It was crowded. It was raucous. It was smoky. It was nearly nude... and it was damned fun.
Call it "Gingerfest 2003."
Veteran porn star Ginger Lynn made the decision several months ago that it was time, after several years, to finally forego the rigors of dancing "on the road"... but in true Ginger fashion, she wanted to go out with a bang. Coincidentally, the Appaloosa Showbar, the classiest (and perhaps only) dance club in Colorado Springs, offered to help her put on a party her fans (and everyone else in attendance) would never forget.
The gig finally happened on Tuesday night, Dec. 9, allegedly Ginger's 20th anniversary in the adult business, and to make the event extra special, Ginger arranged to fly in 30 friends and family to party down with the locals, to make it one hell of a night.
The festivities actually started the evening before, with Ginger sponsoring a sit-down (but thankfully not black tie) dinner for her invitees. Among the celebs and semis in attendance were Stephanie Swift and beau, Kylie Ireland and director Eli Cross, Juli Ashton, Kurt Lockwood (girlfriend Ava Vincent was scheduled to attend, but came down with a virus and had to skip the meal), actress/dancer Jennifer Steele, KSEX Radio's Wankus, Beth Ann Rafael (who co-penned Ginger's comeback vehicle Torn), Ginger's long-time friend and sometime-KSEX co-host Stacy, Ginger's personal makeup artist Crystal Blair, two producers from E! Entertainment who worked on Ginger's True Hollywood Story, and about a dozen others, including Ginger's actual brother, who for some reason kept a very low profile throughout the events.
Rather than making a speech, Ginger contented herself by personally schmoozing with each guest, and at the end of the evening, handing out bags of presents, each of which included the Ginger Lynn action figure from Plastic Fantasy, a classic Ginger video, a coffee mug, lube, lotion, dildo-shaped pacifiers and a few other goodies. The conversation was lively, the drinks were plentiful, and the banquet didn't break up until nearly midnight.
The following day, Appaloosa limousines showed up at the Official Event Hotel in the early evening, and guests were chauffeured through the long waiting lines at the club door, to a corner "sky box" where everyone, including Ginger, got comfortable. The Appaloosa has a capacity of about 700, and by the time the actual show started, estimates are that that capacity had easily been reached (or exceeded).
The Appaloosa spared no expense to put on a show worthy of its primary guest. Not only did they maintain their regular door fees for the public attendees; they put on a delicious seafood buffet, and had plenty of house girls available for lap dances. (Kurt Lockwood, along with the now-recovered Ava Vincent, paid for several dances as holiday presents for other guests... and even a couple for himself, with Ava watching and sometimes choosing the dancer.)
It was after 9 p.m. that the show got started, with club manager Scott introducing, as the comedy act, Doug Stanhope, co-host of Comedy Central's The Man Show. It was a tough room, however, and in a town with as many churches as Colorado Springs, Stanhope's religious humor generally met blank stares. It also didn't help that he apparently thought Ginger's big year in the porn business was '92. (She retired from acting originally in '86 before her comeback in 1999.)
Things livened up dramatically when the next performer took the stage: Jennifer Steele, with her famous fire-eating act. Stripping out of an all-white uniform, the busty blonde juggled flaming batons, manipulated a pair of iron "fans" with burning tips, and breathed enough fire to raise the club's temperature by a degree or two.
Next up was an even more pleasant surprise: The vacationing ("I've still got 10 months to go") Chloe arrived at the club at the last minute (due to nearly-missed plane connections), ready to strip out of a cowboy outfit to a cheering crowd. Seems that many of Ginger's fans also appreciated the lanky brunette, who had no problem getting "up close and personal" with several of the "golden circle" fans closest to the stage.
In terms of showmanship, however, it was tough to beat the next performer, Wicked contract star Stephanie Swift, who worked the width of the stage, working and leaning seductively against both poles while removing her scanty costume. She seemed genuinely to enjoy her work, kissing some of the front-row women and getting fanny-pats from the males. It also didn't hurt her popularity that after her dance number, she returned to the stage with a number of rolled posters which she held between her legs or pretended to b.j. before tossing them to random guests in the audience.
Finally, it was time for the guest of honor. Scott came out on stage and gave a run-down of Ginger's long history with the Appaloosa, stressing how many years the blonde beauty had been associated with the club -- so many, in fact, that he said he had arranged for an appropriately special "chair of honor" for his guest. With that, Beth Ann Rafael entered from the backstage area with an empty wheelchair, and Scott escorted Ginger on stage and sat her in it, the crowd going wild with applause.
This was the start of the Official Ginger Lynn Roast. Beth Ann began by reciting a long list of Hollywood personalities the blonde had allegedly slept with, and Kylie Ireland later noted how many years it had taken Ginger to get to her current position, opining that she must have started out blowing dinosaurs. In all, six celebs, including Wankus, Stanhope and one of the E! producers, lampooned the starlet's career while wishing her good times in the future. At the end, Ginger rose from her chair and read from a long list of people she wanted to thank for having been her friends over the years.
During the short intermission that followed the roast, club employees as well as disc jockeys from one of the local radio stations auctioned off several articles, including a magnum of champagne sporting Ginger's autograph and, somewhat mysteriously, several packages each of which included a classic Ginger tape and a plastic spoon, for charity. The champagne brought $510, and in all, several hundred dollars was raised.
Finally, it was time for Ginger's final dance. The beauty had three costume changes, each time stripping down to a g-string and making plenty of skin-to-skin contact with audience members -- but before the last number, helpers came out and spread plastic tarp on the stage and placed a chair in its center, after which Ginger, nearly nude, came out and sat in it. Then, with a musical accompaniment, several of Ginger's friends, including Beth Ann, Stacy, Kylie, Chloe and others, walked on stage carrying various sweet treats, and proceeded to cover the star with chocolate syrup, whipped cream and cherries. The intended use of the plastic spoons then became obvious, as Ginger began to crawl around the edge of the stage, and the spoons' purchasers got to scoop the sundae mixings from Ginger's nearly naked body. It was a hell of an ending to a hell of an evening, and somehow, the autograph session that followed couldn't quite top it.
