The Belltown Pageant

Seattle has characters in every neighborhood. There’s the man raging against Seattle police in front of Barney’s every morning, and there’s Slats (the tall, lanky, perpetually spaced-out rocker that’s Capitol Hill’s ultimate “notable”), but Belltown has perhaps a higher concentration of unique persons than most hoods. And as I wrote in our recent Spring Arts issue, the Rendezvous has, for decades, done an ace job of attracting them as both performers and patrons. Tonight is the third annual formalized celebration of this, the Belltown Pageant, in which one man will be crowned Mr. Belltown, and one lady Belltown Betty. Folks have submitted applications through the venue and local businesses—booker Ariel Basom notes that for two years in a row, the winner emerged from an association with the nearby corner store—and they’ll duke it out over three rounds: “Introductions/First Impressions,” “Talent,” and “The Interview.” Coordinating costumes are mandated (including “Thursday Night Out on the Prowl”) and the winner will take home $100 for, among other things, their savvy in “Happy Hour” attire and Belltown trivia. Psst…check out Clark Humphrey’s recently-published Seattle’s Belltown for a foolproof head start. Rendezvous JewelBox Theatre, 2320 Second Ave., 441-5823. 9 p.m. RACHEL SHIMP
Sun., March 9, 9 p.m., 2008