A burlesque show and a sweet shop. The two things could not be more opposite.
Shana Deon likes the opposite-ness of them and their juxtaposition in her life. She runs them both.
Deon is the owner of LooBelles, a frozen yogurt, treat and gift shop on Wetmore Avenue in downtown Everett.
She is also the host and producer of a new burlesque variety show that opens Sunday at the Austin Bar &Grill in Everett.
Her show, “Spring Fling Carnivale,” ran in Kirkland for 14 months. That show has been on hiatus and Deon has wanted to bring it to Everett.
The show boasts it will bring “the sexy back to Everett” with a variety of performers such as headliner Seraphina Fiero; belly dancer Ava Raqs, who shimmies and shakes with a sword balanced on her head; Randi Rascal and Sailor St. Claire, who present an act with a court jester; a tattooed lady; and something secretive but very pink with feathers.
The show also has a songbird and Ms. E.M. Temptress, the show’s “Kitten.”
Deon hosts the show as the Siren. She said she wants to put some fun in Everett’s downtown but also have fun in her own life.
It wasn’t always so fun for Deon. When her son was 5, he became ill and needed a bone marrow transplant, but he did not survive. She then went through a divorce after 20 years of marriage. She began working as a medical assistant to raise her teenage daughter on her own.
But Deon’s first love was crafting and she has a degree in interior design. She had previously owned a successful shop in Utah but had to sell it when her son became ill. Deon has since dreamed of having her own business again.
She opened LooBelles — the nickname of her daughter — at 2827 Wetmore Ave. to quench her own creativity but also to provide a safe job where her daughter could work side by side with her, learning all that she could.
Deon said that after building her G-rated sweet shop she thought she would throw in an R-rated show to see how the mix went.
Deon likes the idea of the double identity.
“By day she serves the innocence of downtown Everett her frozen creamy treats and by night? Well, she is a different gal,” Deon jokes.
Deon calls it her “yogurt/glitter boob empire.”
Deon said it’s about fun now for her and her daughter. Though they struggle to keep the doors open at LooBelles, they are working together, whether boom or bust.
“You know when you get to that point in life where you just start doing what you want to do and throw caution to the wind across the board?” Deon asked. “I am at it.”
The Spring Fling Carnivale is 8 p.m. Sunday at The Austin Bar &Grill, 2820 B Oakes Ave., Everett. Tickets are $10 or $12 at the door. Go to www.sirenandthetreasuredchests.com. For more on Deon’s sweet shop to go www.LooBelles.com.
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