THE fillies have flocked in their finery and strutted their stuff on the Mining Exchange stage today as the Rock Ballarat festival crowned its new pinup queen.
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Broadford's Lulu Lipstick and her Beetlejuice-inspired creation was named the overall winner of the annual competition.
Miss Lulu Lipstick said she had been inspired by the new musical which has opened on Broadway which is based on the 1980s, Michael Keaton movie.
"I heard the soundtrack in June and the music really inspired me," she said.
"It's a character that people are familiar with but the musical is quite different to the movie, it's new territory.
"I have been competing in pageants for five years, I've been lucky enough to win a couple here and there. This is the third time I've competed at Ballarat.
"I took last year off, but as soon as it was over with last year, I started preparing for this, I'm so excited to win,
"I can come back next year and now be an ambassador for the festival. I am so excited to see what the team has done in turning this into Rock Ballarat, the atmosphere is amazing, it's the biggest and best weekend in Victoria. I'm exciting to carry the title going forward."
It was an afternoon dominated by newcomers, including mother and daughter team of Lil Miss Mini and Tina Louise who travelled all the way from Bega on the far south coast of New South Wales for their first ever competition.
Just days ago the road from the small town had been blocked due to the bushfires in the region.
"We managed to get through, they only opened the road the day before we came, so fortunately we were able to get here," Lil Miss Mini said.
"This is the first time I've done anything serious and this is the first time mum has done anything at all like this. It's absolutely insane.
"We've been working together for about 6-8 months and on this routine has only been two months."
One of the many highlights for the large crowd was the Elvis-inspired routine choreographed by Canberra's Hennie La Mour.
Miss La Mour said she had been an Elvis fan since she was 12 years old.
"For the first time ever this year in January I went to the Elvis festival in Parkes in January and I was inspired by all the Vegas suits, so i made this outfit all myself," she said.
"As I'm from Canberra, it's been very smokey, so the last month I've basically spent inside putting all the beads together.
"The routine, I tried to play to the lyrics of the song, so i just brought it in and had a bit of fun. The routine just came to me. The whole thing was wanting to give people a laugh and enjoy it, like I enjoy Elvis."
Miss La Mour said Ballarat provided an enjoyable place on stage.
"Last year's event was my first time ever on stage, I'm very much a late bloomer," she said.
"I've decided life is for living, and I've always enjoyed fashion and dressing up, so I just took it to the next level. I bit the bullet last year and loved it so much.
"The whole group is so accommodating, of different ages, sizes, genders, nationalities, it's fantastic."
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