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Renew/Wings will hold the second annual “An Evening in Her Shoes” on Saturday, Oct. 7 at the Elks Club in Cortez.

This year’s pageant will be hosted by Jill Carlson and DJ’d by PA Jackson, with special performances by Durango comedians Bailey Rae Lammon and Elliot Webber, and local musician Carrie Schneider LeMay. Renew calls the event “an elegant evening full of laughs, good food and friends.”

The men will compete as “cinematic bombshells’ in the categories of talent, evening gown and interview, with a chance at the title of “Ms.Ter 2017.”

Ms.Ter Gary Noyes sang and danced his way to the crown in 2016.

“I had a blast. I went out there to ham it up, and people are there for a good cause, to learn a little bit about it and have a good time,” Noyes said. “You can entertain people while giving them some knowledge.”

He competed as Marilyn Monroe.

“She is an icon, if you want to be flashy and out there,” Noyes said. “Plus it was the election year, so I thought I would sing ‘Happy Birthday Mr. President.’”

This year, Noyes plans to compete as Dorothy from the classic film “The Wizard of Oz.”

So far, seven other contestants have signed up to compete – Ian MacLaren, Shawn Bittle, Mitchell Toms, Lance McDaniel, Zane Grey, Alan Klein and Bob Waggoner. Registration for contestants is open until the night of the event.

In 2015, Renew held a similar fundraiser in which men walked around downtown Cortez in high heels to raise awareness. The pageant was born of a team session for event planning for the organization, according to Mary Fuller, program director at Renew. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the organization wanted to bring attention to what domestic violence is, according to Fuller.

Renew is a domestic and sexual violence crisis and advocacy center founded in 1981.

“We have been around since 1979, and they incorporated in 1981, and it was a very grassroots start,” Fuller said. “People doing things for free, bringing people into their own homes.”

Renew offers free and confidential services to Montezuma and Dolores county residents that include a safehouse, a 24-hour hotline, free and professional counseling, and criminal and civil justice support.

“One thing that we want people to understand in Colorado is the term ‘domestic violence,’” Fuller said. “‘Domestic’ means home, family. But in Colorado, ‘domestic violence’ means intimate partner violence. We often refer to it as intimate partner violence (IPV) instead of domestic violence (DV), and that is important.”

The nonprofit works with men, women and children of all ages.

“We definitely work with sexual assault victims and childhood survivors of sexual assaulter abuse,” Fuller said. “We do get some folks that come in here pretty regularly just to talk or work with our counselor that don’t have any current DV issues or haven’t currently been sexually assaulted. But that was part of their childhood, and sometimes that does not come back until people are much older.”

In addition, the organization runs the Wings Safehouse, which is available day and night, according to Fuller.

“Men can come here for counseling, and they can call us on the hotline, Fuller said. “In the right circumstances, one could even come into the safehouse.” If the safehouse is full, Fuller said, staff will try to get them to another safe place.

Fuller encourages victims to overcome their fear of speaking up about their abuse, and ensures them that their discussions will be kept private.

“We are very confidential. We do not share information with anyone unless one of our clients signs a release of information,” Fuller said. “That is one of the reasons they don’t do anything is because they are embarrassed, they are scared.”

All proceeds from “An Evening in Her Shoes” benefits the victims served by Renew/Wings.

Tickets for the all-male revue are available at the Renew Inc. office at 1021 N. Mildred Road in Cortez and from the contestants. Pre-event prices are $60 per couple or $40 for individuals. At the door, ticket prices rise by $10. Tickets include the show and hors d’oeuvres, but not the cash bar.

The show is suitable for adult audiences. Interested patrons may call 970-565-4886 for more information.