Creekside Cabaret, 11pm

Listen, I’ll be honest, I’m not a strip club guy. Never have been. I’ve been to like three in my life, including this past weekend. Luckily, I was in good hands because I showed up with our friend Kandi to her club in Pennsylvania, Creekside Cabaret and we had a great time.

When I was putting together the concept of Local Originals and thinking about who some of our first guests should be, Kandi was near the top of that list. We met Kandi a couple summers ago at a “Christmas in July” party at Tony’s Baltimore Grill in Atlantic City and we all instantly hit it off.

It was really interesting to get a look into Kandi’s world. We talked a lot about things on the mic and off the mic. What I was really impressed with was how creative and talented she is. A lot of the art on the wall of her apartment she drew herself, she plays guitar, she collects art and other cool chotchkies, she’s an exceptional snowboarder, truly a multi-layered fascinating person.

What also struck me was this is something that’s relatively new for Kandi. She’s only been dancing for the last six years and prior to that there were stretches of her life where she battled severe social anxiety, obviously a stark contrast to the Kandi we all know now. Watching her now interact with people at the club, at events (like the one we met her at at Tony’s), and other aspects of her life, it’s clear she’s found herself.

That really is what Local Originals, as a platform, is all about. Real stories, real people, and highlighting those people that are living their best life and being their true self. That’s Kandi!