Katherine Gerdes

Cities 97 "Project Back Porch" at the State Fair

27 August, 20:45 - thus far 4 insightful comments have been made

I’m not sure if you heard or not, but on Saturday I got to be on the radio (Cities 97) with BT and Lee! They decided to hold a “Project Back Porch” contest at the Minnesota State Fair. People signed up for a chance to be one of 3 teams of 2 and the prize was a pair of tickets to the Bonnie Raitt show that evening. I got to play the part of local “celebrity” and design mentor (I got to play Tim Gunn!). It was a really fun time and I enjoyed being on the radio and meeting everyone.

The contest “rules” went as followed:

• After picking the teams, they had about 45 minutes to run around the fair and collect as much free stuff as possible. It wasn’t really stated, but bartering or asking for things that might not normally be free, seemed to be well within the rules, or at least those of us in “charge” didn’t stop them! I was very impressed with the amount of junk that the teams ended up finding. Impressive what you can get for free when you ask (Phone book… vegetable sacks… food? Who knew?)

• Next, each team got a bag with clear tape, a pair of scissors, and 5 clothespins. There was one large roll of duct tape for the teams to share (we were hoping for some drama by making them share, but they were obviously better at sharing than the PR designers!).

• Finally, they had about 45 minutes to create a “runway look” from the junk they had. Each team had the option of dressing a teammate or dressing a third person.

Here are the 3 teams:

Brye & Anna (with Anna’s mom modeling):
Brye and Anna definitely won the prize for most stuff collected! They came back early and had around 4 or 5 bags of goodies. They even sweet-talked their way into getting a beer bucket from someone who brought food for BT and Lee!

I was really impressed with the girls’ creativity in their outfit! They really thought of everything, including (but not limited to!) some purple swirly paper clip earrings, a pocket on the skirt, homemade flip-flops and foam beer holder bracelets! In the end, I don’t think their outfit was the most “wearable” but it was the most creative and that’s why they ended up taking home the win! Plus (I think I heard this right) I found out that it was Brye’s mom who really wanted the tickets, so the girls worked really hard to win them for her. How cute!

Roxanne (modeling) & Lorraine:
Roxanne and Lorraine were all about the subtlety… they included lots of details that were well thought about, but maybe didn’t stand out enough, like a side slit in the newspaper skirt for movement, the “certified Minnesotan” bag as a “badge” on the sleeve, the paper towel bow in front, I could go on, but I won’t! They also made a very fun hat out of a frizz bee and some key-chains (very ala Vincent!). Overall the look was well thought out although a little sweaty as Roxanne said (plastic bags and 80 degree weather don’t mix I guess!). Roxanne and Lorraine put in a good effort and came in a close 2nd to Brye and Anna!

Britta (modeling) & Dave:
I liked Britta and Dave’s “Vegetable Sack Cocktail Dress” a lot. The dress shape was simple, but they really thought about the trimming with the purple bag. They even included a purple “rosette” in honor of Angela! I thought it was easily the most wearable outfit and in the Project Runway world, that means a sure fire winner. Alas, that’s not so true in Project Back Porch world and sadly Britta and Dave lost out to the creative duo Brye and Anna. I also have to say in Project Back Porch the judging is influenced heavily by how many family and friends you have (judging was by audience applause), and Britta and Dave were without family that day. Good showing you two!