Faux Pink Health Inc.

The Breasty Festy

More than a pun on words, it's a motivating event

By Jill Meyer

co-director Faux Pink Health Inc

Missoula, Montana

Very brisk, I'd call the Montana morning air that Saturday in October, Breast Cancer Awareness month. My excitement and energy was keeping me either warm or unaware of the chill. My partner, Shelly Bickel and I had worked so hard for the last several months; coordinating volunteers, fund raising, promoting and organizing all the facets of the day that we felt little could go wrong. So it was with shivers of anticipation and delight, that I arrived at the Caras Park Pavilion in downtown Missoula. Knowing that this awesome event center was ours for the day was awe inspiring. Living in Missoula for so many years, one just expects great things to happen in this place. Magical things. It's a given. I felt obligated that the Breasty Festy would hold true to that standard!

As the flock volunteers and vendors descended, I noticed the contagious good humor and candor amongst them. It was work to set up booths, blow up balloons, hang banners and organize effects, but it was all done with kind hearted spirits. I felt a little like a rubber band being pulled from volunteer to vendor to curious onlooker, but I liked it. Seeing my vision coming to fruition was glorious. Everyone showed up in good timing, even the sun came out at the right moment, enveloping the tent in a warm good morning hug.

As the festival got underway that early afternoon, it seemed to commence with the energy of a locomotive rather than that of a sports car. There wasn't a sudden mass carnival of people lined up at every booth, but a consistent flow of onlookers “checking us out”, and it was like that all day. It was helpful to have the local farmers market crowd mingling a short distance away until early afternoon. Also, the general hussle and bussle of the downtown river park scene gets a fair amount of people on any sunny day in the Fall. So the spill off of local excursionists seemed to help, although I believe our extensive promoting efforts made us a destination that day also. We had been on the television, radio, public service announcements and had posters plastered all over Missoula and the surrounding areas.

The high traffic point of the day came during the Vintage Pin Up Competition. Eight very glamorous contestants participated in this retro beauty contest. The classy, '40's style' pageant was perfect for the image we wanted to project. The tent filled up with a mesmerized audience to see and hear the girls walk the stage and answer questions from the judges (a Hooter's calendar girl, Miss Teen Montana 2010 and a downtown businessman) One contestant, 'Suzy Sunshine', saucily answered that she could make her man the happiest as she twirled in her flirty brown dress and Mod print apron. The crowd cheered wildly at the spry young vixen, who the judges ultimately crowned their winner.

The other events like the petting zoo, donated by The Grant Creek Ranch, were a hit as well. All day children and adults alike stood in line to pet and feed the adorable miniature animals. Quarter by quarter those animals earned their breast cancer donation money. Sixty dollars worth of the little grain filled dixie cups those chubby gentle animals muzzled down for the cause. Albeit they didn't quite know why.

For the extreme festival enthusiast there was the opportunity to participate in the dunk tank. It was sunny, but not THAT sunny of a day to be sitting, soaking wet, on a thin little board and have people chuck balls at a target that, if hit, was going to plunge you into the even-though-heated, very-much-wet-water bath. One of the girls that courageously volunteered had only heard second hand that volunteers were needed. She works as a Barista at an unconventional coffee kiosk in town. Similar to Hooters, Ooh La Latte is known for their servers to be clad in less than more. They are required to wear lingerie to work everyday, which is spirited on their part, especially when inclement weather should only to be met with wool attire from head to toe. So this little gal came down after her shift and graciously perched on the little board and let people repeatedly dunk her into the tank.

Huge eight foot ribbons hung like festive pinatas from the rafters of the pavilion. The goal was for the white ribbons to turn pink with name cards of those who had been touched by breast cancer. University of Montana Woman's Track and Basketball team members came out to sell pink roses to the crowd for a five dollar donation in exchange for the honorary pink name tag to be placed on the ribbon banners. It was special to honor those who had battled breast cancer.

The cause of the festival was to bring awareness in a very new and innovative way, to touch a more youthful crowd. and to raise money for the local Montana Breast and Cervical Foundation, who offer free cancer screening to those in need. Missoula hosted many other events during October, from the Chicks n Chaps rodeo clinic at the fairgrounds, to the Team Up Montana event during a UM Grizzlies football game. Many local businesses and individuals united like never before for this worthy cause.

The irony in the name 'Breasty Festy' comes from the boisterous reputation of it's namesake, The 'Testy Festy' or 'Testical Festival'. Yearly, Rock Creek Lodge hosts this weekend event centered around the consumption of 'Rocky Mountain Oysters' (bull calf testicles), rocking to bands and playing party styled contests. This wild event raises a lot of brows and money. We wanted to do the same thing for our cause. When asked, the owner/promoter of the Testical Festival jumped on board to help out with the Breasty Festy. Matt Powers, who also runs a center to train young adults in boxing and fighting techniques, called The Dog Pound, eagerly accepted the task of security and any promoting he could help with. Announcements were made during the amateur Fight Night at the Wilma, Budweiser Ring Girls sported Breasty Festy t-shirts, and the extensive network of his friends and fans on Facebook were urged to attend our event.

There were some outstanding booths by local health care related providers. The Women's Care Center at St Patrick's Hospital, Energy Works of Montana, who offer complimentary body work and massage and the innovative new thermography style of breast cancer testing was explained by Thermography of Montana. Crafters sold wonderful soft lined hats for women with treatment induced hair loss. These and other vendors shared valuable information and tools regarding breast cancer.

Our women's health awareness organization called Faux Pink Health Inc. displayed it's art. We offer unique “breast art” paintings that memorialize a woman's beauty before of after her mastectomy. The process? After a women places her breast print (her bare breast dipped in a artfully calculated 'puddle' of paint) on canvas, it's embellished by an artist, thus creating a both beautiful and `sentimental piece of art. One of our artists, Tianna Byrd was doing a live demonstration that day. Parties can be booked by all women to enjoy and learn from this process.

As the day was winding down, volunteers spirits were spiraling up. Charlie (female), one of the servers from the Silver Slipper's food and beverage vending booth, broke into dance to the music of our featured band, Bad Neighbor. Swinging her long locks of blond hair around while sporting a head to toe velvet pink outfit brought several grins from those that were still mingling around the pavilion. It was great to see someone who had been there all day working tenaciously yet still wanting to 'break it down' and having a genuinely fantastic time.

The day wrapped up, the people went home, the tent came down so-to-speak, but the affects of the day continued in the hearts of many. I had a woman stop me at the grocery store a month later and say that because of the awareness brought by the festival she went and got her mammogram. Her test showed clear this year, she said, but she felt very relieved that she had done it. I know this event had an impact on our community. I know that this kind of event could have one on any community. The idea is to believe in your ideas and to follow through. The Breasty Festy was an idea my partner and I had one afternoon in July. We relished for a moment what an ironic success the Testy Festy was and what a twist it would be to mock a huge fund raiser for Breast Cancer Awareness after it. We didn't ever think of it failing, just how catchy the name was and what good it could do for our community. So we went for it. We are glad we did and will do it again next year. See you all there.