took a commercial flight. I have since come to love flying, so things are all good there.
It’s my turn to take the stage, and I ask for a step–by-step walkthrough of what the heck I am supposed to do on stage.
Pose number one - I put my hands on my hips.
That is a no-no. Tiloshanec reminds me that I am supposed to appear to be masculine (haha) and men don’t put their hands on their hips.
Next pose - Zoolander’s Blue Steel.
Better. Tiloshanec reminds me to have fun with it, play off the ladies in the crowd.
Third and final pose - I put my thumbs in my belt loops, and give the most serious look I can possibly render with the hilarity of what I am doing in the back of my mind.
Tiloshanec is impressed, sends me off the stage and starts the music again for a full-roster run through.
I am starting to have fun. Knowing it’s friends and colleagues participating in the event with me had me feeling a whole lot better about things.
Snap to Saturday - Fashion show number one of two. I am spending much of the afternoon thinking about the directions I am supposed to walk, and less about the photos of the event I am supposed to be taking.
The first performance went swimmingly. I found a few familiar faces I could play off of in the crowd, and I feel like it went well.
Day two, Sunday - I have become very comfortable with this new career …. Er ….volunteer opportunity. My confidence is up, and I am ready for the second and final performance.
Again, I found a few familiar faces…including my mom in the crowd, making me know the crickets won’t be chirping upon my arrival on stage.
My confidence got in the way of everything I was shown to do on stage. I was supposed to turn left, I turned right. I was never supposed to put my hand on my hips …. whoops!
At the end of each show, the entire roster performed an Airdrie rendition of Gangnam Style, and while I have no clue what to do during much of the song, the dance moves during the chorus are etched in my mind from the YouTube video that I must have viewed once or twice.
All in all, the entire Home and Lifestyle Show was a blast. For all those who came out and saw me on stage, I am sorry, or you’re welcome … I will never really know what it looked like from the audience.
What I did learn from the weekend was that every once in a while it is good to come out of your shell. Being volun-told for something beyond your comfort level is good for you.
I want to congratulate every other like-minded person who may have had some second thoughts about wanting to participate for doing so. In the end, I had a ton of fun. I hope you all did too!
