After Frostbite, I immediately refocussed my energies on the next gig on my calendar, one I was really excited to take on: the City of Whitehorse's annual Civic Dinner. It's a VIP event that kicks off the Sourdough Rendezvous Festival. I had been asked shortly before the new year if I could put together a small(ish) band that could deliver a sort of big band sound to do an evening of 1940s music. Since this year is the 70th anniversary of the Alaska Highway, the whole evening was 40s-themed, from the decor to the music to everyone's fancy duds. Early in January, I managed to assemble a fantastic band, with guitar, drums, bass, trumpet, sax, and trombone. I feverishly learned how to use Sibelius to write out music charts, built 1940s-style bandstands, wrangled rehearsal space... I was on quite a steep learning curve, believe you me! I loved it, though. Putting on a 1940s show appealed to me enormously, not only because I love the music of that era, but also because of my love of theatre. Creating a 1940s look was about creating a costume and a persona and very much "putting on a show". I had to start with my hair. Because of the war, everything was rationed, which meant there wasn't a lot to go around for fancy dresses and stockings, whether for every day or for fancy occasions. Women therefore spent hours and hours making their hair beautiful. Every woman, it seems, curled her hair. My hair is fairly coarse (thanks to my Chinese genes) so I didn't think a night sleeping in pincurls was going to convince it to behave. I put out a plea for help on Facebook, and four total strangers offered me the loan of their hot rollers. Whitehorse is an amazing community, if you didn't already know. It was my first time trying hot rollers. I got burnt fingertips... ...but managed to get the things into my tresses. Half an hour later, I took the curlers out and was impressed to find my long hair was now less than shoulder-length. And very, very boingy! My weeks of ferreting around online had rewarded me with several tutorials on how to make "victory rolls" (I recommend this one) and how to apply lipstick in an authentic 1940s manner. After that, everything was easy. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="487" caption="Photos by Christian Kuntz"][/caption] I donned my dress and long black gloves. The guests danced, the band had a wonderful time making music together, and we brought a taste of the 1940s back to life.