MANY women join the pinup circuit to find strength and empowerment amid their heartache and to seek solace in the friendship of like-minded people.
For Kate ‘Miss Kitten Darling’ Mulcahy, 32, of Cedar Grove the pinup community has become like a family since the sudden death of her fiancé Olly van Eck, also of Cedar Grove, in December 2014.
One of Mr van Eck’s final wishes for Ms Mulcahy was that she try for a third time for the prestigious Garterbelts and Gasoline Pinup Contest after entering for two years but not making the finals.
He told her 2015 would be her year and it turns out it is, with Ms Mulcahy selected as one of 10 finalists to perform routines at the Tamborine Mountain contest on Saturday night.
The pageant will be a last hurrah to the pinup scene for Ms Mulcahy, who has hosted Rockin’ Jimmy’s in Jimboomba and has also also won titles at pinup contests Cooly Rocks and Miss Pinup Australia.
Ms Mulcahy is in the process of packing up the family home she shared with Mr van Eck at Cedar Grove to spend time with her mother and go travelling with her 12-year-old daughter.
She said being selected for the Garterbelts and Gasoline contest was a dream come true and was bitter-sweet timing because she was set to marry Mr van Eck on Tamborine Mountain this month.
“It’s really fitting that this is happening now and I get to be part of the pageant – it’s a shame I can’t do it with him there but he’ll be there with me,” she said.
“At the heart of it, for most pinups, if you’ve had hard things happen in your life you join it to support and empower one another and especially since losing my partner it’s like an extra family.”
The pinup contest will be part of the Garterbelts and Gasoline Saturday Night Meltdown at the Vonda Youngman Community Centre on Main Street, North Tamborine from 6pm Saturday.
Garterbelts and Gasoline also includes the Rockabilly Ball from 6pm Friday at the Vonda Youngman Centre, the Vintage Soap Box Derby from 7am to noon Saturday on the corner of Long Road and Curtis Road, the Hot Rod Carnivale from 9am to 10pm Sunday at the Tamborine Mountain Showgrounds and the Kustom Kulture Art Exhibition at the showgrounds hall across the weekend.
For more information visit www.garterbeltsandgasoline.com.au or phone Paul Biagini on 0428 887 522.
