LIFE/Event/SF
“The Evil Garden”
5th Annual Edwardian Ball
January 22, 9pm

“The Gashlycrumb Tinies,” “The Curious Sofa,” “The Epileptic Bicycle” -– in Technicolor. Well, sort of.

Calling all Gorey fanatics, you’re invited to...well, let them tell it:

One hot and dusty afternoon in a remote desert at the turn of the century, two gentlemen and a lady sat sipping black martinis in a strange and little-known oasis known as The Pagan Lounge.

"I say," ventured the first gent, "wouldn't it be smashing to throw a ball in honor of the ghastly tales of Sir Edward Gorey?"

"Oh yes indeed!" agreed the lady emphatically. "We could all dress...Edwardian!"

"I love it!" cried the third. "Perhaps we could find an elegant yet irreverent house band to tell the stories and set them to music. Perhaps that band is...right here amongst us!"

It was true -- they looked up from their dust-stained cups to find none other than Rosin Coven carousing around the bar nearby. They were perhaps the only Pagan Lounge Ensemble skilled enough yet foolish enough to tackle such a task.

On a handshake it was agreed, then and there, that the ball would commence at Cat Club that very December.

The finest artists were assembled from throughout the land and The Edwardian Ball was born. It has now become a splendid San Francisco tradition and the rest, as they say, is history.

Appearing this year: fiendish femme fatale Jill Tracy, fresh from her run at “Welcome to the Hypnodrome,” with additional music by Rosin Coven.

Also featuring rather odd puppets and assorted curiosities from Puppets and Pie and fire-breathing antics and rude acrobatics from Vau De Vire Society.

Find it: Cat Club
1190 Folsom Street at 8th St.
San Francisco, CA
Get info: (415) 431-3332

Find more offbeat real-life events in the DEC/JAN issue of "Arte Six."