Nuclia Waste, Denver’s best-known drag queen, is the People’s Choice Asparagus Queen. Boulder-based Noodles & Company sponsored the contest, in which Waste earned more than 78,000 votes of 400,000 cast.
Waste will be crowned at 7 tonight at the pasta chain’s 7401 E. 29th Ave. outlet in the Stapleton development. His subjects then will dine on asparagus.
Waste is also the spokesperson for Erico Motorsports, Denver’s Vespa headquarters. He’s everywhere. What’s next? Waste Management?
“I LOVE asparagus,” he says through Noodles. “It is what I live for. I pine in the winter while my asparagus lays sleeping in the snow. In the spring, I will sit for days in my garden waiting for their fresh little heads to poke through the soil. I gather their tender stalks to my bosom and caress them with love and tenderness. Then I eat them.”
Spoken like a true queen of the stalk.
Waste promises to use his winnings to advance research into the plant’s odorous nature.
Since he is not the official Queen chosen by a panel of judges, Waste will not be featured in posters in the chain’s 110 stores in 11 states. He’s all ours.
Wanna dance?
Vail-based “Bachelorette” Trista Sutter (nee Rehn) is a contestant on “Dancing With the Stars,” ABC’s new Wednesday-night talent show. I found last week’s debut tougher to take than the Freddie, what with C-list celebs like Rachel Hunter, John O’Hurley, Kelly Monaco and Evander Holyfield dancing with egotistic ballroom pros. (“It makes you feel good when you are being worshiped,” says Trista’s partner, Louis van Amstel.)
But again I am wrong and alone. The show drew an astonishing 13.2 million viewers, the most watched summer series premiere since “Survivor” on May 31, 2000.
Trista is tied for fourth place, with Vail fireman-husband Ryan Sutter rooting her on from the front row. In the show, she says, “a lot of people who criticize reality shows say they’re just on television to be on television. They don’t have any talent. I hope that America will come to know me as more than just ‘Trista the Bachelorette.’ Maybe they’ll see me as ‘Trista the Dancer.”‘
Melo
Carmelo Anthony and LaLa Vazquez host a party June 29 at the home of Ellen and Mark Schwartz. At $500 a pop, you are asked to dress “basketball chic.”
For $2,500, you get two tix and one chance to play “H-O-R-S-E” with Carmelo. Call 303-698-1151.
City spirit
Brandon Davis, son of Denver kid Nancy Davis and grandson of Marvin, has been inked to be U.S. mouthpiece for Italian jeans Replay. He’ll even get own label with a price tag of $300-$500 a pair … Las Vegas itemizer Norm Clarke flew into town Thursday for Post travel editor Mim Swartz retirement party at the Denver Press Club. More than 100 pallies showed up to salute the popular wanderer … Sez who: “To be a useful person has always appeared to me to be something quite horrible.” Charles Baudelaire
Bill Husted’s column appears Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Husted also appears on Fox 31 News. You can reach him at 303-820-1486 or at bhusted@denverpost.com.
