Freeland Hall was a blur of color, motion and plenty of wigs Saturday night, as the annual Friends of Friends Medical Support Fund’s male pageant took the venue by storm.
Seven contestants entertained the audience with magic tricks, musical parodies, stand-up comedy and a live auction. At the end of the night, Tim Leonard was crowned Mr. South Whidbey 2024.
According to Kristi Price, the secretary for the nonprofit organization’s board, the event raised over $40,000.
This was a special year for Mr. South Whidbey, with everyone being a past contestant. Leonard, who participated in 2018, joked that he was looking forward to beating Larry Johnson, Mr. South Whidbey 2018 and fellow contestant this year.
But then, he did.
During his talent portion of the evening, Leonard stole the show with a recreation of the opening scene of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” the 2001 cult classic film that was adapted from the off-Broadway hit. He dressed up as the titular character with a blonde wig, flanked by his girlfriend Marnie Jackson and his daughter Sage Leonard, who played Hedwig’s bandmates.
“What’s so cool about this is that no one takes this seriously,” he said of who wins and who loses every year.
Other memorable moments of the evening included John Auburn’s Lady Gaga parody about incontinence and Pat McVay’s live auction, during which he auctioned off a man in the moon sculpture for a winning bid of $500.
For more information about Friends of Friends, visit fofmedicalsupportfund.org/.
Photo by Jamie Farage Erik Stine, who filled in for a previous Mr. South Whidbey contestant who fell ill with COVID in 2022, finally got his time to shine in the 2024 pageant.
Photo by Jamie Farage Tim Leonard earned the most votes to become Mr. South Whidbey 2024.
Photo by Jamie Farage Tim Leonard earned the most votes to become Mr. South Whidbey 2024.
Photo by Jamie Farage Pat McVay auctioned off a man in the moon sculpture during his talent portion of the evening.
