DC Red Dress Run

DC Red Dress #13

OE's Hash Trash
Saturday October 7th 2006

After several years of making DC an annual pilgrimage in October I was giving thought to making this my last year for awhile.

Years ago there were a bunch of Reading and H5 hashers who attended among the 1000 total. This year it was just me and VAGINA WHINER and the event was capped at 425.

If I had stayed home I would have been able to make the Hayride & Straub's hashes, spent a whole lot less money and done a whole lot less driving.

But then I arrived in DC and I knew that my addiction to this hash event was well worth it.

There is just something about Red Dress Weekend that is hard to find anywhere else. DC is such a crazy vibrant city - even BEFORE 100s of idjits in red dresses arrive. What a contrast to the 10s of thousands of runners who are also in town for the Army 10 Miler.

The weekend starts with Friday's lingerie hash - 125 people in their best fineries running the streets. Many people just skip the running and arrive in their lingerie and start drinking beer.

Saturday the red masses converge. This year the ONON was at a bar named "HR 57". HR57 is big news in the DC arts community as it has been under renovation for three years (and several 100 thousand tax dollars). Thankfully it is still a dive and the hashers couldn't harm anything.

Every conceivable type of red dress was present: from Strawberry Shortcake to coneheads wearing red to barely-there lingerie.

Not long after I signed in I ran into VAGINA WHINER. He was attending solo and was the sole representative of the Hbg-Hersheyt HHH.

It didn't take long for him to start having a good time.

A professional photography outfit was again inhouse and taking pics for anyone who wanted them. All included in your rego and you ended up with a nice 5x7 in a frame.

The steady rain subsided just before we circled in the trash-strewn back alley. The mob was off.

Remembering 2004 when I was at the back of the pack on the runners trail (with 3 bims) and we found ourselves in a back alley with a junkie shooting up ( a safe place to be with a few HUNDRED others but no so safe when it was just 4 of us) - I decided that my photographic proclivities would be best served on the walkers trail.

It always seemed wrong to run by so many fascinating things in DC with no hope of checking them out. The walkers trail was a whole lot more fun as I could take photos and check things out without falling hopelessly behind (and possibly being ass bungled or killed by a soulless back alley crackhead).

The trail soon came to the BC - a nice bar that didn't seem to mind our red-clad hordes. The beer flowed freely and we lingered for the better part of an hour. A DJ was kicking tunes and many people danced and interacted. It was great to see some of the friendly faces that I hadn't seen for a year and meet some crazy new wankers.

Somebody broke out a very red tube of lipstick and before long half the pack was covered in red smooch marks.

The pack returned to the trail and before long we were back at the dump. The food was being served and another DJ was somehow making the sardines dance.

At 8PM we got the boot and I heard several ON-AFTERs being announced.
I said my goodbyes and headed off into the darkness. Walking back I saw some odd things including the dimly lit Iraqi Embassy and a scene in the 2nd floor living room window where a well dressed older man was posing for a photo with a tall fugly transvestite. Even odder, the photographer was a pirate dressed completely in purple. Odd even for the Dupont Circle area.

If you haven't been to the DC Red Dress run - you need to go at least once. It's a hashing experience that you won't regret.