charlene osborne, bawlmer’s best hon 2009  :: about faces day spa – towson, md.

baltimore’s best hon 2009 is hoping to snag the title of best new author in 2010! i was very excited to see the fabulous charlene last week and photograph her in all her hon glory for her upcoming book, due out in time for this year’s honfest! based on her life and experiences as a hon, the book features her writing along with stunning images from the year’s highlights, taken by her favorite photographers. i’m honored to be among the list – getting to know charlene has been a wonderful delight. she is an amazing & effervescent person and it’s a thrill simply being around her. i can say with conviction that she has truly embraced her hon character and represented baltimore to the fullest this last year and i can’t wait to see & read her book!

congratulations charlene!

the big pink bird once again adorns the exterior of the beloved cafe hon.

last night i attended the awesome pink flamingo re-release at cafe hon in hampden, one of my favorite baltimore neighborhoods! after much controversy, the iconic pink bird was re-affixed to the cafe’s facade, after a short-lived hiatus, looking more fabulous than ever! cafe hon owner denise whiting welcomed the crowd – a sea of excited faces draped in pink boas and waving plastic pink flamingoes – and led everyone in the pledge of allegiance and the flamingo dance! whiting then introduced mayor sheila dixon who did the honors – tugging on a feathered boa which dropped the large tarp and unveiled the shiny new bird. the ever-amazing charlene osborne – baltimore’s best hon 2009 – was present in all her hon glory, posing for her adoring fans and spreading her fantastic energy.

it was a hontastic celebration and media frenzy and i loved being a part of it! oh yeah, and afterwards john waters gave me a hug outside of rocket to venus. it doesn’t get any more bawlmer than that, hon.

enjoy!

flamingo power. like flower power, but pinker. and more radical.

baltimore’s best hon 2009 charlene osborne with the little hampden hons!

cafe hon owner denise whiting welcomed the crowd.

baltimore’s best hon 2009 charlene osborne does the flamingo dance!

…and cafe hon owner denise whiting joins in!

baltimore mayor sheila dixon spoke about the importance of supporting local businesses.

mayor dixon did the honors!

i *love* little hons!

mayor dixon posed for photos! while wearing a pink boa!

baltimore’s best hon 2009 charlene osborne with the newly unveiled flamingo!

denise whiting: mission accomplished!

hons on the avenue, honfest 2009.

honfest 2009 was amazing! once again i was the official honfest photographer for the 2-day festival in hampden. i feel very lucky to work with honfest (yay for cafe hon owner + honfest creator denise whiting, and amazing event coordinators kate callahan and lisa davis for another great year!)  the 16th annual honfest was a weekend long celebration – two very long, very hot days of music, dancing, food, crazy cool vendors, and hons like nobody’s business took over the avenue in hampden! the main stage gave new meaning to the word entertainment with three hon competitions – little miss hon, miss honette, and the main event, baltimore’s best hon! musical talent like dj landis expandis, the groove mammals, and uptown hons performed, along with amazing dance troupes and the sultan’s treasure belly dancers! local bands lined the falls road stage all weekend long, including the cold, cold, heartbreakers with rodney henry, lawnchair, the bobwhites, pete yorko and others.

huge thanks to the blonde creative team, especially my amazing mamasita who once again ran my booth all weekend while i was shooting – she is amazing! she also woke up super early with me both days to set up and stayed late to take down everything! plus she took some amazing photos in the photo booth and is simply so fun to have around! major props go to quinn peyser at quinnep doodles for some serious logistics work this year! she was in charge of ordering all the amazing honfest tshirts, stickers, and water bottles in our booth, as well as doodling the 6ft-tall life-size hon for the photo booth! woohoo! i was also thrilled to have jessi ringer of 5ringsphoto there both days shooting + hanging out with me, and the fabulous + talented mk mckenna and natalie franke stopped by saturday as well! the brand new canton car wash gave us awesome coupons + gift cards to give away and we had two big raffles!

enjoy the blog and check out the galleries below for all the photos from the weekend, including the crazy photo booth pics taken by me, mamasita + quinnep!

* * * * *

click HERE for the PHOTO BOOTH GALLERY

click HERE for the FESTIVAL GALLERY

1st place winner in the “what is a hon?” art contest, “Hon” by local artist holly petr.

artists holly petr + ramon matheu.

blonde photo balloons!

jessi ringer channels her inner elvis.

hey hon!

the illustrious cafe hon pink flamingo!

quinn peyser loving her life-size doodle!

denise whiting cracks up on stage.

little miss hon 2009!

bubble gum + heineken hon!

me + charlene osborne (baltimore’s best hon 2009!) in the photo booth!

holly + jessica (left) stopped by!

hontastic mother-daughter duo heidi + rita!!

men wearing beehives used their cameras against me in the photo booth!

this humongous crabcake broke the guinness world record on saturday!

miss hypothermic hon scoops the first crab cake!

cafe hon owner denise whiting raised over $2000 for charity in the dunk tank!

the cold, cold heartbreakers rocked the falls road stage.

oh mai!

dogs with beehives: only in bawlmer, hon.

snake charming blonde photogs + belly dancers.

the booth!

mamasita + quinn workin’ it!

clockwise from top, starting with queen hon: mk mckenna, jessi ringer, me, quinn peyser, natalie franke.

denise whiting with baltimore’s best hon 2009, charlene osborne.

it’s official! charlene osborne is baltimore’s best hon 2009! woohoo! yesterday was FANTASTIC! best honfest ever! more photos to come soon – enjoy this sneak peek!

loved seeing my photo on all the honfest posters!

the cafe hon flamingo!

me posing with my favorite baltimore hon and this years’ BEST! congrats charlene!!

1st place winner in the “what is a hon?” art contest, “Hon” by local artist holly petr.

day one of honfest 2009 was fantastic! 36th street bustled with the energy of all hons strutting their stuff down the avenue. dazzled spectactors took it all in for the 16th year, and watched round one of baltimore’s best hon competition as well as the crowning of little miss hon and miss teen hon 2009! their was an awesome art show, great bands, and a ton of fabulous vendors! if you missed out on the fun you can get your “hon” on tomorrow as well! check it out :: honfest.com!

see ya in hampden, hon!

hey hon!

the blonde creative rocked it out at honfest 2009 with the queen hon doodle!

are YOU ready?

the blonde creative is gearing up for this weekend – 2 days of fun in the sun with hons on the avenue in hampden – oh yeah!

click HERE for more info!

blonde photo + the entire crew at the blonde creative is gearing up for honfest 2009 this weekend – i’ll be shooting non-stop hon action all weekend and the blonde creative will have a tent (same spot as last year, right in the center of it all!) complete with a fabulous photo booth, lots of giveaways + goodies, and so many fun people! we hope to see you all there!

i am so excited to announce the public launch of my newest project the blonde creative at honfest 2009!

honfest is an amazing festival that takes place on the streets of hampden – one of the most fabulous neighborhoods in baltimore! hampden is home to tons of inspiring artists + characters, and lots of just plain good people. the annual honfest is much more than a local tradition – it is truly an international craze! the classic baltimore (bawl-mer) term of endearment, hon (short for honey), is at the root of this exuberant celebration that honors the honest, hard-working, fun-loving women of baltimore. yeah hons!

last year i was the official photographer for honfest – resulting in two full days of awesome hontastic images! i had a blast capturing the action on the street, the countless musicians that performed on both stages, and the main stage events, including a little miss hon contest, the crowing of the 2008 hon, and even a hon wedding!

this year i plan to bring even more energy + excitement to the festival with an amazing booth for the blonde creative! the booth will feature some of my favorite artists + best friends who will be joining me over the two day festival – quinn peyser of quinnep doodles, jessi ringer of 5ringsphoto and mk mckenna of mary kate mckenna photography! in addition to all sorts of surprises + fun, there will be raffles + giveaways, and a super-fun photo booth to capture the hon in everyone! in fact, there may even be a lifesize hon doodle in the works from quinnep doodles…i can’t wait! *PLUS* mamasita will be there again this year along with a number of other guests + friends, so mark your calendars for the weekend of june 13-14 and get up to bawlmer, hon!!

*click here for more details and to join the event on facebook!*

1 festival, 2 days, 3 fabulous photo galleries.

hello hons!! photos from honfest are ready! there are literally a thousand final photos from the two-day honfest, so i have separated them into three galleries by photographer.  

did i mention there was a hon wedding?? see more here.

if you had your photograph taken by mamasita in the photo booth or on the street look for your photo here:  jaimewindon.smugmug.com/gallery/5188266_JfQ6A 

for all festival photos and the few photo booth snaps taken by me check out this gallery:  jaimewindon.smugmug.com/gallery/5190318_65brK

and a big thanks to michelle who stepped in and snapped some photo booth pics as well! if she took your picture on sunday you will find it here:  jaimewindon.smugmug.com/gallery/5195523_Vd3km

ENJOY!!

me + charlene: best hon 3rd place winner and totally fabulous woman!

honfest day two was just as spectacular as the first day! we had another very busy day at the tent, with mamasita rocking the photo booth all day long! let me just say i have the BEST, coolest, most fun mom ever! i couldn’t ask for a better friend or partner for this weekend. i feel incredibly lucky! also, our fantastic friend (and one of my beautiful 2008 brides) michelle even jumped in and took over the booth for a while!

the highlight of the day was the conclusion of the BEST HON contest, a big congrats to agnes hurley the 2008 BEST HON! i loved everything about the HONFEST, but most importantly it was the people who made it such a wonderful experience. everyone was absolutely awesome – so here’s to new friends and hons everywhere!

enjoy!

the coveted title…

…and bawlmer’s best hon 2008: agnes “punkin” hurley!

two of the women who make it all happen: cafe hon owner and honfest founder denise whiting, and my incredible friend kate.

bawlmer’s best hons EVER: heidi + mom rita!

two of my brides!! sara + michelle! love them!!

1st, 2nd, and 3rd place little miss hons 2008!

some of the amazing honfest volunteers!

me with jack from sugar, and little miss rose.

** PHOTO GALLERIES ARE COMING! **