The popular and stalwart hostess of Wellington's Gay and Lesbian fairs past, now resident in Australia, made a surprise appearance at the weekend to continue her traditional MC-ing role. An estimated crowd of 5,000 people passed through the gates of Newtown School for the 22nd Annual Gay and Lesbian Fair on Saturday, the final event of the Newtown Festival. Labour MP Maryan Street opened the Fair before surprise MC Pollyfilla crashed through the crowd Dukes of Hazzard-style straight off the plane from Melbourne. Fair co-organiser Aaron Hailwood says the committee was trying to think who they could get to take Pollyfilla's place "and there was no one we could think of so we just had to get her back." The Fair was baked in sunshine all day with Imerst Nightclub's Lady Trenyce handing out free ice blocks to cool the crowd down as they were treated to a wealth of entertainment including ‘the band called dave', Charlotte Yates, an array of drag queens and kings and special guests the chart-topping Boyband. "We'd also like to thank all our sponsors the NZ AIDS Foundation, GAP, Imerst, Iko Iko, GayNZ.com, UniQ Victoria, Eukanuba, Proud and the Wellington City Council for ensuring the Fair was once again a raging success," adds Hailwood. Imerst Nightclub hosted the official after party, featuring drag troupe The Glamazons (Natasha Crowe, La Toya JackSin, Ellie Kat and Victoria) facing off with Boyband in a stunning show mixed with video and live performance. “There were a few minor microphone problems, but the packed crowd didn't seem to notice. Hey, at least you could see the boys weren't miming,” laughs Hailwood. “The night was so busy that people were still queuing to get in for over half an hour at 2am!” Ref: GayNZ.com (m)