That was one of the many contributions from one of the mainstays of the early festivals, Adriana Pena. Adriana was quite a character and attained a cult following that transcended Dark Shadows entirely. People who had absolutely no interest in anything else related to the festival wanted to know what she did in the costume contest.
Her ideas were brilliant, insane or insanely brilliant.
Some of her presentations included:
1). A dancing salamander. A fire elemental. Not a reptile. Interpretive dance is perhaps the nadir of the gala.
2). A tribute to the then new Annette Funicello movie entitled Beach Blanket Bat
3). Elizabeth Stoddard in an authentic 1940's ensemble. Complete with fir poker.
4). Counselor at Camp Collinsport. I have no idea what this presentation was all about. Adriana was from South America. She had both an extremely thick accent and a pronounced stutter. The most memorable part of this one was a flapping bat hat from a store in Maryland called Hats From the Belfry.
